...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 |
| 8177190 | Vacuum valve A vacuum valve including a valve body with a valve orifice, a closure member for closing the valve orifice, a first piston-cylinder unit, a second piston-cylinder unit, a first control element, and a second control element. When opening the vacuum valve, a pressure ... | 05/15/2012 |
| 7481417 | Vacuum valve A vacuum valve comprises a conical sealing surface arranged at a valve body, a valve disk at which a conical sealing surface is arranged, and a sealing ring having a first sealing surface and a second sealing surface. The valve disk, the valve body and the sealing r... | 01/27/2009 |
| 7341237 | Valve mechanism for a vacuum valve A valve mechanism having at least one movable valve member for sealing of a valve opening in a housing. Movements of the individual movable valve members are accomplished essentially parallelly to, and perpendicularly to, the seat surface of the valve during the ope... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7270311 | Pendulum gate valve A pendulum gate valve includes a housing defining a valve chamber, the valve housing having a vacuum-chamber opening in a front wall and an access opening in a rear wall aligned with the vacuum-chamber opening and defining a through-hole extending from one side of t... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7213787 | Valves for annular conduits including aircraft fuel conduits and associated systems and methods Valves for annular conduits and associated systems and methods are disclosed. A fluid transmission system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention includes a first conduit having a first wall aligned with a flow direction in the first conduit and a second ... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7198251 | Opening/closing mechanism for vacuum processing apparatus and vacuum processing apparatus using the same An opening/closing mechanism for a vacuum processing apparatus comprises a link mechanism comprising a supporting member having first and second valve elements for closing first and second opening portions, and a base end side member rotatably attached at a rear edg... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7134642 | Vacuum gate valve The invention provides a vacuum gate valve for closing off an opening. The vacuum gate valve can have a valve plate that can be turned so that the alignment of the valve plate will adapt to a valve seat when the valve plate is pressed against the valve seat. ... | 11/14/2006 |
| 7121042 | Door assembly for sealing a chamber A door assembly providing an airtight seal for a chamber. The door assembly includes a link assembly that allows a door to move inward toward a gasket sealing an opening into the chamber. ... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7066443 | Gate valve A gate valve has a transfer chamber-side valve element and a process chamber-side valve element connected to a single shaft actuated with a single three-position air cylinder to selectively close a process chamber opening and a transfer chamber opening or fully open... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7011295 | Vacuum regulating valve A vacuum regulating valve is capable of precisely controlling the flow of a fluid so that the flow rate may increase gradually in an initial stage of a valve opening operation. The vacuum regulating valve includes a valve casing having a valve chamber and provided w... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6935365 | Rotary slide A rotary slide for medium-carrying pipelines is proposed, comprising a housing (1) capable of being installed between two pipeline ends and having a stop member (9) for shutting off the pipeline and having an actuating device (8) for actuating t... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6916009 | Load-lock device for introducing substrates into a vacuum chamber A load-lock device for introducing substrates into a vacuum chamber comprises a load-lock chamber with at least one opening on the input side for introducing the substrates from an atmosphere area located in front of the input-side opening into an interior space loc... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6899316 | Closure device for vacuum closure of at least one opening in a wall A closure device for a vacuum closure of at least one opening in a wall having a valve place, at least one piston-cylinder unit, at least one carrier unit, at least one cylinder bore hole, at least two sealing rings, and a line. The valve plate is associated with an... | 05/31/2005 |
| 6736368 | Gate valve A gate valve having a valve body, a valve rod, a regulation device, a cam mechanism and a drive for supplying a straight-move force to the cam mechanism is provided. The valve rod is held so that it can move in a straight-move direction of opening and closing the va... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6629682 | Vacuum valve A vacuum valve comprises a wall with a valve opening and a valve seat, a valve plate which is pressed against the valve seat in the closed state, an elastic sealing ring which is arranged at the valve plate or at the valve seat and, in the closed state of... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6619618 | Gate valve In a gate valve having a rectangular gate, generation of flection at opposite end portions due to bending moment applied to the gate is suppressed easily. For this purpose, in the gate valve in which a central portion of a longer side of the rectangular g... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6612546 | Gate valve with delayed retraction of counter plate A valve, such as a gate valve, includes a housing having a fluid conduit and defining a valve seat and a support surface, a seal plate, a counter plate, an actuator for moving the seal plate and the counter plate between an open position and a closed posi... | 09/02/2003 |
| 6565066 | Gate valve A gate valve includes: a valve plate; a valve rod which the valve plate is fixed to and is supported to be able to tilt; a seal bellows and a dust sealing portion; a stopper member; a tilting cam mechanism which converts supplied straight moving force int... | 05/20/2003 |
| 6474622 | Gate valve A pendulum gate valve incorporates an improved power transmission device for transmitting the movement of a pivot arm of the valve to a valve disk that selectively closes the valve. The power transmission device has a supporting plate and a valve disk sup... | 11/05/2002 |
