Patents Examined by Robert F Neibaur
  • Patent number: 12285847
    Abstract: A bushing displacing system comprising an engaging member and a brace member. The engaging member is configured to engage the brace assembly to displace the engaging member in the displacement direction and at least a portion of the bushing assembly to displace at least a portion of the bushing assembly in the displacement direction. The brace member is adapted to engage the brace assembly and the structural member. Operation of the actuator displaces at least one of the brace assembly and the engaging member in the displacement direction relative to the structural member such that the engaging member displaces at least a portion of the bushing assembly towards a desired position relative to the housing opening in the structural member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: Tiger Tool International Incorporated
    Inventor: Michael Andrews
  • Patent number: 12280470
    Abstract: An abrasive belt is provided which comprises a textile fabric being formed of interconnected yarns, and a coherent abrasive area formed on one side of the textile fabric, wherein the abrasive belt further comprises a plurality of regularly distributed openings in the form of through holes. The abrasive belt allows for a homogenous distribution of the abrasive material and thus an even sanding finish as well as for an appropriate dust removal and appropriate mechanical properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Mirka Ltd
    Inventors: Nicolas Schumacher, Jan Grön, Niina Kyynäräinen, Hans Hede, Mats Sundell
  • Patent number: 12279741
    Abstract: A cleaner head for a vacuum cleaning appliance includes a housing, a front agitator and a rear agitator. A suction chamber is located between the front agitator and the rear agitator. A baffle is located within the suction chamber between the agitators. During use of the cleaner head, debris becomes entrained within air drawn towards the suction chamber. Guide members mounted on the housing guide the entrained debris towards the suction chamber, whereas the baffle guides the air upwardly towards a central suction port of the suction chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Dyson Technology Limited
    Inventors: Aaron Yii How Teo, Stefan Koch, Robert Michael Cox, Stuart Lloyd Genn
  • Patent number: 12280465
    Abstract: Apparatus and method for removing material from the susceptor of a batch processing chamber are described. The apparatus comprises a polishing tool including a rotatable platen positioned above the susceptor. A method comprises contacting material deposited on the susceptor with the rotatable platen to remove the material from the susceptor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Vijayabhaskara Venkatagiriyappa, Nitin Bhargav, Tae Kwang Lee
  • Patent number: 12275117
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an attachment hub for attachment to a sander, comprising a quick-release attachment assembly configured for releasable and aligned engagement with a counterpart of a backup pad particularly for an abrasive disc. Furthermore, the invention relates to a backup pad having a disc-like shape and comprising a first major surface and a second major surface, the first major surface configured for direct or indirect attachment of an abrasive disc, and the second major surface configured for facing towards an attachment hub for attachment to a sander, and a mounting portion for aligned engagement with an attachment hub of a sander.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Paul Larking, Andrew Robert Henry
  • Patent number: 12257662
    Abstract: Exemplary accessories for use with woodworking supports of woodworking devices may include a first number of locks actuatable by a second number of actuators, the second number being less than the first number. An exemplary actuator is a cam type actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: Magswitch Automation Company
    Inventor: Andrew Klein
  • Patent number: 12257672
    Abstract: A locking device for a tool includes a first component and a second component. The first component has a through hole, and an inner wall of the through hole is provided with a first engaging portion. The second component is selectively rotatably connected to the through hole and provided with a second engaging portion detachably engaged with the first engaging portion. The second component can move relative to the through hole to be switched between an unlocked position where the second engaging portion is disengaged from the first engaging portion and a locked position where the second engaging portion is engaged with the first engaging portion, so that the second component and the through hole are selectively rotatable relative to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: INFAR INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tai Hung Chen
  • Patent number: 12251787
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed towards polishing modules for performing chemical mechanical polishing of a substrate. The substrate may be a semiconductor substrate. The polishing modules described have a plurality of pads, such as polishing pads, disposed within a single polishing station. The pads are configured to remain stationary during processing, such as during polishing or buff operations. Either an x-y gantry assembly or a head actuation assembly is coupled to a system body of a polishing module and is configured to move a carrier head over the pads. Between process operations the polishing pads may be indexed to expose a new polishing pad to the carrier head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven M. Zuniga, Jay Gurusamy
  • Patent number: 12251788
    Abstract: A polishing system includes a carriage arm having an actuator disposed on a lower surface thereof. The actuator includes a piston and a roller coupled to a distal end of the piston. The polishing system includes a polishing pad and a substrate carrier suspended from the carriage arm and configured to apply a pressure between a substrate and the polishing pad. The substrate carrier includes a housing, a retaining ring, and a membrane. The substrate carrier includes an upper load ring disposed in the housing. The roller of the actuator is configured to contact the upper load ring during relative rotation between the substrate carrier and the carriage arm. The actuator is configured to apply a load to a portion of the upper load ring thereby altering the pressure applied between the substrate and the polishing pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Andrew Nagengast, Steven M. Zuniga, Jay Gurusamy, Charles C. Garretson, Vladimir Galburt
