Did You Know...
...that the Eveready Battery began as an invention called the "electric flowerpot," which was a tube with a battery and light bulb inside? The idea was to fasten this gizmo to the side of a flowerpot so it would illuminate the flowers from the bottom. The idea died on the vine and the businessman who licensed the flower pot, Conrad Huber, was left with a pile of useless tubes -- until he found a way to market them as batteries to light the world!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7438275 | Ball valve for use in heating or cooling systems A ball valve (10), in particular for controlling the amount of medium supplied to a heating or cooling system, is adapted such that the characteristic of the valve may be determined so that it may be adapted to its use in the heating or cooling system. The ba... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7350765 | Double-stop floating ball valve Valve assemblies and methods of designing valve assemblies having a valve ball, an upper seat, and a lower seat. When fluid pressure is applied to the valve ball, the valve ball will float in the axial direction between an upper position, a neutral position, and a l... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7350536 | Vacuumized receptacle for sample collection A portable receptacle is vacuumized for use in taking an air or gas sample for subsequent examination to determine type, origin, components of the air or gas. Critical to a long shelf life of the vacuumized receptacle is a valve which virtually seals the receptacle ... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7328680 | Cylinder head assembly and spherical valve for internal combustion engines A cylinder head assembly includes a spherical valve for an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder defining a combustion chamber and housing a piston reciprocally movable therein throughout successive intake, compression, power, and exhaust strokes f... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7287544 | Triple valve blow out preventer A triple-valve internal blow out preventer having unitary construction is provided, each valve including a tubular assembly having a central passageway with upper and lower seats mounted therein. A ball is rotatably received between the upper and lower seats and inc... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7266891 | Method for sealing a throttle valve housing The present invention is a method where a one-piece throttle valve is fastened to a throttle valve shaft in a first step. In another step, at least one elastic compensating element is placed onto the throttle valve. In another step, the elastic compensating element ... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7249751 | Ball valve with shear bushing and integral bracket for stem blowout protection A valve 100 comprising a one piece valve body 112 having an axial fluid bore 124 therethrough and a fluid control element 110 rotatable between open and closed positions. The body 112 includes an integral bracket 128 which p... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7219877 | Continuous catalyst extraction valve with line cleaning feature A ball valve apparatus 10 for clearing an obstruction in a conduit is disclosed. The ball valve apparatus 10 incorporates a wear resistant choke tube 42 in the downstream opening 40B of the ball 36. The choke tube 42 can be ... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7182095 | Vapor valve A valve, particularly a vapor valve, is disclosed and includes a housing into which an intake connecting piece, an outlet connecting piece, and a pressure relief outlet discharge, having a spherical closing part, mounted so it is rotationally movable by a lever. The... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7178782 | Quiet opening ball valve A valve uniquely integrates ball valve and throttling valve principals, thus affording quieter stop-and-start operation. A ball held by two seat rings is rotatable ninety degrees and has a diametric bore adjustable between fully closed (0°) and fully open (90°) po... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7163189 | Tapping valve of plastics material for transport and storage containers for liquids A tapping valve of plastics material for transport and storage containers for liquids, which is constructed as a flap valve or ball valve, includes a valve housing with an inlet connection connectable to an outlet connection of the liquid container and an outlet con... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7147204 | Wireless remote controlled water shut-off and leak testing system A remote controlled system for shutting off a water supply and testing for leaks, having within a sealed housing a motorized ball valve device with an electronic controller, antenna, power supply, battery-charging device and an evacuation/injection port. The control... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7121295 | Internal blow out preventer ball and seat An internal blow out preventer is provided that includes a ball valve including a tubular assembly having a central passageway with upper and lower seats mounted therein. A ball is rotatably received between the upper and lower seats and includes an external surface... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7108243 | Ball valve A ball valve includes a housing, a valve member, and a grip. The housing has a valve chamber in the center portion for containing a valve portion of the valve member consisting of the valve portion and a shaft portion extending up from the valve portion and out of t... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7093820 | Over center high deflection pressure energizing low leakage seal A low leakage seal for separating two environments and contacting a component surface is provided. The seal includes a base and an annular rib. The annular rib is coupled to and extends from the base. The annular rib includes at least one contact surface configured ... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7093819 | Ball valve with shear bushing and integral bracket for stem blowout protection A valve 100 comprising a one piece valve body 112 having an axial fluid bore 124 and a rotatable fluid control element 110. The body 112 includes an integral bracket 128 which provides an open access area between the bracket... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7080822 | Ball valve with a single piece ball-stem and an integrated actuator mounting flange A two piece side split ball valve with internal corrosion resistant plastic lining (4, 5), with an integral actuator mounting flange (30) for easier, cheaper & direct mounting of any standard actuator, with a single piece ball-stem (3, 7) for ac... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7044436 | Regulation valve A ball valve for fluids comprises a body (11) provided with an inlet and an outlet (12, 13) and with an inner chamber (14) in which a ball element (15) having a main communication passageway (17) passing through the ball element it... | 05/16/2006 |
