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!
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7578932 | Condensate recovery and treatment system A combination filter assembly housing (4) and treatment chamber (8) for use in recovering and sanitizing condensates from air conditioning systems and other sources with vapors released from dissolvable tablets (32), such as those used for treat... | 08/25/2009 |
| 7416661 | Mechanical flotation device for reduction of oil, alkalinity and undesirable gases A mechanical vessel may effectively and simultaneously displace a first undesired gas from within water with a second desired gas, and remove at least one alkaline species and oily matter from the water. The vessel raises the pH of the water and reduces the lime req... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7294254 | Wastewater treatment system A localized wastewater treatment system for biologically treating wastewater. Raw wastewater flows into a first operational area where a majority of solid material in the wastewater separates out of the wastewater and is retained in a solids area positioned below th... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7117685 | Drinking water cooler A cooler (100) for supplying cooled drinking water, particularly at remote outdoor locations, includes a reservoir (101) that supplies water to a conduit (119) for indirect cooling by a cooling medium, for example ice, contained in a container (... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7087157 | Multi-phase separation system A multi-phase separation system utilized to remove contaminants from fluids includes a pre-filtering module for filtering a contaminated fluid to provide a filtered contaminated fluid. A condenser module receives the filtered contaminated fluid and a contaminated ga... | 08/08/2006 |
| 6641718 | Aquarium filtering system An aquarium filtering system for gravity flow systems wherein a float valve is incorporated in the drain conduit from the aquarium, wherein the float valve is operated by the water level of filtered water within a sump, such that if the water level in the... | 11/04/2003 |
| 6616835 | Coolant recycling system A coolant recycling system for efficiently recycling contaminated machine tool coolant thereby extending the useful life of the coolant. The coolant recycling system includes a support frame, a first tank for receiving contaminated coolant, a second tank ... | 09/09/2003 |
| 6132620 | Method and apparatus for separating oil and water Oil is separated from an aqueous mixture by first feeding the oil-water mixture into a separation tank and allowing the mixture to separate by gravity so that the oil rises to the surface, forming a layer above the aqueous phase; then removing the layer o... | 10/17/2000 |
| 5928506 | Water purifier for drinking water A water purifier using common advantages of natural and forced types operated without an external electric power source, resulting in high efficiency of water purification. The apparatus for purifying water includes a first water-supply pipe for transport... | 07/27/1999 |
| 5900137 | Apparatus and method for separating components in well fluids A system for separation of fluids and drill cuttings received-from a borehole during an under-balanced drilling procedure. The system is designed to cope with significantly varied pressures and flow rates, particularly in relation to gas content of drill ... | 05/04/1999 |
| 5405526 | Bottle water disinfectant system A bottle water disinfectant, storage, and dispensing system for purifying drinking water or the like. The preferred embodiment of the present invention contemplates a bottle water dispensing system having an inlet line, a storage tank, a filter area, and ... | 04/11/1995 |
| 5374352 | Universal recycled wash water system A universal recycled wash water plant having a collector tank through which collected wash water and rinse water is channeled to a grease/oil/water separation tank which separates oil and grease from the water and which holds the oil-separated water in a ... | 12/20/1994 |
| 5225073 | Apparatus for separating contaminant from water Apparatus for separating contaminant from water, the contaminant being of lower density than water. The apparatus comprises a settlement chamber, initial separating means, and an entry port for introducing the liquid to be separated into the initial separ... | 07/06/1993 |
| 5149344 | Multi-phase flow and separator A multi-phase separating apparatus for fluid containing a gaseous component. The apparatus includes a first tank which receives a stream of the multi-phase fluid which is to be resolved into discrete components. A second or separating tank positioned at a... | 09/22/1992 |
| 4992165 | Sewage treatment plant A sewage treatment plant in which sewage is introduced into a tank or other suitable container, to form a mixed biomass and sewage liquid for treatment within the tank, by means of both fixed and suspended biomass. The fixed biomass attaches itself to a p... | 02/12/1991 |
| 4772402 | Coolant processing system A system for processing and reclaiming machine tool coolant wherein filtering apparatus mounted upon a portable frame is transported to the machine tool and includes pumps for cycling coolant from the machine tool coolant reservoir through coarse and fine... | 09/20/1988 |
| 4517099 | Apparatus and method for handling solids in liquid Apparatus has a receiving chamber subjected to low pressure to receive solid/liquid mixture through inlet valve thereof. The chamber also has outlet valve to discharge the mixture, an admitting valve to raise pressure in the chamber, and quantity sensing ... | 05/14/1985 |
| 4446016 | Solids collecting apparatus for a vacuum drain system An apparatus is provided for collecting solids out of a waste mixture of liquid and solids flowing in a vacuum drain system. The apparatus includes a self-actuating valve means for regulating the flow of waste mixture from a reservoir which accumulates th... | 05/01/1984 |
| 4246113 | Apparatus and method for removing oil contaminants from waste water A plurality of compartments are provided, including intercommunicating first and second oil-water separation compartments, each provided with respective drains therein and wherein the flow of water from the first to the second compartment is restricted so... | 01/20/1981 |
| 4243528 | Treater for mechanically breaking oil and water emulsions of a production fluid from a petroleum well Production fluid from a well and emulsion breaking chemicals enter a settling vessel where much of the fluid separates into distinct levels by gravity with water at the bottom, an oil-water emulsion above the water, oil-with-emulsion above the emulsion, a... | 01/06/1981 |
| 4162975 | High velocity composite strainer There is provided a composite strainer unit suitable for use with particulate substances in a liquid environment comprising a first strainer unit in combination with a second strainer unit. The first strainer unit having a much larger effective area than ... | 07/31/1979 |
| 4094237 | Apparatus for the treatment of brine The invention relates to a method and apparatus for purifying bacterially-contaminated brine overflow from a bacon curing machine. The contaminated brine is collected in a collecting tank, passed through a filter and mixed with fresh brine which is direct... | 06/13/1978 |
| 3996136 | Pump-filter for bilge water A housing for a bilge pump-filter has a lower part in which oil and like light pollutants are separated from the polluted water. A pump has its intake connected to the lower region of this lower part and its output connected to an upper compartment of a c... | 12/07/1976 |
| 3957641 | Device for separating liquids of specifically lower density than water, and particularly oil, from water A device for separating liquids of lower density than water, in particular oil, from water, comprises a pump and a separator receiving the liquids from the pump. The separator comprises a settling chamber and a filter pack arranged behind the latter. A li... | 05/18/1976 |
