Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Joseph C. Mason, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5743427
    Abstract: A container lid has a depending insert having a thickness sufficient to have a groove formed in its peripheral edge, and a beverage container has an annular, radially inwardly extending protrusion formed in it that snaps into the groove when the insert is inserted into the container. The connection is so strong that the lid will not separate from the container even when the cup is filled with a beverage or food and inverted. The lid includes a peripherally positioned handle that enables facile removal of the lid, and the interconnection between the lid and the container includes a double seal that inhibits the risk of spillage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Inventor: Donald T. Monus
  • Patent number: 5744608
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to methods for manufacturing 3-(aminomethyl)-6-chloropyridines represented by a general formula ?II!; ##STR1## wherein R.sup.2 represents hydrogen or a lower alkyl and R.sup.3 represents hydrogen, a lower alkyl or an halogen atom, characterized in that the compound represented by the general formula ?II! is manufactured by allowing 3-(substituted-aminomethyl)pyridine 1-oxide represented by a general formula ?I!; ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1 represents alkyl, aryl, aralkyl or alkoxy, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are as described above, to react with a base represented by a general formula ?a!;R'R"R'"N ?a!wherein R', R" and R'" may be the same or different one another and represent each independently a lower alkyl or an aromatic group, or R', R" , R'" and N may form together an optionally-substituted pyridine ring, in the presence of an electrophilic reagent having at least one chlorine atom, and subsequently treating the reaction product with hydrogen chloride and water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Assignee: Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Inoue Tsutomu, Takahashi Jun, Imagawa Tsutomu, Kazuhiro Hatanaka
  • Patent number: 5738280
    Abstract: A waterfall-producing device includes an elongate housing having an "T" -shaped or "X" -shaped turbulence suppressor positioned within the housing. Water under pressure is introduced into the center of the housing and is constrained to divide into two counterflowing streams that flow to the opposite ends of the housing. The turbulence suppressor divides the interior of the housing into a rearward chamber, a lower chamber, a forward chamber, and an upper chamber. Openings are formed in preselected walls of the turbulence suppressor and are spaced and sized so that the rearward chamber fills first, followed by the lower chamber, forward chamber and upper chamber in sequence. Water escapes the upper chamber through a space between an interior top wall and a rear wall of the housing and then flows to a discharge opening that covers an area substantially equal to the collective areas of the openings formed in each of the turbulence suppressor walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Inventor: Douglas Ruthenberg
  • Patent number: 5738286
    Abstract: A resin material is recovered for recycling from industrial waste of plastic film, unlike conventional methods, without requiring washing and drying the steps for removing foreign objects adhering thereto such as agricultural chemicals. A method for recovering a resin material from industrial waste film according to the invention comprises the steps of crushing waste film into crushed small pieces to be treated, applying a scraping impact force to the crushed small pieces to remove any adherent foreign objects and separate them from each other. Then, the separated crushed small pieces are size-regulated and for regeneration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Assignee: EIN Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Sadao Nishibori
  • Patent number: 5733251
    Abstract: An improved medical dressing, including a dressing layer having a first face and a second face, the first face having an adhesive coating on at least a portion thereof; a release layer covering the dressing layer in releasable contact with the adhesive face of the dressing layer; a support layer covering the dressing layer in releasable contact with the second face of the dressing layer, the dressing layer having smaller surface dimension than the release layer and the support letter, the support layer having on at least one side thereof a U-shaped perforation therethrough, the perforation extending from an area adjacent an edge of the support layer and overlapping the smaller surface dimension of the dressing layer; and a delivery means for applying the dressing layer to a wound site, the delivery means pivotally mounted on a portion of the support layer adjacent the base of the U-shaped perforation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Medical Device Designs, Inc.