| 6431518 | Vacuum valve A vacuum valve comprises a valve opening which is provided in a valve housing and can be closed by a valve plate arranged at least one valve rod, at least a first piston-cylinder unit by which the valve plate is displaceable from its open position releasi... | 08/13/2002 |
| 6425569 | Gate valve A gate valve including a valve disc for opening and closing an opening formed in a partition wall for separating a processing chamber from an other chamber, a valve seat formed on the wall around the opening, and a block provided on a side surface of the ... | 07/30/2002 |
| 6416037 | Vacuum pipe A vacuum pipe for a part which is mounted so as to be movable and projects from outside a vacuum chamber into a vacuum in the vacuum chamber, comprises an opening in a wall of the vacuum chamber limiting the vacuum, with an inner side facing the vacuum an... | 07/09/2002 |
| 6378841 | Quarter-turn rotary plug valve with seats reciprocable during operation A method and apparatus for controlling fluid flow with a quarter-turn plug valve with seats operated to lift off the sealing surface of the plug prior to plug rotation and to reseat upon completion of plug rotation. One embodiment shown relates to a quart... | 04/30/2002 |
| 6318402 | Pneumatic tank truck closure apparatus A closure is movably mounted on the tank top of a pneumatic tank truck. The closure is movable between open and closed positions relative to an opening in the tank top by a pneumatically operated piston. An inflatable seal seals the closure to the tank to... | 11/20/2001 |
| 6298879 | Stem valve stopper A stem valve stopper that has a shell (1) intended to be mounted to a faucet (K). An operating stem (8) is mounted for rotation but is axially fixed in the stopper shell (1) and has a lower end that acts as a valve seat surface (12). The stem 8 has an int... | 10/09/2001 |
| 6196520 | Air distribution device with a shutter of the drum type, in particular for a motor vehicle An air distribution device comprises a casing (10) provided with a cylindrical wall (12) having at least one air passage opening (14, 16), a shutter (20) mounted so as to pivot with respect to an axis of rotation (X--X) and having a generally cylindrical ... | 03/06/2001 |
| 6089537 | Pendulum valve assembly A pendulum valve assembly comprises a housing including an interior space and a pair of openings through which fluid can enter and exit the interior space; a valve seat disposed in the interior space around the edge of a first of the openings; a disk moun... | 07/18/2000 |
| 6082706 | Non-sliding vacuum gate valve A non-sliding vacuum gate valve according to the present invention has a curved cam lead member provided to end of a valve rod, and a pair of rollers provided to a connection rod. The cam lead member and the rollers are engaged with each other and move re... | 07/04/2000 |
| 6056266 | Device for closing an opening of a tank or a tubular conduit A device for closing an opening of a tank or a tubular conduit and including a plate for closing the opening and movable substantially perpendicular to a plane of the opening toward the opening to be pressed against a wall in which the opening is formed a... | 05/02/2000 |
| 5842680 | Actuator using magnetic forces to reduce frictional forces An actuator for opening and closing a valve with less resistance. The actuator includes a rotor, a stator, a valve and a shaft. The shaft having a first and second end, and an axis extending longitudinally therethrough. The stator, having an electromagnet... | 12/01/1998 |
| 5799825 | Gate seal system A material storing and dispensing assembly for storing and discharging hot asphalt material, comprising a vertically-extending vessel having a generally cylindrical shape and a top opening for receiving material, a dispensing cone positioned in the vessel... | 09/01/1998 |
| 5755426 | Valve mechanism for a vacuum valve A valve mechanism for a vacuum sliding valve. The mechanism includes a valve housing defining a vacuum chamber having a throughgoing opening therein and being free from setting elements which move relative to one another; a drive region disposed adjacent ... | 05/26/1998 |
| 5755255 | Gate valve for regulating gas flow in semiconductor manufacturing A friction-free gate valve for regulating gas flow in semiconductor manufacturing comprises a gate which, prior to being lifted up for the valve-opening position, is horizontally flitted away from the passage wall surface against which it was pressed agai... | 05/26/1998 |
| 5641149 | Gate valve A gate valve including a valve disc which is moved to a position where the valve disc is brought into contact with a valve seat and a position where the valve disc is separated from the valve seat by a driving device provided outside of a valve housing th... | 06/24/1997 |
| 5626324 | Non-sliding vacuum gate valve A non-sliding vacuum gate valve has a valve housing with a valve opening therethrough which is opened and closed by a gate valve body moved by a valve rod. The valve rod moves with linear and tilting movement so that the valve body tilts against the valve... | 05/06/1997 |
| 5620165 | Retracting ring seal valve A retracting ring seal valve is disclosed for adjustably restricting and permitting fluid flow in a two-direction fluid control system. In a particular embodiment the invention comprises a valve body that defines a central passage through which the fluid ... | 04/15/1997 |
| 5415376 | Gate valve A gate valve wherein a valve disc is moved to a position where the valve disc is brought into contact with a valve seat and a position where the valve disc is separated from the valve seat by a driving device provided outside of a valve housing through a ... | 05/16/1995 |
| 5415375 | Closing system for controlling a flow with precision The closing system has a closure member, and a carriage for translational displacement of the closing member along rails. A jack is mounted on the carriage for non-resilient axial displacements of the closure member to and from a flow opening. A damper tr... | 05/16/1995 |
| 5363872 | Low particulate slit valve system and method for controlling same Low particulate slit valve system and method for controlling the closure pressure applied to a slit valve. An apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a barrier having a slit valve aperture, a valve seat surrounding the aperture, a clos... | 11/15/1994 |
| 5215120 | Apparatus and method for reducing valve emissions The present invention is directed to a valve system which upon disconnection essentially eliminates the release of liquids and vapors to the atmosphere. The invention includes a precision machined poppet and valve seat such that the leading end of the pop... | 06/01/1993 |