Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7370842 | Support structure with self-adapting support surface for receiving any type of body An exemplary support structure has an auto-adaptable surface. The exemplary support structure comprises a base; an assembly of distinct, adjacent contacts; and an assembly of platforms of a common level forming a common tier, each platform being linked to the base b... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7329163 | Rope-severing device A rope-severing device includes a first sleeve having a first axis. A second sleeve is provided abutting and slideably oriented with the first sleeve. The second sleeve has a second axis, wherein the first axis and the second axis are at least one of coaxial and par... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7322307 | Buoyant bumper system A buoyant bumper system for attachment to a docking facility and cushioning a boat. The buoyant bumper system includes an elongated travel shaft for engaging the docking facility, a travel sleeve slidably carried by the travel shaft, a system float carried by the tr... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7121222 | Anchor assembly and method An anchor assembly and method includes a boat that has a length less than 15 feet. A catch is attached to the boat. A housing has a first side wall, a second side wall and a peripheral wall extending there between. A spool is rotatably mounted in the housing. A rota... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7117812 | Apparatus and method for gravity anchor installation Methods for installation, connection to, and use of anchors for mooring of marine structures, especially although not exclusively for gravity installed anchors, and accompanying apparatus. One embodiment comprises an anchor having recovery and load lines attached th... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7011089 | Sub-aqua breathing system A sub-aqua breathing system which enables a person operating underwater to breathe air from a compressed air tank supported on the water surface. The system includes a housing containing both a buoyant material and a toroidal compressed air tank connected to an air ... | 03/14/2006 |
| 7001235 | Surface marker buoy apparatus A surface marker buoy apparatus is provided for use in diving and in particular for use in assisting a diver during his ascent. The apparatus includes an inflatable buoy which can be inflated when required to float and can be folded or rolled up when deflated. The b... | 02/21/2006 |
| 7002336 | Test adapter for a weapon store test set A method and apparatus for testing the electrical power system of an aircraft uses existing unmodified test equipment not otherwise capable of reliably testing and certifying the aircraft for weapon store launching operations for a particular store type. ... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6463800 | Energy conserving moored buoyant ocean profiler An energy conserving moored buoyant ocean profiler wherein an instrument carrying vertically traversing buoyant member of low buoyancy is interconnected with a second buoyant member of high buoyancy to travel in the opposite direction at lesser distance, ... | 10/15/2002 |
| 6086439 | Adjustable depth marker buoy An adjustable depth marker buoy for marking a spot beneath the surface of water. The buoy includes a float for floating on the surface of the water and a reel assembly disposed in the float. The bottom wall of the float has a weight depending therefrom th... | 07/11/2000 |
| 5865656 | Marker buoy with self deploying anchor A small, lightweight, reusable marker buoy is provided for marking a selected location on a body of water. The marker buoy has a buoyant float formed with an upwardly open well within which is mounted a rotatable anchor line spool. A conduit directs ancho... | 02/02/1999 |
| 5820109 | Remotely operated lift system for underwater salvage A system for retreiving undersea salvage items from a sub-surface location. he system includes a flotation unit, winch, related remote control unit and a power supply mounted thereon, a winch, related remote control unit, and a power supply mounted on the ... | 10/13/1998 |
| 5803780 | Marker buoy with self-adjusting integral reel A compact integrated marking buoy device which enables a person to easily mark a location on the seabed with a floating buoy. The buoy device includes a line control mechanism which enables the device, once placed in the water, to release the weight, to a... | 09/08/1998 |
| 5782663 | Line tending marker float A line tending device includes a clutch hub that controls the paying out or extension of a line when the line is under tension. The clutch hub includes an O-ring around a hub outer surface and under which the line extends. The O-ring permits the line to e... | 07/21/1998 |
| 5605481 | Line tending marker float A line tending device includes an anchor weight, and a hub that can be supported by a float. The hub has a clutch mechanism that controls the paying out or extension of a line for the anchor weight. The clutch includes an O-ring that will permit the line ... | 02/25/1997 |
| 5358437 | Reversible, lighted marker buoy A water marker buoy comprising a clear end and a brightly colored end, both ends possessing mounting studs which allow attachment to a submerged reel, the clear end being illuminated for use as a night marker and the brightly colored end being suitable fo... | 10/25/1994 |
| 5256093 | Marking buoy with shock cord A lightweight plastic buoy with an elastic shock cord (31) attached to the nylon line (30) and lead weight (32). Included in the buoy is a plastic spool (21) attached to a metal shaft and crank (20) in a housing (11). A plastic pin (23) is attached to a f... | 10/26/1993 |
| 5173067 | Scuba take-up reel A plastic spool is rotatably mounted between the two plastic halves of a housing. A spring motor is mounted to the housing and engages with a gear train connected to the housing such that a spring will suffice to retract a length of line ten times as long... | 12/22/1992 |
| 5083953 | Transferrable and reusable marker and retrieval system for water transport objects subject to possible sinking An improved apparatus for use in association with a vessel to facilitate raising the vessel and/or cargo carried thereby should it become sunken. The apparatus is readily attachable to or mountable on any equipment and includes a float having an upper por... | 01/28/1992 |
