Patents Examined by Kathleen J. Prunner
  • Patent number: 6179504
    Abstract: A combination lotion dispenser and pen including a housing having a truncated upper end, an arcuate lower end and a tubular intermediate portion therebetween. The truncated upper end has an internally threaded recess formed therein. The arcuate lower end has an elongated bore extending inwardly thereof. A pen cartridge is removably received within the elongated bore. A bulbous rubber container is coupled with respect to the housing. The container has a threaded extension disposed on a lower end thereof for coupling with the internally threaded recess of the truncated upper end of the housing. The container has an opening through an upper end thereof. The opening has a cap removably coupled therewith. The container has a dispensing hole within a side wall thereof whereby lotion within the container will dispense outwardly thereof upon squeezing of the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2001
    Inventor: Susana Jones
  • Patent number: 6176632
    Abstract: A liquid container such that the liquid received in it will not easily spring out from its tip even if it is wrongly operated, comprises a tank portion for receiving a liquid, a knock bar stretching axially movably within the tank portion which is designed to have on its axial tip portion a pump shelf portion whose diameter have been enlarged, an induction bar fixed into the tip of the knock bar, a brush provided on the tip side of the induction bar, and a spring for always energizing the above knock bar and induction bar rearward. On the internal periphery surface of the above tank portion, a plurality of ribs are formed which stretch axially and on top of which the above pump shelf portion can slide, the internal periphery surface ahead of the ribs is at the same level as and continuous with the top face of the ribs and designed as a diameter-reducing portion where the pump shelf portion can slide. The pump shelf portion slidably touches the ribs when it is not biased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2001
    Assignee: Kotobuki Printing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hidehei Kageyama, Yoshio Noguchi, Tomohiro Fueki
  • Patent number: 6175970
    Abstract: A spa enclosure for a spa tub is provided with a cabinet having at least one towel bar or towel hook and which at least partially recesses into the wall of the enclosure. The cabinet is provided with vent openings which permit heat cogenerated by a water pump used to pump water in the spa, an air blower, and/or a water heater to enter the cabinet by convection, heat towels provided on the bars or hooks, and exit through an upper portion of the cabinet. No additional dedicated heating element is provided to heat the towels. According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the cabinet is hinged at a lower portion to the enclosure and pivots about the hinge to open. The front and sides of the cabinet are preferably insulated to retain heat within the cabinet, and likewise, the enclosure may be insulated. A supply of towels may be kept in the cabinet or towels may be placed in the cabinet just prior to entering the spa tub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2001
    Assignee: Precision Design Concepts Ltd.
    Inventor: John Pinciaro
  • Patent number: 6171007
    Abstract: A washing cake of soap, which includes a cake of solid cleaning substance, and a net embedded in the cake of solid cleaning substance. The washing cake of soap is made by putting a net and a liquid cleaning substance in the cavity of a mold, and then letting the liquid cleaning substance to be dried and hardened in the mold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2001
    Inventor: Wei-Ling Hsu
  • Patent number: 6171004
    Abstract: A hand held cleaning apparatus for cleaning small jobs that includes a supply of cleaning fluid. The apparatus (10) includes a body (12) with a reservoir (13) for storing a supply of a cleaning fluid (15). The body includes an opening (17) that is sealed with a removable cap (16). The cap includes a loop portion (18) that can be used to hang the apparatus on a hook or other protrusion for storage. The body is in operative connection with a cleaning head (14). The cleaning head includes a scrubber (22) comprised of an absorbent material such as a sponge. The scrubber is secured to the cleaning head with a holder tube (26) that extends through a bore (24) in the interior of the scrubber. The cleaning head further includes a fluid pathway (28) between the reservoir and the holder tube that allows fluid to flow from the reservoir into the holder tube. The holder tube includes a plurality of apertures that allow fluid to flow out of the holder tube and into the scrubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2001
    Inventor: Jennifer Derhammer
  • Patent number: 6168336
    Abstract: A ballpoint pen in which ink is freely received in the shaft of the ballpoint pen or is received in a cartridge includes a supply wick, a compensating body and a writing tip with a ball, wherein the ball is fastened and rotatably mounted in a tube, and wherein the tube has a continuous ink duct. The ink duct of the ballpoint pen is constructed as a free throughbore and does not have any additional core bodies or ink conductors, and the supply wick extends axially completely through the compensating body in the area of the compensating chambers formed in the compensating body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: J. S. Staedtler GmbH & Co.
