Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7725986 | Castor that is operated smoothly and conveniently A castor includes a main body, two rollers, a plurality of rolls, two retaining members, and two covers. Thus, the rolls are rotatably mounted between the main body and the respective roller, so that each of the rollers is rotatable on the main body smoothly. In add... | 06/01/2010 |
| 7441786 | Convertible low profile roller and support base A low profile roller includes a wheel mounted on a hollow hub and having a roller ball mounted within the hollow hub. The roller is configured to function in a first, low profile operating mode when the roller ball is in contact with a support surface and in a secon... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7195322 | Vibration-proof wheels for wheeled luggage A luggage wheel assembly comprises an L-shaped bezel including a hollow lower portion of arcuate section, and a well defined by the lower portion for receiving a wheel; and a shock absorber extended from the wheel into the lower portion. Lower, oblique first slot an... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7150070 | Hubless caster A hubless caster assembly includes a caster body and at least one wheel, the wheel comprising a toroidal member having a bearing race, and a complementary bearing race supported by the caster body. Bearing elements in the races support the wheel in free rotation. Th... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7086120 | Caster for shopping and transport trolleys A caster for shopping and transport trolleys which are suitable for conveyance on travelators, includes a wheel fork provided with fork arms and carrying an axle body having a round cross-section and extending through a hub which is arranged between the fork arms an... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7065827 | Shock absorber structure of a castor wheel A shock absorber structure of a castor wheel is disclosed. The bottom section of a leg is inserted with a mounting tube and the circumferential edge of the leg is mounted with a protective hood. A screw nut is used to lock the mounting tube and the protective hood t... | 06/27/2006 |
| 6854159 | Swivel caster A swivel caster suitable to be mounted in a transportation system wherein the caster includes a wheel secured on a shaft by means of a first roller bearing, the shaft being attached near its ends to the legs of a swivel fork having a body or supporting element conne... | 02/15/2005 |
| 6839939 | Hubless caster A hubless caster assembly includes a caster body and at least one wheel, the wheel comprising a toroidal member having a bearing race, and a complementary bearing race supported by the caster body. Bearing elements in the races support the wheel in free rotation. Th... | 01/11/2005 |
| 6502280 | Lightweight high capacity industrial caster A lightweight high capacity industrial caster which has three major parts, an upper assembly, a lower assembly, and a roller assembly. The upper assembly includes an upper plate with a first top surface and first bottom surface, the first bottom surface h... | 01/07/2003 |
| 6336685 | Embedded single bearing wheel A wheel for small vehicles and similar applications is provided, the wheel having a molded hub concentric about its axis, said hub having a single, precision bushing journaled within the hub concentric about said axis. Two thread guards sandwich the wheel... | 01/08/2002 |
| 6223388 | Castor assembly A castor assembly suitable for use in decks or dollies for moving freight or other heavy items includes a wheel, a carriage on which the wheel bracket is mounted for rotation about a first axis and a bearing enabling the carriage to rotate about a second ... | 05/01/2001 |
| 6152539 | Fixing device for wheel seats of a baby stroller A fixing device for wheel seats of a baby stroller engaged and fixed each with/on one of the wheel seats, it has a fixing rod secured on the bottom of a foot. The fixing rod has one of its ends protruded down and out from a pipe mouth of the foot, the end... | 11/28/2000 |
| 6092262 | Non-skid wheel brake mechanism A non-skid wheel brake mechanism includes a wheel body, a shaft part, left and right wheels each with a ring rim. The device includes an outer rim having an oval ring groove having upper and lower half portions. A substantially oval shaped shaft bore exte... | 07/25/2000 |
| 6024416 | Wheel assembly for a stroller A wheel assembly for a stroller includes a wheel base including a sleeve having an inner periphery containing a passage and an outer periphery transversely containing a cavity connecting to the passage, and an extension having a first end portion extendin... | 02/15/2000 |
| 5875519 | Universal angle wheel assembly A universal angle wheel assembly has a wheel holder plate, a main seat disposed on the wheel holder plate, a cover plate disposed on the main seat, a shaft extending from a top portion of the wheel holder plate, and a pivot pin fastening a wheel in the wh... | 03/02/1999 |
| 5873145 | Wheel assembly A wheel assembly has a wheel holder seat having a hollow pivot end and two lugs, and a main seat having a reinforced main body, a hollow pivot cover, a notch, two inner flanges, an inner interior, and a post. The wheel holder seat has two laterals engagin... | 02/23/1999 |
| 5493755 | Shock and vibration isolating caster suspension A caster has a stationary hub with a bearing between the hub and a floor engaging wheel ring which allows the wheel ring to rotate relative to the hub. Torsional elastomeric elements mount the hub between spaced support arms radially inward of the bearing... | 02/27/1996 |
| 5398618 | Conveyor trolley wheel assembly An improved wheel configuration for use in a conveying system includes a solid wheel body (11) produced from a high temperature resistant hard wearing polymer material, the wheel body being carried rotatably on a shaft member (13, 28, 39, 46) which in tur... | 03/21/1995 |
| 5078221 | Steering roller arrangement for a three-wheeled vehicle A steering roller arrangement for a trackless floor vehicle in the form of a so-called three-wheeled vehicle is described. With this vehicle, in addition to two running wheels, a steering roller is provided which can be swiveled about a vertical axis by m... | 01/07/1992 |
