...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 |
| 8109199 | Reciprocating compressor A reciprocating compressor comprises: a cylinder having an oil pocket on an inner circumferential surface of a piston insertion hole for inserting a piston with a predetermined width and depth; and a piston having a bearing portion protruding so as to slidably conta... | 02/07/2012 |
| 7836815 | Lubricant-cooled and wristpin lubricating piston A piston for an internal combustion engine, the engine having a connecting rod coupled to a wristpin, the wristpin being connected to the piston for pivotal movement about an axis, the piston comprising: a top portion and a generally cylindrically-shaped wall portio... | 11/23/2010 |
| 7614339 | Piston top chamfer design to reduce noise and friction Disclosed is a piston having a top chamfer functioning as an oil reservoir, the top chamfer designed to reduce piston noise and friction. The top chamfer partially defines a tapered volume or cavity configured to enhance oil flow to the middle portions of the piston... | 11/10/2009 |
| 7421940 | Piston compressor, particularly hermetically enclosed refrigerant compressor The invention concerns a piston compressor, particularly a hermetically enclosed refrigerant compressor, with at least one cylinder a piston reciprocating in said cylinder, the piston being connected with a driving rod via a piston pin and having in its outer jacket... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7287459 | Piston for internal combustion engine A piston for an internal combustion engine, the piston having a skirt part, comprises: a resinous coating layer formed on a surface of the skirt part; and a plurality of concaves regularly arranged in the resinous coating layer. The concaves are non-coated regions i... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7267045 | Internal combustion engine In an internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle, having a piston bearing surface divided into regions of different loading and having recesses for retaining lubricant arranged at distances which are shorter in regions of high loading than in regions of lower lo... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7171936 | Piston having a patterned coating and method of applying same The present invention relates to a piston adapted for reciprocal movement within the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. The piston includes a body having a crown formed at the uppermost margins of the body and a skirt, depending from the crown, adapted for ... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7152886 | Preconditioned air connector assembly for aircraft A connector for coupling a preconditioned air source to an aircraft is provided. The connector comprises actuating members rotatably secured to a body. In one embodiment, the actuating members are supported, at least partially, by an integrated bearing assembly. The... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7143685 | Monobloc piston having open floor A monobloc piston assembly has at least two parts fixedly joined together forming a piston body having an oil cooling gallery. The oil cooling gallery is defined by an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of radially spaced inner and outer annular walls. A skirt is ... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7134383 | Piston arrangement The invention concerns a piston arrangement having a piston with a piston head and a piston skirt with a circumferential surface, and a connecting rod, which is connected with the piston via a ball joint comprising a ball, and penetrated by an oil supply channel, wh... | 11/14/2006 |
| 7117783 | Reciprocable piston with a fluid scavenging system and method of scavenging a fluid A reciprocable piston comprises a cylindrical body reciprocable within a hollow cylinder and at least two spaced ring seals disposed around the circumference of the cylindrical body. Within the cylindrical body there is a scavenging system that comprises: an interna... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7117782 | Compressor and method of lubricating the compressor A compressor is provided for guiding lubricating oil separated from the discharged refrigerant by an oil separator to a radial bearing supporting a drive shaft through an oil supply hole. A rotating member that rotates together with the drive shaft is provided adjac... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7108491 | High pressure pump A piston (6) of a piston pump unit (2), which can be displaced in a translatory manner, is guided in a cylinder bore (7). The piston (6) is driven by a crank drive (13) comprising an eccentric element (15) which is arranged ... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7104240 | Internal combustion engine with localized lubrication control of combustion cylinders An internal combustion engine includes at least one cylinder block having at least one combustion cylinder. A number of cylinder liners are respectively associated with each combustion cylinder. Each cylinder liner defines a corresponding cylinder inside surface. Ea... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7100753 | Torque converter clutch apply valve A replacement torque converter clutch (TCC) apply valve for regulating the application of the torque converter clutch within an automatic transmission. The present TCC apply valve includes a valve piston having an expandable seal located at the primary wear location... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7086152 | Engine piston and manufacture thereof A method of forming a low-friction, helically ridged skirt surface of an engine piston comprises cutting a continuous groove in a piston body rotating about axis so that adjacent groove turns intersect as ridges and carry lubricating oil which forms a film on the ri... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7086368 | Piston for an internal combustion engine A piston for an internal combustion engine includes a crown, tubular walls extending from the edge of the crown, and a cup portion protruding from the rear surface of the crown and having a concave spherical surface for forming a spherical joint with a spherical sma... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7086324 | Surfaces of the polygon or piston base stroke disc of injection pumps and processes for their manufacture The invention relates to the surfaces of the polygon (2) and/or the plunger foot plate (3) of a high-pressure pump for a diesel motor, at least one of the surfaces having cavities at least in the contact area between the polygon (2) and the plun... | 08/08/2006 |
