Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Clifford A. Poff
  • Patent number: 6834583
    Abstract: A stencil screen with a desired pattern to be imprinted is supported on a stencil screen frame. The frame has upstanding elongated sidewalls joined by spaced apart end walls to circumscribe a screen window opening. The stencil screen has sufficient strength transversely to plane of the screen to allow deflection from the plane of the screen without elastic deformation. The stresses produced by the deflection of the screen produce repeated flexing of fatigue resistant and resilient screen frame sidewalls and screen support arms at opposite end of these side walls by the provision of sufficient resiliency to restore the stencil screen to a stencil screen support plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2004
    Assignee: Miller Screen & Design, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Miller, Larry J. Miller
  • Patent number: 6829993
    Abstract: A lock apparatus for securing a hand stamping device to prevent an unauthorized stamping operation includes two locking heads constructed to established a ridged interconnection with the base frame and the upper actuator frame of the hand stamping device. The locking heads are releasably interconnected by parallel spaced apart struts for connecting the locking heads in a space apart relation for receiving the hand stamping device between the struts whereby the locking heads and the struts encircle the outer periphery of the hand stamping device. A lock is used to interlocking the locking heads in a spaced apart relation between the struts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2004
    Inventor: Marc L. Aronson
  • Patent number: 6823781
    Abstract: A reduction to the traveling motion of bottles along a delivery conveyor in an intermittent motion decorating machine is provided by one of a pair of workpiece feed cams rotatably supported in a side-by-side relation to rotate about spaced horizontal axes lying in a common horizontal plane. The workpiece feed cams have feed cam tracks for receiving cam followers of each of plurality of vertical bottle carriers. One of the feed cam tracks reduces the speed of the bottle carriers from a relatively high entry speed corresponding to the through put speed in the decorating machine to the speed of the deliver conveyor for more densely populating the delivery conveyor with workpieces. Carrier transfer members at each of opposite ends of the workpiece feed cams transfer the bottle carriers from one to the other of the workpiece feed cams. A drive rotates the workpiece feed cams, carrier return cams and carrier transfer members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2004
    Assignee: Car. Strutz & Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Mark R. Tweedy, Carl J. Strutz, John M. Zwigart, Gary W. McCoy
  • Patent number: 6801563
    Abstract: A scrap charging apparatus for an electric arc furnace includes a scrap holding bunker having diverging side walls extending between end walls separated by a scrap discharge opening supplying scrap from a fall space in the bunker to a scrap discharge chute. The end wall remote to the scrap discharged opening of the chute slopes at an acute angle to organized scrap entering the discharged opening. A throat opening for scrap passing into the scrap discharge chute is controlled by a pivotal scrap jam relief gate moveable between a scrap metering position, a relief position and a scrap compacting position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2004
    Assignee: SMS Demag, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael J. Stercho
  • Patent number: 6789380
    Abstract: A bundle of conduit ducts is supplied by reels to a tandem arrangement of a pattern unit, a supply roller unit, an applicator unit and a delivery roller unit all supported by a wheeled base. The pattern unit has rows of discrete apertures for delivering conduit ducts at spatial positions. The supply roller unit and delivery roller unit each have spaced apart rollers supported by carriers in a frame to define a predetermined geometric passageway. The supply roller unit organizes the conduit ducts and the delivery roller unit supports a wrapped conduit ducts passed from the applicator unit. The applicator unit has a frame to support a rotator driven by a motor for rotation about a central axis extending perpendicular to the plane of rotation by the rotator. The rotator supports two reels one containing adhesive tape and the other metal wire on arbors at diametrically opposed locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Inventors: Gene Mellott, Michael Lee
  • Patent number: 6735998
    Abstract: A method for draw forming a desired contour to the outer diameter of a tubular workpiece provides that the selected workpiece have a wall thickness uniform throughout its length or a combination of uniform thicknesses at end portions with a mid portion of a tapering wall thickness. The outer diameter of selected workpiece is reduced along essentially only a part of the starting tubular metal blank by drawing the metal blank only partly through a contoured die or only partly through each one of a succession of contoured dies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2004
    Assignee: George A. Mitchell Company
    Inventor: George A. Mitchell
  • Patent number: 6719944
