Patents Examined by Cheryl N. Hawkins
  • Patent number: 6789593
    Abstract: A combination hole punching and reinforcing device for punching holes in sheets of paper and other sheet materials applies flat reinforcement rings about holes formed in those sheets concurrently as the holes are formed. The device employs a die punch, which is preferably configured as a disposable item that is detachable from the lower end of the punching ram. The die punch is configured with a punching tip at its lower extremity and a shank that is preferably narrower than the punching tip. A plurality of reinforcement rings are stacked one atop each other and are carried upon a shoulder formed at the demarcation between the die punch tip and the die punch shank. A transverse pressure plate located atop the shank applies pressure to sequentially affix the lowermost reinforcement ring in the stack to a sheet of paper concurrently with the formation of an aperture through that sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Inventors: Isao Aono, John Hui
  • Patent number: 6786995
    Abstract: A method and apparatus that produces shaped and laminate articles and recovers the excess material or flash as a part of the manufacturing process. The apparatus uses a combination of rotary die and anvil roller assemblies in successive multiple stations to cut and separate each raw material into final product portions and recyclable flash portions as each raw material enters the apparatus. The apparatus separately reclaims each raw material flash portion and delivers the flash of each material in a recyclable form to an auxiliary recycling operation. In recovering the flash, the apparatus does not adversely affect the speed or quality of production of the final shaped or laminated product. To ease removal of the flash, the apparatus applies lubricant to the blades of the rotary die. To avoid damage to web material, the apparatus uses vacuum belts to convey the web material and web product through the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: DeNovus LLC
    Inventors: Steven Kenneth Frendle, John Robert Manley
  • Patent number: 6776209
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an adhesive tape dispenser which receives an adhesive tape coated with coating substance such as bonding substance in order to stick the same to a surface of a sheet. The adhesive tape dispenser includes a guide tip pivotally mounted on a leading end of a tape-supporting frame in such a manner as to be rotated at a predetermined angle so that a tape can be easily used and coating substance of the tape can adhere well to a wide area of the sheet surface while maintaining a proper degree of elasticity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Inventor: Kwang Ho You
  • Patent number: 6766842
    Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held labeler which is easy to load, clean and service. The labeler has a gear driven print head wherein the print head is situated on an upper housing section and the print head is actuated from a lower housing section. The upper housing section can be moved to an open position without interfering with the maintenance of the drive connection with the print head or the advance of a label carrying web through the labeler. An inker enables an ink roller to be easily inserted and removed without ink from the ink roller being transferred to the user's hands. An impression control device has only a small number of parts and is easy to assemble.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2004
    Assignee: Paxar Americas, Inc.
    Inventors: John D. Mistyurik, James A. Makley
  • Patent number: 6761200
    Abstract: A device for transferring a coating onto a paper or like surface from the outer surface of a transfer tape extending around a transfer head protruding from a casing and having a pair of transversely spaced apart guide members. A protective cover is held within the casing when the device is used and has a front end portion adapted to protrude from the casing for protecting the coating on the unused portion of the transfer tape when the device is out of use. The cover has an engaging portion formed on the inner surface of its front end portion for engaging with the bottom edges of the guide member at its front end to hold the cover in its position in which the device is out of use, while the engaging portion is engageable with a supporting portion formed on the casing to hold the cover in its position in which the device is in use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2004
    Assignee: Tombow Pencil Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masashi Shinya
  • Patent number: 6746564
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical disc, a transparent disc substrate having two relatively wide-area surfaces thereof on at least one of which an information is recorded and a first reflective film is formed onto a dummy disc having similar relatively wide-area surfaces thereof on at least one which another information is recorded and a second reflective film having a light semi-transmissive characteristic is formed are bonded via an adhesive layer and, thereafter, an external force is applied between the dummy disc and the disc substrate through an integrated center hole penetrated through the dummy disc and the disc substrate at center positions thereof to peel off the dummy disc at a first interface between the dummy disc and the second reflective film thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: Origin Electric Company, Limited
    Inventors: Osamu Fujisaku, Hironobu Nishimura, Yutaka Matsumoto, Hideo Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6745808
    Abstract: A film transfer apparatus capable of carrying out a transfer tape replacement operation easily. In an apparatus body formed by separably combining a main case member (4) and a covering case member (5) with each other to a body, a boss (14) of a feed gear (12) is fitted in a pressure contacting state around an inner cylinder of an intermediate connecting member (22) which has a double cylindrical portion of the inner cylinder and an outer cylinder, and the intermediate connecting member is engaged with and rotatably supported on a support shaft (28) having a locking portion (31), which is provided on an inner surface of the main case member with a feed reel fitted around the outer cylinder so that the feed reel can be engaged with the same. The covering case member (5) is provided on an inner surface thereof with a support shaft (25) on and with which the feed reel and a take-up reel are supported rotatably and engaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: Tombow Pencil Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kenji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6743322
    Abstract: An article of clothing has a trim of thermoplastic material, which encapsulates a peripheral region of a fabric layer and is provided with a multiplayer structure preferably including at least one retroreflective layer. The article of clothing is manufactured in accordance with a sealing method utilizing RF, sonic sealing, heat sealing, and vibration sealing performed simultaneously with cutting excess of the thermoplastic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2004
    Assignee: Printmark Industries Inc.
