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 |
| 5784715 | Ladder-mate shin protector A shin protector apparatus having three protective joined layers. The first larger layer, which engages the user's skin, is made of a soft sponge material and has side spaced elastic straps to fasten the layer around a user's leg and shin. Extending in th... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784716 | Articular conditioning system and method A flexible articular conditioning system includes a plurality of elongated, solid, non-shifting weight members. The weight members may be removable for cleaning, and may be replaced by progressively heavier weight sets. Weight is not merely added to the w... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784717 | Cleanroom coverall A garment is constructed by forming panels of first and second matching layers of two new and useful polyester fabrics sewn together along their edges. The composite panels are sewn together in such a fashion as to create a garment that will provide an ef... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784718 | Sweater having an inside pocket with a doll inside the pocket and method A sweater having an inside pocket with a doll therein. The sweater having hook and loop tabs to receive the doll in the pocket and to permit a child, on rolling up the front of the sweater, to remove the doll from the inside hidden pocket.... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784719 | Jacket with rear compartment A jacket having a large storage compartment located in the upper central region of the rear of the jacket. In one embodiment of the invention, jacket 2 comprises a torso portion 8 having a large storage compartment 36 located in the upper central region o... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784720 | Garment cuff with a thumb opening A garment having a cuff construction with an opening for permitting the thumb of the wearer and the fingers to extend outside the sleeve. The cuff is generally integrally attached to an article of clothing, and folds in on itself for storing the cuff perm... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784721 | Padded fleece sock and method of making same A padded sock made from blanks of spun polyester fleece material and having flatlock seams is lightweight and quick-drying and provides improved warmth, comfort and a contour fit without causing blisters or the like. In one embodiment, the sock is made fr... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784722 | Shower back scrubber A back scrubber for removable installation in a shower, a preferred embodiment of which includes a housing having a rear wall and a plurality of side wall segments peripherally of the rear wall, each of the side wall segments having an inwardly disposed l... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784723 | Figure enhancing garment A figure enhancing garment, which outlines and defines a wearer's body contours in a comfortable manner, includes a pair of pants having first and second pant leg portions, a front panel portion, and a waistband with a tunnel formed therein. The first and... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784724 | Rescuing helmet assembly A rescuing helmet assembly comprising a helmet body and a lining helmet is provided. The helmet body is provided with a spot light and the lining helmet is provided with copper tubing for storing oxygen. A light switch and an oxygen switch are disposed ex... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784725 | Drain closure A removable drain closure disclosed has a rigid closure body, a flexible sealing member on one face of the support body and flexible legs connected to the sealing member that support the body for flow past the closure in a first position and move inside a... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784726 | Toilet flapper valve control A method and device for limiting upward movement of a flapper valve in a toilet having an overflow pipe, wherein upon flushing the toilet the flapper valve is raised to a maximum height. The device comprises a spherical body having a bore therethrough wit... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784727 | Mobile unit for hair care services in hospitals and similar locations A mobile unit (1) equipped with wheels (3) and a handle (2), on the top portion of which is a tray (13) for hair-washing, the height of which is adjustable and which is equipped with a shower head (14); further equipped with two tanks (12), one for the su... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784728 | Portable bath bench/seat A compact and portable bath bench which is mounted on a frame supported by a pair of foldable brackets which engage an outer side wall of a bathtub. The frame is stabilized by a foldable leg assembly which extends from the frame to the bottom of the batht... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784729 | Invalid hoist The invalid hoist comprises a mobile chassis 10, a lifting column 11 upstanding from the chassis and a lifting arm 12 supported by the lifting column. The chassis comprises a main portion 13 extending transversely of the hoist and two side members 14 whic... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784730 | Patient lift/transfer mechanisms for gurney The disclosed lift/transfer mechanisms have pairs of boom arms upstanding from the top surface of a patient gurney, the arms being of sufficient height and length to have the free arm ends thereof in different operative positions overlie the top surface o... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784731 | Pneumatic sprung surface bearing and its uses A hydrodynamic sprung surface bearing having at least two bearing elements bearing against a tube-shaped container which is filled with a substantially incompressible medium, and against which side walls bear. Surfaces of the bearing elements bearing agai... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784732 | Side rail for a bed enclosure A bed enclosure is provided with a side rail which is movably mounted to a frame of the bed enclosure by a hinge assembly. The hinge assembly allows the side rail to pivotally move between a raised position, in which the side rail is adjacent a side of a ... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784733 | Blanket with compartment housing a sound producing device A blanket or child's garment is equipped with a manually operable musical device that is enclosed in a waterproof envelope that in turn is enclosed in a cloth compartment attached to the blanket or child's garment.... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784734 | Patient treatment apparatus Treatment apparatus supporting a patient lying in a generally prone or supine position for manipulation includes a base and a table supported thereabove for movement between selected different horizontal positions or working levels for treatment of the pa... