Patents Examined by Jerry Anderson
  • Patent number: 6464313
    Abstract: A heat insulation box body includes inner and outer boxes forming a shell of the heat insulation box body and triangular structural materials inserted in the shell held by close-contact by means of a vacuum. Further, at the time of disassembling the heat insulation box body after scrapping, a shell surface is cut and air is introduced into the inside of the shell to return the state of the shell to an atmospheric pressure state and then respective members are separated from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshio Nishimoto
  • Patent number: 6460947
    Abstract: A battery casing is adapted to fit into at least two different receiving bays of different sizes. The casing includes an adapter panel which is movable into at least two positions. Moving the adapter panel to the first position increases the effective width of the casing, and allows the battery to be inserted securely into a first receiving bay. Moving the adapter panel to the second position maintains the original width of the casing. This allows the battery casing to be inserted securely into a receiving bay, which has the same width as that of the original casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P.
    Inventor: Chow Kum Wah
  • Patent number: 6460948
    Abstract: An EMI-efficient system for mounting internal peripheral devices such as disk or tape drives inside a computer enclosure so that the drives may be removed and replaced easily. A drive bracket guide is mounted to a computer enclosure chassis, a peripheral device is mounted to a drive bracket, and the drive bracket is inserted into an opening of the drive bracket guide. A socket support disposed at the end of the bracket guide opposite the opening fixedly supports a socket in position for receiving a mating socket on the drive. A locking insertion/ejection mechanism is coupled to the bracket and facilitates engagement/disengagement of the two sockets in the rear of the assembly. The bracket guide may be integrally formed on side walls of a drive cage to reduce potential for leaks of electromagnetic energy from the enclosure and to facilitate the creation of numerous bracket guides in a stack arrangement for housing multiple drives.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Arlen L. Roesner, David Mayer
  • Patent number: 6460956
    Abstract: A shelf mounting support includes an annular flange portion having a side surface from which projects a cavity defining body portion. The mounting support is adapted to extend through an aperture formed in a liner of an appliance with the body portion of the mounting support being inserted in a respective aperture from an outer insulation zone side of the liner. Each mounting support is initially retained in the aperture through the use of an adhesive element that attaches the flange portion of the mounting support to the liner. Thereafter, the liner is positioned within an outer shell of the appliance and foamed insulation is then injected into the insulation zone and into the internal cavity of the mounting support to anchor the mounting support in position. To support a shelf, a plurality of mounting supports are arranged in a common plane upon which the shelf is adapted to rest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Maytag Corporation
    Inventors: Walter I. Disbennett, John C. Ellingwood, Daniel H. Smith, Virgil R. Thompson
  • Patent number: 6460946
    Abstract: A readily reconfigurable shelf arrangement includes a support panel supported on a furniture component wherein the support panel has a plurality of rows and columns of shelf connectors to which individual shelves are connected. The pattern of shelf connectors defines different lateral and elevational positions in which the shelves may be connected. The individual shelves include removable support pegs which are secured to and project outwardly of the shelf connectors and a fabric shelf section which is suspended from the support pegs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Haworth, Inc.
    Inventor: Steven J. Beukema
  • Patent number: 6460949
    Abstract: A cabinet for a washing machine including a vibration-proof plate attached to the front panel to reduce vibrations. A recess is provided to the vibration-proof plate's lower part, and a recess is formed on the front panel's lower part corresponding to the recess of the plate. A plurality of screw holes are each provided to upper and lower ends of the respective vibration-proof plate and front panel, and the vibration-proof plate is screw attached to the front panel. The vibration-proof plate has a plurality of hooks that are provided on both sides of its inner surface, and the front panel has a plurality of mating hook holes that are provided on both sides thereof so that the vibration-proof plate is more firmly attached to the front panel. The overall vibration-proof plate is convex to the outside, and at least one vibration-absorbing member is attached to the inner surface of the vibration-proof plate, thus contacting the front panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Dong-San Jung
  • Patent number: 6457595
    Abstract: A system including modular components by which the system may be configured and reconfigured easily and quickly for the shelving or the storage of merchandise for the retail industry and other applications as needed and without the need for tools and conventional removable fastening means. The modular system includes a generally horizontal base and at least one vertical panel that can be easily and quickly releasably secured in one or other positions relative to the base. Preferred embodiments of the system include those having a base having securement apertures structured such that the vertical panel or panels may be releasably secured to the base without the need for conventional removable mechanical fasteners and tools and so that even an unskilled individual can quickly and easily arrange and rearrange the vertical panels relative to the base in a wide variety of possible useful configurations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: L&P Property Management Company
