Patents by Inventor Markus E. Gropl

Markus E. Gropl 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).

  • Publication number: 20210260778
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing and a blade holder coupled to the housing, wherein the housing includes a distal portion (e.g., a blade storage compartment) that is both slidably and pivotally coupled to portions of the housing and configured to serve as a cover for the blade holder. The cutter apparatus can also include a cover release device configured to facilitate repositioning the cover between a locked position at which the cover is secured to the housing and a released position at which at least a portion of the cover is free to pivotally reposition away from the housing providing access to the blade holder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2020
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Applicant: Pacific Handy Cutter, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Patent number: 10857685
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing and a blade holder coupled to the housing, wherein the housing includes a distal portion (e.g., a blade storage compartment) that is both slidably and pivotally coupled to portions of the housing and configured to serve as a cover for the blade holder. The cutter apparatus can also include a cover release device configured to facilitate repositioning the cover between a locked position at which the cover is secured to the housing and a released position at which at least a portion of the cover is free to pivotally reposition away from the housing providing access to the blade holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Publication number: 20180326599
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing and a blade holder coupled to the housing, wherein the housing includes a distal portion (e.g., a blade storage compartment) that is both slidably and pivotally coupled to portions of the housing and configured to serve as a cover for the blade holder. The cutter apparatus can also include a cover release device configured to facilitate repositioning the cover between a locked position at which the cover is secured to the housing and a released position at which at least a portion of the cover is free to pivotally reposition away from the housing providing access to the blade holder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Publication date: November 15, 2018
    Applicant: Pacific Handy Cutter, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Patent number: 10093026
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing, a blade carrier configured to support a front blade, the blade carrier being coupled to and repositionable in relation to the housing, an auxiliary tool configured to be deployable from another portion of the housing, and a selector repositionable in relation to the housing and configured for mutually exclusively facilitating the user-controlled actions of setting a maximum blade depth to which the front blade is extendable from the housing and activating the auxiliary tool. The selector includes, for example, a biasing component for selectively engaging stop surfaces and a counter-biasing component configured to disengage the one or more biased engagement portions from the stop surfaces in response to a user of the cutter apparatus initiating an action of repositioning the selector along the path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Patent number: 9840013
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing and a blade holder coupled to the housing, wherein the housing includes a distal portion (e.g., a blade storage compartment) that is both slidably and pivotally coupled to portions of the housing and configured to serve as a cover for the blade holder. The cutter apparatus can also include a cover release device configured to facilitate repositioning the cover between a locked position at which the cover is secured to the housing and a released position at which at least a portion of the cover is free to pivotally reposition away from the housing providing access to the blade holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Patent number: 9676106
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing shaped to be hand-held, a blade holder configured to support a blade, and multiple actuators for extending the blade from the housing, the actuators including a safety actuator (e.g., a blade guard) that drives at least one of the other actuators while repositioning to extend the blade. The multiple actuators include, for example, a slider and a blade guard configured such that the slider when pushed forward repositions independently of the blade guard to extend the blade from the housing and such that the blade guard when pushed forward repositions the blade as the blade guard is deployed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Patent number: 9205568
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing configured for gripping by a hand, a blade holder and/or blade coupled to the housing, a guard secured to the housing, and a handle coupled to the housing via an engagement interface configured to allow a user of the cutter apparatus to selectively interfit together the housing and the handle in multiple different cutter apparatus configurations including a pair of configurations in which the guard, in relation to each configuration, faces the blade from right and left sides, respectively, of the cutter apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Publication number: 20130104405
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing configured for gripping by a hand, a blade holder and/or blade coupled to the housing, a guard secured to the housing, and a handle coupled to the housing via an engagement interface configured to allow a user of the cutter apparatus to selectively interfit together the housing and the handle in multiple different cutter apparatus configurations including a pair of configurations in which the guard, in relation to each configuration, faces the blade from right and left sides, respectively, of the cutter apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2011
    Publication date: May 2, 2013
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Publication number: 20130061476
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing with an opening, a blade carrier coupled to the housing and repositionable in relation to the housing, and an actuator repositionable in relation to the housing and coupled to the blade carrier such that movement of the actuator to an actuator blade deployment position repositions the blade carrier toward the opening and provides mechanical advantage in deploying the blade or maintaining the blade in a deployed position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Joseph L. Lutgen, Markus E. Gropl, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Joseph P. Garavaglia
  • Publication number: 20130061477