    Inventor: Alexander Sloot
  • Patent number: 6732781
    Abstract: A hand-held device for transferring a film of, for example, an adhesive, a covering, or colored material, from a supply tape onto a substrate. The device has a base body, in which the supply and an application member are provided, and a cover for the application member. The cover is movable between a covering position, covering the application member, and a release position, exposing the application member. The cover is pivotably attached to the base body and to maintain the overall compactness of the device, the cover substantially follows the circular outline defined by the outer contour of the base body with minimal clearance gap between the cover and the base body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Societe BIC
    Inventor: Jeanne-Antide Bouveresse
  • Patent number: 6732777
    Abstract: Systems and methods of dispensing adhesive in a bookbinding system are described. Sheets may be bound into bound text bodies having respective spines exposed for adhesive application and characterized by multiple length dimensions and multiple thickness dimensions. In one aspect, a sheet binding system comprises an adhesive dispenser that is configured to dispense across the thickness dimension of a text body spine solid sheet adhesive having one of multiple effective widths that is sized to correspond substantially to the length dimension of the text body spine. In accordance with this approach, books of different lengths (or heights) may be readily bound with solid sheet adhesive that may be contained within a single, replaceable cartridge housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: John P. Ertel, Akinobu Kuramoto, Robert L. Cobene
  • Patent number: 6732782
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for transferring a film of adhesive, covering, or colored material from a backing tape onto a substrate, having a housing in which a supply reel and a take-up reel for the backing tape are rotatably mounted, and comprising an application member arranged on the housing around which the backing tape loops. The application member is mounted so as to be moveable between a retracted non-use position and a pushed forward use position in which the application member is biased towards the non-use position by elastic pull-back force. The device has an actuation member which is disposed such that it is accessible from outside and, when moved with manual actuating force, enables the application member to move into its use position in which it is pressed against the substrate to transfer the film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Societe Bic
    Inventor: Franck Rollion
  • Patent number: 6729377
    Abstract: The invention relates to a hand-held device for transferring a film of adhesive, covering or colored material onto a substrate. The invention has a housing in which a film supply is arranged and an application member which extends from the interior of the housing to the outside through an opening in the housing and consists of a bearing section pivotably mounted about a swivelling axis in the housing and an application end, the film extending from the supply to the application member. To achieve a smaller construction, the application end extends from the bearing section, wherein the application end and the bearing section enclose an obtuse angle therebetween which is open towards the film approach side of the application member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: Societe BIC
    Inventor: Winfried Huthmacher
  • Patent number: 6722413
    Abstract: In order to selectively reinforce portions of a material web, a cutting and laminating device efficiently produces the required reinforcing strips and then laminates them to the web. In order to efficiently and accurately produce these reinforcing strips, a cross web shear is utilized which is capable of cutting required reinforcing strips from the fairly large web of reinforcing material in an accurate manner. Once cut, a holding and positioning device is capable of grabbing onto the reinforcing strip and appropriately positioning it next to the primary material web. A separate laminator can then attach this reinforcing strip to the web at a desired location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: Sig Pack Doboy Inc.
