...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 |
| 8127962 | Lid opening and closing device for opening and closing an opening of a housing by a lid A lid body is constituted so as to enable to selectively take a lid closing preparation position wherein the lid body is moved forward to a housing frontward side with an approximately horizontal condition and projects to a housing front, a lid closed position closi... | 03/06/2012 |
| 7370773 | Child-resistant closure for dispensing containers The invention features a child resistant, moveable closure member and container device and an overcap and container device. The overcap has opposed end walls and opposed sidewalls, with at least one leading locking pin and at least one trailing locking pin in at lea... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7293635 | Business travel bag Travel bag for organizing computer and other items has a computer compartment that includes pockets for small items and a dual-entry pocket. Flat pockets are provided on two large sides of the dual-entry pocket. An opening on the outer body of the bag provides acces... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7290661 | Cutlery tray with roll-top closure Apparatus 10 discloses a cutlery receptacle comprising a housing 13 having a roll-top cover 20 movable between an open 14 and closed 16 position with mating members 22, 32 of a locking mechanism incorporated respectively in ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7086511 | Suitcase, especially a pilot suitcase In a case, in particular a pilot case, comprising a bottom element (2), a cover element (4) and side as well as front wall elements (6,8), the cover element (4) is made up of a plurality of hingedly interconnected strips (10). ... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7077468 | Cover supported on a support A cover is supported on a support, particularly a cover that is arranged pivotably on a support. The cover is characterised by a support member and a covering, that may be moved towards one another in a first spatial direction and are positively engaged with one ano... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7007994 | Center console A center console which is provided at a walk-through between right and left vehicle seats, and is held to be parallel to a horizontal surface in use and is rotatable so as to be vertical to the horizontal surface when not in use, has: a storing part having an openin... | 03/07/2006 |
| 7007993 | Center console A center console at a walk-through between seats which is held to be parallel to a horizontal surface in use, and is rotatable to be vertical to the horizontal surface when not in use, has: a storing part having an opening at an upper portion; a cover for closably c... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6976577 | Mint package In accordance the present invention a package assembly 10 for the storage and distribution of a plurality of mints 14 is provided comprising a bottom container 12 for the storage of the plurality of mints 14, the bottom container 12 | 12/20/2005 |
| 6971516 | Sharps containers When a syringe has been used, it can be entered, needle tip first, down into a spigot (10) until the skirt of the needle assembly plugs firmly into the spigot, being held by ribs (12). The capsule can then be worked free and removed. Thereupon, a cover... | 12/06/2005 |
| 6883679 | Snap-insert hole closing plug A closure for an opening through a partition includes a flange having first and second surfaces and a first extension on a first edge, the flange having a perimeter greater than the opening perimeter. A barrier protrudes from the first surface of the flange and is s... | 04/26/2005 |
| 6648158 | Self-closing cap for a bottle A self-closing cap for a bottle that includes a fixed portion that engages the neck of the bottle, a movable portion that is movably attached to the fixed portion, and apparatus that movably attaches the movable portion to the fixed portion. The apparatus... | 11/18/2003 |
| 6109418 | Tool-less parking meter mechanism and icon display An electronic parking meter mechanism that can be dis-assembled and re-assembled by parking authority personnel without the need for tooling. This electronic parking meter mechanism is compatible with any conventional parking meter housing, thereby allowi... | 08/29/2000 |
| 5884799 | Container for the interior of a vehicle A container for an installation into the interior of a vehicle, having a box with a box opening situated on top and a closing part covering it. For a compact construction of the container and a simplified installation mounting, the closing part comprises ... | 03/23/1999 |
| 5885529 | Automated immunoassay analyzer An improved automated immunoassay analyzer including a high throughput automated immunoassay system which can perform high volume testing on a broad range of analytes while selecting from among a diverse set of immunoassays for any given sample. The immun... | 03/23/1999 |
| 5772067 | Cap system with buoyant sliding cover and spring mechanism A cap system for use with a beverage container that has automatic opening and closing capability is provided. A buoyant sliding cover is maintained partially within a casing or housing device in the cap and partially within the container itself. When the ... | 06/30/1998 |
| 5752757 | Sliding card receptor for use in a satellite broadcasting tuner A card receptor for use in a satellite broadcasting tuner includes a housing having a case slot therethrough, a door mounted to the housing and slidable up and down for opening and closing the case slot, a card case for receiving and keeping a card therei... | 05/19/1998 |
| 5706943 | Container for cassette or the like A container includes a cover secured on a base for receiving an insert. The base has a block formed in the real side portion for receiving a spring and a button. The spring includes a protrusion extended inward of the base for engaging with the insert and... | 01/13/1998 |
| 5632399 | Self-sealing reagent container and reagent container system Self-sealing reagent container, and a system of same on a carousel, related to a vessel having a plurality of separate compartments, each compartment having an opening in an upper surface of the vessel, with a hinged lid member attached to said vessel hav... | 05/27/1997 |
