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 |
| 7374384 | Fasteners for securing pallet members together A fastener for use in the construction of pallets is provided which includes a head having a head diameter, a single elongate shank having a nominal shank diameter, and a plurality of rings extending outwardly from the shank. Each ring had a crest and a root, with t... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7284940 | Nail having flexible sleeve mounted thereto A nail includes a shank with a head and a tip portion on two ends of the shank. Two guide flanges extend radially outward from the shank and a flexible and deformable sleeve is mounted to the shank and located between the two guide flanges. The nail penetrates an ob... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7264431 | Fastener for cover member and cover assembly comprised thereof A rigid fastener, for securing to one another adjacent portions of a cover member made of resiliently deformable material, has an end portion with an outward end section of relatively small outside diameter and an axially adjacent inward section of relatively large ... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7207761 | Pin fastener for achieving metal-to-metal connections A new and improved fastener for fastening together thin gauge sheet metal components comprises a forwardly extending pointed tip portion having a tangent ogive configuration so as to facilitate the fast and accurate penetration of the fastener into and through the t... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7077613 | Method and apparatus for fastening steel framing using helical features A pin with threads that extend along a portion of a stem of the pin interact with framing members as the pin is driven through the framing members. The interaction of the threads with the framing members cause the pin to rotate as the threads pass through the framin... | 07/18/2006 |
| 6928778 | Stucco anchorage nail A fastener including a body having a predetermined axial length, wherein the body includes a nail head at one axial end of the body, a textured portion at an opposite axial end of the body, a shank portion extending between the nail head and the textured portion, an... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6905299 | Method and apparatus for fastening steel framing with a harpoon nail A harpoon nail having two or more sets of teeth on opposite sides of fingers that deform while penetrating the framing members. The teeth engage with a bottom surface to fasten the framing members together. A piercing nail having sets of teeth on two edges penetrate... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6758018 | Power driven nails for sheathing having enlarged diameter heads for enhanced retention and method The present invention provides a nail suitable for sheathing which provides an enhanced resistance to failure. The nail includes an enlarged head as well as a shank having surface deformations. Sheathing panels are secured to a framing structure through the use of t... | 07/06/2004 |
| 6692207 | One-piece metallic threaded insert A threaded insert including a main body being generally cylindrical with a central bore extending therethrough having outer ring members with knurling in opposed directions for preventing rotation after implanting of the insert into a carrier substrate. T... | 02/17/2004 |
| 6527490 | Punching, stamping rivet A punching, stamping rivet has a frustum-shaped rivet head and a shank following thereafter. In order to create a rivet connection between two adjoining structural parts, the shank is punched through the structural parts forming a punched hole, and a groo... | 03/04/2003 |
| 6349514 | Ground stake A ground stake is disclosed having a plurality of blades extending outwardly from a longitudinal axis. The blades are connected along the length of the axis by at least one conical rib to promote retention of the stake within the ground.... | 02/26/2002 |
| 6176662 | Stud having annular rings Improved welding stud (20) includes a generally cylindrical body (34). A first series of annular rings (42) are disposed on a first end portion (18) of the cylindrical body (34). A second series of annular rings (44) are disposed on a second end portion (... | 01/23/2001 |
| 5890842 | Ground anchor A ground anchor includes a planar drive head with a shank extending therefrom. The shank includes a plurality of inline segments with each segment including a cylindrical shaft portion and a cone-shaped tapered portion. The tapered portion of each upstrea... | 04/06/1999 |
| 5870870 | Shear panel joint A shear resistant structural panel assembly for use in framed buildings comprising a facing of finish material bonded and having a lower tensile strength to a usually thinner, structural membrane having a higher tensile strength and directly fastened to s... | 02/16/1999 |
| 5842319 | Invisible decking connector An invisible decking connector for wood decking structures fastens elongate decking boards to each other in side-to-side adjacency and fastens the decking boards to underlying perpendicularly oriented joists for positional maintenance thereon. The connect... | 12/01/1998 |
| 5810534 | Cleated nail having enlarged diameter shank portion This invention relates to a nail having a head and an elongated shank with two deformed or cleated portions along the axis of the shank to increase the holding properties of the nail, especially when used to secure sheathing material to floor joists, roof... | 09/22/1998 |