| 5058507 | Carriage drive for mobile storage system with drive chain tensioner A carriage for a mobile storage system, including a frame having an inverted U-shaped cross section, including two downwardly depending sides extending the length of the frame. A drive shaft is journaled to the frame and rotated by a prime mover. A drive ... | 10/22/1991 |
| 5014392 | Self-orientatable twin wheel of the kind comprising a pair of coaxial wheels A self-orientatable twin wheel which includes a support which supports a pivot upon which are mounted a pair of wheels. The pair of wheels are provided with hollow tangs into which the pivot is inserted. Bushes with inner and outer collars are interposed ... | 05/14/1991 |
| 4955099 | Movable support A movable support which includes a first axle, two stub axles which are in line with one another and which extend in opposing directions from the first axle at right angles thereto, and two hemispherical members which are mounted, with respective convex s... | 09/11/1990 |
| 4891851 | Flexible patient transfer cradle A patient transfer cradle is made up of a flexible mounting plate which allows cradle wheels mounted to the underside of the plate to maintain contact with the rolling surface, whether it is level or not. A plurality of support rib members are disposed al... | 01/09/1990 |
| 4830179 | Idler rollers for belt conveyors A belt conveyor includes an assembly of conveyor idler rollers for supporting a conveyor belt advancing thereon. Each conveyor idler roller includes a cylindrical body that is freely rotatable about a shaft. A keeper seal prevents axial displacement of th... | 05/16/1989 |
| 4783880 | Demountable urethane caster wheel tire A caster wheel assembly for replacing a tire on a wheel member having a hub portion, a web portion extending radially outwardly from the hub portion, and a first laterally extending rim portion. A circular member including a web portion removably fastened... | 11/15/1988 |
| 4759097 | Wheel bracket assembly having two part wheel bracket and a method of making the wheel bracket assembly A wheel bracket assembly includes two separate, platelike bracket parts which each have a noncircular opening therein and are disposed on opposite sides of a wheel in angular alignment. The ends of the axle for the wheel extend through the noncircular ope... | 07/26/1988 |
| 4689848 | Caster having interfitting housing members with integral bearings and a separate axle Desirable casters can be formed by using two separate, interfitting housing members to create the yoke of a caster. As these housing members are assembled they come together so as to hold the wheel of the caster generally between arms of the yoke (which a... | 09/01/1987 |
| 4679662 | Lightweight aircraft furniture caster assembly having a notched braking plate engaged by a brake The lightweight caster assembly, when used on aircraft food and drink-dispensing push carts and other aircraft furniture, in place of conventional caster assemblies, reduces the overall weight of the aircraft furniture, thus resulting in a considerable fu... | 07/14/1987 |
| 4598918 | Roller disc assembly and skate A roller disc assembly is provided comprising a stationary disc platform beneath which is rotatably mounted a disc wheel, said wheel having at least partially a flat bottom surface. A ball bearing ring is sandwiched between said disc platform and wheel, t... | 07/08/1986 |
| 4544425 | Method for attaching wheels to dual wheel casters, including ultrasonic welding A method and apparatus for attaching the wheels of a dual wheel caster to its axle with annular plastic bushings ultrasonically welded to the wheels that have three integral curved spring fingers that snap into annular recesses in the axle as the wheels a... | 10/01/1985 |
| 4404707 | Castors A castor comprises separately formed plastics fork halves 53 and 54 with inwardly extending bosses 76 and 77 formed for detachable bayonet interconnection and providing a hub for the castor wheel 50. The upper parts of the fork halves define with the uppe... | 09/20/1983 |
| 4348785 | Wheel assembly A wheel assembly including an annular rim with an outer bearing race formed on the inner periphery thereof. Cylindrical rollers are in rolling engagement with the outer bearing race and with an inner bearing race formed on a central sleevelike shaft which... | 09/14/1982 |
| 4322869 | Wheel assembly A freely rotatable wheel assembly including a one-piece freely-rotatable annular rim having a central opening therethrough. The rim is of a hard low-friction material and has an inner surface which surrounds the opening for defining an outer bearing race.... | 04/06/1982 |
| 4318204 | Disk wheel with bearing housing injection molded therein A wheel construction for a wheel primarily used in casters produced under high production conditions. The wheel has an axially extending hole therethrough which is lined with a moldable synthetic resin liner which is mechanically secured to the internal s... | 03/09/1982 |
| 4125183 | Roller assembly A roller assembly useful as a self-aligning caster for recessed mounting in a support plate or tray such as those used in aircraft cargo loading systems. The assembly includes a sub-assembly of a cup housing having an upper, outer-annular flange with a ro... | 11/14/1978 |
| 4122580 | Solid axle wheel support and sealed bearing construction Bearing assembly for a wheel primarily for use in casters produced under high production conditions. The bearing is characterized by the provision of a solid shaft with staked ends in association with a resilient seal all arranged for producing a bearing ... | 10/31/1978 |
| 4113328 | Wheel bearing assembly with plastic bearing seals A sealed wheel bearing assembly including thermoplastic seals permanently fused to a thermoplastic wheel or bearing. The thermoplastic wheel or outer bearing member has at least one row of bearings fitted between an outer raceway in a central aperture ext... | 09/12/1978 |
| 4054335 | Castor wheel In a wheel bearing assembly, a roller bearing is mounted within the hub of a wheel, with the outer race of the bearing being fitted in a hub of the wheel. A sealing ring is fitted in the hub. The sealing ring has an angular cross-section, with an axially ... | 10/18/1977 |
