Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Jeffrey S. Sokol
  • Patent number: 8171765
    Abstract: This invention is a manually operated tube bending machine with a power drive mechanism that is adjustably set to a desired bend speed. The bending machine includes a bending die, a counter die and a rotating hook die to form a desired bend into a tube or pipe. The tube bender includes a drive wheel with ratchet teeth around its perimeter. A drive pin grips one of the ratchet teeth. The drive pin is secured to a lever and torque bar. During each bending stroke, the lever and torque bar incrementally rotate the drive wheel a desired amount. The rotation of the drive wheel and hook die draw the tube through the bending and counter dies to bend the tube. An anti-spring back mechanism holds the position of the drive wheel while the power drive mechanism is advanced to grip the next ratchet tooth of the drive wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Inventor: Christopher J. Rusch
  • Patent number: 8132280
    Abstract: A dock leveler with a deck and an extendable lip that hangs pendant when the deck is in a stored position. A lip extension mechanism engages when the deck is raised to a raised or cocked position. As the deck is lowered to an intermediate transition position, the extension mechanism extends the lip to a fully extended position. At the transition position, the lip extension mechanism automatically disengages and a lip locking mechanism automatically and simultaneously locks and holds the lip in its fully extended position. When the deck is further lowered so that the lip comes to rest on a truck trailer, the locking mechanism automatically released or unlocked. The lip returns to its pendant position when the deck is raised from the truck bed. After the truck pulls away from the dock, the deck is lowered to its stored position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Nordock, Inc.
    Inventors: Denis Gleason, Andrew Barrett
  • Patent number: 7810368
    Abstract: The invention is a multi-mode hammering machine that operates in a rigid mode, a flexible power hammer mode and a machine press mode to contour, shape and form sheet metal products. In all three modes, a ram is linearly stroked toward and away from a fixed die by a common ram drive assembly that includes a lever drive assembly and a reciprocating lever. The lever drive assembly moves in a rigid non-flexing manner. The reciprocating lever includes a rigid mode and a flexible mode. A conversion pin is used to engage one and simultaneously disengage the other. The lever drive assembly includes a control link that interfaces with a stroke adjustment mechanism. The gap adjustment mechanism is located at the fulcrum of the reciprocating lever. Both stroke length and gap are adjusted independently during the operation while the ram is cycling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Inventor: Christopher J. Rusch
  • Patent number: 7743636
    Abstract: The invention is a rotary draw bending machine and process for bending materials such as tubes or pipes into precise bends. A spindle holds a bending die, and a radial arm holds a counter-die. The spindle and arm are simultaneously rotated in opposite directions by a dual hydraulic drive controlled by an electro-hydraulic control system with foot pedal controls. The bend angle is preset by a protractor-like dial and limit switch mechanism. The radial arm has a slide track to align the counter-die with the bending die. The ratchet mechanism has teeth to allow incremental advancement of the counter-die when aligning it with its bending die to accurately set the gap between the dies. The machine is used with a wide variety of dies to bend a wide variety of workpiece diameters. The ratchet mechanism preferably includes a fine tuning device to provide an infinite range of alignment positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Inventor: Christopher J. Rusch
  • Patent number: 7737942
    Abstract: A computer input device on a glove includes fittings for a user's fingers and adjustable straps for fastening to a user's wrist. A tracking device for controlling cursor movement on a video display is affixed to the glove for positioning next to the end of one of the user's fingers. Pressure plates for controlling the various right and left mouse “clicking” functions are affixed to the glove for positioning next to the ends of the other of the user's fingers. Scrolling/paging buttons are located on the side of the fitting fitted to the index finger for pressing by the thumb. A transmitter is affixed to the glove for receiving signals from the tracking device, the pressure plates and the scrolling/paging buttons, and transmitting those signals to a computer for controlling cursor movement in the x-y plane on a video display and for controlling the various mouse “clicking” controls, which implement the “select” function, the “drag” function, the “scroll” function, the “page” function, and so forth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2010
    Inventor: Mark B. Bajramovic
  • Patent number: 6286251
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a composite masonry edging or stepping block used with other like-shaped blocks to form a continuous interconnected edging pattern or stepping path that accommodates straight sections and tight bends in the pattern or path. Each block has a series of six adjoining projections around a major portion of its perimeter, and a pair of adjoining recesses along a minor portion of its perimeter. Two adjoining projections form a multi-wave protrusion. Several combinations of two adjoining projections can be used to form a number of multi-wave protrusion. Each protrusion has the same size and shape but extends in a different angular direction. The two recesses form a multi-wave indentation. The multi-wave indentation flushly receives one of the multi-wave protrusions of an adjacent block to achieve an interlocking connection in either straight or angled alignments. The structure of each block forms a flower-like pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: Bend Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert L. Whitson
  • Patent number: 5572082
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a low profile monolithic crystal strip filter and filter package. The filter includes an AT-cut rectangular strip of quartz crystal. The filter further includes input, output and ground electrodes which are formed in a symmetrical pattern on the strip. Each electrode is connected to its respective mounting or ground contact by a flag. The electrodes, contacts and flags have a predetermined size and shape, and are arranged in a predetermined configuration on the crystal strip to minimize spurious responses and insertion losses. The crystal strip is mounted to an HC-45 or HC-49 base to minimize production costs. The output signal of the filter has a center frequency of about 4 to 500 MHz, a 3 dB bandwidth of about 3 to 250 kHz, an ultimate of better than 60 dB, standard insertion losses for the number of poles in the filter and commercially acceptable spurious responses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1996
    Inventor: Thomas J. Sokol
  • Patent number: D439676
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Bend Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert L. Whitson
  • Patent number: D619052
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Inventors: Harry J. Mooren, Karen M. Mooren
  • Patent number: D433157
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Bend Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert L. Whitson