    Inventor: Owen L. Johns
  • Patent number: 5728168
    Abstract: Elastomeric interface for prosthesis having two integral and inseparable sections separated by a line of demarcation where the hardness of the two sections is shown. The interface has a first soft section and a second hard section. The soft section makes contact with the skin. The hard section is located at the connection points to the prosthesis. The interface is made by injecting a first batch of soft elastomer into a mold, followed by the injection of a second batch of hard elastomer into the mold, onto the first-formed part, so that the materials of different hardness bond naturally to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1998
    Assignee: Alps South Corporation
    Inventors: Aldo A. Laghi, Donald R. Fox
  • Patent number: 5726536
    Abstract: A cold cathode tube is used for a back light illuminating a liquid crystal with a light from the back. A ceramic transformer is used instead of a conventional wound transformer for a power source to light this cold cathode tube to eliminate various problems caused by transformers. The output voltage and current of this ceramic transformer are coordinated with the cold cathode tube by utilizing the frequency characteristic of the boosting ratio of the ceramic transformer to light the cold cathode tube and adjust the light. The output from an oscillator is amplified and is applied to a ceramic transformer. The output frequency from the oscillator is swept from the higher side to the lower side. When the output frequency decreases from fa.fwdarw.fb, the output voltage of the ceramic transformer in the case that the load resistance indicated by the solid line is large will be Vb and the cold cathode tube will be lighted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1998
    Assignee: Tamura Corporation
    Inventor: Nobumi Hagiwara
  • Patent number: 5722864
    Abstract: A marine propulsion system comprised of a housing unit having forward and rearward openings, a rotational unit, having forward and rearward openings and having an inner and outer periphery, rotatably secured in the housing unit such that the forward and rearward openings are aligned with the forwards and rearward openings of the housing unit, a plurality of blades rigidly secured to the inner periphery of the rotational unit, and drive means which rotate the rotational unit within the housing unit. Operation of the drive means causes the rotation of the rotational unit and the blades direct water into the forward openings of the housing unit and the rotational unit and out the rearward openings of the housing unit and rotational unit, thereby creating thrust.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1998
    Inventor: Oscar Andiarena
  • Patent number: 5722140
    Abstract: An apparatus that separates a golf club head and a golf club shaft to which it is adhesively secured. A hosel push member is positioned in abutting relation to the hosel of the club head. An externally threaded guide tube is slideably inserted over the hand grip of a golf club shaft and is positioned in trailing relation to the hosel push member. A drive member in the form of a coil spring or a rigid tube is ensleeved around the guide tube, and a drive member push member screw threadedly engages the threads on the guide tube so that advancement of the drive member push member applies pressure upon the drive member. Primary and auxiliary stop members grip the shaft on the trailing end of the guide tube to prevent rotation and slippage of the guide tube. Heating the hosel after application of pressure onto the drive member weakens the adhesive and results in separation of the club head from the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1998
    Inventor: Perry C. Marshall
  • Patent number: 5711889
    Abstract: A dichroic filter array is mounted on a wafer by combining microelectronic and microlithography techniques. A release layer of copper is evaporated onto a wafer, and the release layer is coated with a photoresist. The assembly is masked, and the unmasked photoresist, after exposure to ultraviolet light, is developed to expose a predetermined section of the release layer. That section of release layer is then overetched to create an undercut in its walls and to expose the underlying wafer. Dichroic filter material is then deposited onto the wafer by a cold process, and the release layer is then removed, leaving only the dichroic filter material on the wafer. The process is repeated to create an array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 27, 1998
    Inventor: Philip E. Buchsbaum
  • Patent number: 5697129
    Abstract: A clamp releasably engages a handle of a tool and simultaneously engages two tools that have utility when attached to the end of the handle. The base part of the clamp is C-shaped and is flexible and resilient to releasably engage the handle. Each tool-engaging part of the clamp is also C-shaped and made of a resilient, flexible material to releasably engage its associated tool. Each tool has a cylindrical sleeve that engages the distal end of the handle when in use and which is engaged by its associated clamp when not in use. The first tool has a pair of parallel, closely spaced apart fingers that engage an awning lock, pull down an awning, and install a tie down strap over a vehicle. The second tool removes and attaches a slider valve of the type found on recreational vehicle sewer or drain connections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 16, 1997
    Inventor: Duane H. Newville
  • Patent number: 5687464
    Abstract: An apparatus that separates a golf club head and a golf club shaft to which it is adhesively secured. A hosel push member is positioned in abutting relation to the hosel of the club head. An externally threaded guide tube is slideably inserted over the hand grip of a golf club shaft and is positioned in trailing relation to the hosel push member. A drive member in the form of a coil spring or a rigid tube is ensleeved around the guide tube, and a drive member push member screw threadedly engages the threads on the guide tube so that advancement of the drive member push member applies pressure upon the drive member. Heating the hosel after application of pressure onto the drive member weakens the adhesive and results in separation of the club head from the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Inventor: Perry C. Marshall