    Inventors: Horst Thost, Horst Kolb
  • Patent number: 6164855
    Abstract: A writing instrument is provided including a cartridge carrying a writing or highlighting medium, and a writing tip exposed at one end of the cartridge. The cartridge includes a reduced cross-section which forms an annular recessed and tapered cavity. A gripping member is received in the cavity and is preferably tubular in shape and is tapered to follow the tapered contour of the cartridge. The gripping member includes a smooth surface which may include a slightly elevated or raised pattern. The elevated pattern may comprise a plurality of interconnected parts so as to form a continuous lattice or pattern such as hexagons. The pattern is preferably continuous over the entire smooth surface. The elevated pattern is resiliently compressible with respect to the smooth surface so that a user's fingers may deform the elevated pattern to provide additional traction during use. The writing instrument may also include a vented cap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: BIC Corporation
    Inventors: Gordon Perry, Marc W. Lovejoy, Craig M. Stevens
  • Patent number: 6163892
    Abstract: A portable male urinal assembly includes a conventional portable male urinal, having a urine receiving reservoir and a spout extending therefrom with an inlet in the spout for receiving the urine, and a urinal attachment having a valve assembly contained therein being secured in fluid communication to the inlet of the spout. The urinal attachment may be secured to the inlet of the spout either by friction fit, snap fit or threads securing the attachment to the inlet. The valve assembly includes a valve element, a hinge pin and a torsion spring for biasing the valve element into position. The urinal attachment may be composed of a bendable resilient material and the reservoir may be composed of a flexible material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Inventor: Tomasine Abbato
  • Patent number: 6163898
    Abstract: A hand held bidet and organizing storage cabinet assembly for providing discreet concealment of a hand held bidet and washroom supplied. The hand held bidet and organizing storage cabinet assembly includes a housing comprising an open front face. The housing is adapted for coupling to a support structure proximate a toilet. A substantially horizontal shelf extends longitudinally through an interior space of the housing. A nozzle comprises a handle whereby the nozzle is holdable in a hand of a user. A flexible water conduit comprises a distal end coupled to the nozzle for delivering water for dispersal through the nozzle. The nozzle is positionable for use as a bidet when the user is seated on the toilet. A tray is coupled to an interior bottom face of the housing. The tray is slidable to extend outwardly through the open front face of the housing to define an extended position. The tray is positionable fully within an interior space of the housing to define a storage position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: William H. Misch, Jr.
    Inventor: Beverly A. Misch
  • Patent number: 6161975
    Abstract: A marker assembly which includes a first end cap, a first marker body, and a second end cap, each component having a front portion and a rear portion. The front portion of the first marker body nests within the rear portion of the first end cap. The front portion of the second end cap nests within the rear portion of the first marker body. The formation results in a predetermined interconnected marker configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: EK Success, Ltd.
    Inventor: Timothy J. Clarke
  • Patent number: 6158063
    Abstract: A spa cover lifting device for lifting a folding spa cover seated on a spa from a seated position to a vertical storage position, the spa cover lifting device having a frame apparatus with a horizontal cross member and a pair of side members with ends having pivotal mounts connectable with the spa, the horizontal cross member engaging the folding spa cover at the fold and transporting the cover when folded over the cross member from the seated position to the storage position when the frame apparatus is pivoted, the spa cover lifting device including a spring mechanism that assists raising the cover and cushions descent of the cover into its folded storage position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Inventor: E. Jess Tudor
  • Patent number: 6151724
    Abstract: The toilet tank water conservation device has a bracket adapted for attachment to the overflow tube of a toilet tank. The bracket includes a guide ledge having a bore defined therein. The device includes a float ball attached to a cylindrical guide rod, the rod being slidable through the bore defined in the guide ledge. The device is installed so that when the toilet tank is flushed, the water level drops and the ball drops by gravity, striking the flapper flush and closing the flush valve early in order to (1) conserve water by limiting the amount of water released from the tank into the bowl, and consequently (2) decreasing the likelihood of overflow from the toilet bowl in the event of a clogged drain. The device may include a flange about the circumference of the rod in order to prevent the rod from sliding through the bore when water drains from the tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Inventor: Roland C. Klingenstein
  • Patent number: 6152632
    Abstract: To make full use of a rod-like glue contained in a cylindrical dispenser main body of a glue dispenser to its final portion, a spiral member of a rotary operator element of the glue dispenser has a spiral outer diameter which is set to be equal to or larger than 30% and equal to or smaller than 80% of the outer diameter of rod-like glue, and a spiral pitch which is set to be equal to or larger than 50% and equal to or smaller than 300% of the spiral outer diameter. The spiral member is directly screwed to the rod-like glue integrally attached to a slider coupled with a bottom portion of the glue by elastic retaining pieces by which it is not necessary to form a top face of the slider in a recessed shape. The rod-like glue can be extracted and retracted from and to a dispenser main body by moving up and down the glue by rotating the rotary operator element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Tombow Pencil Co., LTD
