Patents Represented by Law Firm Ryan, Maki, Mann & Hohenfeldt
  • Patent number: 5979433
    Abstract: A heater for heating a stream of air has a burner assembly to heat the stream as it flows along a flow path and a primary heat assembly positioned in the flow path and coupled to the burner assembly for conducting gaseous combustion products. The primary heat exchange assembly has an array of U-shaped heat exchange tubes for conducting hot combustion products generated by the burner assembly to an array of second U-shaped heat exchange tubes for combustion products discharged from the first heat exchange tubes, the second tube having a smaller diameter than the first and being positioned in the space defined by the array of first U-shaped heat exchange tubes. Combustion products leaving the primary heat exchange assembly are passed through a secondary heat exchange assembly before being exhausted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Brivis Australia Pty Ltd.
    Inventor: Timothy Frank O'Brien
  • Patent number: 5913501
    Abstract: A stacker base has L-shaped corner members arranged at the corners of a square or rectangle with connector members spanning between them and connected to the corner members to form an enclosure for the lower levels of a stack of articles. The corner and connector members are joined with various attachment devices such as screws or headed elements or hooks on the connector member ends for engaging and locking into a selected one of a row of slots in the corner members to thereby make stacker bases having article accommodating areas of different sizes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1999
    Assignee: Everbrite Inc.
    Inventors: David M Heuss, Allen L. Mathews, Michael R Kulas
  • Patent number: 5885278
    Abstract: An electrode support structure comprises a guide body having at its distal end a flexible spline leg. The spline leg is flexed to define an arcuate shape to facilitate intimate contact against tissue. An electrode element is carried by the spline leg for movement along its axis. The structure includes a control element coupled to the electrode element. The control element remotely imparts force to move the electrode element along the axis of the spline leg. Therefore, in use, the physician can cause the electrode element to travel along a path that the spline leg defines, without otherwise changing the location of the guide body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 23, 1999
    Assignee: E.P. Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Sidney D. Fleischman
  • Patent number: 5868135
    Abstract: A system is provided for interactively assisting a patient. The system includes a speech synthesizer and recognition unit coupled to a programmed computer. The computer can keep track of a medication and diagnostic testing schedule. The system also includes diagnostic testing equipment coupled to the computer along with medication dispensing equipment. In accordance with a predetermined schedule, the system verbally communicates with the patient, prompts the patient through the various steps necessary to carry out the diagnostic testing and further prompts patient at appropriate times for taking medication. The medication is also provided in combination with the verbal prompts. The system also provides access to a telecommunications link in response to verbal requests of the patient and in one embodiment can move in a limited area adjacent the patient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Healthtech Service Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen B. Kaufman, Shelly Hyland, Michael A. Lesczynski, Calvin L. Bryant
  • Patent number: 5855547
    Abstract: A vacuum pump has a bulb whose wall is composed of elastic material and has a first protuberance projecting into the interior of the bulb and a second protuberance projecting outwardly of the bulb. The first protuberance has an air intake passageway for communicating with a chamber that is to be evacuated and the second protuberance has an air exhaust passageway communicating with the interior of the bulb. Each of the protuberances has a slit that is pressed closed by the inherent elasticity of the protuberance material so they serve as check valves. When the bulb is squeezed air pressure developed in the bulb acts on the interior air intake protuberance to close its slit and the slit in the exterior air exhaust protuberance is forced open to exhaust air from the bulb. When the squeezed bulb is relieved the elastic bulb expands to create negative pressure in the bulb which closes the exhaust slit and opens the air intake slit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Inventor: John L. Chaney
  • Patent number: 5856929
    Abstract: Systems integrate in a straightforward and user-friendly manner the testing and certification of different functional and performance characteristics of intravenous pumps on site by non-technical people.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Spectrel Partners, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Robert R. McClendon, Aleandro Digianfilippo
  • Patent number: 5850975
