Patents Examined by Hugh B. Thompson
  • Patent number: 7165359
    Abstract: An improved balance shoe is described. There is a balance shoe housing, wherein there is a pivot member. The pivot member forces at least one side support member against the interior surfaces of a window jamb channel when said window is tilted. The pivot member comprises a base section having a top surface and a bottom surface, said top surface having at least one pivot member extending therefrom, the pivot member being adapted to force said support member against the interior surface of the window jamb as said pivot member is rotated due to the tilting of the window sash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2007
    Assignee: Vision Industries Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Luke K. Liang, Tong Liang
  • Patent number: 7163081
    Abstract: An elastic strap assembly for tree stands, safety belts and harnesses. The strap assembly is adapted to be attached to a first strap which can be disposed around and secured to a tree and a second strap which is disposed around a person standing in a tree stand or the like. The strap assembly is between six and fifteen inches long under no tension. The strap assembly is capable of stretching at least three inches under a force of 300 pounds. A tether is also provided and is attached between the strap around the tree and the strap around the person in case the elastic strap assembly would happen to break for any reason.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2007
    Inventor: Anthony J. Muhich
  • Patent number: 7163083
    Abstract: The invention relates to An anchoring device that is intended for, for example, the roof of a building. The inventive device comprises: a base which is used to fix to roofing; a hook element which is mounted to the base at one end thereof and which comprises a hook ring at the other end; a tilting mechanism which, in the event of an impact, enables the hook element to tilt in a normal plane in relation to the plane of extension of the base; a damping mechanism which is used to absorb energy during the tilting of the hook element. The damping mechanism comprises a trigger mechanism that can be used to prevent the hook element from tilting when the element is subjected to a force having an intensity that is lower than a pre-determined threshold. The aforementioned trigger mechanism comprises a removable part which is different from the other elements making up the damping mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2007
    Inventor: Rodolphe Argoud
  • Patent number: 7163082
    Abstract: A climbing stick apparatus includes a plurality of stick members, each of which includes a fastener reception portion at each stick member end and a plurality of foot-support-reception channels. A plurality of member-to-member couplers and fasteners are provided for erecting a plurality of stick members in a longitudinal arrangement. A plurality of foot support members are received in the foot-support-reception channels. The climbing stick apparatus of the invention permits rapid assembly of a climbing stick next to a tree for hunters and other outdoorsmen. When erected next to a tree the climbing stick apparatus permits the hunter to remain above ground level so that he is not noticed or smelled by game on the ft floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2007
    Inventor: John H. Bigard
  • Patent number: 7159361
    Abstract: A pet door panel insert which has a vertically expandable panel assembly in the upper region thereof installs in a sliding glass patio door or other entity arrangement simply without complicated tools. A positionable structure in the expandable panel assembly is controllingly spaced from a stationary structure of the expandable panel assembly and is actuated upwardly to engage the upper structure of a door frame to sturdily affix the pet door panel insert within the door frame. Opposed vertically adjustable front and rear cover slide plates are frictionally engaged by the upper region of a framework to seal the expandable panel assembly against the outside environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2007
    Inventor: Seymour B. Hale, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7159693
    Abstract: A novel escape system comprised of a plurality of escape devices each which resemble a window shutter, are mounted on the outside of a building, adjacent the windows vertically above the next lower escape device. Since these take up no space inside of the building, and are aesthetically pleasing, they are less likely to be removed or overridden making them functional a greater percentage of the time. Each is comprised of a frame to hold a plurality of slats connected to a collapsible vertical connecting means a predetermined distance apart from the others. In its storage position, the slats are held in the frame in an angled position resembling louvers. When in the operational position, the slats are allowed to drop down out of the frame and extend down to the next lower escape device with the slats acting as steps of a ladder. The bottommost end of the escape device connects to the top of the next lower escape device to create a continuous escape system allowing egress from any floor to the ground.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2007
    Inventor: Mark D. Mettler
  • Patent number: 7156205
    Abstract: A novel safety device for step ladders. This safety device is fabricated and positioned so as to deter, dissuade and deny the ladder user access to the unsupported top step of a step ladder while allowing the user to an aloft tool organizer for pre-loading job materials thereby eliminating the need to repeatedly climb up and down the ladder carrying materials. More people are killed doing construction work every year than in any other occupation and falls are the biggest killer of employees in the construction industry, many of these falls involve the improper use of ladders. Falls are the leading cause of death in and around the home, according to the National Safety Council, there are thousands of people die from falls around the home each year and many suffer disabling injuries many of these also involve ladders. At work or at home, these accidents invariably occur because the victims violate the basic rules of ladder safety.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: Custom Products Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Al Lynn Wilson, Herbert Arthur Moore, Norman E Morey
  • Patent number: 7152374
    Abstract: A composite extrusion for an automotive seal strip is formed of an extruded body, and a veneer extruded onto the body. The extruded body is composed of ethylene-propylene diene rubber compound. The veneer is composed of a polymer blend that includes the reaction product of an acrylate polymer and a glycidyl acrylate polymer. The reaction of the acrylate polymer and the glycidyl acrylate polymer improves adhesion and also provides a barrier to inhibit migration of vulcanizing agents from the ethylene-propylene diene rubber body into the veneer that would otherwise cause discoloration during use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: GenCorp Inc.