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784735 | Method for evenly dyeing yarn cheeses A method for evenly dyeing yarn cheeses comprising: enveloping the cheeses, which have a generally cylindrical outer configuration, e.g. a cylindrical, truncated conical, pineapple cone form or the like, in a perforated heat-shrinkable film of a synthetic... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784736 | Method for construction of footwear A method for construction of footwear includes providing an upper defining a volume for receiving a wearer's foot, the upper having a rearward portion with a peripheral lasting edge; providing an outsole having a forward portion, a rearward portion and a ... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784737 | Folding shoes and process for manufacturing the same This invention relates to folding shoes made with the use of shape-memory resins at least in their instep or, where a shaft is present, at least in their instep and shaft and transformable by folding into a given shape or restorable from the folded shape ... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784738 | Hinge modified to have torque limiting fastener A hinge connects the webbing of a first bridge span to the webbing of a second bridge span. The hinge has male hinge plates on opposite sides of the first span's webbing and has female hinge plates on opposite sides of the second span's webbing. A shaft p... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784739 | Super-long span suspension bridge As a countermeasure against storms for long span, particularly super-long span suspension bridges with the center span exceeding 2,000 m, there is provided a super-long span suspension bridge which can be improved of its static and dynamic wind resistance... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784740 | Dock leveler A dock leveler includes a pivotally mounted ramp and a lip member pivotally mounted to the distal end of the ramp and moveable between an extended position and a depending position for forming a path between a loading dock and a loadbed of a vehicle. A mo... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784741 | Weld-free gratings for bridge decks with improved slotted opening A weldless grating comprising primary, secondary tertiary members wherein top and bottom slots in the secondary load bearing member form a locking engagement with the web surrounding openings in the primary load bearing members, the secondary load bearing... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784742 | Toothbrush with adaptive load sensor An electric toothbrush (10) with an adaptive load sensor (12) is disclosed. The toothbrush of this invention includes a brushhead (16) that is vibrated by a drive assembly (18). The load sensor monitors the current drawn by the drive assembly to determine... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784743 | Electric toothbrushes An electric toothbrush has a drive shaft with an off-set finger. A pivotably supported wobble plate has a fork at one end and an arcuate drive gear at another end. The drive gear meshes with a gear rotatably fixed to a brush holder so that in use the brus... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784744 | Portable shampoo device A portable shampoo device includes a handle housing having a battery-containing region and a cleaning-fluid containing region preferably including a pump for the selectable ejection of quantities of the cleaning fluid. The portable shampoo device also inc... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784745 | Easy insert tube cleaner A tube cleaner that provides for easy insertion into an open end of a tube has a shaft, a nose portion and tail portion, and a plurality of scraper devices secured to the shaft. The scraper devices are U-shaped and have a base and at least two leg portion... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784746 | Abrasive mop head A mop head comprising a plurality of absorbent strands and an abrasive pad located close to a first ends of the strands may be used in a conventional manner to perform abrasive point load mopping. In a method of abrasive point load mopping, the abrasive p... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784747 | Cleansing puff A polymer mesh puff is formed from at least one tube of open cell mesh stretched between a pair of opposing supports. The tube of mesh is bound about a centerpoint by a substantially permanent, non-abrasive mesh binding member. The tube is released from t... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784748 | Vehicle laundry implement and replaceable cloth elements for use therewith A rotatable vehicle laundry brush comprising a center shaft and a plurality of axially stacked hollow blow-molded spacers which are pinned and clamped together with felt discs sandwiched between the spacers and extending radially outwardly therefrom so as... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784749 | Windshield wiper assembly with reservoir sealing system A system and method for sealing a windshield washer reservoir is illustrated comprising a one-piece molded cap and strap. The one-piece cap and strap comprises integrally molded and mating hinge members which facilitate hingeably mounting the cap onto the... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784750 | Multi-component flow passage assembly with snap in sealing adaptor A multi-component flow passage assembly is disclosed which incorporates an improved sealing adaptor structure. The adaptor includes a generally-cylindrical adaptor body with a rim for seating on the periphery of a first flow passage section, e.g. a vacuum... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784751 | Heat absorbing windshield wiper A heated windshield wiper for keeping wiper blades free from ice. In a first embodiment, a wiper blade includes a sealed cavity containing a heat-retaining fluid which aids in keeping the wiper blade free from ice. In a second embodiment, a wiper blade in... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784752 | Rope cleaning device A cleaning device for removing sludge build-up from elevator ropes includes a brush assembly secured within a housing and shielded by a guard. The sludge is continuously removed from the elevator ropes as the elevator ropes pass through the bristles of th... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784753 | Carpet spotting machine with thermostatic protection against overflow A portable carpet cleaning machine has a tank for storing a cleaning solution and a hand-actuatable spray nozzle for applying the solution under pressure. A vacuum motor drives a fan which produces a vacuum in a recovery tank for storing spent solution. A... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5784754 | Surface cleaning appliance A drive system for a surface cleaning appliance having a pair of rotatable head structures employs a worm gear positioned between the head structure in engagement with two spur gears on, respectively, the two head structures.... | 07/28/1998 |
