Patents Examined by Suzanne Dino Barrett
  • Patent number: 7100408
    Abstract: A lock assembly includes a housing, a core assembly and a retainer. The housing includes a housing retainer groove located generally transverse to an axis defined by a bore through the housing, which corresponds with a core retainer groove. When the core assembly is mounted within the bore, the retainer grooves are aligned. The retainer is inserted into the grooves such that a bridge portion of the retainer is engaged by an engagement feature to secure the retainer and thereby mount the core assembly into the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: Newfrey, LLC
    Inventor: Franklin T. Nakasone
  • Patent number: 7100404
    Abstract: An apparatus which inhibits the theft of equipment such as personal computers is disclosed. The equipment must have an external wall provided with a specially designed, approximately rectangular slot having preselected dimensions. An attachment mechanism includes a housing for a spindle having a first portion rotatable within the housing, a shaft extending outwardly from the housing, and a crossmember at the end of the shaft having peripheral dimensions closely conforming to the internal dimensions of the slot. An abutment mechanism also emanates from the housing, and is located on opposite sides of the shaft intermediate the housing and the crossmember. The peripheral cross-sectional dimensions of the abutment mechanism and the shaft in combination closely conform to the dimensions of the slot. The length of the shaft from the housing to the crossmember is approximately equal to the thickness of the external wall of equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: ACCO Brands USA LLC
    Inventors: William R. Murray, Jr., Stewart R. Carl, Arthur H. Zarnowitz
  • Patent number: 7100403
    Abstract: An apparatus which inhibits the theft of equipment such as personal computers is disclosed. The equipment must have an external wall provided with a specially designed, approximately rectangular slot having preselected dimensions. An attachment mechanism includes a housing for a spindle having a first portion rotatable within the housing, a shaft extending outwardly from the housing, and a crossmember at the end of the shaft having peripheral dimensions closely conforming to the internal dimensions of the slot. An abutment mechanism also emanates from the housing, and is located on opposite sides of the shaft intermediate the housing and the crossmember. The peripheral cross-sectional dimensions of the abutment mechanism and the shaft in combination closely conform to the dimensions of the slot. The length of the shaft from the housing to the crossmember is approximately equal to the thickness of the external wall of equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: ACCO Brands USA LLC
    Inventors: William R. Murray, Jr., Stewart R. Carl, Arthur N. Zarnowitz
  • Patent number: 7100221
    Abstract: Collapsible lightweight, and portable cot type bed for pets and children. A spring biased horizontal connector pin can slidably attach bottom edges of vertical support legs to horizontal cross braces to maintain the cot in an assembled position that can support extreme amounts of weight. The horizontal pin can be connected to a bottom portion of a metal strip having an upper edge attached by rivets, soldering or welding to the vertical support legs. Sidewall panels along the planar support surface of the cot allow for keeping objects from sliding off the cot. A removable canopy or a removable hutch-like compartment for deflecting sun and providing shade when the cot is used outdoors can be mounted to the vertical legs above the planar support surface. The hutch-like compartment is made of flexible, lightweight materials and can be closed on all sides, using see-through or open weave materials for ventilation while securely containing a child or pet inside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: Broadfield Imaging Corp.
