Weighted Parallelogram Element Extension Patents (Class 160/143)
  • Patent number: 10822867
    Abstract: A collapsible gate may provide a temporary barrier to prevent movement between rooms, or to prevent access to a staircase, in a home or commercial building. A pre-framed collapsible gate may be secured to and supported by a framing system for installation within a wall, wherein the collapsible gate is adapted for storage within the framing system when not in use. The pre-framed collapsible gate may be vertically retractable and adapted to stow within a framing system installed within a wall and out of sight. The collapsible gate may include a counterbalance to maintain the gate within the framing system when the gate is in the fully open position, and to assist in opening the gate when the gate is lifted from a closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Hideagate, LLC
    Inventor: Andrew Peter Walling
  • Patent number: 8317159
    Abstract: A lift assembly system and method can include: a funnel-shaped drum having a constant diameter portion and a gradually increasing diameter portion; a cable management system adapted to position a cable in a single layer in a tray; a beam clamp tube receiver adapted to allow a tube to slide relative to a beam and be secured to the beam; a cable keeper and a slack line detector adapted to maintain cables in position about a drum upon loss of cable tension; a horizontally oriented low profile cable adjuster adapted to adjust the length of a cable; an overspeed braking mechanism; a fleet pivot arm pivotable on the end of a tube so as to guide cables along a desired fleet angle; and/or a pull-type load sensor connected between a tube and a drum adapted to sense changes in a load force and adjust movement of a load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald A. Hoffend, III
  • Patent number: 8033528
    Abstract: A lift assembly system and method can include a substantially rectangular tube, a motor operably connected to first and second traction drives and a rotatable drum and structurally connected to one end of the tube, a head block fixed to the opposite end of the tube, and a plurality of loft blocks positionable at an infinite number of locations within the tube. An elongate member attached on one end to the drum can be routed through a generally horizontal path from the drum to the first and second traction drives, the head block, and the loft blocks, and then through a generally vertical path from the loft block to an attached article. The elongate member can be wound about the drum to raise the article, and unwound from the drum to lower the article. The system can further include a load-side braking mechanism. The tube can include a compressible material adapted to absorb at least a portion of a horizontal load placed on the lift system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald A. Hoffend, III
  • Patent number: 7775506
    Abstract: A lift assembly system and method can include a substantially rectangular tube, a motor operably connected to first and second traction drives and a rotatable drum and structurally connected to one end of the tube, a head block fixed to the opposite end of the tube, and a plurality of loft blocks positionable at an infinite number of locations within the tube. An elongate member attached on one end to the drum can be routed through a generally horizontal path from the drum to the first and second traction drives, the head block, and the loft blocks, and then through a generally vertical path from the loft block to an attached article. The elongate member can be wound about the drum to raise the article, and unwound from the drum to lower the article. The system can further include a load-side braking mechanism. The tube can include a compressible material adapted to absorb at least a portion of a horizontal load placed on the lift system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald A. Hoffend, III