Patents Examined by Francis K. Zugel
  • Patent number: 4963762
    Abstract: A chair secured between parallel carrier arms which extend from the front and back of the chair enables the carrying of a handicapped person by two other people including on staricases or under other conditions where conventional conveyances for the handicapped such as wheel chairs, gurneys, stretchers or the like are unsuitable. The chair is extendable and contractable relative to the carrier arms between an expanded operating configuration and a flat compact storage configuration which makes it practical to stock and prominently display the apparatus in locations such as high rise buildings where it may be needed during emergency evacuations or for other purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 16, 1990
    Assignee: Norman D. Koerner
    Inventor: Royce L. Brooks
  • Patent number: 4962962
    Abstract: The underlying object is to create a piece of seating furniture with which an automatic, bodyweight-dependent setting of the restoring force of the inclination mechanism and of the back part mechanism takes place.According to the invention, the seat part (2) is mounted on the seat carrier (5) vertically adjustably by means of a parallelogram linkage arrangement (9, 10) against the pretensioning force of a spring element (16), furthermore the back carrier (4) is mounted pivotally on the seat carrir (5), a pivoting of the back carrier (4) taking place against the pretensioning force of the spring element (16).The piece of seating furniture according to the invention can be used, for example, as office furniture, as a seat in a motor vehicle or in the domestic sector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 16, 1990
    Assignee: VOKO Franz Vogt & Co.
    Inventors: Rainer Machate, Robert Vonhausen, E. Hansen
  • Patent number: 4951996
    Abstract: A portable seat having a stable three-legged frame, one leg of the frame being bifurcated with each of its bifurcations being coupled such that the remaining two legs may be drawn close to or away from each other. A seating element is releasably coupled to the top of the frame and maintains it in its useful position. The seating element may be coupled to the side of the frame when the frame is folded for storage or transport. Footrests are provided by the coupling of horizontal members to the frame at various positions thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1989
    Date of Patent: August 28, 1990
    Inventor: Daniel T. Shannon
  • Patent number: 4946221
    Abstract: For use with an upwardly open infant seat in which an infant reclines, a removable pliable water-repellent cover adapted to extend loosely and continuously over the entire seat except for a central face opening and having a peripheral elastic element for releaseably encircling the seat to hold the cover in place, the cover being entirely without rigid framing of its own.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 7, 1990
    Inventor: Isabel C. Livingston
  • Patent number: 4944557
    Abstract: The present invention provides a seat belt handle assembly which allows a vehicle passenger to conveniently grasp a seat and shoulder belt from its retracted position for engagement. The apparatus comprises a clip assembly slidably attached to the shoulder belt with a handle projecting from the clip assembly. The clip assembly and handle are positioned such that the handle extends forward from the seat and shoulder belt to a location beside and slightly in front of the occupant's torso when the seat and shoulder belt is in the retracted position, thereby allowing the occupant to grasp the handle of the seat belt handle assembly and pull the seat and shoulder belt forward parallel to the direction of the occupant without the necessity of reaching behind the plane of the occupant's torso.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 31, 1990
    Inventor: Ryozo Tsubai
  • Patent number: 4943113
    Abstract: An improved restraining system for a child comprising in combination an infant carrier having a foot end and a head end and side edges therebetween, the carrier having finger receiving slots in its lower face; and a base having a foot end and a head end and side edges therebetween, and extending upwardly from its upper surface fingers pivotably adapted to releasably receive the slots and an inverted J-shaped hook at its foot end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 24, 1990
    Assignee: Spalding & Evenflo Companies, Inc.
    Inventor: Paul K. Meeker
  • Patent number: 4941708
    Abstract: A lifting system comprises a lifting apparatus utilized in cooperation with a conventional walker to lift a person from the floor who, due to age, disease or injury, is not able to lift themselves. The apparatus includes a crank mechanism removably supportable on the arms of the walker and a seat connected to the crank mechanism by a cord such that when the crank mechanism is rotated by a second person, the person to be lifted is raised.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 17, 1990
    Inventor: H. Hugh Heffner
  • Patent number: 4932722
    Abstract: A seat belt tightening system incorporated with a vehicle seat, comprising: a deceleration sensor for detecting deceleration indicative of occurence of a vehicle crash; a tensioning unit for tensioning a seat belt; a power unit for activating the tensioning unit upon receiving an output signal from the deceleration sensor; a safety catch member for preventing activation of the power unit; and mounted state detecting unit for detecting a mounted state of the vehicle seat and releasing the safety catch member only when it has detected the mounted state of the vehicle seat. Thus, the seat belt tightening system may be safely incorporated with the vehicle seat as a subassembly for improved efficiency of the assembling process, and the inadvertent activation of the system is positively prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 12, 1990
    Assignee: Honda, Giken, Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuki Motozawa
  • Patent number: 4927209
    Abstract: A trim cover for use with seats in vehicles and having an electric heater housed therein wherein its surface skin and base cloth are linearly joined with each other at the sitting areas of the trim cover in the longitudinal direction thereof to form an appropriate number of elongated sack-like portions between the surface skin and the base cloth, a pulling loop traverse the sack-like portions at the middle thereof is joined together with the surface skin and the base cloth, a pair of openings are formed at the middle of each of the sack-like portions which are closed by the pulling loop at the middle thereof, interposing the pulling loop between the paired openings, that portion of the pulling loop which corresponds to the width of each of the sack-like portions is cut away, leaving a piece of pulling loop at the border of the adjacent sack-like portions, each of band-like portions of the electric heater is inserted through its corresponding sack-like portion, passing over the pulling loop between the paired
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 22, 1990
    Assignee: Ikeda Bussan Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hidekazu Maruyama
  • Patent number: 4925244
    Abstract: Chair element which can be personalized and to which can be fitted various types of seatbacks (20) or seat surface (21) which are and can be differentiated as regards their shape, the element comprising a bearing structure (10) with rear legs (12) that include a short extension (16) above a support surface (17) of the seat surface (21), the bearing structure (10) cooperating with a self-supporting seatbeak (20).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 15, 1990
    Assignee: SpA Tonon & C.
