Patents Examined by Sean Michalski
  • Patent number: 9506657
    Abstract: An oven range appliance is provided with features for locking out one or more cooktop elements of the oven range to boost preheat performance and thereby decrease the time required to preheat the cooking chamber of the oven range. A method for operating an oven range appliance also is provided. The method includes features for locking out one or more cooktop elements of the oven range to boost preheat performance and thereby decrease the time required to preheat the cooking chamber of the oven range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: Haier U.S. Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Joshua Stephen Wiseman
  • Patent number: 9504260
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments are directed to a multi-stage rotary food product folder apparatus for forming a folded food product, generally including a drive system, a cam system and a platform system. The drive system includes at least one motor and a shaft. Rotation of at least one cam of the cam system can be driven by the shaft of the drive system. The platform assembly can be secured to a platform. The platform can be rotatably driven by the drive system. The cam system engages the platform assembly to fold the folded food product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: Solbern, Inc.
    Inventor: John C. Walz
  • Patent number: 9504354
    Abstract: A combination barbeque and smoker apparatus, fabricated of stainless steel, which includes an open vessel portion, having a plurality of walls and a floor portion; a cover moveable from an open position to a closed position covering the open end of the vessel to define an enclosed space; a metal grill positioned on the open end of the vessel upon which meat would rest to barbeque or smoke; a continuous pipe positioned in a space between an inner vessel wall and. an outer vessel wall, in a pattern along the rear and side walls of the vessel, the pipe receiving pressurized natural gas from a gas source, such as a pressurized tank; a plurality of openings in the upper wall of the continuous pipe for releasing pressurized gas through the openings; and a device for igniting the gas exiting the openings for defining a source of heat along the length of the pipe into the cover space when the cover is in the closed position for receiving and directing heat downward onto meat resting on the metal grill.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Inventor: Salvador Ficarra
  • Patent number: 9506719
    Abstract: A VATO comprises a blade, a handle, a stabilizing assembly, and a spherical weight. In a preferred embodiment, the spherical weight makes up a significant portion of the overall weight of the VATO. The spherical weight is positioned between the blade and the handle, and the stabilizing assembly is attached to a rear portion of the handle. When the VATO is thrown, a velocity vector is established in the direction of the trajectory of the VATO. The stabilizing assembly produces aerodynamic drag which assists in keeping the blade oriented in a forward position with respect to the trajectory of the VATO. The spherical weight is permitted to freely rotate thereby enabling the blade, the handle and the stabilizing assembly to independently rotate into alignment with the trajectory of the VATO such that the blade is in a forward position as the VATO strikes a target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Inventor: Gary G. Makowski
  • Patent number: 9505144
    Abstract: A piercing mechanism configured to pierce a sealing film of a bread ingredient box includes a bottom seat, a top seat disposed above the bottom seat for supporting the bread ingredient box, and a sawtooth blade disposed on an inner side of the bottom seat. A plurality of spaced-apart support units are disposed on the bottom seat, and each includes an outer support tube, an inner post inserted into the outer support tube and extending out of the bottom seat for abutting against a housing of a bread maker, an outer spring having two opposite ends respectively abutting against the top and bottom seats, and an inner spring having two opposite ends respectively abutting against the inner post and the outer support tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: Tsann Kuen (Zhangzhou) Enterprise Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Zhong-Hua Zhang
  • Patent number: 9498895
    Abstract: A handheld work apparatus has a housing with a guide bar affixed thereto. A saw chain is driven along the guide bar which defines a central plane. A drive element for the chain is in a sprocket wheel space delimited by a sprocket wheel cover. The cover has a longitudinal edge which delimits the space adjacent to a first side of the saw chain. The longitudinal edge has a length from an entry region to a discharge opening. Over at least 50% of this length, the longitudinal edge is at a distance (L) to the housing. The distance (L) corresponds to the chain width (a). The distance of the longitudinal edge of the cover increases at the discharge opening in the running direction of the first side. The largest distance (b) of the longitudinal edge to the central plane is at least 110% of the smallest distance (c).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: Andreas Stihl AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Matthias Harer, Erik Andresen, Ralf Blechschmidt, Philipp Neumann, Friedrich Hollmeier