    Inventor: Krishnamachari Gopalan
  • Patent number: 7152373
    Abstract: A glass run channel assembly for mounting on the door frame of an automotive vehicle and for accommodating a glass run seal and a glass window comprising a glass run channel upper frame, a glass run guide, and a glass run lower frame frame, each having a bottom wall and two side walls disposed on either side of the bottom wall, forming a U-shape. In operation, the lower frame is slidably engaged within the guide until the lower frame converges with a lower frame stop formed by a side wall of the guide. A tab locator is formed in each of the two side walls of the upper frame to guide the guide as it slidably engages within the upper frame. Upon sliding within the upper frame, a channel upper stop formed in a side wall of the guide converges with one of the tab locators on the upper frame locator, thereby preventing the guide from sliding too far into the upper frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: Decoma International Inc.
    Inventors: Belton Hoffman, Davinder Singh
  • Patent number: 7152371
    Abstract: A swing flap (10) for the entry and exit of small pets, which comprises a frame (812), which can be fixed to an opening (13) made in a door or a wall, equipped at the top with hinged means of constraint for a flap (22), and having a strip (11) indicating the direction of the last transit made by the animal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: Ferplast S.p.A.
    Inventors: Carlo Vaccari, Alfred Pellegrini
  • Patent number: 7146766
    Abstract: A door control assembly for a door closing an opening in a wall of a refrigerated compartment cooperates with an oblique hinge set to provide an opening and closing force on the door. The door control assembly includes a mounting plate attached to the door and a flange attached to a door frame. A fluidic control mechanism is coupled to a reciprocating arm pivotally attached to the mounting plate and is coupled to a ball stud on the door flange. A cable is also attached to the reciprocating arm and to a post on the door flange. The fluidic control mechanism and cable cooperate to exert counterbalancing forces on the door at various door open positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2006
    Inventor: Burl Finkelstein
  • Patent number: 7143556
    Abstract: A cap for the top end of a fence post with four sides is provided. The cap has two parts, a base which is designed to fit over the end of the post and which has a locking section on each side consisting of a ramp above the top of the side which slopes downwardly to a locking ledge. The base is attached to the top of the post by nails or screws that extend through a hole either in the sidewall of the base or in tabs that project into the aperture in the center of the base. The top member has a locking bar on the inside of each side that snaps over the locking ledge on the base after sliding down the locking ramp. The top member and base are preferable formed from plastic to have sufficient flexibility to allow the locks to lock, but sufficient rigidity to hold them in the locked position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Inventor: Jubie Randell Hales
  • Patent number: 7143548
    Abstract: A flap drive for a flap includes two identical lever joint arrangements which are arranged in pairs at a distance from one another. The flap can be moved out of its closing position into its opening position and back by the flap drive. In this case, the lever joint arrangements are articulated pivotably with one of their ends in each case on a side region of the flap and with their other ends at a fixed location on the motor vehicle. The mutually corresponding pivot axes of the articulation points extend coaxially to one another. Movement transmission devices for the pivotable drive of a driven lever of each lever joint arrangement are guided by a common motive drive unit, the driven levers being articulated at a fixed location on the motor vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Assignee: Stabilus GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Kleinmann, Andreas Ritter
  • Patent number: 7143865
    Abstract: A fishing chair having a sand stabilizer is disclosed. The fishing chair includes a front frame, a back frame, a chair frame and a stabilization frame. The chair frame is pivotally connected to at least one of the front and back frames. The stabilization frame is pivotally connected to the back frame. The stabilization frame provides stability to the fishing chair when the fishing chair is being used in the middle of a body of water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Inventors: Jonathan Gray, Don Craigen
  • Patent number: 7140467
    Abstract: A bulk material transport vehicle access structure includes an elongated service platform for workers which is pivotally supported at its opposite ends to cantilever arms on parallel horizontal axes to avoid binding between the roller carriages of the cantilever arms and a pair of support pillars. The floor of the platform includes a walkway and a doorway covered by a plurality of side by side doors which may be selectively opened. Electric controls are provided to automatically stop operation of the power means used to control the elevation of the cantilever arms should the service platform become tilted a predetermined extent. Electric controls are also provided to stop lowering of the service platform when it reaches the top of a bulk material transport vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Inventor: Anthony Jay Cook
