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 |
| 7565963 | Device allowing for the individual distribution of small stick-shaped objects The invention relates to a device (1) for the individual distribution of small stick-shaped objects (7), this device (1) making use of: a conveyor (2) comprising an endless conveyor belt (3) circu... | 07/28/2009 |
| 7287637 | Conveyor system for minimizing product damage during collection A conveyor system is provided to limit the vertical fall experienced by a product transported along the conveyor and falling into a collection bin. A sensor in a fixed position relative to the product conveying plane of the conveyor measures product collection heigh... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7264107 | Food object transfer system and method A system for transferring an object between driven conveyors comprising an upper conveyor comprising a discharge end, a first belt for transporting the object, the first belt engaging a first end roller and a gooseneck roller, where the first end roller is disposed ... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7228956 | Bulk material precision transfer chute apparatus A bulk material precision transfer chute apparatus transfers a flow of material from a discharge conveyor to a separate receiving conveyor. The apparatus receives a flow of material from the discharge conveyor and transfers that material to a receiving conveyor depo... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7210574 | Pasta dryer A pasta dryer comprising a conveyer belt for conveying and delivering dried pasta, the conveyor belt being configured as a continuous conveyor. To operate more efficiently, the conveyor belt has a delivery table in the vicinity of an idler, the table comprising an a... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7134543 | Containment apparatus for multi-pass ovens A containment apparatus for a multi-pass oven consisting of guide rails and tapered guide chutes having side rails. A tapered guide chute directs product pieces from one conveyor to the center of a receiving region of an underlying conveyor. Guide rails are placed a... | 11/14/2006 |
| 7114611 | Methods and apparatus for improved self-checkout system A conveyor system for a self-checkout apparatus including a first side support rail having an inner side and an outer side and a second side support rail spaced apart from said first side support rail and positioned parallel thereto, where the second side support ra... | 10/03/2006 |
| 6968763 | Orienting and stacking parts The invention provides an apparatus and method for orienting a part detached from a web of parts. The apparatus and method use a duct with at least one interior sloped side to orient the part in a substantially vertical orientation. The invention further provides an... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6832681 | Tobacco leaf elevator The invention provides an elevator for separating and distributing a plurality of whole freshly harvested tobacco leaves including clumps of agglomerated tobacco leaves. The elevator has an inclined frame longitudinally extending between a lower end and an upper end... | 12/21/2004 |
| 6591974 | Auger flow control spout with overflow A spout is used for confining the grain flow from an auger. The auger may be a combine, grain cart unloading auger or a grain auger. The spout includes a chute that mounts on the auger tube. An overflow opening in the chute allows grain or other matter to... | 07/15/2003 |
| 6269938 | Over/under line feed system An over/under line feed system in accordance with the present invention includes a conveyor assembly positioned adjacent a workstation. The conveyor assembly preferably includes upper and lower conveyors. The workstation includes a workstation support fra... | 08/07/2001 |
| 6244424 | System for transporting piece goods A system for transporting piece goods which comprises at least one output track for conveying piece goods from an entrance to an exit, the entrance being at a higher level than the exit. In order to prevent damages of the transported piece goods and to ob... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6206175 | Conveyor cleaning and air-borne residue control system A conveyor cleaning and residue control system for use with a conveyor includes an air knife and a deflector. The air knife impinges an air stream against the conveyor to blast residue from the conveyor, and the deflector redirects the air stream and the ... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6135171 | Passive enclosure dust control system A material handling transfer system which utilizes passive dust control methods for containing and controlling fugitive dust emissions generated during a transfer operation. The present system includes an enclosure containment structure which houses a spe... | 10/24/2000 |
| 6021887 | Battery plate feeding and handling apparatus A plate feeding and handling apparatus (10) includes a synchronization assembly (30) for temporarily suspending the transport of plates on a conveyor (224). The synchronization assembly includes mini-stack assembly (268) and a perch assembly (270).... | 02/08/2000 |
| 5913403 | Drive station for a scraper-chain conveyor usable in an underground mine working A drive and transfer station for an underground mining installation employs a frame with spaced apart walls over which material is transferred between scraper-chain conveyors one arranged along a long wall mineral face working and the other arranged along... | 06/22/1999 |
| 5755318 | Device for the continuous delivery of materials with low flowability The invention is concerned with a device for the continuous delivery of shredded materials exhibiting low flowability, particularly shredded cellulose materials, characterized in: (A) a receptacle for the shredded material to be delivered, said receptacle... | 05/26/1998 |
| 5749283 | Oven with slide-out transfer guides An oven with slide-out transfer guides is provided for use in conjunction with multiple conveyors ovens to provide quick and convenient accessibility to an oven's interior in case of product transfer difficulties. A slidable rail assembly is mounted in th... | 05/12/1998 |
| 5553968 | Method and apparatus for conveying and desegregating aggregate An apparatus and method for desegregating and conveying aggregate. A drag slat conveyor has a notch in the floor of its discharge end which causes larger aggregate at the lateral edges of the conveyor to drop out of the conveyor after smaller aggregate lo... | 09/10/1996 |
| 5551912 | Coin conveying apparatus The ending side of one coin conveying endless belt is made higher than the starting side of another adjacent coin conveying endless belt. Between the ending side of the one coin conveying belt and the starting side of the another coin conveying belt, ther... | 09/03/1996 |
