Famous Patents
3M employee and church chorister Art Fry needed something to temporarily mark pages in his hymnal. He was in luck because his colleague, Spencer Silver, accidentally developed a glue that was too weak for other purposes. After initially discouraging consumer response, Post-it Notes became a hit in 1979.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5238124 | Apparatus for sorting hard gelatine capsules The apparatus makes use of a pair of rotating combs (11-14), the discs of the second comb being interposed between the discs of the first comb and positioned at the top between fixed guide plates (17). The discs of the first comb intercept the streams of ... | 08/24/1993 |
| 5193691 | Can seam inspection apparatus A can seam inspection apparatus. The apparatus has a pathway for a can and the pathway having an inlet and a pair of outlets. There is one outlet for can with a defective seam and another outlet for acceptable cans. A releasable holding device holds the c... | 03/16/1993 |
| 5123543 | Apparatus for separating angel hair Apparatus for separating angel hair from bulk material includes a hollow drum which is partly immersed in the flow of bulk material and rotates in such a manner that the immersed part of the drum moves in opposite direction to the bulk material flow. The ... | 06/23/1992 |
| 5009331 | Apparatus for separating elongated contaminants from a stream of material A method and apparatus for removing elongated contaminants from a stream containing pellets and elongated contaminants. The method comprising flowing the stream through a snagging zone in which the contaminants are snagged.... | 04/23/1991 |
| 4979277 | Method of fabricating a biasing plate spring for a wire-dot print head In a method of fabricating a biasing plate spring for a wire dot print head having an annular part and a plurality of projections extending radially inward from the inner periphery of the annular part, a biasing plate spring intermediate product having tw... | 12/25/1990 |
| 4954250 | Flatware separating apparatus A flatware separating apparatus comprising a track having a top surface for receiving and delivering different items of flatware along a selected path; a mechanism for contacting selected items of the flatware at a selected point along the path of the tra... | 09/04/1990 |
| 4921108 | Apparatus for gelatin coating caplets A feeder device is provided for inserting solid medicaments, such as caplets, into a holding fixture for subsequent processing, for example, dipping in a gelatinous material. The feeder device incorporates a novel selector for eliminating partial pieces o... | 05/01/1990 |
| 4921106 | Selection device for sweet confections A selection device for candy, in which confections are dispensed loose onto a first table turning at relatively low speed and spiralled around a fixed guide before being scattered onto a second, annular table that is concentric and coplanar with the first... | 05/01/1990 |
| 4874097 | Mechanism for separating the closed pistachio nuts from the open pistachio nuts of aegina and rotten legumes Good legumes or pistachio nuts are separated from those to be discarded by feeding the pistachios or legumes to a longitudinally inclined trough between a laterally inclined plate and a rotating cylinder, such cylinder having outwardly projecting edges al... | 10/17/1989 |
| 4839033 | Apparatus for separating spherical from non-spherical particles An apparatus for separating particles in accordance with the sphericity of the particles is disclosed. The apparatus includes a housing which is supplied with air having a desired humidity, and which accommodates therein a cylindrical rotor with a horizon... | 06/13/1989 |
| 4795554 | PLCC co-planarity measurement method and apparatus There is provided, a method and apparatus for determining if the lengths of all of the leads on all four sides of a PLCC packaged devices are within a selected tolerance of each other. To do so a relatively smooth surface across which the device is to be ... | 01/03/1989 |
| 4723661 | Rotary puck conveying, accumulating and qualifying mechanism A rotary puck conveying, accumulating and qualifying mechanism for accommodating articles of various sizes. A puck is provided having a predetermined outer peripheral surface and including an article retaining aperture disposed therein. The article retain... | 02/09/1988 |
| 4718560 | Device for transporting different kinds of articles A device for sorting and transporting a plurality of different kinds of articles comprises three belt conveyors disposed in adjacent parallel relationship to each other, two of the belt conveyors moving in a direction opposite to each other, guide members... | 01/12/1988 |
| 4681231 | Article selecting and conveying system A cop selecting and conveying apparatus for an automatic winder is disclosed in which winding units are divided into a plurality of winding sections and different kinds of cops carried on carrying mediums are transferred on the conveying passage to each w... | 07/21/1987 |
| 4657145 | Inspection apparatus An elongate metal needle 23 is used to detect blockage in a throughbore in a nuclear fuel pellet 20 or other article. The pellets are fed along a tube 11 having a reject slot 30 and horseshoe magnets 14, 15. 14a, 15a support the needle so that the pellets... | 04/14/1987 |