    Abstract: A material spreader which is adapted to be towed behind a tractor includes a chassis mounted on at least one pair of wheels positioned toward its rear. A box for transporting and dispensing materials is pivotable from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position and is provided with a rotatably driven beater mounted to its rear. The interior of the box is devoid of any material moving mechanism except for the beater. A vertical support member extends upwardly from each side of the chassis adjacent to the pair of wheels. Each vertical support member is provided with a pivot point adjacent to its upper end for pivotally supporting the box at an elevated location above the rear axle. The box is pivotally supported at a location spaced forwardly from its rear a distance at least equal to the height of the box. The beater and a hydraulic cylinder for raising the box is adapted to be coupled to the hydraulic system of a towing tractor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Inventor: Lloyd Bauer
  • Patent number: 5833255
    Abstract: A bicycle seat suspension includes a parallelogram linkage having one end mounted to a seat post and another end supporting a saddle. A resilient member between opposed members of the parallelogram linkage deforms during linkage displacement to absorb shocks and to provide a restoring force to the linkage. An adjustment mechanism adjusts the initial preload on the resilient member to adapt the suspension system to varying terrain and riding conditions. The resilient member is also configured to provide varying restoring forces at varying degrees of compression to further adapt the suspension to varying riding conditions. The various members of the parallelogram linkage are configured for strength, light weight and manufacturing economy. A universal sleeve and shim arrangement is provided for adapting the seat suspension for use with bicycles having frames formed of tubing of different diameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Team Vision
    Inventors: Mark Sarder, David R. Voves
  • Patent number: 5826822
    Abstract: A cyclic and collective control system is provided for controlling rotor pitch in a rotary wing aircraft. The rotor blades are pivotally mounted on a hollow, spinning shaft. An angularly and vertically displaceable control shaft is mounted with the spinning shaft and carries a rotatable control hub at its end. The control hub is coupled through pitch link rods to the rotor blades. When the control shaft is displaced vertically within the spinning shaft, the rotor blade pitch is changed collectively. When the control shaft is displaced angularly relative to the spinning shaft, the rotational plane of the control hub becomes skewed relative to the rotor axis. This has the effect of changing the pitch of the rotor blades in accordance with their rotational position around the rotor axis and has the further effect of providing cyclic control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Inventor: Rehm N. Rehm
  • Patent number: 5827289
    Abstract: A balloon for use in compressing cancellous bone and marrow (also known as medullary bone or trabecular bone) against the inner cortex of bones whether the bones are fractured or not. The balloon comprises an inflatable, non-expandable balloon body for insertion into said bone. The body has a shape and size to compress at least a portion of the cancellous bone to form a cavity in the cancellous bone and to restore the original position of the outer cortical bone, if fractured or collapsed. The balloon is prevented from applying excessive pressure to the outer cortical bone. The wall or walls of the balloon are such that proper inflation the balloon body is achieved to provide for optimum compression of all the bone marrow. The balloon is able to be folded so that it can be inserted quickly into a bone. The balloon can be made to have a suction catheter. It can also be coated with therapeutic substances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Inventors: Mark A. Reiley, Arie Scholten, Karen D. Talmadge
  • Patent number: 5820083
    Abstract: A tie mounting system for securing elongate items to a supporting structure includes a flexible tie and a mount for anchoring the tie to the supporting structure adjacent a mounting stud. The mount is secured to the stud with a nut and washer and provides an anchoring loop through which the tie can be looped to secure the tie and the items to the mount. The mount extends up and away from the supporting structure to provide clearance for the tie. The trailing end of the mount is rounded and the upper surface of the mount is shaped to conform to the rounded shape of a second, similar mount. This enables two or more of the mounts to be stacked atop one another over the stud. A tab within the mount engages the stud to lightly secure the mount to the stud until the nut and washer can be installed. By using one or more ties having a buckle mount formed adjacent its locking head, two or more ties can be chained together to permit the mounting of two or more separate bundles with a single mount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Tyton-Hellermann Corporation
    Inventor: Gerard G. Geiger
  • Patent number: 5809677
    Abstract: A sign wherein individual film panels bearing graphical information are interconnected as an uninterrupted web by way of interconnecting plastic zippers. The web, which is composed of a series of film panel transparencies, is wound and unwound from spaced apart rollers for presenting the individual panels for viewing through a window in a housing. The concept of releasably interconnecting film panels is also used in stationary signs such as menu boards in fast food restaurants to provide for easy interchange of the panels when it is desired to present different menu items and prices, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1998
    Assignee: Everbrite, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl H. Wamser, Robert A. Karsten
  • Patent number: 5806714
