Patents Examined by Robert L. Spruill
  • Patent number: 5105506
    Abstract: A quick release furniture hinge has a pivot arm for attachment to one hinged part of a furniture article and a base plate for connection to another hinged part of the furniture article. A connecting plate assembly releasably attaches the pivot arm to the base plate by hooks at one end of the assembly which engage stub shafts on the base plate, and a pivoting latch at the other end of the assembly which latches over a projection on the base plate. The connecting plate assembly also has a pivoted toggle element for engaging and releasing the latch to allow separation of the connecting plate assembly and pivot arm from the base plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1992
    Inventor: Tsong C. Lin
  • Patent number: 5105602
    Abstract: An automatic wrapping apparatus of cylindrical articles, particularly plastic bobbins. The apparatus includes feed rollers for feeding two wrapping sheets therebetween in opposed manner to form a bottom portion for a wrapping bag. A loading device is provided for loading bobbins onto the bottom portion by holding each unit of regularly arranged bobbins and dropping it in an orderly state. A support member is provided for supporting the bobbins unit by unit from underneath and causing the bobbin unit whenever dropped to descend by the bobin height, thus stacking bobbin units one upon another. A basket-like retainer is provided for receiving the bobbin units descending with stacking to retain them in the place so as to keep the orderly state. A heat sealer is provided for uniting the bottom portion and a top margin of the wrapping bag. A side heat sealer is provided for uniting both sides of the bag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1992
    Assignee: Osaka Bobbin Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Nobutaka Ono
  • Patent number: 5103530
    Abstract: A hub and wheel assembly for light load vehicle including baby carriages, infant strollers, wheelchairs and the like, the assembly having tandem wheels and a shock absorbing member in a trailing link suspension configuration. The assembly includes a wheel locking mechanism to lock one or both wheels into a secured position preventing the wheels from rolling about the axle. The wheel assembly incorporating a thrust bearing system to provide smooth and controlled swiveling relative to the vehicle body or frame and eliminates creeping and wobble. A swivel lock mechanism is also provided to allow the user to lock the tandem wheel assembly in a angular position relative to the vehicle body thereby preventing swiveling about the longitudinal axis of the swivel base housing. Each wheel is mounted to the axle in tandem using two low friction bearings and having a low-profile tire mounted to a rim with a reflective area for increasing safety in low elimination environments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Assignee: Century Products Company
    Inventors: John J. Andrisin, III, Thomas Wiatrak, C. William Lauro
  • Patent number: 5103528
    Abstract: A refrigration, foam sealing bushing is provided for use within a refrigeration door cavity. The bushing is formed of a male member, and a female member. The male member includes a head portion, an upper shank portion, a reduced lower shank portion, and a disc-like member. The female member is formed of a tubular section having an open upper end and an open lower end. The tubular section has an axially extending bore which extends between the open upper end and the open lower end for telescopingly receiving the lower shank portion of the male member. Passageways are formed between the outer surface of the reduced lower shank portion and inner surface of the axially extending bore of the tubular section for permitting air to escape from the door cavity but yet preventing foam insulation from escaping during the injection of the foam insulation into the door cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Olson, James S. Zielinski, Michael C. Blaha
  • Patent number: 5103617
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for wrapping a signature bundle by moving a wrapping sheet into the path of movement of a bundle, said sheet being maintained in self-supporting fashion by imparting a bend thereto as it is fed to the wrapping station. The bundle "crashes" into the sheet causing it to collapse and wrap itself about the bundle. When the wrapping operation is completed, the wrapping sheet is wrapped around three contiguous surfaces of the bundle. The sheet is automatically cut and a new wrapping operation is initiated. The wrapping sheet may be printed upon by an ink jet printing characters "on the fly". The characters are printed backwards and "bleed through" the wrapping sheet to appear in normal manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Assignee: Quipp Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Christer A. Sjogren, Kevin Cote, Tuval Kedem
  • Patent number: 5103532
    Abstract: A flat-mounted cabinet door hinge, having a low cabinet-side profile, including a cabinet mounting plate and a door mounting plate interconnected by an elongated carrier plate, optionally containing a bend, attached to the cabinet and door mounting plates through a link and a toggle, to allow the door to swing from a closed position through an arc exceeding 90.degree. to an open position and containing a spring device to urge and releasably hold the door in its closed position against the cabinet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Inventors: Louis L. Youngdale, Robert L. Youngdale
  • Patent number: 5103529
