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!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7517182 | Screw anchor A screw anchor having a deformable central portion in which are formed four main longitudinal slots defining in pairs on the central portion respective deformable main longitudinal tongues; the screw anchor also having a number of secondary longitudinal slots; and e... | 04/14/2009 |
| 7360746 | Asymmetric drive pin The present invention relates to a drive pin having a shank and a head asymmetrically disposed relatively to said shank. It also relates to a wall anchor assembly comprising a wall anchor adapted to be inserted in a wall for firmly maintaining the wall anchor assemb... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7358430 | Strap attachment member An attachment member for a strap for a guitar includes a shaft-shaped member fixable inside a hole in a guitar body via an adhesive agent; and a holding member continuous with this shaft-shaped member which is positioned outside the hole. The shaft-shaped member inc... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7338500 | Internal pedicle insulator apparatus and method of use An internal pedicle insulator apparatus, comprises an inner insertion rod having a top end and an opposing bottom end; and an outer insertion rod having an upper end and a lower end. The outer insertion rod being arranged and configured to substantially correspond t... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7320569 | Self-drilling hollow wall anchor A high strength failure-resistant hollow wall anchor having a self drilling threaded installation structure adapted to be broken, after positioning, by an inserted screw, into expandable anchoring elements. The anchoring elements engage internally formed cams and th... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7210885 | Supporting bushing A supporting sleeve configured for introduction into a penetration in a component. The hole of the supporting sleeve is penetrated by a fixing pin that is insertable into a carrier so as to fix the component on a carrier. The supporting sleeve includes a closed ring... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7210886 | Fastener for curtain airbag A fastener for fixing a curtain airbag to a body panel of an automobile comprises a screw grommet having a shank to be inserted into mounting holes of an airbag-anchor portion and a body panel, and a flange to press the airbag-anchor portion against the body panel. ... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7085391 | Pickup apparatus of piano There is provided a pickup apparatus for reliably and correctly picking up piano sound by rigidly connecting a sound source member such as a sound board of a piano body, with a stationary member such as a cast-iron plate with use of a pickup apparatus body of the in... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7055807 | Expandable pole socket with twist and lock insert An expandable socket holds a fence pole for a flexible swimming pool fence. The socket, being generally cylindrical, but slightly tapered, is open at a top end and has a bottom end partially closed with a rectangular opening. The socket sits within a bore within a c... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7037324 | Knotless tissue anchor A radially expandable knotless tissue anchor including an expandable outer member defining a bore and an inner member slidably positioned within the bore. Relative longitudinal movement of the inner member relative to the expandable member causes a portion of the ex... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7001124 | Anchor A self-drilling anchor for use in a friable material comprises a body having an axis, a flanged rear end, a drilling front end and a generally cylindrical portion therebetween having an outer surface with a thread disposed thereon, wherein the body forks, beginning ... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6953300 | Combining device for suspending object A combining device capable of being embedded into an object comprises: an embedding unit having a first end to be embedded into an embedded object and a second end having an elastic buckling means; a hollow coupling unit having an inner surface which is formed as a ... | 10/11/2005 |
| 6926483 | Joining assembly for joining a pair of structural members A joining assembly for joining a pair of structural members, comprises a bolt having a thread and a nut-like blind rivet adapted to be inserted into mounting holes of the structural members and to be threadingly engaged to each other. One of the mounting holes is ma... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6715976 | Expansion anchor An expansible fixing plug (10) has an expansion screw (14), which is located in an expansible fixing plug sleeve (12). In accordance with the invention, a screw thread (30) is of saw tooth construction and a rear part (16) of the f... | 04/06/2004 |
| 6679662 | Expansible plug An expansible plug has a plurality of expansible tongues which extend over an expansible region and are expandable radially away from one another under the action of an expanding member, the expansible region being radially oversized.... | 01/20/2004 |
| 6676349 | Single-piece fixing element in the form of a screw or nail The invention relates to a fixing element that essentially consists of a head (1) and a shaft (2) and is preferably configured as a nail or screw. The aim of the invention is to provide said fixing element in such a way that it can be easily assembled and... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6491486 | Straddling dowel The invention relates to an expansible fixing plug (10) having an expansion region. To achieve a high anchoring force, the invention proposes constructing the expansible fixing plug (10) in the expansion region with two circumferential wall portions (18) ... | 12/10/2002 |
| 6416267 | Sleeve-form two-material expansible fixing plug with a high torsional stiffness The invention relates to an expansible fixing plug (10), which is manufactured as a two-material fixing plug from a relatively soft and a relatively hard plastics material. To achieve a low insertion torque of an expansion screw as the expansible fixing p... | 07/09/2002 |
| 6276882 | Mounting channel member and mounting channel member assembly and anchor fastener therefor A mounting channel member including a body having an outer surface, a pair of side edges and a pair of ends and a plurality of undercut channels extending away from the outer surface. A mounting channel member assembly wherein a plurality of mounting chan... | 08/21/2001 |