    Abstract: A label dispenser for dispensing labels stored on a backing tape includes a main housing and a top cover that are connected at one end by a first hinge and an access door connected to the main housing by a second hinge. The top cover, main housing and access door form an enclosure having a storage compartment, a dispensing slot, a tape discharge slot and a writing window. A roll of labels stored on a backing tape is contained within the compartment and is threaded through the window and the tape discharge slot so that the labels are dispensed through the dispensing slot when the backing tape is pulled through the tape discharge slot. Information can be written on the labels as they pass through the writing window. Preferably, the top cover, the main housing and the access door are all formed as a single, unitary structure in a single injection molding operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1998
    Assignee: Tyton-Hellermann Corporation
    Inventor: Gerard G. Geiger
  • Patent number: 5799916
    Abstract: A bracket for being mounted to a flotation device such as a drum is manufactured as a single piece which includes spaced apart parallel sidewalls having a curved bottom edge for mating with the curvature of the periphery of a floating drum and has end walls spanning between the sidewalls at opposite ends of the sidewalls and a top wall opposite of the lower curved edges of the sidewalls in which top wall there is a central opening on opposite sides of which there are flat load bearing surfaces. A clamping device having the properties of a turnbuckle connects between the ends of strap which wraps around the drum and hooks to opposite ends of the turnbuckle so that turning of the body of the turnbuckle holds the ends of the strap together to effect frictional gripping of the bracket to the drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1998
    Inventor: Donald A. Lechner
  • Patent number: 5799514
    Abstract: A handcuff includes a pair of arcuate cuff bow arranged to encircle a human wrist. A locking mechanism on one of the cuff bows releasably engages the other bow to secure the bows around a wrist. A fluid actuated cylinder coupled to the locking mechanism releases the locking mechanism when pressurized fluid, such as air, is applied. The fluid actuated cylinder avoids the use of keys, resulting in a more enclosed structure that is more difficult to pick than prior key-based mechanisms. Use of the fluid actuated cylinder further improves security by making ordinary handcuff keys, which are frequently possessed by or available to prisoners, ineffective to open the handcuffs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1998
    Assignee: American Handcuff Co.
    Inventors: Thomas H. Tobin, Jr., Norbert J. Kot
  • Patent number: 5788160
    Abstract: An adaptor for a shower includes a valve component having a threaded end for connection to a shower pipe and a first nipple for connection to a showerhead. A second nipple is provided for attachment thereto of a sauna-simulating steam/hot water mist. A diverter valve controls the flow alternatively between the showerhead and the steam spray attachment. The steam spray attachment includes a screen having openings of approximately 25 to 75 microns for breaking down a stream of flowing water into a steam-like mist of fine droplets and water vapor. The broken down stream of water is then sprayed through a nozzle opening, preferably providing a fan-shaped spray. The nozzle opening is of the size to accommodate a flow of about 0.2 to 0.4 gallons per minute.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Inventor: Gunter Woog
  • Patent number: 5785803
    Abstract: A machine for applying outserts to articles such as bottles has a turntable driven about a vertical axis. A glue roller and an outsert dispenser are positioned in that order of turntable rotation adjacent the periphery of the turntable. A circular array of bottle support assemblies are mounted concentric to the turntable axis. A closed loop cam groove positioned below the turntable surrounds its rotational axis. Cam followers in the groove are connected to mechanisms that drive shafts on which the bottle support assemblies are mounted rotationally in response to turntable rotation. The support assemblies have a bottle holder plate on them in which plate there is a cavity for holding the bottle to which an outsert is to be adhered on a given outside wall area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1998
    Assignee: Krones, Inc.
    Inventor: Hans G. Schiessl
  • Patent number: 5787055
    Abstract: A changeable wall clock system includes a single clock base used in conjunction with a number of different clock dials. The clock dials can be stacked atop one another in the clock base with only the uppermost dial visible. By changing which dial is uppermost, the visual appearance of the clock can be readily changed. The clock dials that are not visible can be stored in the clock base until they are needed. A tab and slot arrangement secures the multiple clock dials in the clock base. A removable frame helps hold the assembled clock together. By including multiple frames of different appearance in the system, further variety in the appearance of the assembled clock can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1998
    Inventor: David J. Alpert
  • Patent number: D398646
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1998
    Assignee: Tyton Hellermann Corporation
    Inventor: Gerard G. Geiger
  • Patent number: D400947
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Inventor: Niki Vujaklya