  • Patent number: 7140466
    Abstract: A platform lift system includes a mounting frame that is fixedly engaged into a scuttle hole formed in a horizontal supporting surface (i.e., attic floor or room ceiling) and a foldable ladder that is supported by the frame. A separate trolley carries a lift platform that may be selectively raised or lowered in order to transport objects to/from the attic space. The trolley is moveable horizontally along a track that may be provided on a floor of the attic space. At a first end of travel of the trolley along the track, the trolley is disposed laterally alongside and vertically offset from the mounting frame such that the space above the mounting frame is unimpeded to permit a user to access the attic space using the deployed ladder. At a second end of travel of the trolley along the track, the trolley is aligned vertically with the mounting frame to permit use of the lift platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: Spacelift Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Jay P. Penn
  • Patent number: 7137481
    Abstract: A fall arrest device used with a fixed safety rope comprises a support arm articulated on a first spindle of the body, a roller in the form of a cylindrical wheel mounted rotating free on a second spindle securedly attached to the support arm, and a centrifugal coupling arranged between a drive member of the roller and the support arm so as to occupy a disengaged position or an engaged position. The centrifugal coupling comprises at least one flyweight movable along a ramp of the drive member against a compression spring, and a connecting interface engaged inside a cylindrical rim of the support arm to transmit the elastic force of the spring to the flyweight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Zedel
    Inventors: Paul Petzl, Christian Broquerie
  • Patent number: 7137478
    Abstract: A safety ladder cage system is of a fabricated construction to reduce the time and expertise to provide a safety cage to one side of a scaffold system access ladder. The safety cage system is divided into two components each of which can be carried by a worker to the appropriate point and loosely hung from a ladder rung or the ladder uprights. The worker is then free to accurately position the safety cage component to one side of the ladder. The second component is then brought into position and attached to the opposite side of the ladder in a similar manner. The components are then attached to each other along vertical securing edges outwardly spaced from and generally centered on the ladder. Each component preferably includes its own captured connector for engaging the opposite component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Brand Services, Inc.
    Inventor: Allan James Becker
  • Patent number: 7137482
    Abstract: A ladder stand-off includes an extension beam and first and second stand-off sections slidingly mounted on the extension beam, so as to provide an adjustable span. Each stand-off section includes a support beam and an arm fixedly connected to the first support beam. A contact element is pivotally contacted to the outer end of each arm, allowing the device to be used with flat, curved and corner surfaces. The two arms preferably extend in an outward direction so as to be angularly divergent with respect to each other. The device can also be implemented as a ladder stand-off kit having multiple extension beams of different lengths that can be used interchangeably with the two ladder stand-off sections. In this case, the desired extension beam would be assembled with the first and second stand-off sections to form a ladder stand-off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Inventors: Philip Orlando Underhill, Pamela A. Heafey, Michael S. Heafey
  • Patent number: 7134470
    Abstract: A window cover support device and method of use thereon, wherein the device is non-rotating and comprises a bracket having support members in the form of pairs of upward-facing hooks over which a valance rod or curtain rod may be placed, a box structure for confinement of one end of a miniblind support rod, and also a round or rectangular slotted opening for installation of one end of a shade support rod therein. The bracket is utilized in pairs with a tension rod between same to provide support to the selected window cover or combination of window covers. In furtherance of adhesion to the wall, the present invention incorporates a novel plug-flap device of rubber, or other similar material, suitable for insertion into the end of the tension rod, the plug-flap device providing a large surface area of rubber or similar material under the bracket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Inventor: Patrick McCance