Patents Examined by Alexandra K. Pechhold
  • Patent number: 6854528
    Abstract: A livestock bedding conditioning apparatus is disclosed, the apparatus comprising a self-propelled drive vehicle with a rotor arm attached to a frame on the vehicle. The rotor arm comprises a plurality of rotors, the device having hydraulic motor for rotating the rotors. Each rotor has a bit at its end, which engages the livestock bedding material. The rotation of the bit within the bedding material loosens, fluffs up and aerates the bedding material, resulting in a healthier and more comfortable bedding material for the livestock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Inventor: Brad Dowdy
  • Patent number: 6854147
    Abstract: A loading ramp having an elongated frame with guideways along its length on opposite side thereof. A moving panel having rollers at its front and rear adapted to roll along die guideways of the ramp to roll the panel along the length of the elongated frame. A table mounted at one end to the moving panel and support means to support the table at its other end out away from the panel. A loading bracket for mounting in the doorway of an aircraft and adapted to receive the upper end of the elongated frame to provide a ramp from the ground to the doorway of the aircraft. A power mechanism for powering the panel and connecting table upward and downward along the frame from adjacent the ground to the doorway of the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Inventor: George E. Ahlsten
  • Patent number: 6854524
    Abstract: Tools for trimming excess vegetation from growing plants include inner and outer coaxially positioned, relatively rotatable cutter blade assemblies which establish an interior volume for receiving a plant to be trimmed. Excess vegetation from the plant which extends outwardly of the interior volume established by the cutter blades will therefore be severed upon relative rotation being effected therebetween. Most preferably, the inner cutter assembly includes sets of elongate cutter blade members whose having tined ends which may be partially embedded in the soil surrounding the growing plant to be trimmed. The outer cutter assembly is mounted for free movement both rotationally and longitudinally regarding the inner cutter assembly, and is most preferably connected to a motorized source of power (e.g., a conventional hand-held electric drill).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Inventor: Rudolph C. Williams
  • Patent number: 6851485
    Abstract: A circle structure of a motor grader excellent in durability at low maintenance cost. For this purpose, the circle structure includes a drawbar (105), at least one guide shoe (213) attached to the drawbar, an integrated ring-shaped circle gear (211) rotatably supported by the guide shoe, a plurality of circle gear mounting bolts (215) placed at equal pitches on a mounting pitch circle of the circle gear, and a circle (104) which is mounted to the circle gear by the circle gear mounting bolts and rotatable with respect to the drawbar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Maeda, Kenji Misuda
  • Patent number: 6851486
    Abstract: A grading attachment for a skid steer loader is provided with steerable wheels that are steered by an actuator. The blade of the grading attachment may be rotatable through 360 degrees by a motor and gear assembly. Actuators may be provided to raise, lower and tilt the blade. The actuators may be hydraulic, and may be controlled by switches mounted on sleeves that may be mounted on the control handles of the loader. The switches may control the flow of hydraulic fluid to the actuators by actuating solenoid valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Inventor: Gerald Eugene Marshall
  • Patent number: 6846128
    Abstract: The invention relates to a soil compacting device comprising a motion detection device for detecting an actual value for the travelling motion of the soil compacting device. Inside a travel control device, the actual value is compared with a set value that is predetermined by the operator. When a difference between these two values is determined, the travel control device corrects the travelling motion by controlling a steering device or a drive of the soil compacting device. In another embodiment of the invention, a number of vibration plates are connected by the means of connecting elements to form a soil compacting system, which is also provided with a travel control device. The travel control device controls the individual drives in order to steer the entire soil compacting system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2005
    Assignee: Wacker Construction Equipment AG
    Inventor: Georg Sick
  • Patent number: 6842930
    Abstract: The dock leveler is adapted to be mounted to a loading dock and includes a ramp, a guard, and a biasing member. The ramp is rotatably coupled to the loading dock and the guard is rotatably coupled to the ramp. The guard is rotated between a raised position that forms a barrier and a lowered position that permits loading equipment to freely pass. The biasing member is coupled to the guard and biases the guard toward the raised position when the guard is in the raised position and biases the guard toward the lowered position when the guard is in the lowered position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2005
    Assignee: SPX Dock Products Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas H. Massey, Kim Duvernell, Michael M. Meichtry
  • Patent number: 6843047
    Abstract: A novel soil conditioning rotary reel comprised of a rotary reel having a plurality of flat bars attached to support plates in a symmetrical helix arrangement is disclosed. The number of bars and the diameter of the reel are determined by the limitation that the straight-line distance between two adjacent bars be less than six inches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2005