| 5392696 | Tortilla transfer guide and method for transferring tortillas An apparatus and method for maintaining the lateral spacing of parallel rows of tortillas while transferring tortillas between two vertically spaced conveyors. The tortilla transfer guide is positioned adjacent to two generally horizontal, vertically spac... | 02/28/1995 |
| 5318165 | Method and device for transferring products in equally-spaced manner to a wrapping line A method and device for transferring products in an equally-spaced manner to a wrapping line, whereby transverse columns of products traveling parallel to their axis on a first conveyor are fed successively in a first direction perpendicular to the axis o... | 06/07/1994 |
| 5281273 | Apparatus for marking recyclable books A method and apparatus for marking recyclable books permits the user to retain the recyclable value of the books while effectively deterring third-parties from reselling books which are intended to be recycled. The method includes transporting recyclable ... | 01/25/1994 |
| 5263591 | Refuse recycling system A controllable refuse recycling system includes a conveyor for conveying refuse. The refuse is carried past a plurality of operating personnel who extract recyclable materials from the refuse, and deposit the extracted materials into separate deposit chut... | 11/23/1993 |
| 5234094 | Flexible feeder conveyor system A flexible feeder conveyor system for removing material from a stockpile and transporting the removed material to a fixed conveyor. The system includes an underconveyor positioned below an excavator and having a loading hopper attached to its forward end ... | 08/10/1993 |
| 4962846 | Unloader An unloader for unloading bulk commodities within holds, such as wheat and coal. A plurality of boom conveyers are juxtaposed on a boom, and vertical screw conveyers, each having at the lower end an inlet port for receiving a bulk commodity to be conveyed... | 10/16/1990 |
| 4889241 | Discharge chute with variable slope bottom for fragile article sorting system An optical inspection machine has a discharge chute provided for receiving fragile articles thrown from a high speed belt in the course of ejecting such articles. The chute has an "S"-shaped bottom with the top of the "S" under the trajectory of the eject... | 12/26/1989 |
| 4843795 | Alignment apparatus for impact alignment of weighed batches of elongated objects An alignment apparatus is disclosed for aligning weighed batches of elongated objects, such as French-fried potato strips. The batch of objects is weighed in a scale and discharged onto a moving conveyor belt which separates the objects and projects such ... | 07/04/1989 |
| 4838750 | Storage bunker A storage bunker for substantially dry and loose material such as shredded paper waste has a receptacle (10) and a conveyor (16,18) feeding material over a fixed plate (14) broken at (21) to permit the material to fall into the receptacle. The return run ... | 06/13/1989 |
| 4753336 | Packaging machine A machine to aid in the packaging of "taco" shells. The machine includes a slide which receives the tacos from an endless conveyor which passes through an oven which cooks the taco shells, the slide passes through the taco shells and delivers the taco she... | 06/28/1988 |
| 4751996 | Storage device for cigarettes or the like The temporary storage of bar-shaped objects such as cigarettes intermediate the manufacturing and packaging apparatus therefor is improved by sensing gaps in the supply within the storage system and engaging the objects upon detection of such a gap to pre... | 06/21/1988 |
| 4652199 | Dust canopy The off loading of bulk particulate cargo from self unloading ships creates considerable dust. A self erecting canopy arrangement is described which connects between a ship's boom and a dockside hopper and which can adjust to sudden movement of the boom c... | 03/24/1987 |
| 4646910 | Generalized high speed belt to belt transfer chute A high speed belt to belt transfer chute useful in handling, without modification or adjustments, material ranging from sticky clay and fine dust to large rocks. The generalized chute is designed either to bend the material flow to the vertical after it h... | 03/03/1987 |
| 4631125 | Midstream coal handling apparatus A midstream apparatus for the receipt, sampling, cooling, and blending of coal provides a continuous transfer capability from one or more barges containing coals of various grades to an ocean vessel requiring blended coal meeting given specifications. The... | 12/23/1986 |
| 4620627 | Apparatus for collecting material which becomes dislodged from the underside of a continuous belt conveyor The method and apparatus of the invention are for collecting particulate material which falls off the underside of the lower return run of a belt conveyor, and returning that material to the carrying run of the conveyor. An elevator is mounted around the ... | 11/04/1986 |
| 4586753 | Transfer station from a longwall chain conveyor to a drift chain conveyor A transfer station from a longwall chain conveyor to a drift chain conveyor have upper and lower reaches which cross alternately. The upper belt section of the longwall conveyor comprises a scraper over the upper belt section of the drift conveyor. The wo... | 05/06/1986 |
| 4505311 | Machine for dosing, filling and packaging of a doughy or pasty food substance An improved machine for dosing, filling and packaging of a doughy or pasty food substance. The machine sequentially includes a trough, screw conveyor, guide channel, dosing station and forming channel. The forming channel widens in a funnel-like or obelis... | 03/19/1985 |
| 4434527 | Sausage skin storage and feeder apparatus for a sausage stuffing machine A sausage skin storage and feeder apparatus comprises a storage container for storing a plurality of layers of shirred sausage casings, an upwardly sloping bottom wall in said container, a conveyor disposed along the bottom wall for transporting the botto... | 03/06/1984 |
| 4236630 | Extensible telescopic coal bunker for subsurface mining A subsurface coal bunker operating to receive and discharge coal is structured with an assemblage of nested telescopic container members including one stationary member and a plurality of movable members, with the container members being formed in size in... | 12/02/1980 |
| 4224561 | Method and apparatus for regulating the speed of a conveyor An improved regulator is provided for varying the rotational speed of a screw conveyor arranged to supply material to a variable-volume chamber having a piston slidably mounted in a cylinder. The regulator produces a sum signal proportional to the algebra... | 09/23/1980 |