  • Patent number: 12246409
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for compensating positioning error in an edging process or in a fastening operation for a raw-edged, finished spectacle lens, the method comprising: —determining centring deviation parameters, said centring deviation parameters indicating the occurrence of positioning errors for the raw-edged, finished spectacle lens during a fastening operation and/or during a subsequent edging process, and—modifying control information with the aid of the determined centring deviation parameters such that the positioning errors for the raw-edged, finished spectacle lens are compensated and/or taken into account. The invention also related to a corresponding device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: Rodenstock GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Dumm, Markus Grau, Andreas Keil, Philipp Merkelbach, Ahmet Ögüt, Karl Rahn, Jasmine Reick, Peter Szegö, Arne Urban, Holger Wild
  • Patent number: 12239858
    Abstract: A glass breaking tool that includes an impact head optimized to improve impact force and retraction of glass. The glass-breaking tools system includes an impact head, solid rubber or plastic handle or telescoping baton and adapters to connect the impact head to the baton. The impact head has glass-breaking projections aligned to accommodate a lateral swinging motion so that at least one pin will make contact with the glass even when the baton is swung laterally to the longitudinal axis of the baton. The shape and orientation of the components are designed to optimize performance. The impact head extends along a longitudinal axis from a first axial end to a second axial end and a handle attached to the second axial end of the impact head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Inventors: Gerald Joseph Tilk, Howard Garrett Beasey
  • Patent number: 12233503
    Abstract: A blocking device includes a support member configured for providing a rigid support to the semi-finished optical element, the support member including a support element made of a shape-memory material having a rigid state below a predetermined temperature and a plastic state above the predetermined temperature, and assuming in the absence of external forces a predetermined memory shape when heated above the predetermined temperature, the support member having a contact face onto which the first face of the optical element is to be applied, the contact face of the support member being a surface of the support element, the shape-memory material being configured for having adherence properties with respect to the first face of the optical element, the adherence properties being sufficient for attaching the first face of the optical element to the contact face of the support element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: Essilor International
    Inventors: Sébastien Pinault, Luc Martin, Jérôme Moine, Xavier Bultez
  • Patent number: 12233505
    Abstract: A polishing pad includes a sensor assembly surrounded by a lower portion of the polishing pad, and an upper portion including a pad portion disposed on the assembly and at least a portion of a polishing layer disposed on the lower portion. The sensor assembly includes a lower body having a first pair of electrodes formed thereon, a polymer body having a second pair of electrodes formed thereon and aligned with the first pair of electrodes, and a pair of gaps between the first pair of electrodes and the second pair of electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas A. Wiswell, Chih Chung Chou, Dominic J. Benvegnu
  • Patent number: 12237191
    Abstract: A wafer holder includes a holding base having a circular holding surface, including, on a side of the holding surface, an annular first groove and an annular second groove that is surrounded by the first groove, and internally including a plurality of first suction holes opening in a region located between the first groove and the second groove on the holding surface, a plurality of second suction holes opening in a region surrounded by the second groove on the holding surface, and a suction channel communicating to the first suction holes and the second suction holes and opening in a back surface on a side opposite to the holding surface. The first suction holes and the second section holes are configured in such a manner that the first suction holes each have a pressure loss greater than that at each of the second suction holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: DISCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Omuro
  • Patent number: 12233506
    Abstract: A centerless roll grinding machine includes a lateral support of a V-channel support that is received by a vertical support of a frame and extending horizontally in the first direction to contact a second side of one neck of a work roll. A lower support received by and extending generally upwardly from the frame displaced in the first lateral direction from a geometric center of the neck of the work roll cooperates with the lateral support to provide the V-channel support to hold the work roll for rotation about a longitudinal axis. A lateral support device includes radially spaced bearing pads on the neck in opposition to a grinding wheel. Each pair of bearing pads is pivotally attached to a respective first tier averaging link that is pivotally coupled to a horizontal ram to reduce displacements of the work roll caused by errors in the neck.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Inventor: Karl Bagdal
  • Patent number: 12220788
    Abstract: Nozzle system for a powder blasting device including a first nozzle element for transporting a powder-gas mixture stream along a transporting direction and a second nozzle element, where the second nozzle element surrounds the first nozzle element such that at least one channel is formed between the first nozzle element and the second nozzle element, where the channel is provided for transporting a liquid stream, where the first nozzle element and the second nozzle element are arranged such that in operation the powder-gas-mixture stream ejected by the first nozzle element is encased by the liquid stream ejected by the channel for forming an output stream of the nozzle system, where the first nozzle element has an acceleration part having a first cross section and a spreading part having a second cross section, where the spreading part is arranged downstream of the acceleration part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: FERTON HOLDING S.A.
