Patents Represented by Law Firm Madison & Metcalf
  • Patent number: 6142891
    Abstract: The invention relates to an adjustable basketball goal system for adjusting the height of a basketball goal above a playing surface. The basketball goal includes a deformable parallelogrammic structure attached at one end to a rigid support. A basketball goal is attached to the other end of the parallelogrammic structure. A locking rod is also attached to the rigid support. An extension arm positioned between the parallelogrammic structure and a housing which is slidably engaged with the locking arm. The housing is configured with a pair of plates kept at non-perpendicular angles to the locking rod by a biasing spring. In this configuration, the locking plates bind with the locking rod and prevent movement of the housing relative to the locking rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Lifetime Products, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Winter, Edward van Nimwegen
  • Patent number: 6023337
    Abstract: A target device for use in aligning a target station to a reference line-of-sight established by a laser alignment beam is mountably secured to the target station. The target device includes a tooling tube and a beam splitter for reflecting a portion of the alignment beam to a focusing objective. The focusing objective transmits the portion of the alignment beam to a position sensing detector for alignment measurement. The target device is designed to pivot about a target mount center reference point located in the tooling tube. The focusing objective and the beam splitter focus the image of the position sensing detector at the target mount center to produce a virtual image of the position sensing detector at the target mount center. By taking the alignment measurement at the target mount center, inaccurate measurements created by misalignment of the tooling tube with respect to the alignment beam are eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2000
    Assignee: Schmitt Measurement Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Tod F. Schiff