Patents Examined by David W. Reed
  • Patent number: 5538061
    Abstract: A dual chamber inflatable safety tire mounted on a rim, said tire having an outer tire with an inner tire disposed within the outer tire forming an outer chamber and inner chamber, a one way valve means extending through the inner tire to enable air flow from the outer chamber to the inner chamber, a first inflation and deflation valve means extending through the apparatus into the outer chamber, and a second inflation and deflation valve means extended through the apparatus into the inner chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1996
    Inventor: Johnny E. Blair
  • Patent number: 5505897
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing plastic pipe such that the pipe has apertures formed therein when the pipe is viewed in cross-section, comprising the steps of having hot plastic flow through a die and subsequently be extruded through a die head to form an extruded wall component having first and second end wails, with the die head having formed therein a plurality of first sized gaps and a plurality of second sized gaps, with the second sized gaps having an aperture located inside each of said second sized gaps. The die is secured to a manifold assembly, with the manifold assembly comprising sets of tubes located centrally of one another, each set of tubes comprising a water inlet tube, a tube through which a vacuum is pulled, and a water return tube. Each set of tubes is positioned longitudinally within a respective die manifold tube with the outermost surface of each set of tubes spaced a first distance from the respective die manifold tube. Each of the respective die manifold tubes extends through the die.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 9, 1996
    Assignee: Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: John Wise, Larry L. Martin
  • Patent number: 5505241
    Abstract: A device located within the tubeless tire wall of an automobile tire, capable of preserving this tire wall from the deterioration caused by its own rim, and making it possible for the vehicle to continue rolling even when said tire loses all the air contained in its interior. The device is characterized by a partially flexible ring-shaped nucleus within the tire, attached to the tire rim and adjustably positioned over the central zone of the tire rim. Obliquely projecting flexible wings rise from the base of the ring-shaped nucleus. Each wing has a projecting ring-shaped edge at the side. When the tire is in an uninflated state, the height of the central nucleus is greater than the height of the sum of the tire rim and the thickness of the folded uninflated tire sides. Each wing interposes into the space defined by the folded side walls of the uninflated tire, and the ring shaped edge maintains engagement of the bead with the rim.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 9, 1996
    Inventor: Ricardo M. Oks
  • Patent number: 5500063
    Abstract: A method is provided for joining an elastic band to a continuously moving, partially elastic substrate. The method includes temporarily inhibiting portions of the elastic band and then positioning the band on the substrate. The substrate includes elastic and non-elastic segments, and the band is positioned so that an elastic portion of the band is on an elastic segment of the substrate and the temporarily inhibited portion of the band is on the non-elastic segment of the substrate. The band and substrate are then joined together, and the temporarily inhibited portion is activated to gather the non-elastic segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1996
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
    Inventor: James L. Jessup
  • Patent number: 5497549
    Abstract: A process for the production of core rolls for the winding of sheet maters, and particularly of photographic base papers, includes a deformable rubber tube which is inserted into a mounting tube and inflated therein through a core casing. The core casing is then slid into the inflated rubber tube and the rubber tube is deflated, and by residual stress the rubber tube exerts a pressure on the exterior surface of the core casing and adheres firmly to it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 12, 1996
    Assignee: Felix Schoeller Jr. Foto- und Spezialpapiere GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Horst Rademacher
  • Patent number: 5496435
    Abstract: The invention is to an apparatus and method for applying a plastic material to a lead frame for stabilizing the leads and retaining them in a common plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Donald C. Abbott
  • Patent number: 5482584
    Abstract: A rotor blade is made of fibre-reinforced synthetic resin and comprises a moulded core with central, front and rear elements and a foot end fastening element, a unidirectional fibre layer being wound longitudinally of the core, a first cross-binding lying over the fibre layer and a second cross-binding forming a covering for the entire assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1996
    Assignee: Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.
    Inventors: Axel S. Herrmann, Volker Krajenski, Arno E. R. K. Pabsch
  • Patent number: 5479976
    Abstract: A three-chamber tire comprises a tire body including a bead mounted to a rim and an interior hollow space therewithin to form a service chamber; a low-pressure chamber mounted circumferentially around the interior hollow space of the tire, said low-pressure chamber including a wall, at least part of which is flexible, to form a partitioned, closed space; a high-pressure chamber mounted, adjacent to the low-pressure chamber, circumferentially around the interior hollow space of the tire, the high-pressure chamber including a wall, at least part of which is flexible, to form a partitioned, closed space; a bulge portion mounted to the outer surface of the high-pressure chamber and normally urged, in a direction toward the rim to be pressed; and a control valve for the low-pressure chamber positioned between the service chamber and the low-pressure chamber, in communication with each other, wherein the communication therebetween is cut off when the air pressure of the low-pressure chamber reaches a predetermined
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1996
    Inventor: Woon-Je Cho
  • Patent number: 5474639
    Abstract: A heat exchanger having plastic channel plates (10) is manufactured by stacking the plates with intermediate spacer members. The channel plates comprise two outer walls (12, 14) which are interconnected by a plurality of intermediate walls (16). The end-portions of the intermediate walls are melted along a predetermined length thereof, while the end-portions of the outer walls of each channel plate are caused to bend away from one another, such that the edges will form integrated unities with the edges of adjacent end-portions of adjacent channel plates. Prior to solidification of the resultant joins, the joins may be flattened-out with the aid of a roller. According to the invention, the spaces defined by the outer walls of the channel plates and the spacer members may be filled with plastic particles, which form an integrated unity with the end-portions of the channel plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 12, 1995
