...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!
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5544361 | Headgear mountable protective face shield The present invention provides a lightweight headgear mountable protective face shield capable of protecting substantially the entire face of a human wearer from ultraviolet radiation. The face shield comprises an articulated shielding arrangement to be p... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544362 | Ball glove with web assembly A ball glove or mitt comprising a body and a flexible reticulate web assembly that extends beyond the thumb and finger portions of the mitt. The web assembly preferably is constituted by a central patch and radially outwardly extending filaments that conn... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544363 | Ambulance attendant's safety vest and harness A vest and harness combination is disclosed comprising a sleeveless vest formed of a fabric material for covering the shoulders, front and back of a wearer. A harness comprising two pairs of spaced webs is secured to said vest. The first pair of spaced we... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544364 | Nursing apron A nursing apron for use by a mother breast-feeding her infant in public is disclosed. The apron is formed of fabric material and is designed to cover the mother's upper torso and the nursing infant. The apron is secured around the mother by means of a nec... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544365 | Clothing article having an extensible display A novelty clothing article is characterized by a flexible three-dimensional display member which extends from a pocket in the article. The display member is folded within the pocket which is closed by a zipper. As the zipper is opened, the display member ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544366 | Elastic waist structure for trousers and skirts An elastic waist structure for a pair of trousers or skirt utilizing at least one elastic strip material which is always kept from sight. The strip material or materials stretch or contract behind a fabric cover or waist fabric. A tuck whose top edge is o... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544367 | Flexible helmet An aerodynamically streamlined flexible protective helmet assembly comprising an outer layer of impact resistant segments (61-67) confined within fabric chambers overlying an inner layer of closely abutting impact resistant energy absorbing structures (71... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544368 | Two-stage flush device for a toilet tank A two-stage flush device for a toilet tank comprising a cylindrical bolt adapted to be fixed in a hole of a side wall of a toilet tank and partly exposed out of the side wall, a rotatable button having a shaft portion fitting in a center hole of the cylin... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544369 | Portable shower/multi use stall A portable shower system which when disassembled is stored in its own base, to define a suitcase-like base enclosing all of the support, curtain, and hose structure for transport when not in use, and expandable to a full height, fully enclosed shower stal... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544370 | Built-in sink A built-in sink unit with at least one basin, which has first surface areas, such as the bottom of the basin, subject to severe wear during use as well as second surface areas, such as the side walls of the basin, subject to less severe wear during use an... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544371 | Bed patient turning, lifting and transporting apparatus with mobile, folding and knockdown frame A support frame is positioned over a hospital bed to assist in lifting and turning a patient on a sheet. The patient can also be lifted from the bed, the frame narrowed, and the patient transported to other locations in the hospital and then back to the b... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544372 | Ball and socket joint, useful with collapsible playpens A ball and socket joint for connecting one end of a rail member to a base member includes a ball mounted on the end of the rail member. A socket and a radial slot in the base member permit pivoting of the rail section relative to the base between a first ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544373 | Air cushion for sleeping in a car An air cushion for sleeping in a car includes a plastic lower layer, a plastic intermediate layer, a plastic upper layer, a plastic mattress, and a flannel cloth, having their edge portions fastened together so as to provide an enlarged and comfortable fl... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544374 | Leg system for beds A leg set for a bed is provided by lengths of tubular material having ends at right angles to the centerline of the tube. The upper end of the tube length is notched so the vertically oriented supports for the bed can be slipped into the notches. The notc... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544375 | Two motor, full electric sectional bed An adjustable bed includes a mattress frame having pivotally interconnected sections, a main or base frame supporting the mattress frame and telescoping leg assemblies. A first motor drive actuator is supported on the main frame. The first actuator engage... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544376 | Articulated bed with customizable remote control In an articulated bed having a motor for raising and lowering the bed, a control circuit operated by the user has first user memory for storing a first user variable indicating a user-selected first preferred bed position and a recall button by which the ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544377 | Therapeutic pillow for low back pain A therapeutic pillow for relieving various types of low back pain. The pillow comprises two hemispherical end sections joined by an elongated midsection. The midsection is a substantially flat lumbar support portion with sloping surfaces extending to each... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544378 | Inflatable pillow An inflatable pillow comprising end sections and an intermediate portion. Valve means for inflating the pillow is connected to one of said end sections and passages are provided interconnecting said end sections to simultaneously inflate the pillow. The p... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544379 | Multifunctional quick release for a bicycle A quick release for a bicycle includes a handle portion which has two ears extending from one end thereof such that a space is defined between the two ears, a pin pivotally engaged between the two ears of the handle portion, a bolt having a first end fixe... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544381 | Dock leveler hydraulic circuit A dock leveler having a deck-assembly, a first hydraulic cylinder to power said deck assembly to a raised position, lip mounted to said deck assembly, and a second hydraulic cylinder for powering said lip into an extended position. An hydraulic power circ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544382 | Pacing toothbrush A vibrating toothbrush, which includes a handle member, an elongated arm which has a brushhead at the distal end thereof, and a drive assembly for moving the brushhead at a selected velocity. Responsive to an on/off switch on the toothbrush is an on/off v... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544383 | Toothbrush A toothbrush which provides the user with simultaneous brushing action within the user's mouth. The long handle has an end portion of a substantially elliptical cross section in which a first side and a second side are of substantially similar elliptical ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544384 | Wall corner finishing tool A wall corner finishing tool includes a pair of plastic blades connected by a living hinge. The proximal ends of a pair of arcuate arms are hingeably connected to the back sides of the blades. The arms are curved toward each other so as to overlap at thei... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544385 | Filter bag mounting assembly for a vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner filter bag mounting assembly comprises a bag mounting member having a fixed plate which is secured to a housing of a vacuum cleaner and a hinge plate which is pivotally mounted to the fixed plate through a living hinge. A channel is forme... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544386 | Door stopper device A door stopper device comprising a central post having an upper component and a lower component formed of a rigid material, the lower extent of the upper component being linear and of a reduced diameter and the upper extent of the lower component being li... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544387 | Curtain attachment connector assembly and curtain attachment connector A molded curtain attachment connector for connecting a curtain hanger member and the top edge of a curtain includes a fastener member having a fastener surface releasably engageable with the fastener surface of a surface-type separable fastener member att... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544388 | Stopper structure for a lid member Provided is an improved stopper structure for defining both opening and closing limits of a lid member such as a trunk lid of an automobile requiring only a minimum number of component parts and a minimum amount of work for the fabrication process. The st... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544389 | Sliver piecing in spinning machines A sliver piecing machine which can decrease the time of the sliver piecing work and which permits replacement of an empty can row by a full sliver can row between the work of cutting the spun sliver and the subsequent sliver piecing work. The sliver pieci... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544390 | Regulating drawing unit for a sliver drawing frame and regulating method A drawing frame includes an inlet measuring organ sensing a property of a plurality of slivers as they are simultaneously introduced into the drawing frame and emitting a measuring signal representing a magnitude of the property; a regulating drawing unit... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544391 | Tie head and fastening system A tie head for use with elongate plastic strap comprising a housing and a substantially V-shaped spring pawl pivotally mounted within the housing for engagement of strap inserted into the housing.... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544392 | Clamp structure with spring element An open clamp structure in which overlapping band portions are mechanically connected by a spring separate from the clamping band; the spring is thereby of low profile having a top portion and lateral portions passing over into mutually facing end portion... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544393 | Drapery clip A clip for alternatively draping one of two structures, the first structure having a top surface, an underside surface, and a peripheral edge; the second structure having a rod support member, includes a face portion having front and back surfaces. The ba... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544394 | Auto-lock slider for concealed slide fastener An auto-lock slider, for a concealed slide fastener, comprises: a slider body having a guide lug having in its upper portion a locking-lever-receiving groove and a leaf-spring-receiving portion; a locking lever received in the locking-lever-receiving groo... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544395 | Clamping device for a textile edge A clamping device for a textile edge (14) comprise an inner wedge shaped casing (2) with an insertion opening for the textile edge (14) and a slide element arranged in the casing slidably away form and toward the wedge point of the casing to a clamping po... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544396 | Holder for securing objects A device for securing and mounting round or angular objects, which are found in households or offices, such as writing utensils, drill bits, tooth brushes, etc. The currently available fastenings, partially mentioned here, all have the disadvantage that t... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544397 | Fiber crimping apparatus with movable crimping member A fiber crimping apparatus includes a relatively large diameter ring roller and an inscribed roller in contact with an inner surface of the ring roller. The two rollers are rotatable in the same direction at the same velocity and defined between contactin... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544398 | Method of making a coated bullet A full metal jacket hollow point bullet is disclosed which has a portion of the jacket extending within the hollow open front end of the bullet. The portion of the jacket in the hollow front end has a plurality of radial slits and reinforced pointed prong... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544399 | Method for making a pressure transducer A monolithic capacitive pressure transducer (12, 12') is made by separately forming under pressure a diaphragm (22, 22') and a base (24, 24') having a recess (26) in the top surface using ceramic powder coated with an organic binder. Metal layers are depo... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544400 | Rotary joint internal spring compressor A tool for compressing and holding the internal spring of a rotary joint 15 for the easy and safe removal and installation of the assembly plate screw/s having at one end an anchor (1) perpendicular to a spacer (2), which is perpendicular to a riser (3), ... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5544401 | Riveting device A power-operated riveting tool which includes a unidirectional rotational power source having a rotational output along a rotation axis; and a power-driven riveting attachment for mounting onto the rotational power source, wherein the riveting attachment ... | 08/13/1996 |