They Invented What? (No. 75)

U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,778:  Painting kit and related method.

 

What is claimed is:

1. A method of painting using the posterior of an infant, said method comprising the acts of:

providing a background media;

providing a paint supply;

dipping the posterior of the infant in said paint supply; and

stamping the posterior on said background media to create stamping prints.

No Discovery in GSK v. USPTO.

Per Gene Quinn at the PLI Blog (link),  the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled from the bench that there will be no discovery and that Summary Judgment motions are due for GSK and Tafas by December 20, 2007.

They Invented What? (No. 74)

U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,971:  Live fowl conveyor.

JW Note:  Happy Thanksgiving 2007 from Anticipate This!

 

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for conveying live fowl to be inoculated, inseminated, debeaked, or to have another operation performed on them, comprising:

(a) a base;

(b) a pair of spindles, one spindle mounted at each of opposite ends of said base;

(c) a generally horizontally-disposed, moving conveyor surface supported by said base and defined by an endless web encircling said spindles, said conveyor surface for receiving thereon fowl which are to have an operation performed on them; and

(d) means for holding a bird in a defined position on said conveyor service, said holding means including:

(i) a first elongated member, disposed generally parallel to said conveyor surface, spaced upward a desired distance from a lateral edge of said conveyor surface;

(ii) a second elongated member, disposed generally parallel to said first elongated member, spaced upward from said first elongated member to define a generally horizontal slot therebetween;

(iii) means for varying the vertical distance between said first and second elongated members; and

(iv) a multiplicity of cleats moving along said slot at generally the same speed at which said conveyor surface moves, each of said cleats having a vertical dimension to span said slot;

(e) wherein, when a bird is placed on said conveyor surface with its breast in engagement with said surface, legs of the bird are fed into said slot at an entrance end thereto and conveyed along said slot by one or more of said cleats at substantially the same speed as that at which the bird is conveyed by said conveyor surface.

They Invented What? (No. 73)

U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,201:  Toy gun convertible into robotic-humanoid form.

 

What is claimed is:

1. A combination toy gun and robotic-humanoid assembly that can be reconfigured from a gun configuration to a robot configuration at the option of the user comprising:

          a handle member;

          a cylinder assembly;

          a gun barrel member attached to the cylinder assembly;

          a trigger assembly positioned adjacent the handle member and beneath the cylinder assembly, the handle member, cylinder assembly, gun barrel member and trigger assembly being connected together for simulating the configuration of a gun in a first position, and

          a robot head member movably connected to the trigger assembly, the handle member being configured to simulate the robotic legs of a humanoid robot when moved to a second position, a portion of the cylinder assembly being movable relative to the handle member and configured to simulate the robotic arms of a humanoid robot when moved to a second position, with the robotic head positioned adjacent the robotic arms and above the robotic legs wherein a toy robotic humanoid assembly can be provided in the second position by reconfiguration of the toy gun configuration.

They Invented What? (No. 72)

U.S. Pat. No. 1,142,326:  Combined scarecrow and advertising device.

 

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: — 

1.  A scare crow comprising a horizontal bar pivoted upon an upright axis, a vane thereon whereby the bar will be turned around its pivot by the wind, and a garment hanger carried by said bar.

Time’s Best Inventions of 2007.

 

Time Magazine, in partnership with CNN, released today a list of the The Best Inventions of the Year (2007).  Invention of the year:  The iPhone.  Worth a quick read if you have a few minutes to spare.