    Inventors: Florent Beani, Marcel Donnet, Maxime Fournier, Karine Sauvageot-Maxit, Patrick Pichat, Tiago Bertolote
  • Patent number: 12220783
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are apparatus and system embodiments that allow a user to sharpen instruments. An apparatus embodiment includes a body with a lower portion and an upper portion, one or more protrusions extending from the lower portion of the body and attached to the upper portion of the body, and a cap configured to be attached to the upper portion of the body. A system embodiment includes a sharpening accessory and a power source, where the sharpening accessory includes a body with a lower portion and an upper portion, one or more protrusions extending from the lower portion of the body and attached to the upper portion of the body, a removable cap configured to be attached to the upper portion of the body, and a sharpening device to be inserted into the body, where the power source is configured to rotate the sharpening device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Inventor: Paula J. Crashley
  • Patent number: 12208492
    Abstract: A repositionable abrasive disc mounting assembly comprises a backup pad and a clamp assembly. The backup pad has a rotational axis of use and a major surface with projections extending outwardly therefrom. The backup pad further comprises an inwardly facing centrally disposed first fastening member, and also an outwardly facing centrally disposed second fastening member. The clamp assembly comprises inner and outer clamp members for securing an abrasive disc. The inner clamp member comprises an inwardly facing centrally disposed third fastening member adapted to repositionably engage the second fastening member in a discrete number of rotational orientations. The inner clamp member further comprises an outwardly facing centrally disposed fourth fastening member. The outer clamp member comprises an inwardly facing centrally disposed fifth fastening member adapted to securely engage the fourth fastening member. A method of abrading a workpiece using the repositionable abrasive disc is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Joseph B. Eckel, Thomas J. Nelson, Fay T. Salmon, David T. Buckley, Cory M. Arthur, Alireza Ghaderi, Dominic J. Triana
  • Patent number: 12202099
    Abstract: A coated abrasive article having a plurality of formed ceramic abrasive particles each having a surface feature. The plurality of formed ceramic abrasive particles attached to a flexible backing by a make coat comprising a resinous adhesive forming an abrasive layer. The surface feature having a specified z-direction rotational orientation, and the specified z-direction rotational orientation occurs more frequently in the abrasive layer than would occur by a random z-direction rotational orientation of the surface feature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventor: Steven J. Keipert
  • Patent number: 12202100
    Abstract: A device for automatically removing a grinding wheel from a grinding machine mounted on a manipulator is described. According to one embodiment, the device has the following: a support plate with a surface for depositing a grinding wheel; a movable clamping element that is raised in a first position with respect to the support plate; an actuator that is coupled to the clamping element and is configured to move the clamping element into a second position in which the clamping element is pressed against the support plate such that the grinding wheel is clamped between the support plate and clamping element; and a release element that is arranged in such a way relative to the support plate that the release element is actuated when the grinding wheel is placed on the surface of the support plate and is pressed against the latter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: FerRobotics Compliant Robot Technology GmbH
    Inventors: Ronald Naderer, Jakob Schinnerl