Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Robert E. Muir
  • Patent number: 6821632
    Abstract: In a composite of vulcanizable rubber or rubber-like composition with one or more metal reinforcement elements embedded therein, the metal reinforcement element is coated with a polymer or non-cured rubber composition compatible with and co-polymerizable, co-vulcanizable or crosslinkable with said vulcanizable ruber composition to be reinforced, and additionally bearing functional groups either covalently bonding to the metal surface of said reinforcement element or forming covalent bonds with the outward directed first functional groups of a mono- or multimolecular layer of a bifunctional adhesion promoter intercalated between said metal and said coating and bound to said metal by its second functional groups. A cured rubber or rubber-like product, for instance a pneumatic tire, is obtained by vulcanization of such a composite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2004
    Assignee: Continental Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Andreas Topp, Bernd Kaiser, Richard Michalitsch, Francis Garnier, Philippe Lang
  • Patent number: 6812856
    Abstract: An improved lighted traffic sign having an adjustable and portable seat, a portable urinal having an enclosure, a liquid applicator, a hinge, and a sign and warning device is disclosed. The improved lighted traffic sign can be used at the workstation to prevent gaps in traffic control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2004
    Assignee: Endless Visions, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard M. Heinz, Phillip C. Layne
  • Patent number: 6780102
    Abstract: A combine harvester is provided with a feeder housing; A separation unit including a rotor driven by a shaft is arranged in a rotor housing. The separation unit a feed end and a discharge end; and a transfer mechanism located in the region of the intersection of the feeder housing and the feed end of the separation unit; The transfer mechanism includes a plurality of auger blades connected with the rotor in the region of the feed zone; A rotating element located in the feeder housing has an axis of rotation perpendicular to the axis of the rotor and above the feed end of the rotor. The rotating element feeds harvested crops to the separation unit from underneath the rotating element's axis of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Andrie Visagie, Thomas Barrelmeyer
  • Patent number: 6758482
    Abstract: A multipurpose cart having a hand truck base with a nose extension, a tub, a handle wherein the handle is adjustably mounted in two positions 90 degrees apart, a shelf, caster wheels and a storage device. The multipurpose cart can be modified into various configurations for a variety of functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2004
    Assignee: Harper Trucks, Inc.
    Inventor: John J. Stallbaumer
  • Patent number: 6752346
    Abstract: A device is provided for winding a roll of a fabric web made from organic and/or synthetic fibers and which has a relatively high porous material structure and a high volume per unit area. The device includes a winding bed having a plurality of support rollers and a pressure roller located above the support rollers for exerting a pressure force on the fabric web being wound into the roll. An ascending delivery table has a distal end above the pressure roller. The support rollers and the pressure roller are rotated in the same direction during the winding process. A packing station is provided adjacent the winding bed. The direction of rotation of the support rollers is reversed to move the roll from the winding bed to the packing station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: mst-Maschinenbau GmbH
    Inventors: Joachim Meyer, Frank Stöver
  • Patent number: 6752600
    Abstract: A fluid system for plural motor driven pumps is disclosed. The fluid system includes a hydraulic motor, a fluid reservoir, and a plurality of fixed displacement pumps. A control valve selectively directs flow of fluid to either a reservoir or the hydraulic motor. A control system responsive to an external condition and an internal condition generates a signal for each condition. The control valve is operated by the signals. The internal signal may be generated by an internal pressure monitoring device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: Wayne Engineering Corporation
    Inventor: Wayne R. Worthington
  • Patent number: 6710674
    Abstract: A waveguide fitting for connecting in particular a rectangular waveguide to an elliptical waveguide can be assembled particularly easily and yet provides a very low-reflection connection if the fitting at least at one end is conductively provided with the first section of a sleeve of which the second section is designed to receive the end region of the waveguide to be connected and which is divided at least in this second section by narrow capillary-action axial slots into radially springing lamellae which, after insertion of the waveguide, abut against the outer wall thereof, and in addition the inner wall at least of the second section of the sleeve is designed to receive a solder deposit. To make the connection, it is then necessary only to heat the whole junction with an external heat source until the solder in the solder deposits melts and fills the gaps between the inner wall of this section of the sleeve and the outer wall of the waveguide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: Spinner GmbH Elektrotechnische Fabrik
    Inventor: Franz Pitschi
  • Patent number: 6708478
    Abstract: The invention pertains to a device and procedure to regulate the bale length in a square baler. Sensors determine both the forward and backward movement of the crop bundle and transfer these measurements to an evaluation electronic. The evaluation electronic adds the measurements and triggers the tying process when the actual length value is reached. The procedure includes the steps of: sensing both the forward and backward movement of a crop bundle in a baling chamber; adding the measured forward and backward movements to determine an actual length value of the crop bundle; and triggering the tying device once a pre-set target actual length value is reached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: Usines CLAAS France
    Inventors: Denis Mesmer, Martin Hawlas, Ansgar Nonhoff, Egbert Scholz
  • Patent number: 6699121
    Abstract: An agricultural harvesting machine has a comminuting device which includes a chopper rotor having a rotor shaft, and a conveying element pivotably connected with the rotor shaft. The conveying element is formed by a first arm and a second arm which are interconnected by a cross web. In one embodiment the cross web has a recess between the first and second arms, and a cutting element is provided which passes either through the recess of the conveying element or outside of the first and second arms of conveying element as the conveying element rotates. In another embodiment the conveying element is provided with both leading and trailing cutting edges arranged in sets. Initially one set of cutting edges is utilized and the conveying element can latter be reversed in position to utilize the other set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: József Bognár, Bodo Kühn, Franz Heidjann
  • Patent number: 6688191
    Abstract: An improved fly wheel for storing rotational energy includes an inner ring and an inertial ring separated by an intermediate space. A radially resilient coupling device connects the inner and inertial rings and is subjected to a radial bias force, which exerts an outward force on the inertial ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Inventor: Wolf-Rüdiger Canders