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventor: Paul Hurtis
  • Patent number: 6843613
    Abstract: A heavy duty ground retractable automobile barrier for a railroad crossing. Concrete bunkers are placed at each side of a roadway. An upstanding concrete-filled steel pipe fixed in each bunker has a sleeve for rotational and axial movement. Shock absorbers are mounted on each sleeve. A net extends across the road and is attached to the opposite ends of the shock absorbers. Collision of an automobile with the net creates tensile forces in the net. The shock absorbers expand while rotating about the pipe's axis in response to tensile forces from the net that meet or exceed a minimum threshold. Forces from the net pass through the axis of the steel pipe. The net is stored in a pit transverse the roadway parallel to the railroad tracks and is raised and lowered as appropriate. The net includes a cable that extends across the road in a wave pattern, having peaks, valleys and midpoints, wherein tangents of the wave midpoints are at least 90 degrees from tangents of the peaks and valleys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2005
    Assignee: Universal Safety Response, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew A. Gelfand, Joseph Vellozzi, John S. Paner, Norman D. MacKenzie, Shubin Ruan, D. Lance Bullard, Jr., Dean C. Alberson
  • Patent number: 6839990
    Abstract: A mounting system for a digging tooth of an excavator bucket has an adaptor nose with upper and lower bearing surfaces tapering convergently towards a free end thereof. A digging tooth having a convergently tapering socket locates on said adaptor nose with a screw-threaded connector extending, in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of said tooth, between a connector abutment on the adaptor nose and a tooth coupling on the tooth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2005
    Inventors: Bruce Alexander Leslie, Thomas Anthony Meyers
  • Patent number: 6840707
    Abstract: A vertical panel system comprises a vertical panel having a panel with opposing first and second panel surfaces and a base edge. The system further comprises a base having a slot for engaging the base edge of the panel. An aperture is disposed in the panel in proximity to the base edge, which is of sufficient size to receive a foot of a user, for assisting in the engagement of the panel and the base. The base for the vertical panel system comprises a center zone fabricated of vulcanized rubber, and an outer zone fabricated of recycled rubber. The slot is disposed in the center zone. Thus, the combination solves a need to be environmentally responsible and cost effective by recycling rubber which would otherwise fill our landfills, yet provides increased durability by using virgin vulcanized rubber in the zone of the base which includes the engagement slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2005
    Assignee: Traffix Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Brent M. Kulp, David C. Gertz
  • Patent number: 6840334
    Abstract: A grader attachment for a skid steer utilizes the skid steer's auxiliary hydraulics to power an independent hydrostatic steering system for the grader and to control skid steer propulsion and grader blade position. The attachment mounts to the skid steer via a standard mounting connection. The auxiliary hydraulics of the skid steer are routed through a flow control valve and then through a safety valve/back pressure valve before being tapped to control the steering, blade positioning and propulsion systems of the grader. The steering and propulsion systems use a cross bar which connects to the hand control levers of the skid steer. The foot pedal used to control propulsion of the skid steer and attachment has a centering system so that the cylinder goes back to neutral when an operator's foot is removed from the pedal stopping the unit. The blade positioning system utilizes pairs of lift and angle cylinders which allow the blade to be rotated or tilted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2005
    Inventor: Lonnie L. Marquardt
  • Patent number: 6837649
    Abstract: A compactor tooth has a replaceable wear tip mounted to a mounting block carried on the cylindrical exterior surface of a landfill-compactor wheel of a compactor machine. The mounting block has an external surface formed to engage a complementary internal cavity of the wear tip and includes a pair of circumferentially spaced sides oriented not more than 5 degrees from perpendicular to the cylindrical exterior surface of the wheel. The replaceable tip has a body with an exterior ground-engaging surface, a mounting end and a mounting-base receiving cavity opening through the mounting end. The cavity is configured to receive the mounting block thereinto and has a pair of circumferentially spaced side surfaces configured to be in close abutting relationship to a respective one of the circumferentially spaced sides of said mounting block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2005
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc
    Inventors: Richard E. Livesay, Riaz A. Shaikh
  • Patent number: 6835023
    Abstract: A reflective traffic guidance system is disclosed for allowing vehicle drivers easier viewing of forward traffic by use of the reflective sides of the traffic barricade. The system includes a traffic barrier with a front surface, a substrate on the traffic barrier positioned adjacent to the front surface of the traffic barrier, and a reflective surface on the substrate for reflecting incident light in a substantially specular manner and being substantially incapable of reflecting incident light in a retroreflective manner. Optionally, the traffic barrier may comprise a traffic panel that may be placed on or over conventional concrete barriers or guardrails or may be used alone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2004
    Inventor: John D. Paterson
  • Patent number: 6830408