| 6158934 | Knock-in pin dowel A knock-in pin dowel contains a dowel shell with a non-expandable shaft part located on the outside and an expandable part connecting thereto. The expandable part is subdivided into two axially following or overlapping expandable areas, which are in each ... | 12/12/2000 |
| 5938385 | Nested solid, solid wall anchor A solid wall plug-type anchor comprised of a molded extrudible plastic material comprises a central hinge section and at least two extension members longitudinally extending from the hinge section. The hinge section permits the extension members to be hin... | 08/17/1999 |
| 5820321 | Expansion plug with tensioning member and two expansion tubes An expansion plug has at least one tensioning member, an expansion means formed by a system of at least two expansion tubes encircling the tensioning member and fitted one within another, each of the expansion tubes being provided with a series of slots w... | 10/13/1998 |
| 5688090 | Screw assembly A screw assembly is made up of a screw and a screw fixing member. The screw fixing member is inserted into a starting hole formed in a concrete wall and then the screw is driven into the fixing member in a continuous manner. The screw fixing member has a ... | 11/18/1997 |
| 5603593 | Expansible fixing plug of plastic material An expansible fixing plug, comprising a body part composed of a plastic material and having a leading end and a rear end, the body part having a longitudinal channel extending from the rear end for insertion of a fixing screw and the like. The longitudina... | 02/18/1997 |
| 5547322 | Fastening member for fastening an object such as a net, a steel wire, cable or the like to a carrier such as a post A fastening member for fastening a net to a tubular post has, on the one hand, a holder portion (2) for fixedly retaining the net and, on the other hand, an anchorage portion (1) for fixedly retaining the fastening member in the post. The anchorage portio... | 08/20/1996 |
| 5518349 | Member for fixing by radial expansion A member for fixing by radial expansion, the member comprising a pull rod having an expandable plug mounted thereon and surrounded over its entire length by a split ring, one end of the pull rod being connected to an endpiece, said plug being sandwiched b... | 05/21/1996 |
| 5370485 | Coupling apparatus A body member having a first fastener therein and a cover having a through hole therein removably secured by a screw member. The screw member has a head at one end, a body portion and means for engaging the said first fastener. The outer diameter of the b... | 12/06/1994 |
| 5362185 | Device for positioning components An arrangement for positioning components such as die or mold plates in shaping machinery, in which a positioning element is inserted into matching bores in the components to be positioned. The positioning element or device is provided with a cylindrical ... | 11/08/1994 |
| 5288162 | Expansion dowel An expansion dowel is formed of an axially elongated expansion member and an expansion element insertable into a bore through the expansion member. The expansion member has two axially extending first slots located diametrically opposite one another and o... | 02/22/1994 |
| 5246322 | Fastening element comprising a dowel-shaped sleeve A fastening element for a member provided with a fastening bore, preferably for a hinge member, consists of a dowel-shaped sleeve insertable in a pre-drilled hold, in the through hole of which a pin provided with a head can be locked by about a quarter tu... | 09/21/1993 |
| 5240361 | Limited force cartridge for temporary fasteners A force limiting cartridge comprises a housing and end cap which screw together to contain a slidable piston biased by a coil spring. The cartridge surrounds a conventional pull-up clamp. The bottom end of the cartridge pushes against the top layer of the... | 08/31/1993 |
| 5230595 | Expansible plastic fixing plug The expansible plastic fixing plug consists of a plastic body provided with a slot beginning at the front end of the body and extending longitudinally over a portion of the length of the body in a plane passing longitudinally through the body. The plastic... | 07/27/1993 |
| 5180264 | Anchor bolt An anchor bolt comprising a threaded stem and a head at one end of the stem; a tubular, hard rubber sleeve held on the stem by a retaining collar nut has a deeply-dished metal washer located on the stem between the head and the sleeve nut with its open en... | 01/19/1993 |
| 5161296 | Method of securing an anchor with extrusion plastic molding in a solid wall substrate A method and an anchoring element for high strength solid wall anchoring in which a solid plastic plug is inserted in a hole in a solid wall of a porous material such as concrete. The invention provides a high strength compressive bonding between the plas... | 11/10/1992 |
| 5145301 | Nail sustainer The nail sustainer of this invention is used to be inserted into a hole formed with a board such as a plaster board, a veneer or a plywood which has poor sustaining force against a nail. The nail sustainer comprises tube means for nail insertion, at least... | 09/08/1992 |
| 5080543 | Fastening sleeves and fastening systems employing same An anchor assembly capable of being inserted in a hole in a substrate. The assembly includes a sleeve and a screw. The sleeve includes a top end, a body portion, and a bottom end. The sleeve includes at least one feeler prong adjacent the top end, and pre... | 01/14/1992 |
| 5039263 | Cover with integral fastening means The utility of a cover for vents or drains is improved by having a unitary, integral fastening means which can be used to either secure the covering so securely that mutilation of the cover may be required to remove the cover or that the cover may be easi... | 08/13/1991 |
| 5007779 | Standoff retainer A standoff retainer is provided for effecting the securing of two panels to each other in spaced planar facing relationship. The retainer lockingly engages a push pin after being received in snap-fit relationship by one of the panels. Ribs on the retainer... | 04/16/1991 |
| 4969786 | Expansion wall plug for double masonry walls An expansion wall-plug is provided having two branches (5,6) of a wire (1) bent upon itself, an expansion stirrup-piece (2), between the branches (5,6), and an expandable socket (3). The rods (5,6) have engagement projections (11,12) against which a washe... | 11/13/1990 |
| 4952096 | Dynamic earth anchor, and a sleeve therefor A dynamic earth anchor, which is forced from a tubular body, comprises a combination of a roof bolt and a tubular, deformable sleeve. The sleeve is insertable into a terrestrial borehole, at a closed end thereof, and then the bolt is inserted into the sle... | 08/28/1990 |