    Inventor: Christopher J. Twigg
  • Patent number: 7100520
    Abstract: A theft-prevention ink pack device is provided, comprising a support member (70) having support lugs (73a, 74a, 75a, 75b) within a case (130) having ink spouts (66) and knife edges (69), a tray member (80) supported by the lugs (73a, etc.), spaced from the knife edges (69), an ink pack (90) placed on the tray member (80) and having a bag (92) containing ink (91), a pressboard (100) positioned behind the ink pack (90), and conical compression coil springs (120, 121) for pushing the pressboard (100). When the support member (70) is moved as it is pulled, the support provided by the support lugs (73a, etc.) of the tray member (80) is cancelled to cause the tray member (80) to fall down and the ink pack (90) is broken by the knife edges (69) and urged under pressure by the spring forces of the springs (120, 121) via the pressboard (100) to cause the ink to spurt through the ink spouts (66).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Abe, Hayato Minamishin, Masato Koike
  • Patent number: 7096698
    Abstract: A lock system for a door. The lock system includes a clutch mechanism and a lockset with a lockable latch and actuator for operating the latch. The clutch mechanism includes an input cam, an output cam, and an engagement pin having an axis and being dimensioned and configured for axial movement between a first position, in which the engagement pin engages both the input and output cams so that the input and output cams rotate synchronously, and a second position, which allows independent rotational movement of the input cam and the output cam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2006
    Assignee: Harrow Products LLC
    Inventors: John E. Walsh, III, Vu Dinh Nguyen
  • Patent number: 7093312
    Abstract: An adjustable bed including a stationary frame is supported with legs above a floor. An articulated deck comprising head, seat, leg and foot deck boards hingedly joined together is spaced above the frame with connectors. The connectors include generally inverted U-shaped foot and seat tubes pivotally secured to the frame and secured to the seat and foot deck boards. A motorized drive assembly is operatively coupled to the head deck board and includes arms with are pivotally secured to the frame. Activation of the motorized drive assembly moves the deck boards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2006
    Assignee: L&P Property Management Company
    Inventor: Niels S. Mossbeck
  • Patent number: 7086653
    Abstract: The transferrable EMI gasket assembly utilizes a carrier with a pair of arms, each attached to a back panel by a hinged connection and extending in the same direction to overlie one another. The conductive, deformable gasket material is attached to the carrier and positioned adjacent the back panel. The assembly is collapsed for installation with the back panel overlying one of the arms hinged thereto to present a reduced height. The assembly is placed in the operative position by moving one arm relative to the other to pivot the carrier back panel to a near right angle position with respect to the carrier arms. In the operative position, the gasket material is compressed and deformed against the confronting surfaces to effect the EMI seal while the biasing force of the compressed gasket material, in the preferred embodiment, secures the carrier arms together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Edward Charles Gillard, Don Alan Gilliland
  • Patent number: 7086256
    Abstract: A steering lock that is easy to assemble includes a lock mechanism provided with a lock bar carrier. The lock bar carrier is a single member including a support column, a stopper projection, and a cylindrical body having a female-threaded portion. Thus, the lock mechanism is easy to assemble, and the steering lock can be efficiently manufactured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho
    Inventor: Hiroyasu Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 7086808
    Abstract: A method for installation of an underground pipe includes an initial step of boring a pilot hole through the ground at a predetermined grade angle by extending a drill string having a steerable boring bit mounted thereon through the ground. Upon reaching an end location for the pilot hole, the bit is removed from the drill string, and an expander having a diameter greater than the pilot hole is attached to the drill string, which expander is backed by an impact device such as a pneumatic impactor including a striker that delivers repeated impacts to a rearwardly facing surface of the expander, and by a pipe drawn along behind the expander. The expander is pulled back through the pilot hole at the grade angle while the impactor is operated to aid progress of the expander through the ground and pull the pipe into place behind the expander.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Earth Tool Company, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Steven W. Wentworth, Robert F. Crane, Mark D. Randa
  • Patent number: 7086257
    Abstract: A lock system is provided with a function controlling mechanism for control of the lock states unlocked, locked and optionally theft secure and child safety. The lock system is characterized by very short times for controlling the desired locking states and good suitability to various requirements with regard to construction space and functionality. The lock system comprises locking pieces, for example a turning latch or lock handle, in a lock for the mechanical locking of the door, at least one operating device in the form of an external door opener and/or an internal door opener, an optional locking cylinder, and elements for transmitting the operating force from the operating device to the locking pieces. The pieces of the function controlling mechanism (FSM), involved in controlling the locking state are not involved in the force path between the operating device and the locking pieces of the lock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, Coburg
    Inventors: Rolf Bücker, Uwe Sommer, Jörg Übelein, Andre Görtz
  • Patent number: 7080530
    Abstract: A locking device having a cylindrical plunger and a cylindrical sleeve for releasably and rotatably receiving the plunger, the sleeve having an open top portion, and a bottom portion. A keyway is provided axially disposed along the length of one of the plunger or sleeve, and a lip circumferentially disposed around the same plunger or sleeve. A key is also provided on the other of the plunger or sleeve, the key slidably mating with the keyway. A spring member is disposed within the sleeve and is compressed when the plunger is inserted into the sleeve biasing the plunger out of the sleeve. To lock the device the plunger is inserted into the sleeve, the key sliding along the keyway through the lip, the plunger compressing the spring member, and then the sleeve and plunger are rotated with respect to each other and released, the spring biasing the plunger out of the sleeve and locking the key onto a surface of the lip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2006