| 6994309 | Remotely operated self-powered gas safety valve An apparatus for the remote measurement, control, and supervision, via a wired or wireless network connection, of the flow of gas, allowing fully opening or closing a valve in case of an emergency or for administrative purposes. The apparatus also provides for flow ... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6988708 | Low torque ball valve seat A ball has a valve body defining an inner cavity and a fluid inlet and fluid outlet, a control ball element rotatably mounted in the inner cavity, and having a segment defining a ball face, and a flexible valve seat positioned in the valve body. The seat comprises a... | 01/24/2006 |
| 6986499 | Valve, actuator and control system therefor A valve, actuator and control system that allows minimizing the size of the actuator and operation of the control system in a manual mode that automatically prevents accidental operation by pipeline pressure is disclosed. The actuator uses gas pressure from the pipe... | 01/17/2006 |
| 6969047 | Ball valve seat seal A ball valve includes a body having a passageway there through with a ball member disposed in the passageway and mounted for selective rotation between valve open and valve closed positions to control fluid flow. A pair of flange grooves are provided in the body on ... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6910673 | Valve with calibrated flow orifice insert A valve with a calibrated flow orifice insert for use in Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (“HVAC”) applications so as to provide metered flow through the valve. The insert is used as a flow control device and is inserted into a conventional threaded ba... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6899128 | Half ball valve A half ball valve includes a body including cavity having an assembly opening, a stem opening formed at a side of the body opposite to the assembly opening to connect the cavity and the outside, and a first connection hole inclined with respect to an axis of the ste... | 05/31/2005 |
| 6702258 | Universal ball valve assembly A ball valve assembly having a single valve body having a female inlet opening which can be coupled to a selected one of a range of commercially available conduit sizes and materials. A series of adapter fittings are used, each corresponding to a differen... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6698712 | Ball valve assembly The ball valve assembly 10 includes a valve body 12, a ball 14, a seat ring 30, a support ring 40, and an actuator sleeve 50 surrounding the ball and axially moveable within the valve body for rotating the ball between the open position and the closed pos... | 03/02/2004 |
| 6695285 | Ball valve seat seal A ball valve (10) includes a body (A) having a passageway (12) extending therethrough with a ball member (B) disposed in the passageway and mounted for selective rotation between valve open and valve closed positions to control fluid flow through the valv... | 02/24/2004 |
| 6629683 | Draining-preventing device of pneumatic-and-electromotive driving valve A draining-preventing device of a pneumatic-and-electromotive driving valve is disclosed. A driving shaft is installed at a center of a receiving tube of a joint and a lower end of the joint is buckled with a ball valve. The driving shaft and the ball val... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6561481 | Fluid flow control apparatus for controlling and delivering fluid at a continuously variable flow rate A fluid flow control apparatus for controlling and delivering fluid at a continuously variable flow rate to a hose. The fluid control apparatus comprises a fluid-tight housing for housing a control assembly, a rotating ball valve for allowing fluid to flo... | 05/13/2003 |
| 6561160 | Rotary-body type throttle valve for spark ignition internal combustion engine A rotary-body type throttle valve for a spark ignition internal combustion engine is disclosed. The valve includes a valve casing, an intake passage formed with a rotary-body recess portion, a valve element having a rotary-body shape which is rotatably fi... | 05/13/2003 |
| 6471183 | Ball valve The present invention relates to a valve member for a valve of the ball valve type, including two shell parts rigidly joined together to form a valve member and generally snap-fitted over a frame. The two shells have opposed sealing surfaces and a flow pa... | 10/29/2002 |
| 6439334 | Alternative fuels vehicle and fuel-system valve used therein A gaseous alternative fuels vehicle has a vehicle body with an engine and a gas fuel tank. A gaseous fuel supply system establishes gas communication between the engine and the gas fuel tank. The gaseous fuel supply system includes a valve having a valve ... | 08/27/2002 |
| 6425571 | Valve and method for forming valve A valve for controlling fluid flow is provided. The valve includes an actuating stem for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve, a valve member with a positioning formation and an opening for permitting fluid flow, a valve body portion, and at le... | 07/30/2002 |
| 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 |
| 6328132 | Oil change system for road vehicles A distributed system for draining and filling oil reservoirs in engines includes an electrically powered reversible pump, a relocated oil filter, a shutoff valve and a plurality of hoses to direct oil through the pump and valve to drain or fill the engine... | 12/11/2001 |
| 6296229 | Metal ball valves for gas An improved metal ball valve for gas comprises a shutter housing chamber in which are provided two opposite sides or flats allowing to define annular recesses in which shutter sealing gaskets are substantially integrally engaged. The shutter weight is adv... | 10/02/2001 |
| 6206034 | Valve with integral flow switch A valve has an integral flow switch with a passageway provided through the valve member such as a butterfly disk to an inlet of the flow switch. An outlet of the flow switch communicates with the outlet of the valve.... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6199824 | Spherical valve A spherical valve is formed of a main body, a cover, and a spherical body. The main body is of a hollow construction and is provided in the interior with a partition dividing the interior into an inner receiving cell and an outer receiving cell. The main ... | 03/13/2001 |
| 6186169 | Valve and arrangement for fire suppression system A valve and valve arrangement for a fire suppression system includes a valve having an inlet and an outlet provided on opposite ends of the valve housing with a pressure relief valve in communication with the interior of the housing. A gap in a seat for t... | 02/13/2001 |
| 6135414 | Ball valve apparatus Apparatus for coordinating the positions of valves in a pair of air flow passages along a jet engine nacelle to control two rotary valves from a single linear actuator. Each of the valves is of a ball type which is rotatable within a housing to achieve va... | 10/24/2000 |