    Inventors: David Mark Pritchard, Antonio Vardaro
  • Patent number: 6454372
    Abstract: A drawer rail includes an outer rail fixed to a furniture item, a sliding rail slidably contained in the outer rail, a ball rail slidably contained in the sliding rail, and an inner rail slidably contained in the outer rail and fixed to the drawer or a keyboard supporter. The sliding rail has a front end extending towards an outermost side of the drawer by which it is pulled outward. A positioning device is fixed on the sliding rail near the front end of the sliding rail. The positioning device has a body and a head having a pair of side slopes that are able to respectively engage with a pair of side walls of a groove defined in a bottom of the ball rail. The positioning device of the invention is able to provide a stable positioning effect for the inner rail, and thus the drawer, when the drawer is pulled to an outermost position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Inventor: Jun-Long Yang
  • Patent number: 6453826
    Abstract: A desk arrangement is provided which includes freestanding furniture units, namely, a stationary cabinet and a movable table. While the movable table is movable relative to the cabinet, the cabinet and table are connected together by an intermediate link top which permits relative movement therebetween but interconnects the cabinet and table to define a single interconnected furniture unit. The link top is both slidable and pivotable relative to the cabinet and table to permit sliding and pivoting of the table between a closed position directly adjacent to the cabinet and an open position spaced outwardly therefrom. The link top can define an auxiliary worksurface and also defines a bridge between the cabinet and table to which cabling can be connected. This arrangement thereby permits flexible repositioning of the table while also permitting power and/or communications cabling to be routed therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: Haworth, Inc.
    Inventors: Tim Fookes, Bret Marschand, Bryan Roels, Jeff Tayler, Linda E. Chesser, William F. Schacht
  • Patent number: 6450597
    Abstract: A shelf enclosure for a network data storage system employs drive carriers having wedge mechanical interfaces with respective features on the enclosure, locking into place at the top and bottom of the carriers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Eurologic Systems
    Inventors: Michael Stephen Bell, Grant Edward Carlson
  • Patent number: 6450595
    Abstract: A garment-concealable jewelry case having a front opening with a front cover panel portion that can be either moved or configured to reveal a plurality of parallel-running isolated storage compartments each having an interior storage space which is accessible through a front opening revealed when the front cover panel is removed or reconfigured. Through the front opening of each storage compartment, one or more necklaces, pendants, bracelets or other strands of jewelry can be securely hung on a pair of jewelry support posts adapted for spatial separation on the back wall portion of the storage compartment in order to accommodate the length of jewelry strands being supported.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Gemini Marketing Corporation
    Inventors: Robert M. Simon, Lisa Simon
  • Patent number: 6446564
    Abstract: A dual use desk for use with a monitor and keyboard, the desk having a retracting lid section conforming to a lid opening in the front edge of the desktop, the lid retraction mechanism consisting of the lid being hingedly attached to commonly available linear drawer sliders mounted at a rearward sloping angle below the desktop. The lid is retracted with a simple front edge tilt up, and slide back motion, to expose a lower level keyboard tray. The keyboard tray may be extendible outward as well, and may have an accessory tray attached, which is exposed for access when the lid is retracted and the keyboard extended. Alternative configurations permit a monitor to be located below desktop level, visible when the lid is retracted and the keyboard extended.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Inventor: Peter Charles Anderson
  • Patent number: 6447081
    Abstract: A dishwasher having a cabinet and wash chambers in the form of drawers which slide in and out of the cabinet. Rigid and flexible closures are disclosed for sealing off the wash chambers when retracted into the cabinet. A detergent dispenser for the dishwasher is provided in one wall of a wash chamber in the wash water discharge path into the wash chamber so that detergent powder is flushed out of the dispenser and mixed with the wash water prior to the latter being discharged into the wash chamber. A wash program for a dual wash chamber dishwasher is also disclosed which minimizes total water consumption by transferring water from one chamber to the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: Fisher & Paykel Limited
    Inventors: Adrian Sargeant, Richard George Arthur Butler, John Wilks, Babis Kazianus, Steve Maunsell
  • Patent number: 6443074
    Abstract: A table having a base including legs, first and second table top portions that form a table top surface when the table is in the assembled position, and pivotable connectors that connect the first and second table top portions to the base. The pivotable connectors allow for the first and second table top portions and the legs to collapse into a vertical position such that the table can be easily stored and carried. The table top is supported when it is in assembled position by a variety of devices such that the table top will not flex or deform. Pivotable connections are also provided between the legs allowing the legs to form a crisscross pattern when the table is in the assembled position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Adams Manufacturing Corp.
