Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Caroline G. Chicoine
  • Patent number: 6709246
    Abstract: The invention is drawn to an apparatus for supplying fluid, such as air, under pressure to a fluid accommodating means such as an air mattress and automatically adjusting the fluid pressure. The apparatus has a coupling device which attaches the apparatus to the air mattress. A housing encloses a motor, an impeller, a two-way valve and a solenoid. The solenoid opens the two-way valve to allow inflation or deflation of the air mattress. The motor is reversible and the impeller is used to force fluid into or out of the mattress. A controller is used to inflate and deflate the mattress. The controller can be attached to the apparatus or it can be a remote control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: Boyd Flotation, Inc.
    Inventor: Dennis Boyd
  • Patent number: 6609424
    Abstract: A wheel balancer and method of mounting a wheel/tire assembly on a wheel balancer are provided. The wheel balancer includes a shaft adapted for receiving a wheel/tire assembly, the shaft having a longitudinal axis and being rotatable about the axis so as to rotate a wheel/tire assembly removably mounted thereon, a rotation sensor for measuring rotation of the shaft about its axis, a vibration sensor operatively connected to the shaft for measuring vibrations from imbalance in the wheel/tire assembly and a motor operatively connected to the shaft for rotating the shaft about its longitudinal axis, thereby rotating the wheel/tire assembly. A control circuit and manual input are also included. The control circuit controls the application of power to the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: Hunter Engineering Company
    Inventors: Nicholas J. Colarelli, III, Michael W. Douglas, Paul Daniel Parker
  • Patent number: 6600555
    Abstract: A system for target identification in a vehicle wheel alignment system includes first and second units. A target with at least four collinear reference points is attached to the first unit, and an image sensor is attached to the second unit. The collinear reference points have at least one known cross-ratio, and the image sensor has an imaging element that produces an image data-set to capture an image of the target. The system also includes a processor for identifying image points within the image data-set and for calculating vehicle wheel alignment information using the image data that corresponds to the target. To identify the image data corresponding to the target, the processor computes a series of cross-ratios for sets of four points within the image data-set and rejects noise points by comparing the cross-ratios to the known cross-ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: Hunter Engineering Company
    Inventor: James W. McClenahan
  • Patent number: 6595053
    Abstract: A device and method for reducing on-car runout and imbalance in a tire/wheel assembly. An on-car runout device has a powered roller that rotates the tire/wheel assembly while it is mounted on the vehicle hub and a runout measuring device that measures the runout of the vehicle hub and a surface of the tire/wheel assembly. The on-car runout device can operate in combination with an off-car balancer in an integrated balancing system, and a computer determines the optimal position and amount of weights to reduce the imbalance. The on-car runout device also minimizes the runout in a tire/wheel assembly by automatically optimizing the position of the tire/wheel assembly relative to the runout of the vehicle's hub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Hunter Engineering Company
    Inventor: Paul Daniel Parker
  • Patent number: 6549890
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an interactive computer system and method for collecting and analyzing user response data. The system includes a portable, compact re-programmable data device, the user interface of which is defined via an input program created on a computer and transferred from it to the data device. The user response data collected by the data device is transferred to an output table stored in the computer which is directly created from the input program without the need for additional programming. The user response data stored in the output table may then be analyzed via a data analysis mechanism also stored in the computer. The data analysis mechanism includes data analysis software and a plurality of customizable data analysis templates stored separately from the data analysis software, such that a data analyst can automatically and selectively configure the data analysis mechanism without the need for additional programming.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: SuperbServ, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Owen Mundell, Jeffery Lyle Donner
  • Patent number: 6498736
    Abstract: A system and method for reducing harmonics in a circuit is disclosed. The system comprises a main rectifier, ( n 3 - 1 ) auxiliary rectifiers connected to the main rectifier, and an autotransformer connected to both the main rectifier and the auxiliary rectifiers which provides 2n-pulse rectification where n equals the number of phases of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2002
    Assignee: Baldor Electric Company
    Inventor: Girish Radhakrishna Kamath
  • Patent number: 6410570
    Abstract: An antiproliferative, antiinflammatory, antiinfective, immunization agent of a metal ion chelating agent such as picolinic acid or derivatives thereof, and methods of using the same. The agents chelate metals in metal containing protein complexes required for growth, replication or inflammatory response. The preparations can be administered systemically or for topical use. The preparations have antineoplastic, antiviral, antiinflammatory and antiproliferative effects and are used in the treatment of warts, psoriasis, acne, skin cancers, sunburn and other proliferative diseases and in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases such as genital warts, herpes and AIDS. The agents also can be used to induce autologous immunological response.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Novactyl, Inc.
    Inventor: Jose A. Fernandez-Pol