Patents by Inventor Aldo A. Laghi

Aldo A. Laghi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5503543
    Abstract: A prosthetic casting machine receives an amputated stump while a patient is standing so that a hard socket can be made based upon the shape of the stump when it is under load. The machine includes a brim for accommodating an above-the-knee stump or a retaining disc for below-the-knee stumps. A telescoping leg enables precise adjustment of the height of the machine to accommodate patients of differing heights. The patient's stump is inserted into a liner and the liner is coated with plaster before the stump is inserted into the machine. After insertion, while the patient is standing, compressed air is introduced into a space between a transparent flexible bladder and a transparent rigid cylinder so that a uniform pressure is applied to the plaster by the bladder. The transparent parts enable a prosthetist to observe the results of the pressurization so that corrective steps may be taken if the plaster is not evenly compressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5443525
    Abstract: Myoelectric control of a prosthetic limb is achieved by positioning a soft, flexible pad on the interior surface of a liner and embedding a large plurality of electrically conductive contacts within the pad. A window is cut in the liner to enable attachment of limb control electrodes to the pad. The pad has a low resistivity so that the individual contacts detect very low myoelectric signals. In a preferred embodiment, about forty thousand contacts, each of which is surrounded by non-conductive silicone, are positioned in a one inch square area. The number of signals produced enables the development of highly versatile prosthetic limbs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1995
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5328459
    Abstract: High viscosity materials are dispensed or aspirated by an assembly of cartridges having plungers reciprocally mounted within them. A device for translating rotary motion into linear motion is connected to the output shaft of a small electric motor so that operation of the motor effects linear movement of the plungers. The assembly replaces hydraulic and pneumatic systems and enables better control of the dispensing or aspirating process. In a first embodiment, a single cartridge dispenses a high viscosity material. In additional embodiments, plural cartridges are employed. In the final embodiments, the apparatus is equipped with a suitable assembly of one-way valves and other auxiliary equipment so that it can be used to perform liposuction or aspiration procedures and irrigation of surgical sites.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 12, 1994
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5133754
    Abstract: Silicone rubber implants having at least two integral and inseparable sections separated by a line of demarcation where the hardness of the different sections is different so that the implant more closely mimics the human body part it simulates. A chin implant has a first hard section and a second soft section. The hard section abuts the patient's mandible when the implant is installed and the soft part provides the patient with a soft chin. A nose implant is softest at its tip to simulate a natural nose and is harder in the dorsum area and harder still in the columella area. The implants are made by injecting a first batch of silicone rubber having a first hardness into a first mold, followed by transfer of the completed part to a second mold and injection of at least a second batch of silicone having a differing hardness into the second mold, onto the first-formed part, so that the materials of differing hardness bond naturally to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1992
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5117822
    Abstract: A tool that lowers the temperature of the heart during surgery or other times when blood flow to the heart is cut off. The tool has the appearance of a spoon and includes an elongate handle part and a heart-cradling part at the end of the handle. A first passageway formed in the handle delivers a continuous flow of cold liquid to the rim of the heart-cradling part of the tool and the cold liquid flows continuously out of perforations formed about the rim of that part of the tool for as long as refrigeration is needed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1992
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5087190
    Abstract: A multi-plunger molding machine having a dedicated injection circuit provided for each cavity of a plurality of cavities. Each injection circuit includes a nozzle, an injection plunger, an adjustable control cylinder dedicated to each injection plunger, a pressure control valve and a flow control valve. In this way, the quality of shot introduced into each cavity is independently controllable. A process computer and timers are used to open and close various mechanical valves in accordance with a predetermined sequence. A first timer insures that each shot undergoes a complete thermal expansion before curing begins. A second timer insures that each product is fully cured and that no product is discharged from a cavity prematurely. A flexible conduit is provided between each injection circuit and its associated nozzle so that the machine is free of runners and the concomitant waste of components is eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 11, 1992
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5080592
    Abstract: A statistics teaching aid of the Quincunx type. The device includes a pinplate which has at least one movable row of pins. Shifting of the movable pinrow effectively increases or decreases the number of pinrows on the pinplate. By shifting the pinrow, an operator can alter the shape of the resulting distribution of balls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5072649
    Abstract: Hydraulic fluid under pressure is selectively supplied to multiple drive cylinders that are interconnected to one another and which have bypass lines allowing excess fluid to return to the source of hydraulic fluid as needed. Each drive cylinder receives a double acting piston and each piston is carried by and axially displaces a component pump shaft as it reciprocates within the drive cylinder under the influence of hydraulic pressure. A free end of each pump shaft carries a trip member that trips upper and lower limit switches when the piston reaches its top dead center and bottom dead center positions, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1991
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5066233
    Abstract: A Quincunx type of statistics training device having an improved ball-stop apparatus. The ball-stop comprises a base member having a plurality of forwardly extending pins. The base member is spring biased in a rearward direction and a latch mechanism is used to lock the base member in a forward position. Moving of the latch member allows the ball-stop to move rearwardly and thereby release any balls which had stacked up atop its pins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 19, 1991
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 5061284
    Abstract: Artificial human hair follicles which encapsulate human hair ends and used for hair implantation. Human hairs are cleansed, the ends are then primed with a suitable silicone primer and up to two coatings are provided in order to form thereon a human hair follicle emulation that will be effacatious for the implantation of the treated hairs into the human derma. The artificial follicled human hairs may be implanted individually or in bundles of up to fourteen hairs with each hair strand and each bundle provided with a follicle-emulating bulbous root. In the preparation protocol, a single hair strand is first cleansed, the end is primed to receive a silicone polymer coating, a first coating is applied and before complete cure of the first coating, a second coating comprising a bulbous silicone elatomeric follicle is applied in such a fashion that the first coating will extend for a predetermined distance beyond the artificial follicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1991
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 4900255
    Abstract: A two-stage training device for statistical studies permits the demonstration of advanced statistical principles. Balls are dropped from an upper reservoir through a maze of pins which scatters the balls into a histogram having that shape of a normal curve. The balls from individual cells of the histograms are dropped through a second maze of pins into a second set of vertical cells to form a series of histograms. Dropping subsequent sets of balls from many of the upper cells, visually demonstrates, that: "The Sum Of Normal Independent Sets Of Events Is Normal".