    Abstract: A system for repairing roads is provided. The system includes a highly strain tolerant, substantially impermeable, reflective crack relief interlayer. The interlayer includes a polymer modified asphalt binder mixed with a dense fine aggregate mixture. About 100% of the aggregate should be able to pass through about a 9.5 mm sieve. The interlayer mix is designed using volumetrics and verified using a Flexural Beam Fatigue test and a Hveem Stability test. Preferably, an HMA overlay that is compatible with the interlayer, as well as the demands of local traffic, is placed over the interlayer so that a protected, smooth road surface is provided. The system may delay the first appearance of cracks and the severity of cracks for several years compared with traditional hot mix overlays and extend pavement service life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2004
    Assignee: KMC Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip B. Blankenship, Joseph Drbohlav, III, Michael L. Hines
  • Patent number: 6827527
    Abstract: The present invention provides a wall that is easy to construct and is able to utilize the long-term design strength of a geosynthetic reinforcement connection or anchor. In accordance with one or more of the embodiments, the wall comprises a multifaceted rotatable locking bar in contact with one end of a geosynthetic reinforcement; a lower block with an edgeless surface section adjacent a receiving channel which accepts the locking bar and geosynthetic reinforcement; and, an upper block with a receiving channel which also accepts the locking bar and geosynthetic reinforcement. A force applied to an opposite end of the geosynthetic reinforcement is transferred, via the geosynthetic reinforcement, to the locking bar causing the bar to rotate and engage the geosynthetic reinforcement with at least one side of a receiving channel. In this manner, the reinforcement is engaged with the stacked blocks and the stacked blocks are united with the adjacent support or backfill.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: The New Castle Group, Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Conkel, Richard J. Valentine
  • Patent number: 6827153
    Abstract: A garden tool with a non-slip handle grip, designed for immediate and not difficult removal of deep-rooted plants such as Thistle and Dock weeds. The body of the tool is of rigid and strong construction, with angled cutting faces and includes a plant/soil containment chamber. The tools angular cutting faces and profile, are designed to produce efficient insertion and soil compression when downward thrust is applied, which therefore holds captive the plant root in the containment chamber, hence achieving successful plant removal from the ground when the tool is withdrawn. The slotted front of the containment chamber allows for unwanted plant and soil removal from the tool. Optional hand and foot cross-members added, to produce more forceful insertion into and easier withdrawal from the ground, and to create a convenient standing operating stance, when using the tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Inventor: Robert Edward Constable
  • Patent number: 6827155
    Abstract: An implement mounting system for providing a lightweight structure capable of moving along 3 main axes for use upon small to mid-sized tractors. The implement mounting system includes a support frame having a pair of side supports and a rear support, a ball joint attached to the rear support, and a support arm movably attached to the ball joint for rotating about 3 main axes. A brace member is attached between the support frame and the support arm for reducing the amount of side-to-side movement of the support arm. The ball joint is comprised of a ball-and-socket structure for providing various pivoting movements of the support arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Inventor: Ronald J. Hoffart
  • Patent number: 6820296
    Abstract: A novel apparatus for moving passengers between an airport terminal building and a doorway of an aircraft located rearward of a wing of the aircraft. The inventive apparatus includes a passageway member pivotally anchored to one of the terminal building and a passenger loading bridge for servicing a front doorway of a same aircraft. The apparatus includes a telescopic passageway member that is pivotally mounted to the passageway member via a flexible connection. In use, the apparatus is cantilevered over the wing of an aircraft with the flexible connection substantially above a highest point along an upper surface of the aircraft wing. The flexible connection allows a cabin carried at an outboard end of the telescopic passageway member to mate to the rear doorway of the aircraft, providing an open passageway between the rear doorway and the terminal building through which passengers deplane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2004
    Assignee: DEW Engineering and Development Limited
    Inventors: Neil Hutton, Christopher Nowak
  • Patent number: 6821052
    Abstract: A combination asphalt/concrete surface repair machine. The machine is a direction-finding, wheeled, transportable vehicle, which is a self-regulating, repair machine, controlled by a complex central computer. The machine is capable of being attached to and hauled by another faster vehicle (i.e., truck) if necessary. This machine is guided by a positioning device, which uses advanced radar and laser technology to place the machine above every position of the road surface to be repaired. The machine uses data from seismic or radar analysis carried out in preparation for repairing the road surface by the use of robotic modules within the machine. This technology can also be used to build new roads, racetracks, airport runways, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, etc. Multiple construction or repair functions are provided within one machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2004
    Inventor: William Harrison Zurn