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 |
| 7823476 | Single direction coupling device and correction device including the same A single direction coupling device, including a first transmission member (10) fitted with a first saw-like contrate toothing (13), mobile in rotation about an axis XX and axially positioned by an elastic member (11), and a second transmission m... | 11/02/2010 |
| 7543517 | Gear made of resin and image forming device having the resin gear A gear made of a resin including a cylindrical toothed portion formed at a radially outer location, a shaft-supporting section formed at a radially inner location around the rotational center of the toothed portion, and a thin plate-shaped web connecting the shaft-s... | 06/09/2009 |
| 7366058 | Gear for watch movement Gear for day of the month display mechanism in a watch movement, including: a driving organ (1), a driven organ (50), characterized in that said driving organ (1) is provided w... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7306285 | Adjuster for a vehicle seat In the case of an adjuster (3) for a vehicle seat, in particular for a motor vehicle seat, with a drivable geared fitting, the driven geared fitting moving a component of the adjuster (3) and/or of the vehicle seat (1), a gear stage (21) ... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7296492 | Animated toy with geneva mechanism An animated children's toy including a gear system for providing intermittent and reciprocal motion. The gear system includes a drive gear and a driven gear. The gear system is adapted to have a non-rotating configuration and an engaged configuration. In the non-rot... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7258037 | Gear protected against overloading The invention concerns a gear for precision devices comprising at least two mutually co-operating toothed wheels (10, 14). The teeth (12, 16) of the two wheels have the same thickness (e) and the teeth of one of them (10) are provided with a rad... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7232391 | Synchronous drive apparatus and methods A synchronous drive apparatus and method, wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of rotors comprising at least a first and a second rotor. The first rotor has a plurality of teeth for engaging the engaging sections of an elongate drive structure, and the second... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7212375 | Automated storage library gripper apparatus and method A mechanical gripper mechanism for transporting and handling storage devices is provided. In one example, the gripper mechanism includes a pair of opposing gripper fingers rotatably mounted to the picker frame, each having a distal end adapted to engage opposite min... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7125356 | Tension-reducing random sprocket A sprocket is provided having a plurality of teeth around its circumference. Adjacent teeth are separated by roots each having a root radius defined as the distance between the center of the sprocket and a point along the root closest to the sprocket center in a rad... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7069804 | Gear linkage device with real time check A gear linkage device with real time check. The gear linkage device with real time check includes a first gear link and a second gear link. The first gear link includes a flange provided with a notch and a plurality of first toothed portions on the lateral surface t... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7044875 | Synchronous drive apparatus and methods A synchronous drive apparatus and method, wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of rotors comprising at least a first and a second rotor. The first rotor has a plurality of teeth for engaging the engaging sections of an elongate drive structure, and the second... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7036392 | Transmission system having a gear with engaging and non-engaging semi-annular sections A transmission system including a first gear comprising a first side having an engaging semi-annular section and a non-engaging semi-annular section; and a plurality of engaging gears for engaging with the engaging semi-annular section, wherein the engaging gears ar... | 05/02/2006 |
| 6932037 | Variable CAM timing (VCT) system having modifications to increase CAM torsionals for engines having limited inherent torsionals In a variable cam timing (VCT) system that has a crank shaft coupled to at least one cam shaft. The system has at least one timing gear associated with the crank shaft or a cam shaft. The timing gear includes at least two groups of toothlike projections including a ... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6905432 | Chain drive arrangement A chain drive for pivot chains (7) or round link chains (8) having spur gears (2) and a polygonal chain wheel (10) reduces variations in velocity and acceleration transferred to the chains (7), (8). The driven gear wheel ( | 06/14/2005 |
| 6886527 | Rotary vane motor A rotary vane motor uses a gear train arrangement for controlling the position of the vanes as well as the compression ratio of the motor. The motor includes a first pair of vanes namely a leading and trailing vane defining a working chamber therebetween and an oppo... | 05/03/2005 |
| 6849023 | All gear infinitely variable transmission An infinitely-variable transmission comprises a rotational input member, a rotational output member, first and second non-circular driving gears coupled to one of the rotational members, and a plurality of variable velocity-ratio gear assemblies disposed about the o... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6802645 | Escapement for timekeeper The escapement (1) arranged between a motor gear train and a roller (2) to which is attached a sprung balance of a timekeeper, the balance being able to describe an arc of free oscillation and to receive oscillation maintaining impulses, this escapemen... | 10/12/2004 |
| 6786125 | Cutter device for a printer A cutter device has a movable blade, a stationary blade, and a clutch mechanism having a driven gear mounted for undergoing rotation in clockwise and counterclockwise directions and a driving gear for rotationally driving the driven gear about a rotational axis. A c... | 09/07/2004 |
| 6761083 | Drive device comprising an eccentric gearing The invention relates to a drive device, for driving a regulating unit. Said device has a gearing (20) mounted between a motor (10) and the regulating unit (30). The gearing (20) has at least a first gearing stage (22) which is cou... | 07/13/2004 |
| 6739540 | Seat belt retractor A seat belt retractor having a structure preventing a gear or pinion having external teeth from being improperly assembled to a spool gear. The pinion includes concave portions on its inner periphery and the spool gear includes corresponding convex portions on its o... | 05/25/2004 |
