Did You Know...
...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8113897 | Flotation aid A flotation aid which has an inflation unit comprising an inflatable bladder and a gas container assembly including a capsule containing a compressed gas for inflating the bladder and having a valve through which gas may be released into the bladder, the gas contain... | 02/14/2012 |
| 7988511 | Freediving safety apparatus An apparatus for use in the activity of freediving, providing the freediver with increased safety and protection in the event of Shallow Water Blackout, incapacitating hypoxia, or other emergency occurring in or under the water, while providing greater reliability o... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7371142 | Buoyancy compensator device, particularly for divers A buoyancy compensator device for divers has an expandable air chamber and at least two outlets, one arranged in an upper region and one arranged in a lower region. A manifold functionally connects the expandable air chamber and the outlets, by means of a control va... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7367749 | Backpack A backpack for back-mounting a compressed-air cylinder, fastened to the backpack by a cylinder fastening belt, when a user wears harnesses and a waist belt. The backpack inlcudes a backboard (100) having support hooks (105) to support the compressed-ai... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7335078 | Tactical flotation support system The flotation device includes an inflatable bladder, inflation means, activation means for the inflation means and is self-contained. Preferably, a plurality of flotation bladders which are inflatable by the user, a third party or automatically are used. A closure s... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7322074 | Cylinder band for buoyancy regulator A cylinder band for immobilizing an air cylinder on a buoyancy regulator includes a belt, a buckle and a coupler adapted to couple the belt and buckle. The buckle has a pair of parallel supporting walls, which have longitudinally opposite first ends and second ends.... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7267509 | Floatation device A wrist mounted inflatable floatation device to provide temporary floatation support for a swimmer, boater, wader, or other person who is in the water. A wrist mounted floatation device is conveniently worn when someone is in the water or on a boat. It is attached t... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7198186 | Support frame for a respiratory air container A support frame for a respiratory air container that can be adjusted to the torso length of a user. The support frame has a support plate with shoulder straps and to which at least one respiratory air container is fastened and from which pneumatic and electric suppl... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7124701 | Propulsion system for scuba diver Electric Propulsion system supported by a special usable harness slinging from scuba divers, deep-sea divers or simple swimmers, advantageously fed by a sophisticated system of rechargeable batteries, inserted inside several united watertight containers between them... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7104729 | Buoyancy compensator jacket for scuba divers with improved weight pockets A buoyancy compensator jacket for a scuba diver is disclosed. The jacket comprises a back portion having two opposite sides. Side portions extending from the opposite sides are provided for laterally enveloping the diver's trunk and for connecting to one another gen... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7083362 | Buoyancy compensation coupling device (BCCD) and method of inflation The present invention includes an in-line device that improves safety and ease of use associated with a scuba diving buoyancy compensation device (BCD). Specifically, a rotational coupling and associated valves are provided to assist in closing the air passageway wi... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7029354 | Compact personal inflatable flotation device A compact personal inflatable flotation device comprising a cylindrical canister, an inflatable bladder attached to the first end of the canister, the bladder of sufficient size to provide flotation support for a user, a compressed gas cartridge removably housed wit... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7018257 | Volume amplified compressed gas life jacket and life raft inflator A multifunction manually oriented inflator to amplify the volume of gas provided for low-pressure inflation of multiple bladders. A default operation can be as a high pressure fixed-volume inflator. A shut off valve preserves excess gas supply while regulated flow a... | 03/28/2006 |
| 6966809 | Air supply and exhaust system for buoyancy compensator An air supply and exhaust system used for a buoyancy compensator includes an air supply and exhaust unit attached to a jacket, a manipulating unit connected to a hose extending from an air cylinder and first and second hoses connected to these two units. The air sup... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6926570 | Rescue apparatus A rescue apparatus includes a flexible element and a sleeve element. The flexible element may be a rope or tube used to allow the sleeve element to reach a victim. The sleeve element includes at least one pneumatic pillow. The victim inserts an appendage into the sl... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6923177 | Underwater breathing device A versatile underwater breathing device which comprises, a pressurized gas reservoir or tank (21), a buoyancy bladder (72), bladder inflation control means (76), a breathing regulator (32) in communication with the gas reservoir; and a fl... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6913421 | Diving tank pocket buoyancy compensator with adjustable pressure valve A diving-tank-pocket buoyancy compensator has an expandable diving-tank pocket (1) that envelopes a diving tank (2) which the diving-tank pocket is articulated for containing in addition to at least an inflated buoyancy air cell (3). The buoyanc... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6843694 | Wearable emergency flotation device This invention relates to emergency flotation devices, particularly to a wearable device in the form of a collar; and most particularly to a device suitable for wear by a pet or young child which may be worn during watersports, and which will not deploy until predet... | 01/18/2005 |
| 6761163 | Inflator regulator with multiple adapters for connection to different size BC hoses Inflator regulator having a threaded sleeve and a plurality of different size adapters for connection to a plurality of different size BC hoses. Connecting the inflator regulator to a selected BC hose is accommodated by selecting the corresponding size adapter. The ... | 07/13/2004 |
