Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Gene W. Arant
  • Patent number: 6126670
    Abstract: A surgical procedure is disclosed utilizing a cordless surgical handpiece powered from a sterile battery pack that contains a battery in condition for immediate use without further charging or sterilization. The battery chemistry is based upon lithium/manganese dioxide, and the battery after a single use may be disposed of into non-hazardous waste. The compact surgical handpiece has a brushless DC motor and a manually operated external trigger for activating and controlling the motor operations. Interengaging sets of contacts on the handpiece and battery are adapted to become lockingly and conductively interengaged upon rotation of the battery pack relative to the handpiece, in a manner that rapidly achieves correct alignment of the parts and also ensures stable mechanical attachment and support during the surgical procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas W. Walker, Frank M. Ordaz, M. Terry Olson
  • Patent number: 6121753
    Abstract: A device for rapidly testing a battery includes a conditioning resistor and a depressible momentary type switch interposed in series between the conditioning resistor and the battery terminals, such that the closing of the switch allows current flow through the conditioning resistor in approximately the full amount the battery can generate when fully charged. In parallel with the conditioning resistor are a number of sets of voltage dividers and comparators working in conjunction with each other to compare a divided down battery voltage with a fixed voltage reference. Each comparator has an associated indicator light such that all the indicator lights will light up if the battery is at full capacity, but less than all the indicator lights will light up if the battery is at less than full capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Inventors: Douglas W. Walker, Frank M. Ordaz
  • Patent number: 6094350
    Abstract: A manufacturing module for an RF feed-forward amplifier subsystem that allows for simple and cost-effective assembly, yet provides separate compartments for the different stages of the subsystem, with low RF leakage between the compartments is disclosed. The manufacturing module comprises a printed circuit board having one or more circuit trace layers, and ground planes covering a substantial portion of the top and bottom surfaces. The printed circuited board also has numerous plated-through holes electrically connecting the top and bottom ground planes. The circuit board is sandwiched between a heatsink having a flat upper surface and a machined enclosure having an outer wall and inner divider walls. The plated-through holes, space less than 1/10 wavelength of module's highest carrier frequency apart, serve to electrically connect the heatsink to the machined enclosure, thus creating separate compartments with low RF leakage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: AML Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Benone Achiriloaie
  • Patent number: 6058370
    Abstract: A method of forecasting the demand for ambulance services based upon a determination from the historical record of the number of currently active calls at the time each new call is received. The method may utilize records of specific calls history including the time each call was received and the time each call was completed, or it may use information on the number of calls received each hour to simulate specific calls history. The method may be extended to a "third dimension" to better account for the effect of service demands and staffing levels in preceding hours. The method has application to other services having the characteristics of limited available service resources, randomly occurring service requests but historically-repeating levels of demand, and relatively long service times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Inventors: Richard L. Church, Paul A. Sorensen
  • Patent number: 6044582
    Abstract: The floating rope marker is comprised of a rope assembly having a braided hollow rope with an upper end portion being turned in and threaded back inside itself and a lower end portion being turned in through a side wall of the rope and threaded back inside the rope to form a loop so that the two end portions of the rope are close together within the rope. A cylindrical float member is inserted in the turned in portion of the upper end and a section of heat shrinkable tubing is shrunk on the lower end portion of the rope to hold the turned in portion of the lower end porton in place. A hook having a base is held in the lower end portion loop and a hook part adapted for releasably holding a fish extends downwardly in the water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2000
    Inventor: William Roger Johnson
  • Patent number: 6017237
    Abstract: Electrical apparatus for connecting insulated wires of a multi-pair electrical cable to an outlet, including a connector having an opening which receives a plurality of insulated wires in an essentially flat parallel configuration and extends through the connector to allow the ends of the insulated wires to protrude from its remote end, the connector also having a plurality of metal contacts supported in a movable relation perpendicular to the insulated wires; a crimping tool having jaws closable both for crimping the connector to support the insulated wires against longitudinal stress and also for causing the metal contacts to pierce insulation coverings of and conductively engage respective wires in the connector; and a cutting blade supported on the crimping tool and operable during the closing action of the jaws for cutting off the protruding ends of the wires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2000
    Inventor: Robert W. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 6015397
    Abstract: A needle point cover assembly for securely covering and protecting the needle point after a syringe has been used includes a cover in the form of an elongated hollow member that is open at one end for receiving the needle therein, and at its other end is mostly enclosed by an end wall having a hole through which the needle can pass. A lid encloses the otherwise open end of the cover member. The lid has a hole through which the needle may pass so that the needle may extend through both the lid hole and the hole in the end wall. When the syringe is being used to make an injection, the needle point projects through the hole in the end wall. After an injection has been made and the syringe is ready for disposal, a manually actuable extensible frame slides the cover to where its end wall is beyond the extremity of the needle point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2000
    Inventors: Edward E. Elson, Lawrence R. Koh
  • Patent number: 6002247
    Abstract: An electrical cable containing two or more twisted pairs of wires and having terminals at one end connected to corresponding wires is tested for possible mis-pairing of an assumed wire pair. At that end of the cable, all terminals except the two for the assumed wire pair are connected to ground. A test signal is then applied to a first terminal for the assumed wire pair, and at the same time a measurement is made of a response signal received at the second terminal for the assumed wire pair. The test signal is a time-varying signal. The strength of the response signal is compared to the test signal to establish whether the assumed pair of wires are in fact wound to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1999
