Patents by Inventor Gary E. Mulder

Gary E. Mulder has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8911282
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a base, a table rotatable on the base, and a plurality of arms extending above the table's top surface and extending laterally for supporting differently sized cylindrical objects above the top surface. An adjustment mechanism simultaneously adjusts the arms rotationally, such that the ends of the arms can be automatically adjusted to support any one of the differently sized objects without further change. A controller is programmed to automatically control the adjustment mechanism. The adjustment mechanism includes a center gear connected to planetary gears on each of the arms, and a center shaft that extends upwardly through a tubular drive shaft, the center shaft being movable between a lowered position where the arms are locked to the table and a raised position where the center gear is fixed to the base such that the arms adjust position when the table is rotated by its drive mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: Progressive Surface, Inc.
    Inventors: Gary E. Mulder, Gary L. Vander Stel
  • Publication number: 20120156966
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a base, a table rotatable on the base, and a plurality of arms extending above the table's top surface and extending laterally for supporting differently sized cylindrical objects above the top surface. An adjustment mechanism simultaneously adjusts the arms rotationally, such that the ends of the arms can be automatically adjusted to support any one of the differently sized objects without further change. A controller is programmed to automatically control the adjustment mechanism. The adjustment mechanism includes a center gear connected to planetary gears on each of the arms, and a center shaft that extends upwardly through a tubular drive shaft, the center shaft being movable between a lowered position where the arms are locked to the table and a raised position where the center gear is fixed to the base such that the arms adjust position when the table is rotated by its drive mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Publication date: June 21, 2012
    Inventors: Gary E. Mulder, Gary L. Vander Stel
  • Publication number: 20040101609
    Abstract: An apparatus for continuous perforating of an outer layer of food crop seeds includes a transporter including a seed loading station, a blasting station, a blow-off station, and a seed unloading station. The transporter further includes a plurality of chambers movable between the stations for continuously supplying known quantities of selected food crop seeds to be processed at each station, and a blasting device positioned at the blasting station and configured to continuously perforate an outer layer on the selected food crop seeds. A recycling device is positioned at the blow-off station and is adapted to collect and recycle the perforating agent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2002
    Publication date: May 27, 2004
    Inventors: Gary E. Mulder, Kevin J. Young