| 6722819 | Device for operating inflation and deflation valves of an air chamber of a scuba diver's balancing jacket A device is provided for operating inflation and deflation valves of an air chamber of a scuba diver's balancing jacket. The device comprises inflation and deflation valves and a push-button for operating the valves that can be controlled by the diver. The device al... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6709307 | Inflating device for balancing jackets for diving activities equipped with horseshoe-shaped inflatable chamber Inflating device for balancing jackets for diving activities equipped with at least partially horseshoe-shaped inflatable chamber comprising two descending branches communicating one with the other on their upper portion, characterized in that on the connection of t... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6666623 | Buoyancy control device and method for controlling divers ascent A buoyancy control device includes a buoyancy compensator to be worn by a scuba diver, a compressed air tank, a depth or pressure gauge and a valve connecting the buoyancy compensator and compressed air tank for releasing air into and out of the buoyancy ... | 12/23/2003 |
| 6592298 | Buoyancy compensator for scuba divers A buoyancy compensator for scuba divers having an integrated system for controlling the functions of inflation and discharge, which comprises a single control (20) stably connected to the inflatable vest (1) in a fixed position readily accessible by the s... | 07/15/2003 |
| 6461080 | Balancing jacket for divers An air valve of a balancing jacket can be opened not only by a conventional driving cable located within the corrugated pipe of the balancing jacket, but also independently from the conventional driving cable by an auxiliary driving member integral or ope... | 10/08/2002 |
| 6431934 | Underwater diving buoyancy compensator jacket with quick-release valves which can be operated simultaneously A buoyancy compensator jacket comprising at least one air chamber (3) associated to a back portion (2) of the jacket and a couple of quick-release valves (6, 7), arranged on an outer face (2a) of said back portion (2), respectively near the upper and lowe... | 08/13/2002 |
| 6413132 | Life raft inflation valve A life raft inflation valve has a body with a bore extending therethrough. A threaded gas intake fitting is on the body and communicates with the bore. An elongated valve spool is slidably mounted in the bore and normally closes the gas intake fitting. A ... | 07/02/2002 |
| 6402429 | Buoyancy compensator harness system The invention comprises a buoyancy compensator for supporting an air cylinder to the back of a scuba diver. The buoyancy compensator comprises a vest to be worn about the diver's torso and an inflatable air bladder assembly interconnected to the vest by t... | 06/11/2002 |
| 6394867 | Emergency self-inflating flotation device A vehicle seat comprising a seating substrate, an outer seat covering, and a housing containing an integrated self-inflating floatation device. The self-inflating flotation device includes one or more inflatable flotation bladders and an inflator that is ... | 05/28/2002 |
| 6386137 | Rescue signal device A rescue signal device for indicating the location of a person requiring rescue attention. The rescue signal device includes a canister. The canister has a lumen therein adapted for holding helium under relatively high pressure. The canister has an apertu... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6287053 | Equipped balancing jacket An equipped balancing jacket includes a stiff back containing a first stage reducer connected by lines to a high and low pressure distributor connected to various equipment. The jacket further includes pneumatic exhaust valves, a manual emergency control ... | 09/11/2001 |
| 6039043 | Underwater air supply system An underwater air supply system for use with an air supply tank and a buoyancy chamber includes a base module and a plurality of interchangeable modules releasably connectable to the base module. Each module includes at least one of an air supply buoyancy... | 03/21/2000 |
| 6004178 | Life saving device that can be attached to the body of a user A life saving device that can be attached to the body of a user including an attachment strap, a housing, an inflation sac, a rope, a pressure release device and a compressed air cylinder. The attachment strap is attached to the user's body. The housing a... | 12/21/1999 |
| 5954556 | Emergency flotation device An inflatable life saving belt comprising a gas source linked to a reusable inflatable bag at multiple locations on the belt. The bags are attached to the gas source in a manner such that should one of the bags fail to deploy, the other bags can be activa... | 09/21/1999 |
| 5921832 | Inflation valve A valve controls the flow of an inflation substance such as carbon dioxide from a pressurized container when the valve is actuated. The valve comprises a valve body having an inflow bore, inlet conduit, chamber, interior chamber and interior passage conne... | 07/13/1999 |
| 5788415 | Integrally-encased diving control valve means A diving control valve device includes a casing having a nozzle device fitted in the casing for connecting an air source from an air tank, an inflating valve device, a deflating valve device and an alarming valve device integrally encased in the casing fo... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5746543 | Volume control module for use in diving A volume control module for controlling the volume of a fluid such as air in a buoyancy chamber of a buoyancy compensator device comprises a main unit and a selector pad. The main unit includes a main unit housing having a first opening connectable to the... | 05/05/1998 |
| 5685455 | Device for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket To provide a device (100) for inflating a container or a floating body, more particularly a life jacket, with the aid of a cartridge filled with pressure gas, which device comprises a releasing mechanism being independent of a tablet and being easily read... | 11/11/1997 |
| 5660503 | Light weight scuba with buoyancy control Scuba apparatus utilizes light-weight pressure vessels, or tanks, of relatively thin aluminum wrapped with fiber in a resin binder. Since such tanks are not approved for use in water, the tanks are enclosed within a water tight enclosure, and the enclosur... | 08/26/1997 |
| 5620282 | Buoyancy compensator assembly A buoyancy compensator assembly includes an inflatable bladder for supporting on a diver's back. Inflation of the bladder and venting of the bladder are controlled from a control unit carried at the front of the diver. The bladder has a passageway extendi... | 04/15/1997 |
| 5560738 | Depth sensitive diver safety system A depth sensitive diver safety system to be utilized with underwater breathing apparatus, the safety system including a first automatic ascent control stage which initiates gradual regulated inflation of a personal flotation device upon an air pressure fr... | 10/01/1996 |