  • Patent number: 5683475
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for forming an imaged film for backlit illumination includes the steps of: providing a translucent film comprising a resin such as one selected from the group consisting of olefin resins, vinyl alcohol resins and fluorine-containing resins which resin has no affinity with a sublimating dye and a white pigment dispersed in the resin; contacting on the translucent film an original imagewise formed from a recording material containing the sublimating dye; and heating the original to allow the dye to be trapped in the film. Also, disclosed is a translucent film for use in preparing such an imaged film for backlit illumination. The use of the method and the translucent film allows fabrication of an imaged film for backlit illumination having a light resistant, high density image in cooperation with a computer-aided image editing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Inventor: Kenichi Furukawa
  • Patent number: 5682364
    Abstract: A compact disk changer includes a magazine having an inner body and an outer body that are rotatable independently of one another about a common axis of rotation. The inner and outer bodies are slideably interconnected by a helical member so that relative rotation between the bodies in a first direction increases the axial spacing between them and relative rotation in a second direction decreases the axial spacing. This construction reduces the size of the changer and does not require precision tolerances between moving parts. A plurality of compact discs are stacked within the magazine, and each disk is supported by a disk holder. When the disk at the top or end of the sack is to be played, relative rotation between the inner and outer bodies creates an axially extending space adjacent the selected disk and a playing mechanism is inserted into that space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1997
    Assignee: Shinwa Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hisashi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 5671012
    Abstract: A control method and a control system are disclosed, which allow high speed introduction of an intended foreground subject in a camera picture, and in which by designating a given position of a picture displayed on the screen of a CRT with an external input the position can be moved to the screen center or to a predetermined position, while enlargement and contraction are made automatically. The operation is thus simple, less movement of eyesight is required, no operation error is committed, and a large number of cameras can be connected with a small-size and easily operable system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 23, 1997
    Assignee: NEC System Integration & Construction, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiko Oyashiki, Ryosuke Nishiguchi, Hidenori Kawamura
  • Patent number: 5657597
    Abstract: A low cost building is made of modular parts in the absence of special tools. Light-in-weight wall blocks having a facade of conventional appearance include a thick, insulating mixture of a cementitious material, polystyrene, and organic fiber aggregates capable of retaining water. The blocks have interlocking top and bottom surfaces so that they are easily stacked to form walls. A floor is built by spanning foundation beams with floor trusses that have a key along their respective tops and by sliding modular floor panels between contiguous floor trusses, each floor panel having opposite edges that slidingly engage the keys of the floor trusses. A roof is made in a similar manner by sliding modular roof panels between contiguous roof trusses. Tensioning rods are extended from a top surface of the walls to the building foundation to compress the walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Environmental Building Technology, Ltd.
    Inventor: William E. Loftus
  • Patent number: 5645491
    Abstract: An automatic apparatus that positions a golf ball on a tee retrieves and positions a new ball on the tee each time a golfer makes a tee shot. A bucket of balls is charged into the apparatus, and a ramp directs the balls, one at a time, to a tee loading station. A plunger drives a ball in the tee loading station into contact with a horizontally positioned tee. The tee has a bore formed in it that communicates with a source of negative pressure so that a ball driven into contact with the tee by the plunger is held to the tee by a vacuum. The resulting increase in a vacuum line reconfigures a four way valve and activates a mechanism that rotates the tee and ball into a vertical position so that the golfer may make a tee shot. The shot disconnects the ball from the tee, resulting in bleeding of the vacuum line, and the drop in pressure reconfigures the four way valve. The valve activates a mechanism that returns the tee to its horizontal position so that it may retrieve another ball from the tee loading station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 8, 1997
    Inventor: Louis S. Brown
  • Patent number: 5639903
    Abstract: The present invention is related to sulfonium salt compounds useful as an initiator of cationic polymerization and represented by a following general formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is benzyl, phenyl, etc., R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are each independently hydrogen, alkyl, etc., R.sub.5 is hydrogen, alkyl, phenyl, etc., R.sub.6 is a group represented by a formula, --(CH.sub.2).sub.m --R.sub.11 wherein R.sub.11 is COR.sub.12, COOR.sub.13, OR,.sub.14, nitrile, OCOR.sub.15 or SOR.sub.16, wherein R.sub.12, R.sub.13, R.sub.14, R.sub.15 and R.sub.16 are each independently hydrogen, alkyl or phenyl, m is 0 or 1, and X represents SbF.sub.6, AsF.sub.6, PF.sub.6 or BF.sub.4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 17, 1997
    Assignee: Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Eiji Takahashi, Hiroo Muramoto
  • Patent number: D382197
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Teresa Tas
    Inventor: Nicholas Hatzileris
  • Patent number: D384691
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 7, 1997
    Assignee: Daito Corp. U.S.A.
    Inventor: Norbert Heuser