| 5800109 | Fastener with a tapered section and a slot The present invention provides fasteners that have surprising benefits, such as the ability to be set into a fixing hole by gentle pressure, for example thumb pressure, and remain in place without holding until hammered fully home, and the ability to main... | 09/01/1998 |
| 5662399 | Ready-to-assemble cabinet A ready-to-assemble cabinet including two upstanding side panels, at least two fixed shelves between the side panels, a folding back panel attached to the side panels, and hardware for holding the components together. The cabinet may optionally include ad... | 09/02/1997 |
| 5492452 | Fastening nail and an assembly of tools for securing the nail A fastening nail for fixing a cover membrane to a bone void which surrounds the bone of the body itself and is filled with an ossiferous material has a nail head with a larger diameter which enables receiving pressure of an impact tool for inserting a nai... | 02/20/1996 |
| 5391029 | Fastening nail A nail having an elongate shank, a head at one end of the shank and a tip portion at the other end. A lateral step is formed in the shank at a location spaced from both the head and the tip so as to divide the shank into a relatively small diameter penetr... | 02/21/1995 |
| 5251996 | Element for connecting two parts A connecting element for connecting two parts (1, 2) generally in a connection plane has a first portion (4) for connecting the element (3) relative to a first (1) of the parts and second portion (5) for connecting the element relative to the second part ... | 10/12/1993 |
| 5082410 | System for mounting guide ridge on cross-country ski The system comprises a pin (30) including a shaft designed to be inserted in a hole so as to pass through a first element, and to be anchored by an anchoring zone in an associated hole in the second element (10), and a head located opposite the anchoring ... | 01/21/1992 |
| 4978270 | Headless rivet A headless rivet is disclosed as made from steel or suitable material that provides superior compressive strength compared to conventional rivets and to that of a material to be riveted together and of a height or axial thickness equal to the sum of the m... | 12/18/1990 |
| 4932820 | Nail with differential holding capabilities along its shank A nail designed to be initially driven through a first board, and into a second board so as to assemble the boards with the boards engaging each other, and to be subsequently pulled or removed, as by means of a crowbar or a claw upon a hammer head, so as ... | 06/12/1990 |
| 4869440 | Magnetic tape cassette The upper and lower cassette parts of a magnetic tape cassette are connected to each other by means of non-releasable fixtures, wherein a synthetic material bolt is introduced into at least one of the holes provided for screw connections according to the ... | 09/26/1989 |
| 4846655 | Spike for lawn edging or the like A lawn spike for anchoring objects, such as lawn edging, within a lawn utilizes a head and a pointed plastic shank shaped to enhance the strength of the shank and to cooperate with the ground, when operatively driven therein, to resist withdrawal of the s... | 07/11/1989 |
| 4718802 | Sawtooth-profile nail A plasterboard, boat, flooring underlayment or like ridged nail is provided with a taper of its sawtooth profile toward the point of the nail. The crests of the ridges can lie along one imaginary cone converging toward the point while the roots of the rid... | 01/12/1988 |
| 4712550 | Retinal tack The retinal tack includes a generally conical, sharply pointed forward end portion for piercing through the retina, choroid, and sclera, an elongated, generally cylindrical retaining portion having a longitudinal dimension approximating the thickness of a... | 12/15/1987 |
| 4381622 | Lawn edge construction and method A lawn edge and/or trim construction comprising a carpet of synthetic turf secured to the ground employed around fences, flower beds, residential structures, and any other structure to edge such structure or to impede the growth of vegetation for a more a... | 05/03/1983 |
| 4271747 | Fastening element with a cavity containing an explosive charge A fastening element having a cavity containing an explosive charge arranged so that, upon explosion of the explosive charge, anchoring of the fastening element in a bore of a workpiece takes place automatically. This fastening element functions both as a ... | 06/09/1981 |
| 4046181 | Insert An insert for installation in a hole therefor in a parent material by relative axial movement of the insert and material with or without the aid of heat, such as by high frequency vibration, wherein the insert has a series of external uniform diameter ann... | 09/06/1977 |
| 3987698 | Nail having deformed shank A nail has a series of embossments formed as wedge-like ramps arranged in a helical path between the head and tip of the nail, each embossment having a smaller end directed toward the nail tip, the cross-section of the shank being substantially constant.... | 10/26/1976 |
| 3951561 | Stress coining tool fastened joint A stress coining fastened joint, for minimizing stress concentration in a wall of an aperture in a metallic structural member, the tool being a rigid elongated shaft adapted for forcible insertion through the aperture. The shaft has end portions and is pr... | 04/20/1976 |