    Inventor: David J. Haas
  • Patent number: 7076976
    Abstract: A mechanical device such as a lock with anti-shock arrangement, comprising a locking member adapted for linear motion. The anti-shock arrangement comprises a balancing member mounted for linear motion substantially parallel to the locking member motion and a pivotally supported lever with two ends and a pivoting axis therebetween. The locking member abuts one of the ends and the balancing member abuts the other end, the abutment being maintained by a biasing means such as a spring. The lever has substantially zero moment of inertia with respect to its pivoting axis. The locking member, for example an armature of a bi-stable solenoid, is held in a blocked position of the device by a permanent magnet. Upon a shock applied to the device, the locking member and the balancing member create inertial forces substantially balancing each other, while vibration forces are cancelled by the abutment arrangement and the permanent magnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Inventor: Ilan Goldman
  • Patent number: 7076978
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an axle attached to a bicycle, a locking element carried by the axle, and an open attachment member received over the axle between the locking element and the bicycle. The open attachment member is secured between the locking element and the bicycle, and an antitheft element is coupled to the open attachment member inhibiting unauthorized use of the bicycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Inventor: Michael L. Denby
  • Patent number: 7073217
    Abstract: A folding multimodal sofa bed for use with recreational vehicles. The folding multimodal sofa bed has a front facing backrest section, an intermediate section, and a rear facing backrest section. A front pair of rollover arms connect the front facing backrest section to the intermediate section, and rear pair of rollover arms connect the rear facing backrest section to the intermediate section. The rollover arms permit rollover of the front or rear facing backrest section from horizontal bed mode, wherein the front and rear facing backrest section are adjacent to the horizontal intermediate section, to either a front or rear facing sofa mode, wherein the front or rear facing section is pivoted to be above the top surface of the intermediate section in a generally vertical, slanted back orientation facing forwardly or rearwardly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Inventor: Edward F. Stevenson
  • Patent number: 7073357
    Abstract: A handle lock is configured for use with a trailer door latch handle. The handle lock is configured to be coupled to the trailer door. The handle lock is used to lock the handle to lock the trailer door in a closed position and to unlock the handle to allow unlatching and opening of the trailer door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Inventor: Willie E. Nixon, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7069754
    Abstract: In a steering lock device, a lock bar is disposed so as to be offset parallel to a key cylinder along a longitudinal direction of a vehicle (i.e., a central axis of the lock bar and a central axis of the key cylinder are parallel), and is disposed so as to be adjacent to the key cylinder along the central axis of the key cylinder. Further, a proximal end of the lock bar and a rear end of the key cylinder are disposed so as to overlap one another. In accordance with the steering lock device, an amount of projection from a steering column (i.e., a rectilinear distance from an outer peripheral surface of the steering column to a center of a key insertion opening of a key rotor) can be kept small. Degrees of freedom in design of an outer shape of a column cover are thereby increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventor: Seishi Imai
  • Patent number: 7069753
    Abstract: A bag 10 has a security wire netting 12 that is closed by tightening a draw line 14 and locking the draw line taut. When the netting is not in use, the netting 12, due to its configuration, can be readily folded up and placed or held around a top periphery of the bag. This enables the bag to be more conveniently used for simple storage of articles when no security is required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: MRM Holdings Limited
    Inventor: Robert W Schlipper
  • Patent number: 7065991
    Abstract: The present invention refers to a safety lock for glass doors with a standard cut. This lock has two covers (1 and 9) and a strike plate (13), defining an internal space, inside which it is the lock mechanism of reduce dimensions, where the Hungarian type lock cylinder (11) is firmly attached. The lock mechanism is comprised by part of the base cover (1), which perpendicular walls to the base form a substantially rectangular box, having two crenellated parallel walls and perpendicular to the strike plate (13). Inside this box is arranged an internal mechanism comprised by a grooved lower plate (2), a locking plate (3), a pin (4), a spring (5) and a grooved upper plate (7) the grooves in the lower and upper plates being matched one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Inventor: António Augusto Ferreira Vieira Leite
  • Patent number: 7065992
    Abstract: A latch assembly for releasably securing a first member in a closed position relative to a second member is disclosed. The latch assembly includes a housing, a handle, and a lock barrel. The housing is adapted for attachment to one of the first member and the second member. The handle is pivotally attached to the housing and is movable between a closed position and an open position. The handle causes the latch assembly to open when the handle is moved to the open position. The lock barrel is supported by the handle. The lock barrel is adapted for being selectively rotated between locked and unlocked positions by a user using a key. The lock barrel has two projections that are positioned to interfere with and substantially prevent the movement of the handle to the open position when the lock barrel is in the locked position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Assignee: Southco, Inc.
    Inventors: Robin Talukdar, Gert Berg