Patents by Inventor Roland H. Thoms

Roland H. Thoms 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: 5382870
    Abstract: A shadow mask for use in forming a television tube having a plurality of openings therein with the mask grade side having an average centerline roughness R.sub.ag, which is less than cone side average centerline roughness R.sub.ac so that when a plurality of aperture masks are stacked with the grade side of one mask in contact with the cone side of an adjacent mask, the greater roughness of the cone side provides sufficient spacing between the shadow masks to allow gasses to enter between the stacked masks to permit batch annealing of the stack of masks without having the stacked masks adhere to one another during the annealing process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignee: BMC Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Roland H. Thoms
  • Patent number: 5378308
    Abstract: An etching system for etching openings in a metal web including multiple etching station for etching a metal web from opposite sides with each of the etching stations including a set of first bank of oscillateable nozzles located in a first chamber in the etching station, with the first bank of oscillateable nozzles having predetermined spacings from one another, and operable for directing etchant at a first side of a metal web and a second bank of oscillateable nozzles located in a second chamber in the etching station, with the second bank of oscillateable nozzles having a predetermined spacing substantially identical to the first bank of oscillateable nozzles with the second set of oscillateable nozzles laterally offset from the first set of nozzles, so as not to spray on directly opposite regions located on the metal web with the banks of the nozzles in adjacent etching stations offset from each other with the oscillation axis of the nozzles is at an angle off normal so that etchant is sprayed in elliptic
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 3, 1995
    Assignee: BMC Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Roland H. Thoms
  • Patent number: 5298352
    Abstract: A photo printing plate having an upper air evacuation channel and a lower air evacuation channel with the lower air evacuation channel formed in a emulsion layer and the upper air evacuation channels formed by spacers located partially on top of the opaque pattern that projects outward from the emulsion layer and partially on top of the nonopaque emulsion layer adjacent to the opaque pattern to provide an air evacuation channel formed by the evacuation channels in the emulsion surface and the spacers so that the air can be rapidly evacuated between the photo printing plate and a layer of etchant resist while maintaining the layer of etchant resist less than 10 microns from the top surface of the photo printing plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 29, 1994
    Assignee: BMC Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Roland H. Thoms