| 5542575 | Liquid reagent container having a primary and secondary closure mechanism The invention disclosed is a sealed fluent material container having a chamber with an opening provided with a manually operable primary closure mechanism and a secondary closure mechanism that may be operated either manually or automatically. Manual remo... | 08/06/1996 |
| 5454932 | Cassette display case A bottom open display case for jacketed cassettes wherein the jacket is retained in the display case which itself is of transparent plastics material. A base is attached to the bottom end of the display case and is slidable laterally from a closed positio... | 10/03/1995 |
| 5409107 | Computer mouse holder A computer mouse holder including a pocket which attaches to a component of a computer system by a coacting cohesive fastener and a spring loaded closure for the purpose of retaining the computer mouse within the pocket. An alternate embodiment comprises ... | 04/25/1995 |
| 5402095 | Portable case for an electronic smart card The invention proposes a portable case for an electronic smart card (C), comprising, on one of its main faces, electrical contact bands connected to an integrated circuit containing the card memory, of the type in which provision is made for a compartment... | 03/28/1995 |
| 5381897 | Device for storing magnetic tape cassettes A device for storing magnetic tape cassettes has a housing, a slider movable into the housing to a storage position and provided with locking members engageable with tape reel hubs of a compact cassette stored in the device, and a spring wire acting on th... | 01/17/1995 |
| 5381919 | Push-on fuel cap According to the present invention, a push-on cap is provided for engaging a filler neck. The cap includes means for closing the mouth of the filler neck. This closing means includes a housing and an end member which is coupled to the housing while being ... | 01/17/1995 |
| 5279413 | Container for flat articles, especially coins The container for flat articles, especially coins, which is part of a storage system for magnetic tape cassettes, in a motor vehicle, comprises a housing open on one side, a slider member insertable in the open side of the housing against a spring force a... | 01/18/1994 |
| 5275291 | Tablet dispenser A child-resistant, elderly friendly dispensing container comprises a housing having an opening in its top wall and a drawer which slideably fits in the housing. The drawer has a front cavity section and a rear latch section. The latch section includes a h... | 01/04/1994 |
| 5249102 | Portable electric device with sliding switch cover A portable electronic device, such as a portable sound reproducing device, a portable sound recording/reproducing device, a portable radio receiver or a portable video tape recorder, comprising a case containing an electronic circuit assembly and having a... | 09/28/1993 |
| 5199597 | Self-closing container lid Disclosed is a removable self-closing lid for covering a top of a container, wherein the container has an outer wall surface and a top with an opening for accessing into the container. The lid includes a cap, a pressure fitting and sealing perimeter lip f... | 04/06/1993 |
| 5090753 | Automatic locking mechanism for dumpster lid The invention is directed to an automatic locking mechanism for a dumpster container having a hinged lid. The elements of the locking mechanism comprise an L or U-shaped securing member which is attached to one or both sidewalls of the container. The secu... | 02/25/1992 |
| 5046613 | Box for gathering dangerous refuse The object of the invention is a box for gathering dangerous products or small objects. The box of the invention is formed of a lid (1) and a receptacle (2); the lid is provided on its upper face with a closure consisting of a slide (4) and a pair of slid... | 09/10/1991 |
| 5014874 | Refuse container A refuse container is disclosed which effectively shields the contained refuse from the surrounding area including to persons placing additional refuse therein.... | 05/14/1991 |
| 4995871 | Needle detacher for syringe Here is disclosed a needle detacher for syringe adapted to detach a needle after use for injection or blood-collecting from the associated syringe cylinder for easy and safe disposal, comprising a container main body, a lid assemble consisting of inner an... | 02/26/1991 |
| 4925043 | Closure device for containers A closure device for a container provided with an aperture, comprising a slider carrying a stopper and slidable within guides provided on the container, the stopper and/or the aperture being elastically deformable such that by using a suitable trajectory ... | 05/15/1990 |
| 4884685 | Device for storing flat recording media Device for storing flat recording media having a housing and a slider member that is guided in the housing along rails. The housing includes a wall component and a plate component that is inserted into the wall component, the plate component being provide... | 12/05/1989 |
| 4832221 | Cap with a sliding-flap closure This cap is intended especially for a bottle or a container with a neck and is designed to be fastened to the latter in the conventional way by means of a thread or as a result of force-fitting and for this purpose has relative to the neck an outer skirt ... | 05/23/1989 |
| 4828944 | Thin battery-containing structure The present invention relates to a thin battery-containing structure for an electronic apparatus which includes a lock pin provided on a flexible arm of a battery holder. The lock pin is guided to a predetermined position by a guide/lock groove in a case ... | 05/09/1989 |
| 4809867 | Door opening/closing device for electronic appliances A door opening/closing device for use in electronic appliances such as a VCR, a TV set and audio products, which can easily open the door of an electronic appliance simply by pushing a locking-loosening button. The device comprises a door to open and clos... | 03/07/1989 |
| 4804238 | Torsion spring powered door An access door has a frame formed with longitudinally extending channels which receive a closure element for sliding therealong. A torsion spring secured to the frame and to the closure element maintains the closure element in an open or closed position.... | 02/14/1989 |
| 4765548 | Garbage disposal apparatus Garbage disposal apparatus of the type used in fast food restaurants for receiving refuse from food trays has a garbage-receiving cabinet with a vertically slidable door panel operated by a pedal-actuated mechanism, permitting two-handed handling of the f... | 08/23/1988 |