Patents Examined by Todd J. Burns
  • Patent number: 5230761
    Abstract: Waistband interlinings are made by ultrasonically cutting a fabric having warp yarns and fill yarns of a thermoplastics material along lines parallel to the warp threads. An acrylic finish on the fabric permits it to undergo the ultrasonic cutting, will retard the development of brittleness in the fused fibres, and keep the resulting fused edge intact. The fabric should have at least 30 fill yarns per inch but no more than 42 warp yarns per inch. The fabric is cut by passing it between a stationary pressing element, or knife, and the horn of an ultrasonic generator. The fill yarns melt as they pass between the knife and the horn and fuse into adjacent fill threads to form a continuous edge along the length of the cut fabric. The resulting waistband material has a smooth edge formed from fill, or weft, fibres fused to each other and to not more than one warp thread. The waistband interlining finds use in a waistband assembly for slacks and pants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1993
    Assignee: QST Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Warren N. Crawford
  • Patent number: 5230738
    Abstract: A pliable, resilient retaining means integrated with an area to be masked in an architectural structure, extending over and substantially covering a channel about the perimeter of the area. The retaining means is attached to the channel wall proximate the area to be masked and is inwardly displaceable, allowing for the insertion and retention of non-adhesive paper or plastic masking material. The resilience of the retaining means urges it from its displaced position outward towards the channel wall distal the area to be masked where it frictionally engages the masking sheet between the end of the retaining means and the channel wall. Placement of the masking sheet is accomplished by stuffing the edges of the sheet into the channel by running a tool along the perimeter of the channel structure, displacing the retaining means inwardly both substantially parallel and at an angle to the channel walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1993
    Inventor: Robert A. Wheeler
  • Patent number: 5230737
    Abstract: The wallpaper pasting apparatus characterized in that the wallpaper pasting apparatus is provided with a pasting roller and a pressing guide for pressing the wallpaper against the upper surface thereof, by a plurality of levelling plate means having edge wavy grooves for adjusting the thickness of the paste layer transferred onto the wallpaper.This apparatus has a simple structure and a light weight, and permits easy and accurate adjustment of the thickness of the paste layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1993
    Assignee: Kyokutosanki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshinari Takada, Yusuke Yokota, Arata Koroyasu, Yasuaki Matsui
  • Patent number: 5228916
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for applying coating to products such as medicaments are disclosed. The present invention provides a apparatus comprising product holders and plates which interact with vacuum tubes to retain the product being coated in place while inverted and dipped into a tank of coating material. The vacuum tubes may be designed to hold product of nearly any shape or in any orientation. In a preferred embodiment, methods and apparatus for creating a two-color gelatin coating on a tablet are disclosed. In certain embodiments, additional apparatus are provided whereby the vacuum tubes rotate about their longitudinal axes and are placed in contact with a coating applicator, thereby applying a band or stripe of a coating material to a specified section of the product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1993
    Assignee: McNeil-PPC, Inc.
    Inventor: Norbert I. Berta
  • Patent number: 5228920
    Abstract: Apparatus for applying protective coatings to photographic films or papers in web or sheet form. More specifically, apparatus for applying protective coatings that are curable by actinic radiation is provided. The apparatus includes a feeding station for supplying film which may be either a feed spool or a sheet feeder for holding and supplying individual sheets of film. The apparatus further includes a conveyor for conveying the film through a coating station and a curing chamber to a receiving station which also may either be a take-up spool to receive coated cured film or a stacking device to receive a stack of individual sheets of film. The conveyor can either be a series of conveying spools or pulleys or an endless conveyor belt in the case of individual sheets of film. The coating station includes a coating roller having a pattern of grooves formed by winding wire onto the surface thereof or other pattern of surface indentations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1993
    Inventor: Ernest E. Thompson, III
  • Patent number: 5226382
    Abstract: Apparatus for automatically metalizing the terminal ends of monolithic capacitor chips, which includes an endless conveying tape having formed therein a plurality of first apertures, a plurality of thin, resilient masks, each adapted for receipt in one of the apertures, in co-planar, fixed registration therewith, each mask having at least one second aperture formed therethrough of a size and shape to compliantly receive a chip therein, in an orientation whereby the contact surfaces extend outward from both sides of the tape, a way to for load the masks with a plurality of chips including a cylindrical wall having formed therethrough at least one orifice for registration with the second aperture in the mask, the cylindrical wall adapted for rotation through an inventory of the chips for introduction of the chips into the orifice in transverse specific alignment with their contact surfaces extending outward from the cylindrical wall orifices, a way to accurately move the chip-loaded orifices into registration w
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1993
    Inventor: Denver Braden
  • Patent number: 5224995
    Abstract: An apparatus for applying a coating to a surface of a substrate which includes a feeder for feeding the coating to a predetermined position, a roller for applying the coating onto the surface of the substrate to be coated from the feeder and a doctor for regulating a thickness of the coating applied to the roller, the doctor having a rake surface, a facing surface and a flank surface forming an escape angle with the facing surface confronted with the surface of the roller. The escape angle defined between a tangential plane with which the roller is contacted and an extension plane of the flank surface at an intersection defined between the extension plane and the roller is an obtuse angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 6, 1993
    Assignees: Pioneer Electronic Corporation, Pioneer Video Corp.