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 13, 1990
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 4550006
    Abstract: A mold apparatus which in addition to the other mold elements, has shuttle plate means adjacent to the nozzle means out of which the molding composition comes out of into the mold cavity, which shuttle plate means forms part of the mold cavity. The shuttle plate means are adapted to automatically take a finished molded part from the mold and remove it out of the mold apparatus. At the same time while the molded part is being taken out of one portion of the shuttle plate means, the other part of the shuttle plate means is being utilized to form a molded part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1985
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 4545952
    Abstract: A mold apparatus for liquid injection molding machine which mold is dripless comprising a frame, four support posts mounted on the frame; a conduit for a liquid molding composition slightly mounted on the forward end of the frame having a front end and a rear end; a first plate means having passage means therein for the passage of the liquid molding composition and fixedly mounted on the forward end of said conduit and adapted to slide within support means and within said mold frame means located adjacent to the forward end of said frame, nozzle means at the end of said passage means of said first plate means at the rear end of said mold frame means and away from said conduit means and pin means slidably mounted in said mold frame means adapted to open and close said nozzle means and mold cavity means slidably mounted on said support means adapted to move toward and away from said nozzle means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1984
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1985
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 4474724
    Abstract: A plunger injection molding machine for utilizing a liquid composition and in addition to the other usual features, a valve for allowing liquid composition to enter a barrel means; sealing means on the plunger which operates on the barrel of the machine so as not to allow the liquid composition to leak pass the sealing means out of the rear of the barrel means; and stop means to regulate or control the rear work movement of the plunger means out of the barrel means which results in accurate control of the amount of liquid composition forced into the mold. A preferable composition for use with this type of machine is a silicone composition and more specifically a SiH olefin platinum catalyst silicone composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 2, 1984
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 4436496
    Abstract: A mold apparatus for liquid injection molding machine which mold is dripless comprising a frame, four support posts mounted on the frame; a conduit for a liquid molding composition slightly mounted on the forward end of the frame having a front end and a rear end; a first plate means having passage means therein for the passage of the liquid molding composition and fixedly mounted on the forward end of said conduit and adapted to slide within support means and within said mold frame means located adjacent to the forward end of said frame, nozzle means at the end of said passage means of said first plate means at the rear end of said mold frame means and away from said conduit means and pin means slidably mounted in said mold frame means adapted to open and close said nozzle means and mold cavity means slidably mounted on said support means adapted to move toward and away from said nozzle means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1981
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1984
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 4402657
    Abstract: A mold apparatus which in addition to the other mold elements, has shuttle plate means adjacent to the nozzle means out of which the molding composition comes out of into the mold cavity, which shuttle plate means forms part of the mold cavity. The shuttle plate means are adapted to automatically take a finished molded part from the mold and remove it out of the mold apparatus. At the same time while the molded part is being taken out of one portion of the shuttle plate means, the other part of the shuttle plate means is being utilized to form a molded part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1981
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1983
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi
  • Patent number: 4402661
    Abstract: A plunger injection molding machine for utilizing a liquid composition and in addition to the other usual features, a valve for allowing liquid composition to enter a barrel means; sealing means on the plunger which operates on the barrel of the machine so as not to allow the liquid composition to leak pass the sealing means out of the rear of the barrel means; and stop means to regulate or control the rear work movement of the plunger means out of the barrel means which results in accurate control of the amount of liquid composition forced into the mold. A preferable composition for use with this type of machine is a silicone composition and more specifically a SiH olefin platinum catalyst silicone composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 1982
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1983
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Aldo A. Laghi