    Inventor: Paolo Nava
  • Patent number: 4925245
    Abstract: A device, include at least two stackable frames, can be converted from a chair into a flatbed, stool or table. The top frame provides a housing for telescoping legs or a telescoping plate and includes vertical and horizontal openings for removably receiving a backrest in a horizontal or vertical orientation. A seat plate, which can support a seat, is attached to and within the first frame. When the telescoping legs or plate are extended forward, the device can be converted from a chair into a flatbed or table by moving the seat to the base formed by the telescoping legs and attaching the backrest horizontally to the first frame. A third frame can be stacked between the first and second frames and the second and third frames can house drawers. The present invention is particularly useful in service station garages. The bottom of the second frame has rollers attached for mobility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 15, 1990
    Inventors: John H. Pendleton, James Gabriel
  • Patent number: 4921304
    Abstract: A chair comprising a seat and a back rest forming an acute angle with one another is characterized in that the bisectrix of the acute angle forms an angle in the range of 0.degree.-40.degree. with the vertical line and is inclined backwards towards said back rest when the angle between the bisectrix and the vertical direction is more than zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 1986
    Date of Patent: May 1, 1990
    Inventor: Jens A. Kjersem
  • Patent number: 4913491
    Abstract: Herein disclosed is an automotive seat which comprises a seatback proper; and a pair of side supports which are pivotally connected through respective pivot shafts to both sides of the seatback proper, each side support including a front surface which extends in a given direction. The thickness of each side support gradually decreases with increase of height of the same, and each pivot shaft extends substantially in the given direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 3, 1990
    Assignees: Ikeda Bussan Co., Ltd., Nissan Shatai Company, Limited
    Inventors: Shyozi Mizuno, Toru Kondo
  • Patent number: 4913488
    Abstract: A locking member for use on a article of furniture, the article of furniture having frame means carrying a fixed seat section and a movable common section, the support member rotatably mounted on the frame and movable from a first non-locked seat back position to a second locked table top position, the support member being maintained in its first non-locked seat back position by gravity, and in its second locked table top position by the locking member. The support member comprises a box-shaped housing member rotatably carried on the frame means, with the locking member loosely contained between the frame member and the housing member for rotational movement with the housing member. The locking member is longitudinally movable from a first non-wedging position to a second wedging position to lock by wedging action the support member in its second or table top position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 3, 1990
    Assignee: Nelson A. Taylor Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Emerson B. Donnell, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4913487
    Abstract: A workstation located in the cabin of a passenger aircraft is convertible between (i) a stowed position which occupies a minimum amount of space, (ii) a seat for a flight attendant, and (iii) a computer workstation which can be utilized by a flight attendant while standing or while seated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 3, 1990
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: David A. Breckel, Michael A. Ritts
  • Patent number: 4911084
    Abstract: A pallet has slope plates provided on a base plate supporting an article thereon for forming a slope when the article is unloaded from the pallet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 27, 1990
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Sato, Toshio Watanabe
  • Patent number: 4909570
    Abstract: An automotive seat with a walk-in device, which permits the forward movement of the seat by inclining the seat back forwardly for a walk-in purpose. The walk-in device in the present invention comprises a rotatable lever plate, an actuator pin fixed on the lever plate, and a crank portion formed in a lock lever associated with a locking mechanism. The actuator pin is in a contact with the crank portion, and as such, when the seat back is forwardly inclined, the rotatable lever plate is caused to rotate, whereby the crank portion is rotated via the actuator pin so as to actuate the locking mechanism to release the locked state of the seat, allowing the seat to be forwardly moved for the walk-in purpose.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1990
    Assignee: Tachi-S Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masahiro Matsuhashi
  • Patent number: 4908066
    Abstract: An improved feeding tray for a high chair is provided with a bowl attached thereto which prevents the bowl from spilling and slipping off the tray during meal time. The bowl is adapted to be quickly detached from the tray so that it can be properly cleaned after meal time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1990
    Assignee: Therese A. Taylor
    Inventors: Therese A. Taylor, George Spector
  • Patent number: 4906045
    Abstract: A chair control for a pedestal chair having a knee-tilt seat. An elastomeric torsion spring is offset rearwardly from the tilting axis of the seat. The seat and torsion spring are operatively connected by a cam surface and a cam follower which effectively reduce the restoring force exerted by the torsion spring against the seat as the rearward tilt of the seat increases. A mechanism to adjust the initial restoring torque of the torsion spring provides a large angular twist of the torsion spring with a minimum linear movement of the mechanism. The chair control provides the chair seat with a less than conventional seat angle relative to the horizontal when the chair is unoccupied. A mechanism is provided to enable the occupant to adjust the chair seat to a more conventional seat angle in its unoccupied condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1990
    Assignee: The Shaw-Walker Company
    Inventor: William K. Hofman
  • Patent number: 4906042
    Abstract: This invention relates to a device for locking an adjusting finger in any one of the notches of a rack, wherein the first mobile element provided with the rack defines windows for the passage of retractable stops capable of being placed opposite the notches to stop the finger of the second mobile element, these stops being located at the free ends of flexible arms inclined in herringbone fashion and integral at their other ends with a sliding element provoking, when it is actuated, bending of said arms which abut on an edge of the windows and thus retraction of the stops.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1990
    Assignee: Grosfillex S.A.R.L.
    Inventor: Marc Ollat