| 6990890 | Monobloc piston having open floor A monobloc piston assembly has at least two parts fixedly joined together forming a piston body having an oil cooling gallery. The oil cooling gallery is defined by an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of radially spaced inner and outer annular walls. A skirt is ... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6935220 | Contoured piston A piston for use in internal combustion engines or reciprocating compressors such as those utilized in air-brake systems for heavy duty freight vehicles. The body of the piston of the present invention is contoured in manner to reduce the undesirable build-up of oil... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6659229 | Pneumatic in-line lubricator An in-line lubricator for a pneumatic tool system includes a body defining a fluid reservoir and a working passageway and an actuator positionable within the body. The actuator includes an elongated body having a transfer cavity formed therein which is in... | 12/09/2003 |
| 6539836 | Piston for internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine for enhancing a heat radiation property of combustion gas, can sufficiently secure strength thereof relative to combustion gas, and a weight reduction thereof can be realized. A piston for an internal combustion engine is con... | 04/01/2003 |
| 6393964 | Compressor having piston rotation restricting structure with lubricating inclined guide surface The compressor having pistons and a swash plate, the pistons including head portions reciprocatingly inserted in the cylinder bores and neck portions connected to the head portions. A piston rotation restricting structure includes a first rotation restric... | 05/28/2002 |
| 6371007 | Swash plate type compressor with a lubricated shoe-and-socket piston joint In a swash plate type compressor having a shoe interposed between a swash plate and a concave surface of a piston, the concave surface has a first and a second spherical surface which are adjacent to and offset from each other to make a slight step extend... | 04/16/2002 |
| 6334385 | Piston lubrication and coolant path In a piston and connecting rod assembly, for an internal combustion engine with a spherical connecting rod small-end entrained in a hollow piston body by a retention ring, a chamber serving as a localized reservoir for lubricant and/or coolant (oil) is in... | 01/01/2002 |
| 6332394 | Piston for swash plate type compressor, wherein head portion includes radially inner sliding projection connected to neck portion A piston for a swash plate type compressor, including a head portion slidably fitted in a cylinder bore in a cylinder block of the compressor, a neck portion slidably engaging a swash plate of the compressor, and a connecting portion connecting the head a... | 12/25/2001 |
| 6324960 | Piston for swash plate type compressor, including head portion having lubricant reservoir recess, and method of forming the recess A piston for a swash plate type compressor, including a head portion slidably fitted in a cylinder bore formed in a cylinder block of the compressor, a neck portion slidably engaging a swash plate of the compressor, and a connecting portion connecting the... | 12/04/2001 |
| 6321951 | Dispensing apparatus A dispensing apparatus for dispensing a product from a container under pressure of a propellant by means of a composite piston (138). The apparatus has a valve (104) operated by means of an actuator (108) and a lever (166). The actuator co-operates with t... | 11/27/2001 |
| 5988997 | Piston pump having a hardened piston with a wavy profile A piston pump for delivering hydraulic fluid for ABS brake systems having at least one pump piston. The pump piston is driven to execute an axial stroke motion and which, with a sliding face embodied on its circumference, slides against the inner wall of ... | 11/23/1999 |
| 5816134 | Compressor piston and piston type compressor A compressor has a piston (11) that reciprocates between a top dead center and a bottom dead center in a cylinder bore (2a) by means of a driving body (9) mounted on a rotary shaft (6) in a crank chamber (5) during the rotation of the rotary shaft (6). Th... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5692430 | Articulated piston apparatus including a cooling gallery An articulated piston apparatus including an improved skirt member wherein the skirt member includes a cooling gallery channel with means for providing a directed flow of lubricant from the cooling gallery channel to the elements of the piston apparatus d... | 12/02/1997 |
| 5630391 | Piston with pin boss cooling A piston for an internal combustion engine, particularly for motor vehicles. An oil-collecting chamber is disposed between the pin bosses above the pin boss bore. Oil collects within the chamber and is directed down onto the pin bosses, during reciprocati... | 05/20/1997 |
| 5483869 | Sealed articulated piston The design and construction of past articulated pistons include an open space between a head portion and an independent skirt portion. The open space allows excess cooling fluid, such as oil, to exit the piston and flow toward the cylinder, increasing oil... | 01/16/1996 |
| 5395218 | Fluid pump apparatus A fluid pump apparatus includes an elongated chamber within which a pair of pistons are movable. The chamber includes an intermediate inlet and outlets at the ends thereof. The pistons are formed of para-magnetic material and include passageways for provi... | 03/07/1995 |
| 5353691 | Self-lubricating piston for pharmaceutical container A compressible seal member is provided with peripherally distributed and axially spaced lubricant retaining grooves, or with radially extending lubricant channels in communication with a central lubricant reservoir. The sealing member has land portions an... | 10/11/1994 |
| 5323744 | Piston for internal combustion engines A piston for an internal combustion engine in which a land located immediately above an oil-ring groove and/or a pressure ring groove of the piston is provided with an annular groove-shaped recess at least around an intermediate portion of the land. The a... | 06/28/1994 |
| 5311739 | External combustion engine An improved efficiency external combustion engine which utilizes separation on the thermodynamic processes that occur in an external combustion engine into components designed to maximum each operation. The external combustion engine varies flow volume of... | 05/17/1994 |
| 5241895 | Air-powered splined rotary actuator An air-powered actuator having a body with first and second ends, an axially transverse annular bulkhead positioned therebetween, and an output shaft with a splined exterior portion. The body includes first and second end walls with each end wall having a... | 09/07/1993 |
| 5232410 | Rotational speed differential responsive type control coupling A pair of orifices of different orifice sizes is provided between each pressure chamber and an accumulator chamber. A larger one serves as a variable orifice and a smaller one as a fixed orifice. The variable orifice becomes effective when a control circu... | 08/03/1993 |
| 5174728 | Variable capacity swash plate type compressor A variable capacity swash plate type refrigerant compressor having a plurality of pistons each including a cylindrical hollow main body reciprocated in a cylinder bore of a cylinder block, and an engaging portion engaged with a swash plate. The cylindrica... | 12/29/1992 |