    Inventors: Johan Alander, Bjorn Hagert
  • Patent number: 5474631
    Abstract: Process for compressing a three-dimensional rigid body against a rigid adhesive-coated support member during the curing cycle of the adhesive. Spaced bands or straps of strong, non-stretchable fibers are applied over the body and through opposed openings in the adhesive-coated support member, and the opposite ends of each strap or band are engaged in adjustable tensioning members. The tensioning members are tightened to provide and maintain a predetermined pressure between the adhesive coated support member and the three-dimensional body while the adhesive is subjected to a curing cycle. In a preferred embodiment the compressed unit is assembled with other elements to be cure-bonded thereto and the assembly is united in a single cure cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 12, 1995
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventor: Eldon L. Bowman
  • Patent number: 5472538
    Abstract: A process for producing a phase retarder film, which comprises laminating a heat-shrinkable film on at least one side of a uniaxially stretched thermoplastic resin film so that the heat shrinkage axis direction of said heat-shrinkable film becomes perpendicular to the stretching axis direction of said uniaxially stretched thermoplastic resin film, subjecting the resulting laminate to heat shrinkage, and then peeling and removing the heat-shrinkable film. An object of the present invention is to provide a process for providing a phase retarder film having a desired R.sub.40 /R.sub.0 value and a desired retardation value, easily and at a high efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 5, 1995
    Assignee: Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiichi Minakuchi, Hideki Shimomura, Kazuaki Sakakura
  • Patent number: 5458718
    Abstract: A method of joining a beading to a luggage case is provided in which the beading has a conductive material, for example a length of wire embedded within it and in which the beading and the luggage case are positioned together and the conductive material made to pass a current so that it heats up causing the thermoplastic materials to melt locally and fuse. A hard shell luggage case having a thus joined beading and which in a particular embodiment includes a lining which also becomes attached to the case in the method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1995
    Assignee: VIP Industries Limited
    Inventor: Ramchandra Venkitachalam
  • Patent number: 5456779
    Abstract: An open mesh material for use as a high performance RF reflective antenna surface and which is formed as a Leno type weave using electrically conductive composite yarns which have a construction for avoiding loose metal-to-metal contacts which generate undesirable passive intermodulation products (PIM). The composite yarns are formed by counter-wrapping stretch resistant nonconductive strands about an insulated metal strand and a stretch resistant nonconductive filler yarn. The insulated metal strand preferably includes a beryllium-copper wire which is encapsulated within a polyamide coating. The woven mesh is coated with a RF energy transparent silicone-based paint to provide additional insulation to the plastic coated wires at the weave junctions and has a surface resistivity sufficiently low to facilitate bleed off of building electro-static charges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1995
    Assignee: Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc.
    Inventor: Ajit K. Sinha
  • Patent number: 5450887
    Abstract: Support device S for the tread of a tire P, comprising a rigid support (1), an elastic cap (2) of rubber stock, a layer of lubricant (5) being arranged between said support (1) and said cap (2) to permit circumferential displacement of one with respect to the other, means (21, 23, 12, 121, 122, 125) being provided to assure the holding of the cap (2) transversely and radially on the support (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 19, 1995
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin - Michelin & Cie
    Inventors: Emmanuel Habay, Guy-Noel Lambert
  • Patent number: 5449427
    Abstract: A method for processing a low dielectric constant material includes dispersing an additive material in a porous low dielectric constant layer, fabricating a desired electronic structure, and then removing the additive material from the pores of the low dielectric constant layer. The removal of the additive material from the pores can be accomplished by sublimation, evaporation, and diffusion. Applications for the low dielectric constant layer include the use as an overlay layer for interconnecting a circuit chip supported by a substrate and the use as printed circuit board material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1995
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert J. Wojnarowski, Herbert S. Cole, Theresa A. Sitnik-Nieters, Wolfgang Daum
  • Patent number: 5437888
    Abstract: A waterproof zip closure is formed by extruding a first thermoplastic material onto its teeth, and applying a transverse force while the first thermoplastic material cures. The transverse force is sufficient to move the teeth in the separating direction, but is less than that which can cause separation. After curing of the thermoplastic material, the tapes and teeth of the zip closure are coated with a second thermoplastic sealing material, while the transverse force is maintained. When the transverse force is removed the sealing material is forced together to provide a waterproof seal. The second thermoplastic sealing material on the tapes further improves the waterproof nature of the zip closure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 1, 1995
    Inventor: Hartmut Ortlieb
  • Patent number: 5437753
    Abstract: A method of producing an interior trim component using the steps of: impregnating a foam pad with a dielectrically heatable thermoplastic binder; placing the pad between a dielectrically heatable panel and decorative covering; compressing the pad; and applying an electric field to the pad and panel sufficient to heat and soften the thermoplastic binder and the panel whereby the thermoplastic binder bonds with the covering and panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 1, 1995
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Kenneth J. Ugolini
  • Patent number: 5431760
    Abstract: In a continuous bag-making process, the film and zipper track moves intermittently through a bag machine in a continuous stream, so there is no end to the zipper track on which the slider can be inserted. In the present invention, in the intermittent motion-part of the bag machine, the zipper is cut apart at the location that is to be the edge of the bag, the ends formed by the cutter moved laterally relative to each other exposing the ends and the slider is inserted over one of the exposed ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1995
    Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation
    Inventor: Terry J. Donovan