  • Patent number: 9498832
    Abstract: A saw blade assembly for a power saw includes a housing blade assembly having a plurality of saw teeth depending therefrom and a blade disposed within the housing blade assembly, the blade and the housing blade assembly being drivable in opposite directions by a reciprocating driver mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignees: Richpower Industries Inc., NingBo Gemay Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Lifeng Zhou, Xuefeng Xu
  • Patent number: 9498889
    Abstract: A knife include a handle, button, blade with an integral tang, locking mechanism within the tang, and thrust mechanism. The blade moves between closed and open positions. The button axially slides along the handle. When the blade is in the closed position and locked, movement of the button towards the first handle end releases the locking mechanism and the thrust mechanism moves the blade to the open position. When the blade is in the open position and locked, movement of the button towards the second handle end releases the locking mechanism and the thrust mechanism moves the blade to the closed position. A knife includes a stop pin connected to a tang of a blade and a stop plate positioned within a knife handle. The stop plate has two angled surfaces. The stop pin mates with both angled surfaces and the blade is constrained from movement in two planes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: HAWK DESIGNS INC
    Inventors: Grant Woodrow Hawk, Gavin Dan Hawk
  • Patent number: 9486930
    Abstract: Shaving assemblies are disclosed that include a blade unit, an interface element configured to connect the blade unit to a handle, on which the blade unit is pivotably mounted, and an return element disposed between the blade unit and interface element. The return element serves as interface piece, connector and pivot all in one. Shaving systems including such shaving assemblies are also disclosed, as are methods of using such shaving systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Shavelogic, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig A. Provost, William E. Tucker, John W. Griffin
  • Patent number: 9486108
    Abstract: A container within which is a liquid absorbing material that is wetted by a wetting liquid. The liquid absorbing material has a liquid retention characteristic for retaining the vinegar—such that the liquid retention ability reduces as a surface tension of the wetting liquid reduces due to a temperature rise of the wetting liquid over time. The temperature rise of the wetting liquid comes about when heated water at a higher temperature than the wetted liquid comes into contact with the wetting liquid. Preferably the liquid absorbing material is cotton and the wetting liquid is vinegar, such as apple vinegar. The container has an open top closed by a cover and has a bottom. Both the open top and the cover are punctured to form an inlet and an outlet to allow the heated water to pass through to heat the vinegar and mix with it for cleaning a machine that uses single serving beverage filter cartridges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Inventors: Shaun Douglas, Daniel Depatie
  • Patent number: 9486866
    Abstract: A power tool includes a sawing working device of an at least partially flat form and at least one actuator. The sawing working device is configured to produce a sawing cut in a working direction. The at least one actuator is configured to produce at least one oscillation in the sawing working device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Winkler, Helge Sprenger, Peter Schwenkel, Richard Schoenleber, David Gaenzle
  • Patent number: 9481099
    Abstract: A blade cover may include a cover body defining an interior volume, the cover body being configured to receive a cutting implement within the interior volume, a recess is disposed in the cover body, and a slot is disposed through the recess, the slot defining an opening into the interior volume, wherein the slot is configured to receive at least a portion of a blade of the cutting implement and the recess is configured to expose at least a portion of the blade of the cutting implement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventor: Thomas A. Gingrich
  • Patent number: 9475203
    Abstract: A power operated rotary knife (100) including: an annular rotary knife blade (300) including a knife blade bearing surface (319); a blade housing (400) defining a blade housing bearing surface (459); and a blade-blade housing bearing structure (500) disposed between the knife blade bearing surface (319) and the blade housing bearing surface (459). The blade-blade housing bearing structure (500) includes a rolling bearing strip (502) having a plurality of rolling bearings (506), such as ball bearings, disposed in spaced apart relation in a flexible separator cage (508). The rolling bearing strip (502) traverses through an annular passageway (504) defined between the knife blade bearing surface (319) and the blade housing bearing surface (459) to secure the knife blade (300) to the blade housing (400) and support the knife blade for rotation about a central axis (R) with respect to the blade housing (400).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: Bettcher Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Whited, Nicholas A. Mascari, Kevin V. Stump, Martin Patrick Tansey