  • Patent number: 6685558
    Abstract: An agricultural harvesting machine has straw walkers or the like, an air sieve device, a straw chopping device, and a variable straw and chaff distribution arrangement. The arrangement includes an articulated lever combination; a servo element associated with the articulated lever combination; preferably two rotary distribution blowers each having a material inlet opening and a rotor circumference and being connected to the articulated lever combination. The rotary blower is movable between two different plane-parallel positions by the articulated lever combination and servo element. A guide is provided for supplying chaff radially to the distribution blower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Niermann, Dieter Strickmann, Jörn Brinkmann, Dieter Amsbeck, Jürgen Nollmann, Martin Perdun, Sergej Kucerin
  • Patent number: 6682416
    Abstract: An apparatus for automatic adjustment of a transfer device on an agricultural harvesting machine includes a sensor for determining the current position of the transfer device; means for adjustment of the transfer device; a navigation device located in the harvesting machine for determination of a first and a second navigated position in a field; and an electronic analyzer wherein the electronic analyzer automatically adjusts the transfer device through the means for adjustment as a function of the current position of the transfer device and the first and second navigated positions of the harvesting machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Willi Behnke, Norbert Diekhans, Jochen Huster, Gunnar Quincke
  • Patent number: 6679773
    Abstract: A self-propelled harvester having a drivable separating rotor rotatably mounted in a rotor housing with a bearing in an end wall covering an inlet opening of the rotor housing at a front end of the separating rotor, further comprising a lower edge transverse and operatively connected to the bearing of the end wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventor: Berthold Schwersmann
  • Patent number: 6663485
    Abstract: A combine harvester having a blower for spreading the discharge mixture of chopped straw, chaff and like materials over a wide area utilizing the kinetic energy obtained through the medium of a chopper or feed device located prior to the blowers to save on drive power. Specifically, the material outlet opening of the chopper or the feed device is positioned in the same plane as the inlet opening of the blower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventor: Martin Niermann
  • Patent number: 6607480
    Abstract: The invention provides a means of deriving highly reliable diagnostic information from the signals and data of medical measuring systems without first reducing the measuring data to individual characteristics and then associating these using decision trees in order to form a diagnostic conclusion. To this end, a comparator compares the measuring data recorded by a patient and provided by the sensor channels of a measuring system with measuring data which is stored in measuring databases and which is provided by comparable sensor channels of reference measuring systems. The data is compared in such a way that the reference measuring systems selected from the measuring databases are those which bear the most similarity to the measurements taken by the patient in terms of the measuring data of comparable sensor channels and which have a greatest possible number of the sensor channels which best match in terms of measuring data and which best correspond to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2003
    Assignee: Federal Republic of Germany
    Inventors: Ralf Bousseljot, Dieter Kreiseler
  • Patent number: 6601654
    Abstract: A coupling device for mounting an agricultural implement on a tractor equipped with a belt drive, which includes two coupling halves which are connected to each other by several coupling rods, designed in such a way that no components working on the linear drive principle are needed. The lower right and left coupling rods include in each case a lower front and a lower rear rod section which are connected to each other, and which are freely movable relative to each other. One end of the lower rear rod section carries an expanded portion, which is located inside a housing of the end region of the lower front rod section. A plurality of elastically deformable equalizing bodies are inserted between the inner surfaces of the housing of the end region and the outer surfaces of the expanded portion, limiting the movement of the lower rear rod section in relation to the lower front rod section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2003
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Hubertus Küsters, Joachim Oldenburg
  • Patent number: 6601379
    Abstract: The invention aims at providing higher efficiency and good exhaust gas performance. To this end, a fresh-gas is compressed in a first cylinder chamber having a first piston during successive compression strokes and compressed in one of at least two combustion chambers, in which combustion of a mixture consisting of the compressed fresh gas and an at least partially evaporated fuel is started after the combustion chamber has been closed in relation to the first combustion chamber. Subsequently, the combustion chamber is opened relative to a second cylinder chamber and a second piston in the second cylinder chamber is impinged upon by the combustion gases expanding form the combustion chamber to perform a working cycle. After the working cycle has been completed, the exhaust gases are expelled from the second cylinder chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2003
    Assignee: Diro Konstruktions GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Hubert Tomczyk
  • Patent number: 6598381
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for pivoting the dividers of an agricultural machine for the harvesting of row crops. A multiple-part attachment having feeder housings to receive the row crops is attached to the front of the agricultural machine. The multiple-part attachment has side frames that are pivotable from a working position to a non-working position. Outer row crop dividers are arranged on the side frames in such a way that when the side frames are pivoted, the outer row crop dividers move relative to the adjacent inner row crop dividers. The relative movement of the outer row crop dividers prevents them from colliding with each other when the side frames are in a non-working position and allows for maximum feeder housing width when the side frames are in a working position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: CLAAS Saulgau GmbH
    Inventors: Bernd Albinger, Manfred Klotz
  • Patent number: 6587772
    Abstract: A device for optimizing the transfer of harvested crop from a harvesting machine to a transport vehicle includes a control unit in the harvesting machine that generates control signals and an control device in the transport vehicle that communicates with the control unit and adjusts the travel speed and the steering angle of the transport vehicle as a function of the control signals received from the control unit. A related method for optimizing the transfer of harvested crop from a harvesting machine to a transport vehicle is also provided that includes the steps of monitoring the status of a vehicle with a monitoring device and controlling the travel of the vehicle by means of at least one control device based on the status of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventor: Willi Behnke
  • Patent number: D489781
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Inventor: Daniel P. Lane