Patents Assigned to The Hillman Group
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Patent number: 12279707Abstract: An anchor assembly for hanging an object on a wall includes a first anchor component and a second anchor component. The second anchor component is pivotably associated with the first anchor component for movement between an anchoring orientation and a non-anchoring orientation to enable staged installation of the anchor assembly into a wall. At least one wall penetrating retainer extends from each of the first and second anchor components. When the second anchor component is in the anchoring orientation a curved configuration of the wall penetrating extent of the retainer of the second anchor component opposes a curved configuration of the wall penetrating extent of the retainer of the first anchor component to form a jaw-type arrangement.Type: GrantFiled: April 13, 2023Date of Patent: April 22, 2025Assignee: The Hillman Group, Inc.Inventors: Gary E. Will, Byron K. Grice, Dale G. Malott
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Patent number: 12207623Abstract: A carrier assembly for a pet tag and an electronic tracking component includes a front cover, a retainer ring and a rear cover engaged with each other, with the retainer ring between the front cover and the rear cover. The retainer ring is movable, relative to the front cover and the rear cover, between a release position and a retention position, wherein, in the retention position of the retainer ring, the rear cover is retained adjacent the front cover and retainer ring for holding an electronic tracking device in the second recess, wherein, in the release position of the retainer ring, the rear cover is released to enable the rear cover to be separated from the front cover and retainer ring.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2022Date of Patent: January 28, 2025Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Byron K. Grice, Michael J. Schmidt
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Patent number: 12168992Abstract: A hardware apparatus includes a washer/nut member comprising a disc-shaped base plate with a nut-shaped projection extending therefrom, wherein the nut-shaped projection includes a through passage to the disc-shaped base plate and the disc-shaped base plate includes a through opening aligned with the through passage. An insert is positionable within the through passage of the nut-shaped projection, the insert including a disc-shaped flange, a projection at one side of the flange, and a passage through the flange and the projection, wherein the projection is engageable in the through opening, wherein a perimeter shape of the projection is configured to cooperate with a perimeter shape of the through opening to prevent rotation of the insert relative to the washer/nut member.Type: GrantFiled: August 3, 2022Date of Patent: December 17, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Kwan Ming Edwin Kwok, Beesham Mahadeo
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Patent number: 12161240Abstract: An apparatus for supporting an object on a wall includes a wall member including a rear side defining a wall mount plane to be held against a wall surface and a recess defined at least in part by a front wall portion. A frame member includes a frame mount section and an arm extending downward from the frame mount section for positioning down into the recess of the wall member for support. The front wall portion and the arm are configured such that an interaction of the arm and a rear surface of the front wall portion during a downward movement of the arm into the recess, while the frame mount section is spaced away from the wall surface, will cause at least one of the front wall portion or the arm to move.Type: GrantFiled: December 16, 2021Date of Patent: December 10, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Dale G. Malott, Gaith Alawwad
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Patent number: 12151507Abstract: A tag cassette assembly for use in connection with an engraving process carried out in an engraving machine includes a single piece cassette body of plastic material, the cassette body including a first major side and a second major side and a periphery formed by minor edges; a tag secured in a capture space of the cassette body; wherein the cassette first major side is configured to provide access to a first side of the tag to facilitate engraving and the second major side is configured to provide access to a second side of the tag to facilitate engraving.Type: GrantFiled: August 21, 2020Date of Patent: November 26, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventor: James F. Huss
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Patent number: 12128486Abstract: Systems and methods for duplicating keys are disclosed. A key duplication system receives a key blank into a key receiving module. The key receiving module includes opposable jaws that assist with alignment of the key blank within the module. The key receiving module also includes an end stop that engages the tip of the received key blank and is linearly displaced as the key blank is further inserted. The linear displacement of the end stop is compared to a known value corresponding to a length of the shank of the key blank, and if the displacement does not match the known value, the user is instructed to re-orient the key blank.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 2020Date of Patent: October 29, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Michael Schmidt, Byron Grice
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Patent number: 12085107Abstract: A structural screw usable in multiple different substrates/materials includes a head end, a shank and a tapered end, the head end including a tool engaging part, the head end located at a first end of the shank and the tapered end located at a second end of the shank. A thread is formed along the shank, wherein the thread begins on the tapered end, extends onto the shank and terminates at a first axial location along the shank that is spaced from the head end. The thread (i) is a multiple start thread formed by at least a first helical thread and a second helical thread and/or (ii) includes a thread angle of between fifteen degrees and thirty degrees. The screw may also include a reaming section with leading and trailing wedge sections and/or an asymmetric notch pattern along at least part of the thread edge.Type: GrantFiled: March 21, 2022Date of Patent: September 10, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Farhad Lajewardi, Dale G. Malott
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Patent number: 12085108Abstract: An anchor for wallboard installation includes an elongated anchor body including a driving end and a wall boring end. The anchor body has a main body portion running from the driving end toward the wall boring end. The wall boring end includes a plurality of axially cutting extending teeth. The anchor body includes an internal bore and diametrically opposed slots to facilitate split of an end portion of the anchor body when the anchor is installed in a wall and a fastener is inserted for mounting an object.Type: GrantFiled: November 25, 2019Date of Patent: September 10, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Hamid Faghidi, Nalinikanth Garikapati, Michael Martin Hicks