| 5067920 | Dive flag line dispenser apparatus A hand-held line and reeling structure is arranged in combination with a flotation buoy typically utilized in diving events. A tether line is secured to the dive buoy at one end and wound about a hand-held portable device to effect winding and reeling of ... | 11/26/1991 |
| 4798158 | Seismic float recovery system A method and apparatus are provided for positioning and securing a seismic float alongside a tow vessel, utilizing a docking cone to secure one end of the float and to raise that end of the float above the water, thereby submersing the other end of the fl... | 01/17/1989 |
| 4727520 | Cable deployment unit In a system for deploying an immersible unit by a cable from a floating platform, the cable deploys freely from a cable deployment unit until a comparator unit, which provides for variable depth control, activates an anchoring unit. Activating the anchori... | 02/23/1988 |
| 4721055 | Remotely operated underwater vehicle A remotely operated submersible vehicle (21), wherein the vehicle includes flotation cells (62) to provide positive buoyancy, and the vehicle is connected to a disposable clump weight (22) of sufficient weight to overcome the positive buoyancy. The connec... | 01/26/1988 |
| 4631956 | Air deployed oceanographic mooring An Air Deployed Oceanographic Mooring when assembled for deployment has a multitude of components suitable for separation by explosive bolts upon deployment of the system. A parachute system is connected to a surface buoy. The components that separate fro... | 12/30/1986 |
| 4590590 | Sonobuoy multiple depth deployment apparatus A sonobuoy float canister is releasably latched to a wound cable pack container. The cable is attached at its upper end to the canister and at its lower end to a lower sonobuoy component. A rotor latches the canister and container together in one rotative... | 05/20/1986 |
| 4580987 | Mooring line lockup mechanism An Air Deployed Oceanographic Mooring when assembled for deployment has a ltitude of components suitable for separation by explosive bolts upon deployment of the system. A parachute system is connected to a surface buoy. The components that separate from ... | 04/08/1986 |
| 4464130 | Multiple depth selector mechanism A sonobuoy depth selector utilizes the tension in the attaching cable between the suspended sonobuoy and the supporting float to select the length of the attaching cable. Bobbins are attached to the cable at predetermined distances from the float. The bob... | 08/07/1984 |
| 4446807 | Mooring apparatus for floating vessels A mooring apparatus for a semi-submersible oil exploration and drilling rig includes eight drum anchor hoists and winches on which are carried eight wire rope mooring lines. Each of these lines extends up over one of eight head sheaves and vertically down... | 05/08/1984 |
| 4443203 | Floating marker A marker bouy to positively mark positions on a water surface with respect to the bottom. The marker includes a generally hollow body with line wound around the approximate center thereof with a weight on the end of the line which will cause the marker to... | 04/17/1984 |
| 4405303 | Portable recreational marker buoy A portable self-setting marker buoy (10) comprises an elongate float body (12) having a pair of spherical end portions (14) secured to opposite ends of a tubular intermediate portion (16), to which one end of a line (20) is attached. A sinker (24) is atta... | 09/20/1983 |
| 4319372 | Submarine rescue cable reel Apparatus for delivering a heavy cable such as a rescue cable from the oc's surface to an extended depth for attachment to an object such as a stranded submarine and, after attachment of the free end of the cable to the object, delivering the cable to th... | 03/16/1982 |
| 4246671 | Buoy anchoring system A buoy anchoring system includes an anchor device in the form of a weighted annister that pays out line from the center of a fixed, hollow-cored bale during free fall. The line is secured against further pay out after the device impacts the bottom by wrapp... | 01/27/1981 |
| 4238864 | Diver's floater A diver's floater is disclosed having a spherical float body with a circumferential groove thereabout in which a line may be stored, which line connects the float body to the diver. A clip, attached to the float body, under which preselected turns of the ... | 12/16/1980 |
| 4208738 | Deployable sonar array with interconnected transducers operated in the bending mode A sonar array consists of a significant number of interconnected disk-shaped transducer projectors operating in the bending mode and packaged in a cylindrical housing including a first or lower section including an electronics and battery package for powe... | 06/17/1980 |
| 4195380 | Life saving apparatus for vessels A life saving buoy of the type intended to float off the deck of a sinking vessel and to remain anchored to the vessel by an anchoring cable, to provide a mooring for life boats or life rafts and to give signals to aid rescurers; having improved structura... | 04/01/1980 |
| 4170186 | Anchored offshore structure with sway control apparatus An offshore structure adapted to carry a drilling or production platform. The structure has a positive buoyancy and is tied-down to the ocean floor by tensioned cables such that the structure is maintained above the ocean floor and is tiltable. A pluralit... | 10/09/1979 |
| 4096598 | Selected depth mooring system A selected depth mooring system, such as a sensor package or mine, deployable to and maintainable at a precise depth relative to the surface. A cylindrical housing of flotation, submersible and anchor units connected in tandem are sequentially separated a... | 06/27/1978 |
| 4014478 | Security winch for divers A winch adapted to be secured to a buoy including a drum having a hollow shaft journalled at its ends, for rotation around its longitudinal axis. An elastic band is stretched through the drum and is fixed at one end to one end of the shaft and at the othe... | 03/29/1977 |
| 3965512 | Precise navigation buoy A prolate spheroid shaped buoy is resiliently moored to an anchor by means of a cable wound on a reel in the anchor with the reel latched to power springs coaxially wound upon a shaft extending through the reel. The springs are pretensed on the shaft, pri... | 06/29/1976 |
| 3961389 | Depth regulating apparatus Apparatus for automatically controlling the mooring depth of a submerged yant body secured to an anchor by a mooring line contained within the anchor having a power supply, a first potentiometer preset to a desired mooring depth and variable with the pay... | 06/08/1976 |