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing with an opening, a blade carrier coupled to and repositionable in relation to the housing, an actuator for repositioning the blade carrier to a deployed position, the blade carrier repositioning toward the deployed position in response to movement of the actuator toward an actuator blade deployment position, a push rod that is repositionable within the housing and coupled to the blade carrier such that a location of one or more portions of the push rod in relation to the housing determines the blade depth extending from the opening of the housing when the blade carrier is deployed, and a blade depth selector coupled to the push rod such that a user of the cutter apparatus can set the location to provide a desired blade depth by selectively repositioning the blade depth selector in relation to the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Joseph L. Lutgen, Markus E. Gropl, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Joseph P. Garavaglia
  • Publication number: 20130061478
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing with an opening, and a blade carrier coupled to the housing to permit rotational movement of the blade carrier between a refracted position and a deployed position and to permit movement of the blade carrier toward a distal end of the cutter in response to a cutting edge of the blade coming into contact with a workpiece, the blade carrier being coupled to the housing and configured for holding and deploying a blade at a plurality of selectable blade depths and for preventing the blade carrier from rotating back into the housing when the blade carrier is deployed at any of the selectable blade depths and advanced to a cutting position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Joseph L. Lutgen, Markus E. Gropl, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Joseph P. Garavaglia
  • Publication number: 20130061444
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing, a blade carrier coupled to the housing, a blade lock for securing a blade to the blade carrier, and a blade release device coupled to and repositionable within the housing, the blade release device being repositionable to a blade release position at which the blade release device contacts and repositions at least a portion of the blade lock such that the blade can be removed from the blade carrier.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Joseph L. Lutgen, Markus E. Gropl, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Joseph P. Garavaglia
  • Publication number: 20130061475
    Abstract: A cutter (or other hand tool) includes a housing with a handle that is sized and shaped to fit in the palm of a hand, the housing being configured to provide multiple hand-housing interfaces favorable to natural accommodation of the hand while using the cutter (or other hand tool). The hand-housing interfaces can include one or more interfaces that accommodate the hand at a neutral wrist position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Joseph L. Lutgen, Markus E. Gropl, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Joseph P. Garavaglia
  • Publication number: 20130062374
    Abstract: A holster for a cutter apparatus includes a body sized to receive a cutter apparatus therein and configured to provide a cutter-holster interface that causes a component of the cutter apparatus to reposition in relation to a housing of the cutter apparatus as the cutter apparatus is pushed into the holster. The component (e.g., a blade depth selector) is automatically repositioned to a safe (or other predetermined) position in response to the cutter apparatus being pushed into the holster.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Joseph P. Garavaglia
  • Publication number: 20130061479
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing, a blade holder coupled to the housing, and a blade storage assembly including blade storage compartments, one of the blade storage compartments being configured to serve as a cover for another of the blade storage compartments. The housing includes a hood and the blade storage assembly is coupled to the hood (e.g., secured to the underside of the hood) such that the blade storage assembly is made accessible to a user of the cutter apparatus by repositioning the hood in relation to another portion of the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Joseph L. Lutgen, Markus E. Gropl, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Joseph P. Garavaglia
  • Publication number: 20120110858
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing and a blade holder coupled to the housing, wherein the housing includes a distal portion (e.g., a blade storage compartment) that is both slidably and pivotally coupled to portions of the housing and configured to serve as a cover for the blade holder. The cutter apparatus can also include a cover release device configured to facilitate repositioning the cover between a locked position at which the cover is secured to the housing and a released position at which at least a portion of the cover is free to pivotally reposition away from the housing providing access to the blade holder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Publication number: 20120102754
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing shaped to be hand-held, a blade holder configured to support a blade, and multiple actuators for extending the blade from the housing, the actuators including a safety actuator (e.g., a blade guard) that drives at least one of the other actuators while repositioning to extend the blade. The multiple actuators include, for example, a slider and a blade guard configured such that the slider when pushed forward repositions independently of the blade guard to extend the blade from the housing and such that the blade guard when pushed forward repositions the blade as the blade guard is deployed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Publication date: May 3, 2012
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Publication number: 20120102756
    Abstract: A cutter apparatus includes a housing, a blade carrier configured to support a front blade, the blade carrier being coupled to and repositionable in relation to the housing, an auxiliary tool configured to be deployable from another portion of the housing, and a selector repositionable in relation to the housing and configured for mutually exclusively facilitating the user-controlled actions of setting a maximum blade depth to which the front blade is extendable from the housing and activating the auxiliary tool. The selector includes, for example, a biasing component for selectively engaging stop surfaces and a counter-biasing component configured to disengage the one or more biased engagement portions from the stop surfaces in response to a user of the cutter apparatus initiating an action of repositioning the selector along the path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Publication date: May 3, 2012
    Inventors: Joseph P. Garavaglia, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Markus E. Gropl, Mark Marinovich
  • Patent number: D769691
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph L. Lutgen, Markus E. Gropl, Brandon L. Spoelstra, Joseph P. Garavaglia