...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 |
| 7357461 | Axle structure for a motor vehicle An axle structure for a motor vehicle includes a body of U-shaped configuration with two longitudinal beams and a cross member interconnecting the longitudinal beams at one end thereof. Each longitudinal beam has ends formed as a neck. The longitudinal beams and the... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7341317 | Locally reinforced hollow structural assembly A reinforced structural assembly is provided including a hollow structure having a cavity with a hole. A bag is inserted into the cavity using a tube. The bag has an end with an opening extending out of the cavity through the hole. A device injects a structural foam... | 03/11/2008 |
| 6746064 | Composite wheel for tracked vehicles The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an all metal, single or dual, flanged composite railroad wheel for rollingly engaging a metal rail. A unitary metal railroad wheel having at least one radially extending wheel flange, for intermittently enga... | 06/08/2004 |
| 5618076 | Rail wheel In the case of a rail wheel having a wheel disk made of plastic and a tire made of metal, these are connected with one another by way of a metallic intermediate ring onto which the tire is shrunk. In this case, the wheel disk has a conical cross-sectional... | 04/08/1997 |
| 4982990 | Rail wheel In order to attain a cost-effective manufacturing, suitable for large-scale production, in the case of a rail wheel, and, at the same time, a high degree of structural strength, whereby the wheel disk, which rigidly joins the wheel hub (4) with the wheel ... | 01/08/1991 |
| 4699417 | Disk wheel, especially railroad wheel A disk wheel, especially a railroad wheel, has a composite construction of single piece metal hub and a single piece metal rim connected to each other by a wheel disk of fiber reinforced composite material providing exclusively adhesive bonds. The wheel d... | 10/13/1987 |
| 4571005 | Wheel, especially disk wheel A wheel, especially a disk wheel has six components, namely, two mirror-setrical hub sections, a wheel rim, two bending resistant wheel disks and a thrust and/or shear resistant body enclosed by the rim, by the two hub sections, and by the two wheel disk... | 02/18/1986 |
| 4200326 | Reinforced railway wheels and axles An axle and wheel assembly particularly adapted for railcar usage is disclosed as having a metal-foam construction that is light in weight but of a relatively high strength. The axle includes an elongated hollow steel outer axle member and an elongated ho... | 04/29/1980 |
| 4067600 | Track wheel having a lightweight construction A wheel of lightweight construction useful as a wheel for a railroad car having a hub portion and a rim portion. The hub portion is connected to the rim portion by a pair of spaced apart opposed concavely shaped wheel discs positioned back-to-back. Each o... | 01/10/1978 |
| 3986747 | Resiliently flanged railway wheel A rubber shock-absorbent track wheel in which annular grooves are provided on the ring of the wheel and on the rim of the wheel disc. The grooves are formed between shoulders, and a clearance space is defined between the grooves and the shoulder. Prestres... | 10/19/1976 |
| 3934921 | Buffer for spring-supported wheels A buffer for spring-supported wheels and a method of producing the buffer are disclosed. The buffer, which is of an elastic material, can be clamped into an annular slot formed by a wheel-rim and a wheel center-disk. The contact elements which provide the... | 01/27/1976 |