    Inventors: Philip A. Koehler, Steven F. Nagel
  • Patent number: 6719867
    Abstract: A heat sealing/severing device for heat sealing thermoplastic films together. The device includes front and rear opposing jaws that are moveable between an open position and a closed position. The open position defines a zone for inserting the thermoplastic films between the front and rear jaws. In the closed position, the front and rear jaws are proximate each other to compress the thermoplastic films together. The rear jaw includes a resilient portion facing the front jaw. The heating element of the device may have a cross-sectional thickness no less than 0.55 times the cross-sectional thickness of the resilient portion. A front jaw release sheet (e.g., an unreinforced fluoroplastic) may be positioned between the insertion zone and the heating element. The front jaw release sheet may engage the heating element when the front and rear jaws are in the closed position and disengage from the heating element when the front and rear jaws are in the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Inventors: Robert J. Mileti, Daniel C. George
  • Patent number: 6719031
    Abstract: Device for cutting out articles from a long tape and adhering the articles to an adhesive tape comprises a cutting roll, an adhering roll and a transfer device for transferring the cut-out articles to the adhesive tape. The cutting roll carries blade forms for cutting out the articles. The adhering roll carries anvils whose shapes correspond to the shape of the blades. The adhering roll also carries cylinders each of which is disposed adjacent an anvil and has a shaft capable of piston action disposed therein. Each shaft has a suction mouth at its end. The suction mouths are used to transfer the cut-out articles from the cutting roll to the adhesive tape to which they are to be adhered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Seiichi Sawai
  • Patent number: 6705373
    Abstract: The tape cutting device of an adhesive-tape holder includes a press member provided at the front upper side of the handle of an adhesive-tape holder. The press member can be pressed to push a blade to move forward and cut off an adhesive tape precisely. After the press member is actuated to move to a preset location to let the blade carry out cutting an adhesive tape, it will recover its original position by the resiliency of a spring, able to cut off an adhesive tape precisely by a pressing force of a user's fingers, conforming to ergonomics and convenient in handling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Inventor: Hsiu-Man Yu Chen
  • Patent number: 6705374
    Abstract: An adhesive-tape cutting device of an adhesive-tape holder has a position-limiting device provided between the vertical short side of a slide base and the push plate portion of a press plate. The position-limiting device is composed of two position-limiting holes bored on the vertical short side of the slide base and two insert studs fixed on the push plate portion of the press plate, and the two insert studs respectively received in the two position-limiting holes to prevent the slide base from sliding leftward or rightward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Inventor: Hsiu-Man Yu Chen
  • Patent number: 6675856
    Abstract: In a coating film transfer tool, a tape is unwound from a supply reel, fed over a transfer head, and wound onto a take-up reel driven from the supply reel by a drive mechanism having slippage. Instead of setting the average slipping torque at a high value, or minimizing its variations, to prevent it from falling below the winding threshold, the initial slipping ratio is set at a value of at least 34%. This avoids slackening of the tape without the need for close manufacturing tolerances or lubricants, and without causing a condition in which excessive force is required to wind the tape onto a take-up reel in the later stages of the tool's useful life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Fujicopian Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Kozaki
  • Patent number: 6668895
    Abstract: A labeling machine has a rotatably mounted drive wheel with alternating knurled and recessed sections formed on its circumference. The drive wheel rotates at a predetermined number of revolutions per minute, and the respective lengths of the knurled and recessed sections are pre-selected to provide a timing function that synchronizes operation of various parts of the machine. A label-carrying backing is driven along a path of travel between a supply drum and a take-up drum when a knurled section is in meshing agreement with a rotatably mounted pressure wheel. The backing is held against travel by a detent member when a recessed section is in juxtaposition with the pressure wheel, and a rotatably mounted cam operates an air valve that causes the detent member to momentarily release the backing just before a knurled section engages the pressure wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Inventor: Curtis Treadway
  • Patent number: 6669803
    Abstract: Different techniques may be used to realize the simultaneous provision of bonding material at a controlled height on a wafer level. These techniques include photolithographically patterning a layer of bonding material and providing spacer elements on a wafer then contacting another surface having the bonding material provided thereon to transfer the bonding material to the spacer elements. The patterning of the bonding material may include using a mask direct contact with or spaced from the bonding material. The providing of the spacer elements may include forming the spacers in the wafer itself or attaching spacer elements, particularly a wafer of spacer elements. The resultant integrated structure has controlled spacing between the bonded elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Digital Optics Corp.
    Inventors: Alan D. Kathman, Harris R. Miller, Jay Matthews, Stacey Grabiner, Waddie Heyward