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Patent number: 12006746Abstract: A gate latch assembly includes a first door mountable portion including a first body and carrying a pivotable latch bar that extends outward from a side of the first body, and a first handle part operatively connected to effect pivot of the latch bar when the first handle is rotated, a second door mountable portion including a second body and carrying a pivot bar, and a second handle part operatively connected to effect pivot of the pivot bar when the second handle is rotated. The gate latch assembly can be assembled in either a first configuration to permit rotation of the pivot bar away from its neutral position in only a first direction, or a second configuration to permit rotation of the pivot bar away from its neutral position in only a second direction that is opposite the first direction.Type: GrantFiled: January 25, 2022Date of Patent: June 11, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Farhad Lajewardi, Ronald Scott Anderson
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Patent number: 11999187Abstract: An engraving machine is disclosed. The engraving machine may have a housing and an engraver located within the housing. The engraving machine may have a slot disposed on the housing for receiving a cartridge including an offboard item to be engraved. The engraving machine may have an onboard storage configured to store a plurality of tags. The engraving machine may have a carrier for receiving the cartridge through the slot and for positioning the cartridge relative to the engraver. The engraving machine may have a pick mechanism for selectively retrieving a tag from the tags stored in the onboard storage and for positioning the tag relative to the engraver. The engraver may engrave the offboard item or the tag based on a user selection.Type: GrantFiled: August 13, 2020Date of Patent: June 4, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: David Wilkinson, Nalinikanth Garikapati
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Publication number: 20240139881Abstract: An engraving machine may have a housing, a receptacle, and a laser head located within the housing. The receptacle may receive an item to be engraved. The laser head may have a laser generator. The engraving machine may have a gripper head to retrieve the item from the receptacle and to position the item relative to the laser head. The engraving machine may have a controller. The controller may receive an inscription to be engraved on the item, determine a distance of the laser head from the item, and position the laser head at the determined distance. The controller may also cause the laser generator in the laser head to emit a laser beam for engraving the item. Further, the controller may cause the gripper head to dispense the item into a dispensing bin.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 18, 2023Publication date: May 2, 2024Applicant: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: David WILKINSON, Roger PALMER
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Publication number: 20240054849Abstract: A self-service kiosk includes a housing and an imaging device in a key fob receptacle in the housing. The imaging device captures an image of a master key fob placed in the receptacle. The kiosk includes a key fob dispenser having a dispensing slot to receive a duplicated key fob and a dispensing mechanism to dispense the duplicated key fob into the dispensing slot. The kiosk also includes a processor that receives an image from the imaging device, and detects a presence of the master key fob in the key fob receptacle based on an analysis of the received image. Upon detecting the presence of the master key fob, the processor reads codes stored on the master key fob, writes the codes on a blank key fob to generate the duplicated key fob, and causes the dispensing mechanism to dispense the duplicated key fob in the dispensing slot.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 11, 2023Publication date: February 15, 2024Applicant: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Byron Keith GRICE, Michael Kenneth HART, Michael James SCHMIDT, Brian David ROSNER, Ari BENNETT, Robert FOORD, Bryan Keith SOLACE
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Patent number: 11850698Abstract: An automatic knife sharpening machine may include a vice to grip a blade of a knife and a pair of grind wheels to grind material from the blade. The machine may include a scanner to determine a profile of an edge of the blade, and a sharpness sensor to determine a sharpness level of the edge. The machine may include a controller. The controller may perform a first sharpening pass on the knife by moving the grind wheels into contact with the blade, and advancing the grind wheels longitudinally along the blade from adjacent the vice towards a tip of the blade with the grind wheels in contact with the blade. The controller may determine, using the sharpness sensor, the sharpness level of the edge after the first sharpening pass and perform at least one second sharpening pass when the determined sharpness level is less than a threshold sharpness level.Type: GrantFiled: January 29, 2020Date of Patent: December 26, 2023Assignee: The Hillman Group, Inc.Inventors: Whitfield Janes Fowler, Sean Stone, Ari Bennett, Jeffrey Kastenbaum, David Frederick Lyons, Dmitriy Kolchin
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Patent number: D1028416Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 2020Date of Patent: May 28, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Mark Lee Butts, James Blake Fievet, Jing Li, Jarrod Thomas Streng, Christopher Matthew Weed
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Patent number: D1044142Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2022Date of Patent: September 24, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Christopher Matthew Weed, James Blake Fievet
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Patent number: D1052846Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 2020Date of Patent: December 3, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Mark Lee Butts, James Blake Fievet, Jing Li, Jarrod Thomas Streng, Christopher Matthew Weed
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Patent number: D1054648Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2022Date of Patent: December 24, 2024Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Christopher Matthew Weed, James Blake Fievet
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Patent number: D1057350Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2022Date of Patent: January 14, 2025Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Christopher Matthew Weed, James Blake Fievet
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Patent number: D1057351Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2022Date of Patent: January 14, 2025Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Christopher Matthew Weed, James Blake Fievet
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Patent number: D1064496Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2024Date of Patent: March 4, 2025Assignee: THE HILLMAN GROUP, INC.Inventors: Mark Lee Butts, James Blake Fievet, Jing Li, Jarrod Thomas Streng, Christopher Matthew Weed