Patents Examined by Abigail Troy
  • Patent number: 9809084
    Abstract: A housing is provided for a motor vehicle HVAC system, which is formed from interconnectable housing parts and has a groove, delimited by a first and a second groove leg, on a first housing part and a tongue on a second housing part and in which to connect the housing parts the tongue is disposed in the groove. In this regard, the first and second groove legs are formed in such a way that in the inserted state of the tongue in the groove at least one groove leg at its free end is spaced apart from a corresponding tongue-side bearing shoulder of the second housing part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: MAHLE International GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Grieb, Rainer Buerkle, Thomas Feith
  • Patent number: 9808053
    Abstract: A magnetic clasp for jewelry has a first and a second coupling part each having a magnet and an abutment surface which are pulled against one another by a magnetic force of attraction when closed. The two coupling parts each have a fastening element for fastening jewelry and predefine a pulling direction when closed. The first coupling part defines a receptacle for the second coupling part to engage when the clasp is closed. The second coupling part has an undercut which forms an interlock acting against the pulling direction. The abutment surfaces are at an incline to the pulling direction and the first coupling part forms a sliding surface which, when the clasp is closed and pressure acts on the second coupling part oppositely to the pulling direction, allows a displacement of the second coupling part relative to the first coupling part, thus opening the clasp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: Vilmas GmbH
    Inventor: Antonio Jakubowski
  • Patent number: 9788615
    Abstract: These fastener elements have: an element main body portion having a coupling head portion; and first and second projections that project in a tape surface/rear-surface direction from the element main body portion. The first and second projections have a top surface, peripheral side surfaces standing upright from the element main body portion, and at least one sloped surface between the top surface and the peripheral side surfaces that has a different angle of inclination from the top surface and the peripheral side surfaces. As a result, the fastener elements appear long and narrow in the element length direction and have an external appearance close to that of a metal element. Furthermore, a stop claw portion is less likely to catch on the fastener elements when starting the sliding operation of a slider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: YKK Corporation
    Inventor: Masayoshi Kojima
  • Patent number: 9790707
    Abstract: A barrier panel is formed of a first rail member and a second rail member with at least one vertical support member mounted to and extending between the first rail member and second rail member. The first rail member includes first openings spaced apart along its length. The second rail member includes second openings spaced apart along its length. Vertical cables are mounted to and extend between the first rail member and second rail member. A first end of each vertical cable is secured within one of the first openings and a second end of each vertical cable is secured within an opposite one of the second openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: FORTRESS IRON, LP
    Inventors: Kevin T. Burt, Matthew Carlyle Sherstad
  • Patent number: 9781983
    Abstract: A bracelet 10 comprised of multiple strands has at least one bridge, for example three bridges, slidably disposed on the strands to connect the strands in spaced apart relation to prevent entwining of the strands with each other. Each bridge has a pair of bodies of toric shape connected by a rigid bar and each bridge may be shaped and/or colored to lend aesthetic value to the appearance of the bracelet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Inventors: Michael J. Vaillancourt, Kathryn E. Vaillancourt, Theresa E. Vaillancourt
  • Patent number: 9781980
    Abstract: A releasable fastening features a first fastening strip including an elongated, flexible base carrying an array of discrete fastener elements arranged in rows and columns, and a second fastening strip configured to releasably engage with the first fastening strip. The first fastening strip also includes a longitudinally continuous rib supported by the upper surface of the base of the first fastening strip, the rib extending sufficiently far from the base of the first fastening strip to engage a sealing portion of the second fastening strip, and of a bending strength sufficiently low that the rib is placed in an elastically bent state, when the first and second fastening strips are in the engaged state, thereby forming with the sealing portion of the second fastening strip a non-interlocking barrier to resist flow across the fastening with the first and second fastening strips in the engaged state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: Velcro BVBA
    Inventors: Victor Horst Kheil, Christopher M. Gallant, Christopher C. Libby
  • Patent number: 9775415
    Abstract: A ring re-sizing attachment is appended to the internal circumference of a ring band so that a ring band large enough to pass over a knuckle remains comfortably fit around the digital finger below the knuckle. The attachment includes two or more telescoping buttons joined to a base, with a conical spring urging the buttons away from the base. The spring is compressed and the buttons urged together to increase the space within the band to move the band beyond a knuckle. Once the band is beyond the knuckle, the spring urges the buttons away from the base to tighten the fit of the ring band around the finger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
  • Patent number: 9776836
    Abstract: An arrangement of two rail segments, consisting of at least one mounting element disposed at each rail segment, and of at least one connector in contact with the mounting elements, by means of which the rail segments can be connected to each other at the end faces thereof, wherein each mounting element is attached to the corresponding rail segment by means of a welding seam. At least one end of the welding seam ends in a region on the rail segment outside of the mounting element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Terex MHPS GmbH
    Inventors: Gerd Spies, Christoph Passmann
  • Patent number: 9770077
    Abstract: A clasp for connecting one or more jewelry items together has a male body and a female body. The male body engages with the female body by placing an insert of the male body into an insert-receiving volume of the female body. The insert-receiving volume is defined by a shell, the shell being formed by a first surface and a second surface which are joined by a lateral surface. The insert has a planar body and a spring arm which is hingedly connected to the planar body. A lip of the shell normally prevents the insert from being moved into or out of the shell, but the free end can be pressed down by a connected tab, such that the free end does not encounter the lip. The spring arm returns to a default equilibrium position when external force is not applied via the tab.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Inventor: Maria Gibbs
  • Patent number: 9771736