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Shibamoto
  • Patent number: 5221350
    Abstract: A roll (30) of adhesive worked between two rollers (10, 12) of the gumming device is supplied by feed nozzles (34a, 34b) projecting fine streams of adhesive (35a, 35b) with monitored flow. In case of an increase in the measured viscosity of the adhesive or stopping of the machine on which the gumming device is used, a water-atomizing device (40) allows the viscosity to be reduced and prevents the adhesive from drying out. A dimension of the adhesive roll is monitored and controls regulation of the output of the adhesive-feeding nozzles. The gumming device thereby ensures proper gumming of a strip of paper (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1993
    Assignee: Fabriques de Tabac Reunies, S.A.
    Inventors: Bernard Tallier, David Vuilleumier
  • Patent number: 5221351
    Abstract: A process for operating a coating device provides for capturing variations of the angle of the coating edge of a doctor element, for instance in relation to the horizontal, directly by a signal generator attached to the doctor element in the vicinity of its coating edge. This signal generator may work on electromagnetic basis so that the signal will be transmitted to a receiver without any line. Preferably a tilt switch is provided which determines slight variations of a set angle of the coating edge relative to, for example, the horizontal by means of displacement of a mercury pearl and two electrodes which will be short-circuited by the mercury pearl. Other embodiments can include a laser or LED as a signal source and a CCD camera as a receiver, or an ultrasound source can be used as a signal generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1993
    Assignee: Zanders Feinpapiere AG
    Inventors: Reinhard Esser, Helmut Graab, Claus Martin
  • Patent number: 5221436
    Abstract: There is disclosed a process for controlling the deposition of pitch in a paper-making process, wherein there is incorporated into the paper-making composition a coated inorganic particulate material which comprises a clay mineral coated with (a) a cationic polyelectrolyte which is a water-soluble substituted polyolefin containing quaternary ammonium groups or with (b) an inorganic gel or with (c) a mixture of (a) and (b).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1993
    Assignee: ECC International Limited
    Inventors: Keith R. Rogan, John M. Adams
  • Patent number: 5219076
    Abstract: Fractionation apparatus (20) is disclosed which utilizes a rapidly rotating disk which receives a liquid suspension of particles to be separated onto its rotating face surface (35). When the film of liquid and particles on the rotating face surface (35) reaches the peripheral edge (38) of the face, particles having sufficient kinetic energy to overcome surface forces (e.g., above a certain size) are radially ejected while particles with less kinetic energy (e.g., smaller particles) and the liquid are carried over the edge onto the surface of a depending rim (39). The suspension of smaller particles and liquid is carried down the rim to the rim edge (40) at which point the smaller particles and liquid are disengaged. A separator wall (27) may be interposed between the two streams of particles emanating from the disk (24) to provide a physical separation of the larger and smaller particles once they have left the disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 15, 1993
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Edwin J. Crosby, Anil R. Oroskar
  • Patent number: 5217516
    Abstract: A refractive index profile in a glass article is easily controlled by heating a solid or hollow cylindrical glass soot preform in an atmosphere comprising a fluorine-containing compound under such conditions that a partial pressure of the fluorine-containing compound is changed as the heating proceeds so as to control a fluorine concentration in a radial direction of the optical glass article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1993
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichi Ishiguro, Hiroo Kanamori, Akira Urano, Michihisa Kyoto
  • Patent number: 5217533
    Abstract: An apparatus for coating a continuous fiber which includes (a) a coating composition container having an orifice in the bottom portion thereof; (b) means for introducing coating composition into the coating container; (c) a catch vessel positioned below the orifice in the coating container; (d) means for deflecting excess coating composition flowing through the container orifice into the catch vessel; (e) means for removing coating composition from the catch vessel and returning the same to the coating container; and (f) means for transporting a continuous fiber to be coated through the orifice and the coating composition in the coating container; wherein the orifice in the coating container is of sufficient diameter that the continuous fiber need have no contact therewith, and preferably, has no contact therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1993
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventors: Randall S. Hay, Edward E. Hermes
  • Patent number: 5211753
    Abstract: An improved spin coating apparatus (10) having a spin tub (28) surrounding a chuck (14), the chuck (14) being adapted for hold a workpiece (16) for coating. The chuck (14) and the spin tub (28) are spun coaxially and independently such that the chuck (14) may be stopped while the spin tub (28) remains spinning. The spin tub (28) defines a frustum of a cone with a plurality of outlet slots (60) distributed at a large end (52) thereof such that centrifugal force will direct contaminants out of the spin tub (28) through the outlet slots (60). A plurality of fan vanes (62) create an air stream (88) through the spin tub (28) which pulls contaminants through the outlet slots (60) and into a plenum chamber (72) where they are expelled therefrom through a vent tube (64).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 18, 1993
    Inventor: Danny C. Swain
  • Patent number: 5209179
    Abstract: A liquid coating apparatus capable of applying a liquid coating fluid to a workpiece traveling over a press cylinder rotatably mounted in a printing press is provided. The coating apparatus includes an applicator means which communicates with the press cylinder to form a nip site when the coating apparatus is in a operative position. The applicator means transfers the liquid coating fluid from the coating apparatus to a workpiece that has been caused to travel through the nip site. The applicator means includes an endless coating plate belt driveably mounted upon two support rollers, thereby affording communication of the endless coating plate belt with a press cylinder which has limited access to its surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1993
    Assignee: Herbert Products, Inc.