    Abstract: A structure is provided to retain in an axial direction a support bearing inserted into a receiving lug of a vehicle part. Such support bearings have a rubber bush which projects with its endpieces out of the receiving lug, possesses a bearing core and is supported on one side of the receiving lug by means of a flange of a sheet-metal casing. An annular-bead-like bush endpiece facing away from the flange engages over an edge on the other side of the receiving lug. The retention structure can be in the form of a circumferential groove in the annular-bead-like bush endpiece, into which, after the support bearing has been introduced into the receiving lug, a spring ring can be inserted a spring ring which, in the inwardly spread state, has a diameter larger than the inside diameter of the receiving lug. The spring ring thus prevents axial shifting of the support bearing in a direction in which the bead-like bush endpiece would be drawn into the receiving lug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Assignee: Mercedes-Benz AG
    Inventor: Werner Konig
  • Patent number: 5099546
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for securing a lanyard to a handle of the type used with inflators. The lanyard is captured in sandwiched relation between the opposite halves of the handle at the time the handle is molded. A pair of confronting lanyard-receiving members are positioned along the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the handle, and the lanyard is placed between them. Plugs that force the lanyard to follow a serpentine path of travel are positioned along the length of each lanyard-receiving member when the molding process begins and the plugs are removed when the handle is completed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1992
    Inventor: Glenn H. Mackal
  • Patent number: 5099547
    Abstract: This invention relates to a mounting plate assembly for a hinge, preferably for a furniture hinge, comprising a base plate and an intermediate plate, which is adjustable relative to the base plate and is adapted to be clamped against or connected to the base plate by a screw in different adjusted positions and on which the hinge bracket is preferably adjustably mounted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1992
    Assignee: Arturo Salice S.p.A.
    Inventor: Luciano Salice
  • Patent number: 5097649
    Abstract: A packaging machine comprising a rotary body having blank bottom forming radial mandrels so arranged as to be successively stoppable at a plurality of process stations including a blank feed station, a feeder for fitting a tubular blank having a square or rectangular cross section around the mandrel stopping at the blank feed station to feed the blank to the mandrel, and a collector for collecting paper particles adhering to the blank to be fed by the feeder. The feeder has a pair of guide rails positioned on opposite sides of and extending in parallel to a phantom line extending outward from the mandrel stopping at the blank feed station. The collector has a tubular collecting cover enclosing the guide rails. The cover is formed with an air outlet covered with a filter. A suction device applies suction to the air outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1992
    Assignee: Shikoku Kakoki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Ueda, Shigeru Wakabayashi, Yasuji Fujikawa
  • Patent number: 5097690
    Abstract: The present invention is a tool for repairing damaged pneumatic lines. The tool is small and compact, and is capable of being moved to the line to be repaired. The device has multiple rollers which may be adjusted to various line interior diameters and to various angles desired for the flange. When the tool is rotated, the rollers reform the flange in the subject line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1992
    Assignee: Adams & Bird, Inc.
    Inventor: James A. Adams
  • Patent number: 5097566
    Abstract: A slip-resistant, flexible, cushioning cover for a handle, formed of an elastomeric tube having at least one open end, said tube having ribs on an outside surface. The ribs each have sidewalls extending from the outside surface, and a top wall extending between the sidewalls, forming an outer surface of the ribs. The outer surface of the ribs is concave and the junctures of the top surface and the sidewalls have sharp edges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1992
    Assignee: Bettcher Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard B. Decker, Joseph Hummel
  • Patent number: 5095597
    Abstract: This invention is directed to a method of making an expandable metal product for use in extinguishing fires and controlling explosions by means of revolving cylinders equipped with slitting knives. The method steps produce the product from a continuous sheet of metal foil by making slits of a configuration extending to the margins. The method also produces a floatable, ellipsoid for nestling in fuel containers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1992
    Assignee: Shaikh Ghaleb Mohammad Yassin Alhamad
    Inventors: Shaikh G. M. Y. Alhamad, Sami I. Altikan
  • Patent number: 5095581
    Abstract: A mechanism is provided for maintaining an open door in a selected fixed position includes a hydraulic cylinder having first and second ends. One end of a shaft axially disposed in the cylinder, passes through a hydraulic seal at one end of the cylinder. A piston is axially disposed on the shaft near its other end, and includes o-rings for sealing it against the cylinder walls. The piston includes first and second axially-disposed bores. First and second discs, each including an aperture are axially mounted on the shaft in contact with the opposing faces of the piston and are positioned such that the aperture of each is substantially aligned with one of the bores and blocks the other bore. The discs are held against the faces of the piston with a predetermined amount of force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1992
    Assignee: J. Sarto Co.