  • Patent number: 9466956
    Abstract: A wire stripper tool device is disclosed. The disclosed device comprises a wire retaining dial defining a plurality of graduated holes adjacent to a circumference thereof and an inlet for each hole defined from the circumference to a radius of each hole. The dial is configured to retain and center an insulated wire in one of the graduated holes for a blade to cut the wire through a respective inlet thereof. A spring-loaded two piece body is configured to allow the cutting blade set in a first body piece thereof to be raised and lowered relative to the wire retaining dial set in a second body piece thereof. A limiter set in the first body piece is configured in opposition to a boss in the second body piece. The limiter predetermines a minimum lateral displacement between the two body pieces based on an extension of the limiter relative to the boss.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Inventor: Xiaozhong Zhang
  • Patent number: 9463517
    Abstract: In a single-wire type wire saw, a work is fed relatively to a wire stretched between a pair of grooved guide rollers disposed in the same direction and the work is cut by traveling the wire. When a cutting-feeding direction changes during a cutting of the work, an operation shaft is moved along an arc around the center axis of the wire in a cutting area and simultaneously support arms are rotated around the operation shaft to thereby oppose the wire support direction of the pair of grooved guide rollers to the cutting-feeding direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Komatsu NTC Ltd.
    Inventors: Kikuo Koma, Tsutomu Sugihara, Akira Tanizaki, Akihiro Matsuda
  • Patent number: 9457486
    Abstract: A shaving razor having integrally formed blade guards. A generally monolithic body is formed from a suitable material such as thermoplastic to define blade channels for a plurality of blades, 1 blade retained in each channel the cutting edges of which define a cutting plane. A plurality of blade guards is formed as part of the body such that the shaving plane passes through the blade guards with one blade guard forward of each blade in the cutting direction. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: Rolling Razor, Inc
    Inventor: Alon Leon Coresh
  • Patent number: 9457401
    Abstract: A tool assembly includes an actuator and a bearing surface. The actuator places a force with the bearing surface on a riser connected to a workpiece to separate the riser from the workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: LGT Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventors: James G. Tacheny, Adam Tacheny
  • Patent number: 9452541
    Abstract: A power operated rotary knife including: a handle assembly, a head assembly and a vacuum attachment assembly. The handle assembly includes an elongated cylindrical handle housing defining a handle assembly longitudinal axis extending through a throughbore of the handle housing. The head assembly includes a rotary knife blade rotatably supported for rotation about an axis of rotation in a blade housing and a frame securing the blade housing to the distal end of the handle assembly in a position offset from the handle housing, the axis of rotation of the rotary knife blade being spaced apart from and parallel to the handle longitudinal axis. The vacuum attachment assembly includes an adapter extending at an angle away from the handle housing such that a central axis of the adapter is transverse to the with respect to the rotary knife blade axis of rotation and the handle assembly longitudinal axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Bettcher Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas A. Mascari, Kevin V. Stump, Edson Bernardelli De Bittencourt
  • Patent number: 9451845
    Abstract: The invention relates to a brewing or preparation chamber (1) of a beverage preparation device, which is suitable for receiving and extracting a portion capsule (17) filled with powdered or liquid base beverage materials and which consists, completely or partly, of electrically conductive material, and the brewing or preparation chamber (1) comprises a stationary first chamber part (2), and a second chamber part, wherein two electrically conductive contacts are arranged in the first chamber part and in the second chamber part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Nestec S.A.
    Inventor: Gotthard Mahlich
  • Patent number: 9445691
    Abstract: The present invention relates to eating utensils, such as spoons, forks and knifes that include a riser configured to elevate the distal end of the utensil when the utensil is placed in an upright or inverted position on a planar surface to avoid contamination. The riser includes a riser member having a lower curvature end integrally formed with a handle and an upper curvature end integrally formed with the working end of a spoon, fork or knife A plurality of eating utensils can be stacked one on top of the other for storage or packaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: Bly Management Limited Partnership
    Inventor: Michael Joyner