    Inventors: John C. Herbert, Frank A. Andaloro
  • Patent number: 5209779
    Abstract: A bakery icing spreader includes an elongate spine or handle portion sized for ease of grasping by a baker. A plurality of tines depend in spaced relation and like direction from said handle and are sufficiently long and have sufficient surface area to retain icing thereon for a time after the tines are dipped in a bakery icing pan. The loaded spreader is then manually passed over pieces of bakery baked on batch-type trays and a stream of icing falls onto the bakery in any pattern manipulated by a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1993
    Inventor: Robert Talerico
  • Patent number: 5209180
    Abstract: A spin coating apparatus for use in applying a coating solution in film form to an upper surface of a substrate. This apparatus includes a spinning table for supporting and spinning the substrate in horizontal posture, an upper spinning plate disposed parallel to and substantially slightly spaced from the upper surface of the substrate supported on the spinning table, and having an opening formed substantially centrally thereof, the upper spinning plate being adapted to spin concurrently with the spinning table, and a cleaning nozzle vertically movably mounted in the opening of the upper spinning plate. The cleaning nozzle is lowered when cleaning a lower surface of the upper spinning plate, so that a cleaning liquid outlet port formed in a lower end region of the cleaning nozzle is exposed below the lower surface of the rotary plate. In this state, a cleaning liquid is directed to the lower surface of the upper spinning plate being spinng to clean the lower surface thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1993
    Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mikio Shoda, Masaaki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 5207834
    Abstract: A slide coating apparatus includes at least one slide surface disposed along a top portion of a front plate supported by a platform. A fluid supply cavity for supplying a coating fluid to the slide surface is formed at the juncture of a side surface of the front plate with a side surface of a back plate contiguous with the front plate and moveably supported by the platform. A biasing plate applies force to the back plate to maintain the back plate contiguous to the front plate. The invention includes apparatus for moving the back plate away from the front plate to a first cleaning position along a direction substantially parallel to the slide surface. The moving apparatus comprises at least one actuator assembly connected between the back plate and the platform for effecting linear movement along a direction substantially parallel to the slide surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1993
    Assignee: E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Frederick E. Curtis, Terrance W. Grant, Roberto D. Marcuccio, Siegfried R. Scheske
  • Patent number: 5205867
    Abstract: A semiconductor wafer 11 is mounted on an elongated member 18, one end of which is rotatable about a transverse axis (14), thereby to distribute a liquid on the upper surface of the wafer more evenly. In order to stabilize the rotation of the elongated member, a second elongated member is preferably attached end-to-end to the elongated member (18) and rotates with it. A counterweight (26) in the second elongated member moves during the rotation such that the distance between the wafer and the central axis and the distance between the center of the counterweight and the axis are substantially equal. The weight distribution is approximately symmetrical about the axis and the structure is dynamically stabilized. The counterweight and the wafer assembly may be moved during rotation by applying air pressure from a source (23) to pistons (13,26) in the two elongated member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 27, 1993
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: David H. Ziger
  • Patent number: 5203923
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for painting traffic marking lines over old paint markings on road pavement is disclosed. The apparatus, normally installed on a marking vehicle having a paint gun and a paint supply, includes a detector which illuminates the pavement and utilizes a spectroscope to analyze the return inspection for the presence of one or more known preselected constituents of the old paint marking to control actuation of the valve on the paint gun and also track the old pavement marking. The apparatus also provides a paint gun delay function to account for the lead distance between detector and paint gun and enables the application of new paint markings directly over the old markings at a relatively high rate of vehicle speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1993
    Assignee: Research Derivatives, Inc.
    Inventor: William H. Hartman