    Abstract: An electric steel-making furnace has a furnace roof carried by an upper furnace shell on a lower furnace shell to substantially envelop an atmosphere above liquid steel and slag floating thereon in the lower furnace shell. A transfer car supports the lower furnace shell for transport from a furnace-operating site to a remote exchange site for exchanging one or more of the furnace roof, the upper furnace shell and the lower furnace shell. The furnace transfer car has a furnace support platform engaged with the lower furnace shell and supported for tilting of the furnace on the transfer car by actuators at the furnace operating site in a direction to increase the depth of slag at the deslagging passageway for decanting slag floating on liquid steel in the lower furnace shell. Actuators are also provided to tilt the furnace on the transfer car to increase the depth of liquid steel at a tap hole assembly during tapping of a steel heat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: SMS Demag, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael J. Stercho
  • Patent number: 6640691
    Abstract: A bearing system for accommodating angular movements occurring during operation of a linear actuator in a lifting structure for a ladle containing liquid steel in a continuous casting installation. Annular bearings on a piston and in an end wall of a piston and cylinder assembly allow free rotation of the piston about a first axis during controlled excursions of translating motion by the piston along the cylinder. A first attachment shaft is joined by cylindrical bearings to the arms of a first clevis for only sliding rotational motion about a second axis. A second attachment shaft secured to a second clevis carries a cylindrical bearing between the clevis arms for only sliding rotational motion about a third axis parallel with the second axis. A saddle is secured to an attachment on the piston rod and having an elongated annular load-bearing surface defining a fourth axis extending along a force transmitting junction with the first attachment shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2003
    Assignee: SMS Demag, Inc.
    Inventor: Anthony E. Scotto
  • Patent number: 6626068
    Abstract: A tool for applying torque to the hook formation of a lag hook for cabling a tree. The tool comprises an elongated body defining a rotational axis extending along the elongated length thereof between a torque receiving end and an opposite terminal end. An upper portion of the elongated body contains upper and lower wall surfaces forming two passageways at opposite sides of the rotational axis for passage of the curved end portion of a lag hook having either left-hand or right-hand threads to a socket traversed by the rotational axis and bounded by a torque delivering wall spaced from the rotational axis. A shank guide throat for the threaded shank of the lag hook extends from the socket between the lower wall surface and the terminal end of the elongated body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Inventor: Timothy McKivigan
  • Patent number: 6581750
    Abstract: A workpiece transfer for a decorating machine includes transport conveyors for carrying workpieces to the decorating machine and from the decorating machine. The conveyors support each of the workpieces such that an elongated longitudinal axis of each workpiece is vertically orientated. The decorating machine has a decorator conveyor with spaced workpiece carriers to support a workpiece for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the workpiece in a horizontal orientation. A plurality of workpiece grippers pivotally supported by a drive hub support the workpieces during movement of the longitudinal axis thereof between the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation. A drive shaft is secured to the drive hub to rotate about an axis forming acute angles with the longitudinal axis of a workpiece in each of the horizontal orientation and the vertical orientation. The acute angles are preferably 45°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2003
    Assignee: Carl Strutz & Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Mark R. Tweedy, Carl J. Strutz, John M. Zwigart, Gary W. McCoy
  • Patent number: 6568072
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing a reinforce a conductor of a utility transmission line is provided by selecting an electrical or communication conductor for a desired utility, selecting a plurality of strands of filaments to mechanically reinforce the utility transmission line, selecting a polymer treated with a catalyst to encase the strands of filament and the transmission line, pulling the strands of filament and the transmission line encased in the treated polymer through an elongated protrusion die to form an electrically insulated and reinforced utility cable, maintaining an elevated temperature gradient along the die to control the physical property of the polymer as the polymer catalyze, bending the cable in reversed directions after emerging from the protrusion die during completion of the catalyzing and during cooling to ambient temperature to avoid the occurrence of a permanent set in the catalyzed polymer, and coiling the newly formed electrically insulated and reinforced utility cable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Inventors: Jerry W. Wilemon, Rudolph P. Suto, Forrest F. Stacy
  • Patent number: 6523688
    Abstract: A vessel is constructed dispensing and displaying a measured quantity of water by a graduated scale along the side wall of the vessel. The consumption of each measured quantity of water is tallied by actuation of one of a plurality of tactile buttons. In one embodiment, the buttons are distributed about a side wall of the vessel and in a second embodiment, the buttons are distributed about an end wall in a cap attached to the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2003
