Patents by Inventor Joseph E. Prather

Joseph E. Prather 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: 4435027
    Abstract: Front and back doors of an apparatus cabinet have lips extending around to cover part of both cabinet sides. Both doors are hinged on one side member of the frame of the cabinet and each has a toothed tongue in the middle of its free end directed so as to slide into a dual latch mounted on the inside of the other frame member of the cabinet. In entering the latch, the door tongues are guided upwards to correct for the sag of the doors. The latch has a cross member with a detent on each end urged downward by a leaf spring and mounted on a pivot plate in a manner allowing the plate to slide upwards against the spring when both detents are pushed upwards by simultaneous closing of both doors. The doors are self-locking, whether closed individually or simultaneously. Release of the front door is performed by a finger cam, actuated from the outside, acting on the pivot plate, by means of a special wrench. The rear door is released from the inside after the rear door is opened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1981
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1984
    Assignee: Edson Tool & Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph E. Prather, Ramzl A. Khalifa, Peter B. Wenzler
  • Patent number: 4061371
    Abstract: A self-locking device for locking a movable member to a stationary member including a rotatable latch member mounted on the stationary member and having a pair of ears located on opposite sides of its axis of rotation, the movable member having a pair of heels cooperations with the ears of the latch member in such a way that longitudinal movement of the movable member relative to the stationary member and toward the closed position causes one of the heels to engage one of the ears on the latch member thereby rotating the latch member until the other ear engages the other heel to latch the movable member in the closed position, the face on the other ear and the face on the other heel being angularly positioned with respect to the axis of rotation of the latch member such that movement of the other heel toward the open position will not impart any substantial rotary movement to the latch member to cause it to rotate to an unlatched position, thereby preventing movement of the movable member in the opening direc
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1976
    Date of Patent: December 6, 1977
    Assignee: Edson Tool & Manufacturing Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph E. Prather, Ramzi A. Khalifa
  • Patent number: 4058334
    Abstract: An improved self-locking device for locking a movable structural member to a stationary structural member, or to another movable structural member, or for unlocking the same, comprising a rotatable self-locking cam and an actuating means therefor; the rotatable self-locking cam being rotatably mounted on a first structural member and having (1) an arcuate surface thereon, capable of preventing movement of a movable structural member in a first or opening direction, and (2) a cam surface thereon, capable of moving the movable structural member in the first or opening direction; and the actuating means being capable of rotating the self-locking cam in an angular direction whereby the cam surface contacts an ear on the movable structural member to forcibly move it in the first or opening direction, while the arcuate surface is being simultaneously moved out of the way of the movable structural member, due to the angular rotation of the self-locking cam, to permit the movement of the movable structural member in
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1976
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1977
    Assignee: Edson Tool and Manufacturing Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph E. Prather, Ramzi A. Khalifa
  • Patent number: 4029348
    Abstract: An improved self-locking device for locking a movable structural member to a stationary structural member, or to another movable structural member, or for unlocking the same, comprising a rotatable self-locking cam and an actuating means therefor; the rotatable self-locking cam being rotatably mounted on a first structural member and having (1) an arcuate surface thereon, capable of preventing movement of a movable structural member in a first or opening direction, and (2) a cam surface thereon, capable of moving the movable structural member in the first or opening direction; and the actuating means being capable of rotating the self-locking cam in an angular direction whereby the cam surface contacts an ear on the movable structural member to forcibly move it in the first or opening direction, while the arcuate surface is being simultaneously moved out of the way of the movable structural member, due to the angular rotation of the self-locking cam, to permit the movement of the movable structural member in
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1976
    Date of Patent: June 14, 1977
    Assignee: Edson Tool and Manufacturing Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph E. Prather, Ramzi A. Khalifa