| 6708576 | Escapement for a timekeeper The escapement includes first (3) and second (4) escapement wheels meshing with each other, one of these wheels being driven by the gear train. It further includes a lever (5) capable of receiving the impulses generated alternately by the first ... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6684743 | Staggered gear for bi-directional operation A gear drive system for a printer designed to print upon a continuous roll of paper and having a blade used to cut off printed portions of paper from the paper roll is implemented. The gear drive system consists of a drive shaft 330, a slip clutch 401, a ... | 02/03/2004 |
| 6672363 | Window shade with a shade panel The invention pertains to a window shade with a shade panel, with a rotatable winding shaft 1 for winding up the panel onto the winding shaft 1 to form a roll 2 and for unwinding the panel from this winding shaft 1 to form a panel surface 3, and with a dr... | 01/06/2004 |
| 6604437 | Intermittent transmission apparatus An intermittent transmission apparatus according to this invention, broadly, includes a driving element and a driven element. The driving element comprises a first cam having a first cam surface, a second cam having a second cam surface, and an intermedia... | 08/12/2003 |
| 6457452 | Mechanism for interconnecting first-and second-shafts of variable speed rotation to a third shaft A rotary piston engine (20) is shown that includes a housing (22) having a toroidal working chamber with inlet (56) and exhaust (54) ports. First and second piston assemblies (30 and 32), each of which includes at least one pair of diametrically opposed p... | 10/01/2002 |
| 6457451 | Rotary piston engine A rotary piston engine (20) is shown that includes a housing (22) having a toroidal working chamber with inlet (56) and exhaust (54) ports. First and second piston assemblies (30 and 32), each of which includes at least one pair of diametrically opposed p... | 10/01/2002 |
| 6446595 | Rotary piston engine A rotary piston engine (20) is shown that includes a housing (22) having a toroidal working chamber with inlet (56) and exhaust (54) ports. First and second piston assemblies (30 and 32), each of which includes at least one pair of diametrically opposed p... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6301981 | Escapement for a timekeeper The escapement (10) includes first (6) and second (7) wheels meshing with each other. One (6) of these wheels is driven by the gear train. First (9) and second (11) rollers secured to a common arbor (1) support a sprung balance. The wheels (6, 7) and the ... | 10/16/2001 |
| 6293884 | Cluster sprockets for bicycle transmissions and other prime movers This invention comprises a multi-sprocket or cluster gear assembly with a plurality of progressively sized sprockets or gears that are positioned adjacent to each other so as to define an increasing diameter sprocket assembly. Each sprocket comprises a no... | 09/25/2001 |
| 6289754 | Drive apparatus for a forming machine A drive unit for a forming machine, comprising a rotary drive and a knuckle-joint drive for a gear transmission operating a ram, the knuckle-joint drive being operationally connected through a gear transmission to the rotary drive. To improve the drive ri... | 09/18/2001 |
| 6276160 | Ice maker with a motor having gears with means to intermittently rotate a gear thereof A motor having gears which transmit rotations of a rotor to an output shaft through a gear mechanism made of gear trains, comprises a gear mechanism provided with an intermittent rotation mechanism including a primary gear which rotates upon receiving rot... | 08/21/2001 |
| 6212967 | Variable gear assembly and method A variable gear assembly has a cam gear with a plurality of teeth of varying size and configuration, and a rotatably mounted roller gear has a plurality of rollers for meshing engagement with the teeth. The distance of each roller from the rotation axis a... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6182550 | Staggered gear for bi-directional operation A gear drive system for a printer designed to print upon a continuous roll of paper and having a blade used to cut off printed portions of paper from the paper roll is implemented. The gear drive system consists of a drive shaft 330, a slip clutch 401, a ... | 02/06/2001 |
| 6137962 | Power transmission apparatus with built-in phase control A power transmission apparatus adapted for an apparatus such as a camera or the like includes a first toothed wheel having teeth at least one predetermined tooth of which differs in tooth thickness from at least one different tooth of the teeth, a second ... | 10/24/2000 |
| 6095007 | Staggered gear for bi-directional operation A gear drive system for a printer designed to print upon a continuous roll of paper and having a blade used to cut off printed portions of paper from the paper roll is implemented. The gear drive system consists of a drive shaft 330, a slip clutch 401, a ... | 08/01/2000 |
| 6082206 | Motor having gears with means to intermittently rotate a gear thereof A motor having gears which transmit rotations of a rotor to an output shaft through a gear mechanism made of gear trains, comprises a gear mechanism provided with an intermittent rotation mechanism including a primary gear which rotates upon receiving rot... | 07/04/2000 |
| 6021683 | Drive apparatus for a forming machine The invention concerns a drive unit for a forming machine, comprising a rotary drive and a knuckle-joint drive for a gear transmission operating a ram, the knuckle-joint drive being operationally connected through a gear transmission to the rotary drive. ... | 02/08/2000 |
| 5983751 | Single gear train bicycle drive mechanism Apparatus to drive a bicycle wherein two pedals move in a non-fixed, non-180 degree relationship to each other. As the pedal that is being powered by the user moves through an arc less than 180 degrees, the unpowered pedal moves through more than 180 degr... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5983439 | Windshield wiper assembly having a variable speed drive mechanism A windshield wiper drive mechanism which interconnects a motor and a wiper assembly which is movable between an in-wipe position and an out-wipe position on a windshield. The drive mechanism includes an elliptical gear set having a pair of eccentric gears... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5931263 | Quasi-elliptical bidirectional progressive safety An elevator safety based on having the elevator lift-rod, under the influence of the elevator governor, cause to rotate approximately elliptical cams, called quasi-elliptical cams. The cams are wider in one orientation, just as an ellipse has a major axis... | 08/03/1999 |
