Patents Examined by Carl B. Friedman
  • Patent number: 5979127
    Abstract: An earthquake-proof object support device comprising, a sphere of a material having strength high enough to support an object to be supported, and a support frame holding said sphere for supporting said object. At least three devices of the present invention are secured to the bottom of an object to be supported and placed on a flat floor. The devices are attached as legs to a large-scaled computer, for instance and placed on the floor of an office building. The object supported by the devices of the present invention stays at its initial position in accordance with the law of inertia when an earthquake occurs, and horizontal motions of the floor of the building are absorbed by the devices of the present invention. A vertical seismic force is transmitted to the supported object but the object is stably held horizontally as is the case with an object in a vertically moving elevator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Inventor: Ryozo Yoneda