    Inventor: Julius A. Sarto
  • Patent number: 5093959
    Abstract: A handle assembly for attaching a decorative handle to a turning stem is disclosed. The handle assembly comprises a handle body having a side wall and a top wall defining a hollow interior open at the bottom. A shaped aperture extends through the top wall of the handle body and is in communication with the hollow interior. An insert having a top portion and a shaped body portion of cross-sectional configuration, such as octagonal cross-section, complementary to the cross-sectional configuration of the shaped aperture extending through the top wall of the handle body is press-fit into the aperture with a section of the shaped body portion extending above the aperture. A decorative ring is disposed on top of the handle body. The ring has a shaped opening extending therethrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Assignee: Masco Corporation of Indiana
    Inventors: Charles W. McTargett, Franco Perin
  • Patent number: 5094096
    Abstract: A method of bending round tubular metal stock for use in the manufacture of tubular frame furniture comprising the steps of first bending the stock to a shape close to the final angle and thereafter compressing the stock in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the bend so as to fractionally increase the stock diameter in the plane of the bend and reversely bend the stock so as to achieve the final angular relation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Assignee: Chromcraft Furniture Corp.
    Inventor: Amuel E. Sheckells
  • Patent number: 5093960
    Abstract: A window hinge assembly for mounting a window sash to a window frame including an elongated track mountable along an axis to the window frame and a generally planar sash arm mountable along an axis to the window sash. The sash arm is also mounted for movement in a plane parallel to the track axis and has one end positionable adjacent one track end when the window sash is closed. A pair of mirror image hat members are interchangeably attachable separately to the arm one end and the track one end, where each of the hat members have a base selectively securable to the arm and the track and a perpendicularly bent edge on one end. The hat member bases are trapezoidal and attached to the arm and track so that the outwardly facing base side is shorter than the parallel opposite base side, with the bent edge protruding perpendicularly from the base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Assignee: Truth Division of SPX Corporation
    Inventor: Whitley Pemberton
  • Patent number: 5093958
    Abstract: To prevent an automobile mat from moving forward, a strap with a metal or plastic loop at the end is attached to the rear underside of a floor mat. In front of the automobile seat one side of an elongated "S"-shaped clip is forced over the exposed edge of the automobile's original carpeting. The other side of the clip is then in an upward direction with the open end of the clip facing toward the rear of the automobile. The loop attached to the floor mat is inserted intothe upward facing portion of the "S" clip. The length of the strap attached to the loop is sized to allow hand space to reach under the floor mat during the attaching process. The "S" clip is made of a spring-type material, shaped to tightly squeeze over and be tightly held by the thickness of the automobile carpeting. The shape of the clip also prevents the unintentional separation of the loop from the clip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Inventor: Lloyd Levine
  • Patent number: 5093957
    Abstract: A top and bottom disk with central bores axially aligned for receipt of a through bolt fastener. The disks have descending and ascending integral cylindrical tubes respectively. The descending top disk tube has a side wall vertical channel leading to an eccentric hole in the top disk at one end. The inner diameter of the top disk cylindrical tube is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the bottom disk cylindrical tube and receives the bottom disk tube in axial alignment within a through hole in a two-sided honeycomb panel. Ridges on a surface of each disk, in contact with a honeycomb panel side, seal the disk in place after epoxy is inserted into the eccentric hole in the top disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Assignee: ATR International, Inc.
    Inventor: Hien D. Do
  • Patent number: 5092017
    Abstract: A door hinge assembly is disclosed, which comprises a door hinge assembly for pivotally connecting a door to a fixed structure. The assembly comprises a first wing member secured to the fixed structure, the first wing member having first aligned bores formed therethrough; a second wing member secured to the door, the second wing member having second aligned bores formed therethrough, the first and second wing members being so arranged that all of the first and second aligned bores are aligned; a pivot shaft passing through the aligned first and second bores to pivotally connect the first and second wing members; plastically deformable bushes respectively disposed in the second bores while rotatably receiving therein the pivot shaft; a first structure for suppressing rotation of the pivot shaft relative to the first bores; and a second structure for suppressing rotation of the bushes relative to the second bores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1992
    Assignees: Ohi Seisakusho Co., Ltd., Oiles Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiaki Hatano, Yoichi Nakamura, Masayuki Kohama, Kouichi Tsunoda, Tadayoshi Umeki, Takayuki Miyaji, Kenjiro Makishima, Shigenori Taga