| 4635798 | Flash sorting apparatus An apparatus and method utilizing pressurized air discharged through nozzles to segregate a mixture of elements having either different geometrical characteristics or different masses. The mixture is placed in a container having a conveyor track, and is f... | 01/13/1987 |
| 4624369 | Method of and apparatus for sorting slide fasteners Slide fasteners are fed longitudinally one at a time along a path by at least one stream of air flowing along the path, and are then introduced into a clearance or gate which is narrow enough to prevent the passage of sliders so that when the slide fasten... | 11/25/1986 |
| 4609094 | Apparatus for sorting cylindrical work pieces having a longitudinal flat according to their rotational orientation A device for sorting cylindrical work pieces having an axial flat comprising a vibrating track for transporting the pieces and a gate mounted over and across the track. The gate has an inverted V-shaped cut-out on its lower edge. The height of the cut-out... | 09/02/1986 |
| 4538735 | Apparatus for separating solids of different shapes Apparatus for separating spherically-shaped solids from irregularly-shaped solids comprising a rotatable separating table having a frustoconically shaped upper surface, the angle of inclination of the upper surface with the horizontal being such that sphe... | 09/03/1985 |
| 4462496 | Method and apparatus for separating spheres from non-spheres A method and apparatus for separating the spheres from the non-spheres in a large number of particles of lamp fill material of substantially equal mass in which the spheres are placed in the grooves of an inclined surface to roll downwardly thereon under ... | 07/31/1984 |
| 4462508 | Apparatus for aligning and feeding elongated objects An apparatus for aligning and feeding the elongated objects comprising a vibrating bowl for receiving elongated objects, the bowl having a base portion, a side wall, and a ramp spiralling around the inner perimeter of the side wall such that the elongated... | 07/31/1984 |
| 4368820 | Apparatus for sorting electrical contact pieces An apparatus (100) and method for sorting a batch (200) of electrical contact pieces (11, 11') into two groups. The apparatus is characterized by a tiltable frame (72) concentrically mounting an assembly of a rotatable circular table (74) in spaced relati... | 01/18/1983 |
| 4341311 | Method and apparatus for sorting rivets A method of sorting rivets or similarly shaped articles, and apparatus therefor. Rivets are directed along a track to a notch where they are supported in a shank-down attitude against a rotating gauging wheel having a plurality of gauging holes conforming... | 07/27/1982 |
| 4306659 | Automatic selection and delivery apparatus of assembled mechanical parts Disclosed is an automatic selection and delivery apparatus adapted to discriminate between correctly and incorrectly assembled bodies consisting of a plurality of assembled parts and at the same time deliver to a delivery chute only those bodies which hav... | 12/22/1981 |
| 4295570 | Automatic selection and delivery apparatus of assembled mechanical parts Disclosed is an automatic selection and delivery apparatus adapted to discriminate between correctly and incorrectly assembled bodies consisting of a plurality of assembled parts and at the same time deliver to a delivery chute only those bodies which hav... | 10/20/1981 |
| 4262805 | Distinguishing elongated articles according to their shape Elongated articles (13), having an undesirable shape caused by a bent lead (14), are distinguished from elongated articles (12) which are desirably straight. The bent articles (13) are separated from a mass of articles (12 and 13), most of which are subst... | 04/21/1981 |
| 4253574 | Apparatus and method for sorting pickles Apparatus for separating pickles of an undesired configuration (e.g., crooked or enlarged at one end) from those of acceptable configuration (e.g., relatively straight and uniform from end to end). It employs a series of horizontally spaced rods to which ... | 03/03/1981 |
| 4190163 | Device for checking that the bands joining filters to cigarettes have been sealed down A device for checking the complete sealing of filters to cigarettes by subjecting cigarettes being transported by a rotary transfer drum to an axial air flow to displace acceptable cigarettes. The unacceptable ciagarettes are unable to be displaced and ar... | 02/26/1980 |
| 4146467 | Apparatus for detecting and rejecting downed and damaged containers A conveying system incorporating an apparatus for detecting and rejecting downed and damaged containers, such as open ended cans. The conveying system includes a pair of endless belt conveyors which are spaced apart longitudinally and are adapted to conve... | 03/27/1979 |
| 3954181 | Parts sorting gauge A gauge for sorting defective cylindrical parts from satisfactory cylindrical parts has an upper plate with a plurality of vertical passages to orient the parts and a lower plate with several vertical bores disposed beneath each of the upper plate passage... | 05/04/1976 |