    Inventor: Lee A. Watkins
  • Patent number: 5996224
    Abstract: A method of applying twisted wire pairs to an electrical connector is provided. A cable having a plurality of twisted wire pairs is selected for insertion into a selected connector. The twisted wire pairs are untwisted and inserted into the connector in a substantially flat lateral configuration such that the ends of the wires protrude from the connector. Before shearing off the protruding ends of the wires, identification symbols on the wire ends are compared with a standard that indicates a correct symbol identification pattern therefor. Preferably, the protruding ends of the wires are pulled tight against the connector before shearing off the wire ends, to minimize cross-talk. Even more preferably, the connector is crimped concurrently with the shearing off of the wire ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Inventor: Robert W. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 5986508
    Abstract: An amplifier for systems affected by changes in operating temperature, in which the amplifier gain is stabilized over temperature. A temperature compensating control element is added to the previously known active bias control amplifiers, forming a second control loop. This control acts to modify the device bias current, in a way which holds the device gain constant as temperature varies. In so doing it implements, in the circuit, the mathematically derived current variation which, based on the physics of the device, maintains constant gain. The additional circuitry is very inexpensive, preserving the cost-effectiveness of the integrated circuit bias scheme for those applications requiring the additional bias control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1999
    Inventor: Larry J. Nevin
  • Patent number: 5977826
    Abstract: A feedforward amplifier system including a main amplifier and first and second error amplifiers, and wherein the first error amplifier is itself a feedforward amplifier whose operation is corrected by the second error amplifier. With appropriate selection of circuit components the operating power required by the amplifier system, and hence the size of the package in which it is contained, may be reduced up to one-third.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Inventors: Scott T. Behan, Benone Achiriloaie
  • Patent number: 5944180
    Abstract: A storage case for a flat circular Niger such as a compact disc includes a plastic box that has top and bottom walls and a front end which in open so that the flat circular maker may be inserted into the box between the top and bottom walls. A spring member inside the box adjacent its rear wall has one part that is fixedly secured to the box, and a movable part that when released can directly engage the peripheral edge of the flat circular member. The movable part of the spring member is normally stored in a retracted position behind a rib that extend inwardly from the top wall of the box. The top wall has a flexible portion behind the rib which is downardly depressible for releasing the movable part of the spring member so that it will then engage the compact disc and eject it from the open front end of the box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 31, 1999
    Inventors: Lawrence Robert Koh, Arthur Mark Feuerborn, David John Feuerborn
  • Patent number: 5921703
    Abstract: A rigid caltrop structure is formed of two metallic members abutting each other and welded together, each of the members including all of a single triangular planar portion and parts of two other adjoining triangular planar portions, the pairs of adjacent corners of sides of the triangular portions forming penetration points so that when three of the penetration points rest on a horizontal surface and the fourth penetration point projects upward, a force applied to that fourth penetration point will not directly tend to shear the weld.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1999
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Becker, Martin L. Dala, Bryan R. Nix, Louis G. Trnovec
  • Patent number: 5921732
    Abstract: A wing member for a pallet restraint mechanism is described which is formed of an integrally formed metal casting. The member includes a plate-like main body with a tapered portion extending from a generally rectangular portion. A plurality of spaced support arms extend downward from the main body and include align apertures to receive a common shaft. Two of the support arms include lugs for engaging a stop member to limit their rotation about the shaft and further include camming surfaces for controlling the rotational position of the wing member. A clamping shelf extends perpendicularly from an upper edge of the main body. The device includes additionally a rectangular latch portion extending from the main body in a common plane with the plate-like form of the body. The latch portion includes a notch at one end and an opening at an intermediate portion for engaging structure of the restraint mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1999
    Inventor: Hemraj Chauhan
  • Patent number: 5887051
    Abstract: A pocket-size hand-held testing tool is provided for testing the operation of telephone lines and tracing the location of electric wires, including a sound signal channel with an output speaker, a dial tone detection circuit for detecting a dial tone on a telephone line, a probe for capacitively receiving a signal from a particular wire in a bundled wire cable to identify that wire as one to which a tracing signal is being applied at the other end of the cable, and a momentary switch normally connecting the dial tone detection circuit into communication with the sound signal channel but manually depressable to instead selectively switch the probe into communication with the sound signal channel while disconnecting the dial tone detection circuit from it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 23, 1999
    Assignee: TEST-UM, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert W. Sullivan, Lee A. Watkins
  • Patent number: 5865870
    Abstract: Concentrated phosphorus fertilizers are described which are absorbed quickly into plant systems and improve plant growth. Particularly described are fertilizers having a combination of phosphorous acid or its salts thereof, and either (a) polyphosphoric acid and its salts thereof; or (b) phosphoric acid and its salts thereof. This combination phosphorus fertilizer, when combined within a specific ratio range, increases phosphorus uptake to plants thereby enhancing plant growth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Inventor: Hsinhung John Hsu
  • Patent number: D406526
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1999
    Inventor: Joseph R. Headrick
  • Patent number: D412431
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Inventor: Robert W. Sullivan
  • Patent number: D430129
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Test-Um, Inc.
    Inventor: Garrick R. Sillers
  • Patent number: D431183
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Inventor: Charley Beals