    Abstract: A modular, movable, barricade which has, along its bottom edge, a one or more of supporting feet configured to allow stacking during storage and/or transport. Individual, similar barricade modules may be easily assembled into customized configurations for use by complementary attachment means along the side edges. After use, an assembled customized configuration may be easily disassembled into individual barricade modules by detaching the attachment means. The modules may then be stacked for storage and/or transport until further use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: MLR INTERNATIONAL LLC
    Inventor: Moshe Levran
  • Patent number: 9750313
    Abstract: A slider for slide fastener has a slider body in which an upper wing and a lower wing are coupled via a coupling pillar at the front side. At the front part of the upper wing, provided is a downward slope descending toward the lower wing as extending away from a front mouth toward a back mouth of the slider body. At the front part of the lower wing, provided is an upward slope ascending toward the upper wing as extending away from the front mouth toward the back mouth of the slider body. The downward slope of the upper wing is steeper than the upward slope of the lower wing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: YKK Corporation
    Inventors: Keiichi Keyaki, Takanori Ozawa
  • Patent number: 9751669
    Abstract: In an open hose clamp, the end of the outer one of the mutually overlapping clamping band portions terminates in a tongue. For tightening the clamp, the tongue has a toothed region which cooperates with a toothed region on the inner clamping band portion. The inner clamping band portion has with guide brackets that surround the tongue at least in part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: OETIKER SCHWEIZ AG
    Inventor: Manuel Müller
  • Patent number: 9743725
    Abstract: A clasp includes a male clasp portion having a tongue having an opening, and a female clasp portion having a generally hollow body. The hollow body has a first opening and a second opening. A movable button is disposed in the body, and the button has a first portion positioned in the second opening of the hollow body and a second portion defining a post. A biasing member is operable to bias the button in a locking position in which the post is disposable across at least a portion of the opening in the tongue when the tongue is disposed in the first opening of the hollow body, and the button is operable to being moved to a release position in which the post is disengagable from the opening in the tongue to allow the tongue to be spaced from the hollow body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Chamilia, LLC
    Inventors: Troy Hines, Declan Halpin, Haowen Chen, Yongqiang Zhang
  • Patent number: 9743714
    Abstract: Disclosed is a closure system used in combination in any of a variety of applications including clothing, for example as a footwear lacing system comprising a lace attached to a tightening mechanism. The lace extends through a series of guide members positioned along two opposing footwear closure portions. The lace and guides preferably have low friction surfaces to facilitate sliding of the lace along the guide members so that the lace evenly distributes tension across the footwear member. The tightening mechanism allows incremental adjustment of the tension of the lace. The closure system allows a user to quickly loosen the lace and inhibits unintentional and/or accidental loosing of the lace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Boa Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Gary R. Hammerslag, Mike Mayberry, Mark Soderberg
  • Patent number: 9743722
    Abstract: A musical zipper including a zipper having a slider, a continuous C-shaped flap having a pair of outer ends attached to a front surface of the slider, a pull tab engaging the flap, a pair of interlocking teeth having a first interlocking member and a second interlocking member, a speaker disposed on the front surface of the slider, and a sound chip disposed within the slider. The slider is configured to travel from a first end of the zipper to a second end of the zipper to connect the first interlocking member with the second interlocking member. The slider is configured to travel from the second end of the zipper to the first end of the zipper to disconnect the first interlocking member from the second interlocking member. The sound chip is configured to play a musical tune when the sound chip is activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Inventor: Stan Divranos
  • Patent number: 9725028
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method of using the apparatus and system may generally include a strap or retention device. A first end of a fastener is operatively coupled to the strap that is configured to retain a cargo contactingly adjacent a cargo support surface. A second end of the fastener is operatively coupled to the first end. The second end has an inner surface and an opposing, outer surface. The inner surface provides a recess feature configured to receive a magnet that is configured to support the second end adjacent a side of the cargo support surface. The inner surface provides a recess feature configured to receive a magnet that is configured to support the second end adjacent a side of the cargo support surface, wherein the side does not produce its own magnetic field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Etzkorn Enterprises, LLC
    Inventor: Josh T. Etzkorn
  • Patent number: 9717311
    Abstract: Provided is a fastener, which has advantages over the prior art in that a retaining force is not dependent upon the biasing force of a spring, the fastener hardly comes out, and is less restricted in size than the prior art. The fastener has another important advantage over the prior art in that it forms no hole in plain cloth. A fitting portion (2) and a base portion (3) are assembled to have a clamping unit (1) opened. A stopper (4) is pushed together with the plain cloth into the inside of the clamping unit (1). This clamping unit (1) is closed to hold the plain cloth between the outer circumference of the stopper (4) and the leading ends of holding means (26 and 36). With slide portions (22) being fully fitted in groove portions (32), retaining pawls (23) are fitted in pawl receivers (33b).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: CLIPWARE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Odashima, Yasuhisa Seo
  • Patent number: 9706817
    Abstract: A decorative floral jewelry device is shown. The device allows the user to change out the beaded center portion of the floral jewelry and also provides at least one rod with platform that affixes to the back of the floral element such that the floral element does not sag thereby deterring from the look of the jewelry. An alternative embodiment shows a jewelry device that has a rod with platform and loop but uses a hook with loop and retention device and clip to fasten a decorative element to help maintain the upright position of the decorative element. This embodiment can also have a second rod and platform with a loop on which can be mounted decorative elements. Where the loop of the hook, retention device and second rod are all interconnected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Inventor: Karla Darlene Dumas
  • Patent number: 9687047
    Abstract: A lace product for threading into a shoe or garment including: a plurality of single eyelet laces, a spine, stitching securing each of the plurality of single eyelet laces to the spine such that the single eyelet laces cannot be separated from the spine with a force of less than 400 lbs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: U-LACE, LLC
    Inventor: Timothy J. Talley