They Invented What? (No. 152)

U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,931:  Halloween backpack.

JMW Note:  Wishing all a Happy and Safe Halloween 2009!

 

What is claimed is:

1. A Halloween backpack for a child comprising:
          a hollow container having an outer surface, said hollow container adapted to be worn as a backpack on the back of a child, 
         means for releasable mounting of said hollow container on said back of said child,
         a hollow chute mounted onto said hollow container, said chute defining a passageway along said chute between a frontal chute opening in said chute and an aperture into said hollow container thereby forming a cooperating passageway between said frontal opening and a holding cavity in said hollow container, said chute opening, said passageway, and said aperture sized to accept Halloween treats said chute being formed of a shape retaining material such that the shape of said frontal chute opening remains constant,
          said chute extending upwardly of said hollow container so as to extend above a shoulder of said child when said child is wearing said hollow container as a backpack,
          said chute shaped to present said frontal chute opening for access from a frontal position facing the front of said child whereby a Halloween treat may be deposited into said hollow chute from said frontal position or by said child.

They Invented What? (No. 151)

U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,531: Synthetic eye simulating eyeball movement.

 

I claim:

1. An artificial eye which when mounted on the head of a toy figure appears to follow an observer as he changes his angular orientation with respect to the eye, said eye comprising:

          A. a transparent case having a generally spherical form, so mounted on the head of the figure as to expose its convex frontal section and to conceal its rear section;

          B. a spherial ball mounted concentrically at a fixed position within the case and having a distinctive color; and

          C. an opaque mask covering at least a portion of the case and provided at the convex frontal section of the case with a window that exposes the ball as well as the regions above and below and on either side of the ball, whereby an observer viewing the artificial eye through the window in a direction normal thereto in alignment with the ball center then sees the ball in its centered position; but as the observer moves relative to the figure and changes his orientation to view the eye through the window in a direction at an angle to the alignment direction, then the ball appears to be displaced from its centered position upwardly or downwardly or to one side thereof to an extent that depends on the angle of view, thereby giving the optical impression that the ball is following the observer’s movement.

They Invented What? (No. 150)

U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,263:  Portable bath capsule.

 

I claim:

1. A capsule for administering bed baths, comprising;

          an elongated sheath of strong, flexible, fluid tight material dimensioned to accomodate and completely enclose the entire body of the patient excepting the head;

          said sheath having a neck opening capable of being closed reasonably tightly about the neck of the patient;

          said sheath having a elongated opening dimensioned to admit the body of the patient and said elongated opening having means for fluid tight closure thereof; and

          means for admitting fluid to and draining fluid from said capsule;

          said sheath having a plurality of layers with air spaces defined therebetween for heat insulation.

They Invented What? (No. 149)

U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,411:  Toilet tank aquarium.

 

What is claimed is:

1. A toilet, comprising: a toilet bowl assembly;  a toilet tank assembly being coupled to said toilet bowl assembly;  said toilet tank assembly having a top, a front, a back, and a pair of sides, said front, back and sides of said toilet tank assembly defining an interior space, said top of said toilet tank assembly having an opening into said interior space of said toilet tank assembly;  a toilet water reservoir being located in said interior space;  a lid substantially covering said opening of said top of said toilet tank assembly;  said front of said toilet tank assembly being generally transparent; and  wherein said toilet water reservoir comprises a mid wall and a pair of side walls, said mid wall of said toilet water reservoir being spaced apart from said back of said toilet tank assembly, said side walls being extended between said mid wall of said toilet water reservoir and said back of said toilet tank assembly.

They Invented What? (No. 148)

U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,843:  Portable Electrical Mouse Trap.

JW Note:  This is a first for our TIW? series . . . a repeat!  This TIW? originally debuted as TIW? No. 6, back on June 28, 2006.  However, in view of the aweseome video below by Daniel Wright at Patently Silly, recently found at Youtube, we thought it most worthwhile to repost.  Enjoy!

What is claimed is:

1. A portable electrical mouse trap for capturing and killing a mouse, comprising: a housing in the shape of a cat having a head with a pair of eyes and a mouth defining an interior cavity, the mouth forming an entrance to the interior cavity; a primary motion sensor near the entrance to the interior cavity for selectively closing the mouth; a retractable primary gate in electrical communication with the primary motion sensor; a collection chamber within the interior cavity for holding a plurality of captured mice; a reservoir of a mouse-attracting fragrance that automatically dispenses within the interior cavity; a secondary motion sensor near an entrance to the collection chamber; a retractable secondary gate in electrical communication with the secondary motion sensor; and a vacuum source in communication with the collection chamber, wherein the primary motion sensor and secondary motion sensor detect the presence of a mouse inside the interior cavity and activate the vacuum source to draw the mouse into the collection chamber and close the secondary gate.

They Invented What? (No. 147)

U.S. Patent No. 6,929,164: Neck wrap/brace for holding items and belt article holder for same.

 

What is claimed is:

1. A neck wrap/brace for holding items, comprising: a neck strap adapted to be wrapped about a neck of a person; a securing arrangement for securing together opposite ends of the neck strap in a loop configuration to be wrapped about the neck of the person; and a telephone holder secured to the neck strap and supported solely by said strap, the telephone holder including a mounting member mounted to said neck strap, and a telephone holding member secured to the mounting member and extending above an upper edge of the strap for holding a unitary body telephone having a microphone section and a speaker section adjacent an ear of the person when the neck strap is wrapped about the neck of the person, to enable the person to use the telephone in a hands-free manner.

They Invented What? (No. 146)

U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,419:  Forehead support apparatus.

 

What is claimed is:

1. A forehead support for resting a standing user’s forehead above a wall mounted urinal comprising: a mounting member adapted for substantially permanent attachment to an upright bathroom wall above the urinal; a forehead support member attached to and extending from said mounting member; said forehead support defining an elastically deformable or resilient forehead support surface which is spaced from the wall a distance sufficient for the user to lean his forehead thereagainst and be supported while using the commode or urinal.

They Invented What? (No. 145)

U.S. Patent No. 3,307,285:  Pneumatic method for catching or scaring fish.

 

What is claimed is:

1.  A method of preventing movement of aquatic organisms in a body of water toward a prohibited region thereof comprising:  placing at least one pneumatic shock wave generating device in said body of water between said prohibited region and said aquatic organisms; and actuating said device to explosively release high pressure gas, thereby producing a shock wave in said body of water rising to an initial pressure peak within 25 five milliseconds and propagating at high velocity.

JW Note:  Will be out over the next week for my annual fishing trip – so today’s TIW? theme seemed appropriate.  Will be thinking about patents only occasionally next week, for example, during those times when the walleye are not jumping into my boat!