    Inventors: Humio Shimakage, Yoshio Sumita
  • Patent number: 6151727
    Abstract: A bathtub apparatus for persons with disabilities, including a removable front panel and an elevated bed that allows direct lateral access by the user. The bed of the bathtub is elevated above the bathroom floor, approximately at the height of a chair, toilet seat, or standard bathtub front rail. The relative movement of the front panel/wall can be accomplished in a number of different ways, as can sealing between the front panel and the stationary parts of the bathtub. In one embodiment of the invention, the bathtub can be installed above an existing conventional bathtub, thereby avoiding the necessity of removing the old tub before installing the new one. The bathtub can be used in private homes, hotels/motels, and other locations; it can be used by persons with disabilities that would otherwise preclude them from bathing unattended or unassisted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Inventor: Alden A. Lofquist, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6149331
    Abstract: A pencil which has a tip and which dispenses a soft mass in use includes a sheath having front and back ends; a push rod positioned coxially within the sheath, having a sheath-side end, and being secured by its sheath-side end to the back end of the sheath in an axial direction; an elongate soft mass insert position coxially with the sheath; a front part which is a sleeve that envelopes the soft mass insert over at least a portion of its length, which is positioned coxially with the sheath and accommodated at least in part within the sheath, and which operates jointly with the sheath in the manner of a helical gear so that the fromt part retracts into the sheath by turning the front part relative to the sheath; and a soft mass insert holder which is connected to the front part so that it is engaged in the turning moment of the front part, which holds the elongate soft mass insert by one end thereof, which is rotatably secured to the push rod, and which is immovably secured to the push rod in the axial directi
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: A. W. Faber-Castell Unternehmensverwaltung GmbH & Co.
    Inventors: Juergen Raps, Werner Zahn
  • Patent number: 6142692
    Abstract: A distributor for a cosmetic product, in fluid or paste form, intended for make-up, in particular to a mascara distributor, comprising on the one hand a distributor body (C) which comprises a seating (29) for an applicator member (3) and, on the other hand, a gripping element (E) which comprises a capsule (1) provided with a rod (2) bearing the applicator member (3) at one of its ends which projects from the capsule. The capsule being capable of being assembled in a removable manner on the distributor body (C) and capable of being gripped by a user in order to apply the cosmetic product. A reservoir (8) for the cosmetic product is, moreover, provided and associated with a feed device intended to introduce successive doses of the cosmetic product into the seating (29) of the applicator member (3) from the reservoir (8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Valois S.A.
    Inventor: Firmin Garcia
  • Patent number: 6142691
    Abstract: A storage and dispensing device for a doughy cosmetic includes a tubular container, a holder for the cosmetic and a rear cap. The holder includes a front cup for holding the cosmetic and a rear, externally threaded portion which interacts with an internally threaded portion of the container. The rear cap is coupled to the holder such that rotating the rear cap rotates the holder, resulting in forward motion to dispense the cosmetic or rearward motion to store the cosmetic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Laffon S.p.A.
    Inventor: Sergio Crosta
  • Patent number: 6138872
    Abstract: An apparatus for dispensing of two component adhesive utilizes a conventional static mixer which is supplied with an insert providing a reduced outlet diameter source to allow streaming of the adhesive from the mixer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Graco Inc
    Inventors: Thomas J. Brennan, Timothy A. Ferguson
  • Patent number: 6135659
    Abstract: A wide faced applicator adapted for various kinds of fluids having a main body with a flat face on both sides of the front axis to form a narrow attachment face, the axis of the main body from top to bottom forms a multiple funnel shaped axial hole in which a pin shaped core body is inserted, the core body is spring biased so that the shoulder portion on the front end of the core body contacts tightly against the funnel shaped axial hole on the front axial end of the main body to form a closed position. A guiding orifice is provided on the wide attachment face at the front end of the closed segment. By pressing the front end of the core body, the fluid in the container tank is released to flow through a guiding orifice and further permeate into the attachment face. The front end of the pin shaped core body forms a plane with rounded angles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2000
    Inventor: Tro-Kung Ku
  • Patent number: 6129246
    Abstract: A rotary feeder for dosing bulk material, includes a casing having an inner chamber and formed with a top inlet, a bottom outlet and spaced-apart bearing covers flanking the inlet and the outlet. A rotor is accommodated in the chamber and is mounted on a shaft for rotation about a pivot axis. The shaft supports a plurality of vanes extending radially outward from the shaft between lateral end disks, with the shaft being supported on opposite sides of the rotor by bearings. In order to minimize the length of the shaft and a flexure of the shaft when encountering a substantial pressure differential between the inlet and the outlet, the chamber of the housing is sealed from the ambient environment by at least one shaft seal situated axially outwardly from the one bearing of the first and second bearings which is located on a same side of the rotor as the shaft seal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignee: Waeschle GmbH
    Inventor: Eugen Metzler