Disappearing Patents (Class 119/790)
  • Patent number: 11096381
    Abstract: An interactive fish tank system includes a nozzle array provided in a water tank, wherein a plurality of bubble nozzles from which bubbles are emitted are arranged in the nozzle array; a computing device configured to receive user action information inputted from at least one user action input device, generate bubble conversion information by which characteristics of the user action information are expressed as bubbles generated from at least one of the plurality of bubble nozzles, and generate a control signal for supplying air to emit bubbles corresponding to the bubble conversion information; and an air injection device connected to the plurality of bubble nozzles through hoses, wherein the air injection device supplies air to at least one of the plurality of bubble nozzles based on the control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Woohun Lee, Donghyeon Ko
  • Patent number: 9301494
    Abstract: Tethering stakes of the nature intended to be pounded flush with or below ground level. Certain of the tethering stakes include a cap on the pounding end which is adapted for ease of placement and release of a tethering line. Accordingly, the tethering line can be removed from the stake when it is to be pounded into the ground and then engaged with the stake only when tethering is desired. Certain of the embodiments include caps having uniquely shaped apertures for securing the tethering line. Another includes an aperture in communication with an aperture in the stake such that a lead cable or the like may be moved out of the way when the stake is pounded into the ground and may be fully received within the stake when tethering is not desired. Another embodiment employs a coupler passing through an aperture directly beneath the pounding surface to facilitate ease of attachment and removal of the tethering line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Inventor: John Michael Krieger
  • Patent number: 8220209
    Abstract: A ground anchor for anchoring a structure positioned on the ground. The ground anchor comprises a base member, a movable anchoring member and a holding member. The base member is fitted in a hole within the ground and fixedly secured to the ground against removal thereof. The movable anchoring member is mounted to the base member and is movable between a non-anchoring position and an anchoring position. The holding member is mountable to the movable anchoring member when in the anchoring position and to the structure positioned on the ground. When the base member is fixedly secured to the ground, and the movable anchoring member is in the anchoring position with the holding member mounted thereto and to the structure, the ground anchor anchors the structure to the ground. A kit comprising a plurality of such ground anchors is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Ville de Montreal
    Inventors: Claude Roy, Pierre Belanger, Lionel Sindt, Luc Gionet
  • Patent number: 6523500
    Abstract: The present invention provides a device for tethering an animal such that it has freedom to roam, yet is confined in an area that is devoid of fencing. A common problem with tethering is that the animal wanders, dragging a rope behind him, becoming entangled in the rope himself or the rope becoming entangled in objects within the animal's range. A common remedy of this problem is a retractable leash attaching to a tethering post. While prior retractors have solved the problem of entanglement, they had done little to resolve a second problem with tethering, that of an animal running to the limit of his tether only to be jerked by the neck when the tether suddenly becomes taut. The present invention offers a solution to both the entanglement and the jerk stop problems. To alleviate these two problems, the present invention is equipped with a recoil spring retractor in combination with a braking shoe which engages the retractor reel to gradually slow the play out of the line as it reaches its limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2003
    Inventor: Roberto Zenteno
  • Patent number: 5787834
    Abstract: The Invention is portable device for holding a mooring line for use during boat docking maneuvers. The device is comprised of a portable, weighted base having a protruding, angled peg, over which is slipped a multi-segmented extension rod. The extension rod has on its top end a hooked section upon which the looped end of a docking line is hung. The device is placed on the surface of a dock near its edge, adjusted for height and fitted with the proper length of mooring line prior to the boat's departure. Upon the craft's return, the mooring line loop is grasped from the device's hooked end by a crewman standing on the deck of the boat, and slipped over a cleat on the boat. The boat's power can then be shut down and its occupants may safely disembark. With this device, the usual need for a crew member to jump from the moving deck of the boat in order to attach docking lines from the dock to the boat, is eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Inventor: Michael C. Holland