Patents by Inventor Lawrence Edward Bodkin, Sr.

Lawrence Edward Bodkin, Sr. 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: 7944364
    Abstract: Shielded power and power extension cords are protected from fire and other hazards caused by deterioration which may be due to age and/or excessive heat, or to physical damage which may be caused by kinking or crushing. At least one shield, which may surround multiple conductors or a single conductor is grounded through a fuse and made to function as a sensor in a fault detection circuit that opens the fuse and causes a relay to discontinue cord power transmission when a fault current passes from an ungrounded conductor to the shield. The relay circuit also refuses to fully close its contacts that transfer power to the cable in the event of receptacle wiring error and functions as a buzzer to indicate such an error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Inventor: Lawrence Edward Bodkin, Sr.
  • Patent number: 5827564
    Abstract: Aggregate pieces of instantized dry milk powder, which are uniformly distributed among cereal pieces in multi-serving packages of ready-to-eat breakfast cereal, tend to maintain their distribution by virtue of a size which is made comparable to that of the cereal pieces. The comparable sizes act to resist any sifting and settling separation and tend to provide a substantially uniform proportion of cereal and liquid milk in each serving, when water is added. An instantized dried milk powder, which is made potentially cohesive due to the inclusion of uncrystallized lactose or the addition of anhydrous sucrose, is then made into larger aggregate forms by substantially immediate compression after a small amount of moisture has been acquired by brief exposure in a humid atmosphere. These special aggregates, which are durable in the cereal package, quickly disintegrate in a sufficiency of cold water and revert to a readily dissolved and dispersible powder to furnish a liquid form of milk with minimal stirring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Inventor: Lawrence Edward Bodkin, Sr.
  • Patent number: 5813132
    Abstract: A device that is simply pulled down to touch the head of a child to quickly and accurately determine their height, employs a special extendable and retractable measuring tape that is wall mounted at a specific height over the floor and stays up and out of the normal reach of a small child when not in use. Reading is direct from the tape pulled from a holder. The numbering system of the tape of this device is reversed from tapes conventionally used to measure length, by having the highest number of measurement located at the outer end and decreasing incrementally toward a zero reading nearest the end secured within the holder. The device is properly mounted by extending the tape to the zero reading and securing it at a height on the wall that allows the device, with the tape so extended, to touch the floor directly below it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1998
    Inventor: Lawrence Edward Bodkin, Sr.
  • Patent number: 5642558
    Abstract: Unlike conventional snap fasteners, this clasp's mechanism temporarily locks to prevent opening by accidental forces which apply unevenly and tilt the socket against the elongated stud that passes through and beyond the socket. Designed for general use, it is especially valuable for bracelets. While accidental opening is virtually impossible, stud and socket support-bodies make intentional opening easy, with one hand. With bracelet between them, middle and index fingers hold the socket support-body on opposite edges, without blocking stud movement, while thumb pressure is applied to the protruding end of the stud to eject it and open the clasp. This procedure keeps axes of stud and socket sufficiently aligned to avoid the locking effect, and automatically leaves the wearer holding the socket side of the clasp to avoid dropping the bracelet. The support-body means of attachment makes pull from chain or bracelet substantially perpendicular to clasp's opening direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 1, 1997
    Inventor: Lawrence Edward Bodkin, Sr.