    Inventor: Herman D. Palmieri
  • Patent number: 6523601
    Abstract: Segregation of carbon or alloying elements in a solidifying liquid core during casting of a continuous metal strand of high carbon steel or alloy steel, are disbursed by vibrating hammers engaged with a solidified shell enclosing a liquid steel core. The hammers are located before the end of the liquid core. A vibrator operating at a frequency of between 1000 and 5000 cycles per minute is coupled to the hammers by a support structure forming a dead weight mass for maintaining a metal-to-metal contact with the solidified shell while vibrated by the vibrator. The support structure is guided for stabilizing the hammers and for displacement of the hammers between an operative position and inoperative position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2003
    Inventors: Shlomo Hury, Samuel Kayam, Philip E. Ponikvar, Boris Buziashvili
  • Patent number: 6521310
    Abstract: A wrapping product comprising a laminate of a layer of cling film and a layer of spacing material, the cling film and the spacing material being substantially non adherent to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Inventors: John P. Dickson, Gordon A. Martin
  • Patent number: 6521170
    Abstract: An existing steel making installation having a basic oxygen furnace facility is converted to an electric arc furnace facility for refining steel by modifying the furnace support pedestals to form spaced apart horizontal rail support pads and spaced apart rails are mounted on the pads and a superstructure extending horizontally at one side of the space formally occupied by the basic oxygen furnace. An electric arc furnace is mounted on a furnace transfer car for movement along newly installed horizontal rails between a furnace operating position and a furnace exchange position. The electric furnace having a tapping orifice for discharging treated steel and a slag discharge trough. Ladle transfer cars previously used for handling slag and steel from the basic oxygen furnace are reused for the same purpose during operation of the electric arc furnace. A fume opening in the electric furnace roof is connected by a vertical fume section and an elbow to the existing fume system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: SMS Demag Inc.
    Inventor: Michael J. Stercho
  • Patent number: 6513234
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing a reinforce a conductor of a utility transmission line is provided by selecting an electrical or communication conductor fo a desired utility, selecting a plurality of strands of filaments to mechanically reinforce the utility transmission line, selecting a polymer treated with a catalyst to encase the strands of filament and the transmission line, pulling the strands of filament and the transmission line encased in the treated polymer through an elongated protrusion die to form an electrically insulated and reinforced utility cable, maintaining an elevated temperature gradient along the die to control the physical property of the polymer as the polymer catalyze, bending the cable in reversed directions after emerging from the protrusion die during completion of the catalyzing and during cooling to ambient temperature to avoid the occurrence of a permanent set in the catalyzed polymer, and coiling the newly formed electrically insulated and reinforced utility cable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2003
    Inventors: Jerry W. Wilemon, Rudolph P. Suto, Forrest F. Stacy
  • Patent number: 6499534
    Abstract: A tube and shell heat exchanger is formed by a shell enclosing an internal sidewall which in turn receives an internally located flow controller outer and inner heat exchange cavities are formed between the outer shell and the internal shell and the internal shell and the flow controller, respectively. Helical convolutions of the conduit are provided in each of the heat exchange cavities for counter concurrent flow of fluid medium from one cavity to another. A bottom wall closes off the outer shell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Assignee: AquaCal
    Inventors: Jeffery Tawney, Eric Bright
  • Patent number: 6497814
    Abstract: A water pump normally used in a system circulating pool water through a filter cartridge 26 is used to clean the filter cartridge by coupling a 3-way or inline valve 32 and a tee 36 in the piping 12 between the pump 16 and the filter. In a first valve position, the filter housing receives the entire water output from the pump, and in a second position, the entire water output of the pump is diverted to a flexible hose 52 secured to a first water discharge wand 58. A circular ring-shaped manifold 64 with an array of discharge apertures 66 directs streams of water radially outward into the filter cartridge in a direction opposite the normal flow of water for hydraulically flushing debris from the filter cartridge. A second wand with a C-shaped manifold (FIG. 5) is then connected to the hose and used to direct water streams onto the outer periphery of the filter cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2002
    Inventors: Ken Alexander, Robert Henderson
  • Patent number: D496780
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2004
    Assignee: Pittsburgh Plastics Manufacturing
    Inventor: Richard E. Matuke
  • Patent number: D496960
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2004
    Inventors: Herman D. Palmieri, Armando Palmieri