    Inventors: William E. Adams, David M. Fountain, Theodore Bloom
  • Patent number: 6443073
    Abstract: An extendable table has a pair of main top panels (14, 16) and a pair of extension top panels (18, 20) that are stowable under the main panels. The main panels are secured to sliding frames (32) which are slidably movable relative to a fixed table frame (10). Each extension panel is seated on one sliding frame. As the main panel (14, 16) is pulled outwardly, the associated extension panel (18, 20) is automatically lifted up into the gap opened above the table frame (10), by interaction of guide means (42, 52) on the undersurface of the extension panel with the sliding frame (32) and the fixed frame (22).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: B.T. Furnishing Sdn. Bhd.
    Inventors: Shing Chi Tsang, Shing Yip Tsang
  • Patent number: 6435107
    Abstract: A variable workstation furniture system having a furniture frame with vertical columns and foot extensions, whereby the lower ends of the columns can be connected to base elements to which the front and rear foot extensions can be connected. The design of the foot is simplified by the parts and assembly, while broadening variation possibilities, so that the foot extensions and the foot intermediate pieces form an assembly. The front foot extensions facing the columns include a column receptacle as a base unit which is open in an upward manner and in which a column can be inserted and connected to the foot extension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: Otto Lampertz GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Markus Schmidt, Ala Jauch, Werner-Josef Kaiser
  • Patent number: 6435632
    Abstract: A modular panel for forming part of an enclosure for an appliance of the type which is manufacturable in a plurality of sizes requiring one or more modular panels. The panel includes a main planar section having first and second substantially parallel edges. First and second flanges are integrally formed with the main section and extend rearwardly from the first and second edges, respectively. The first and second flanges are parallel to one another and each has an inner and outer facing surface. The outer facing surface of the first flange is provided with integrally formed hinge elements which together define a first axis. The outer surface of the second flange is provided with integrally formed mating hinge elements spaced from one another the same distance as the first hinge elements and together defining a second axis parallel to the first axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventor: Juan Carlos Carne Correa
  • Patent number: 6437838
    Abstract: A display apparatus 10 comprises at least one speaker 16 and a cathode-ray tube (CRT) 14 secured within an enclosure 12 to a plurality of mounting bosses 50. The cathode-ray tube 14 has an evacuated envelope 17 with a substantially rectangular-shaped faceplate panel 18 having four corners and a viewing portion 26 extending to a peripheral sidewall 28. The viewing portion 26 has a luminescent line screen 32 on the interior surface thereof The viewing portion 26 including two orthogonal axes, a major axis, X, parallel to a longer dimension of the viewing portion and a minor axis, Y, parallel to a smaller dimension of the viewing portion. The CRT 14 has therein an electron gun 38, capable of generating at least one electron beam, aligned along a central longitudinal axis, Z, of the CRT that is perpendicular to the major and minor axes. The CRT 14 also has a color selection electrode 36 in proximity to the interior surface of the viewing portion 26 of the faceplate panel 18.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing S. A.
    Inventors: Harry Robert Swank, Zygmunt Marian Andrevski
  • Patent number: 6431667
    Abstract: In a structure for mounting and dismounting an equipment unit from an apparatus body including a plate-like frame formed with a slot at a preselected end and a bore contiguous with the slot for receiving the equipment unit via the slot, the equipment unit includes a front panel and a pair of mounting members. The mounting members are positioned at opposite sides of the front panel, and each contacts, when the equipment unit is received in the apparatus body, the inner periphery of the frame at one end and is exposed to the outside of apparatus body at the other end. The mounting members each are rotatable in a direction in which the equipment unit is inserted into the apparatus body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Kenji Okumura
  • Patent number: 6431377
    Abstract: A shelf subassembly is provided for adjustably supporting a flat panel. The shelf subassembly is itself supportable in an adjustable CRT support subassembly, which is supported in a monitor support assembly. The shelf subassembly includes a panel support portion for supporting the flat panel display, and a securing device connected to the panel support portion for operably and removably connecting the shelf subassembly to the CRT support subassembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: Nova Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: John N. Lechman