Patents Examined by Neil R. Wilson
  • Patent number: 5738474
    Abstract: A surgical staple is provided which includes a bridge portion having at least two adjacent arcuate sections, each defining a constant radius of curvature along the arc length thereof. Transition portions are disposed at opposed end portions of the bridge portion, each having a curved profile. The surgical staple is further provided with legs having first end portions connected to the transition portions and second end portions extending therefrom. The surgical staple is constructed such that the legs move between an undeformed position substantially transverse to the bridge portion and a deformed position in which at least a portion of each of the legs is in approximation with the bridge portion. A drive member is also disclosed which is configured to urge a plurality of surgical staples from a staple cartridge when acted upon by an applied actuating force. The drive member has a support portion which complements the geometry of the bridge portion of the staple.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Inventor: Jeffrey J. Blewett
  • Patent number: 5658109
    Abstract: A steel pin is disclosed of a type to be forcibly driven into a steel substrate via a powder-actuated tool. The steel pin has a substantially cylindrical shank and a substantially sharp point, which extends from one end of the substantially cylindrical shank, which conforms substantially to a tangent or secant ogive except for a substantially spherical tip having a radius in a range of about 0.015 inch (about 3.75 millimeters) to about 0.03 inch (about 7.5 millimeters), which has substantially true concentricity, which has surface-texture irregularities with a roughness-height index value not greater than about 30 microinches (about 0.76 micrometers), and which appears to be substantially free of other surface imperfections when viewed under 60.times. magnification. Optimally, the ogive is a tangent ogive with an ogive radius about ten times the shank diameter and with an ogive length about twice the shank diameter, and the tip radius is about 0.1 times the shank diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Don T. Van Allman, James H. Syvarth, William M. Heflin, Ronnie L. McConnell
  • Patent number: 5642973
    Abstract: A releasably mountable cleanout cover for releasable mounting onto a plumbing cleanout cap, having a protruding cap member, exposed within an aperture in a wall includes an aperture covering member having an exterior surface and an interior surface for covering the aperture in the wait, a hollow mounting tube rigidly mounted to and generally centered on, the interior surface and extending longitudinally and generally perpendicularly outwardly from the interior surface, a longitudinally spaced apart array of opposed inwardly extending resilient flanges spaced longitudinally apart within the hollow mounting tube for resilient deformation about opposed surfaces on the protruding cap member when the protruding cap member is snugly journalled in the hollow mounting tube so as to be snugly retained between the opposed inwardly extending resilient flanges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 1, 1997
    Inventor: Daniel Glenn Pretty
  • Patent number: 5586854
    Abstract: A connector fastening nut for a bolt-nut fastened connector comprises: a nut member (A, B, C, D) fixed to a first connector housing (M) and formed with a female threaded portion (1) engaged with a male threaded portion (5) of a fastening bolt (4) fitted to a second connector housing (F); and an elastic portion (3c, 7c, 8c, 10a) formed integral with the nut member, for urging an end of the fastening bolt in an engagement direction between the female threaded portion of the nut member and the male threaded portion of the fastening bolt, when the male threaded portion has been passed through the female threaded portion after full engagement of the two connector housings (M, F) by fastening the fastening bolt to the fastening nut. The connector fastening nut can engage/disengage the two connector housings smoothly, while preventing the damage of the threaded portions thereof and improving the water-tightness of the fastening nut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1996
    Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
    Inventors: Hitoshi Sakai, Kazuto Ohtaka
  • Patent number: 5509765
    Abstract: A removable hollow-wall anchor for fastening machine screws to a wall is disclosed. Commonly called a Molly bolt, in one aspect of the invention the head of the Molly bolt is unthreadable from the anchor part of the Molly bolt so that once the Molly bolt has been secured to the wall the head can be unthreaded so as to remove it from the outer surface of the wall. A gripper is used in conjunction with the head to prevent rotation of the Molly bolt when the machine screw is being threaded in or out. The gripper is also removable from the wall. Once the machine screw, head and gripper have been removed from the wall, the outer surface of the wall is flush and free from any part of the Molly bolt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1996
    Inventor: Stephen D. Albin
  • Patent number: 5232323
    Abstract: The present invention provides a threaded insert assembly with a locking plate having a non-circular shape and a non-serrated outer edge instead of a conventional circular shaped locking ring having a circular serrated outer edge. The non-circular locking plate is shaped to engage mating edges of a correspondingly shaped recess formed in the anchoring structure so as prevent the insert from rotating out of the anchoring structure once the insert is locked into the plate. The threaded insert is secured to the locking plate by interdigitated serrations swaged into engagement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1993
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Eric E. Baehre
  • Patent number: 5163798
    Abstract: A fastener-plate assembly for use in anchoring covering sheets to a roof deck has a pre-assembled configuration. The assembled configuration is maintained by projections on an upper portion of the fastener shank. The projections engage against a received retainer plate to retain the plate to the shank of the fastener.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1992
    Assignee: Olympic Manufacturing Group, Inc.
    Inventor: Hubert T. McGovern
  • Patent number: 4957401
    Abstract: A threaded fastener has a pin with a head, a cylindrical shank, a shoulder with reducing diameter, a radius at the least diameter of the shoulder whose region is work-hardened, and a threaded end, in that order. The thread extends into near-adjacency to the shoulder, and has no more than approximately one-half of a convolution of an incomplete thread at its end adjacent to the shoulder. A collar is threadable onto the thread. It has a counterbore no longer than the anticipated grip range plus approximately one-half of a thread pitch. The collar may be inherently torque-limited. The term "thread" also includes a peripheral groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 18, 1990
    Assignee: Hi-Shear Corporation
    Inventor: Edwin E. Hatter
  • Patent number: 4846611
    Abstract: A pull type fastener including a tubular sleeve and an elongated pin having a disposable pull portion at one end thereof with the sleeve having an enlarged pin head and a shank, a helically splined portion on the pin shank having ridges and grooves and adapted to engage a preselected portion of the sleeve shank bore to move the sleeve material into the spline grooves. The degree of interference between the splines and the sleeve shank, and the relative hardness ratio of the pin to the sleeve being designed such that the sleeve materiall will flow into the spline grooves without radially expanding the sleeve into interference with the bore of the workpieces being fastened.The result being that until the moment of clamp up the sleeve will rotate relative to the pin along the helical splines at a minimum pull force, then at clamp up a momentary and substantially increased torsional force resulting from the sleeve rotation being arrested assists in severing the pin from the pull portion thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1989
    Assignee: Huck Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Shahriar M. Sadri, Marvin R. Hicks