Patents by Inventor Michael Waters

Michael Waters 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).

  • Publication number: 20090107408
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for separating animal waste from litter are provided. In one form, the apparatus includes a drum that contains litter and a helical rake that is rotatable in the drum. The rake can rotate relative to the drum to reduce power requirements for the rotary rake drive. Preferably, the drum is also rotatable by turning of the rake in the drum, but only for a limited, fixed angular distance which also reduces peak power requirements for the rotary drive motor for the rake.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2008
    Publication date: April 30, 2009
    Inventor: Michael WATERS
  • Patent number: 7487742
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for separating animal waste from litter are provided. In one form, the apparatus includes a drum that contains litter and a helical rake that is rotatable in the drum. The rake can rotate relative to the drum to reduce power requirements for the rotary rake drive. Preferably, the drum is also rotatable by turning of the rake in the drum, but only for a limited, fixed angular distance which also reduces peak power requirements for the rotary drive motor for the rake.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20080317222
    Abstract: The subject mater herein relates to voice mail systems and, more particularly, cross-media voice mail notification and delivery. Various embodiments described herein provide systems, methods, software, and data structures that operate to, or facilitate, dispatching of voice mail notification messages to voice mailbox owners. In some embodiments, the notifications are sent to the voice mailbox owners in a text format, such as a short message service text message, email, or other text based service. These and other embodiments are described herein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2007
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Inventors: Theodore Leon Griggs, Christopher Michael Waters, Dan Seyer, Peter X. Leong
  • Patent number: 7464665
    Abstract: A clipper assembly for clipping the claw nail of an animal and its associated method of use. The clipper assembly has a set of opposing cutting edges. The cutting edges are part of a clipping mechanism that selectively biases the cutting edges toward each other with enough force to cut an animal's claw nail. A light source is provided adjacent one of the cutting edges. The light source is oriented to shine light through a claw nail. The light has a frequency and intensity that enables some of the light to travel through the claw nail. As the light travels through the claw nail, it causes the features within the claw nail to come into contrast. The position of the blood vessels within the claw nail can therefore be observed. The claw nail can then be liberally clipped without cutting the blood vessels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Inventors: Anthony R. Rogers, Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20080130277
    Abstract: In one aspect, a light device is provided having an elongate body that has a high strength construction. The high-strength light device is especially well-suited for use as a work light. The work light includes a high-strength body that has a handle and an elongate light-transmissive portion extending from the handle. Preferably, the light-transmissive portion includes a one-piece tubular wall that is tapered and which is molded from a high-strength material. In another aspect, the light device includes anti-rolling surfaces axially between the handle and light transmission portion along the elongate body. The anti-rolling surfaces preferably have a flat configuration so that the flat surfaces keep the elongate body from rolling when placed on a support surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2007
    Publication date: June 5, 2008
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20080130272
    Abstract: A variety of lighting devices are provided to provide hands-free illumination to enable illumination without needed to hold a flashlight. The hands-free lighting includes lighted headgear, lighted eyeglass frames, lighted clothing, or a lighted head band.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2007
    Publication date: June 5, 2008
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Patent number: 7377664
    Abstract: A lighting device is provided having a light source and a blinder device to block incident light from the light source. In one form, the lighted device is a light module including a housing having an LED at one end with a blinder extension extending adjacent to the LED. The light module can be mounted adjacent to a lens with the blinder extension extending between the LED and the lens. The lens may be either of a refractive or non-refractive configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Patent number: 7306349
    Abstract: A light device is provided having an elongate body that has a high strength construction. The high-strength light device is especially well-suited for use as a work light. The work light includes a high-strength body that has a handle and an elongate light-transmissive portion extending from the handle. Preferably, the light-transmissive portion includes a one-piece tubular wall that is tapered and which is molded from a high-strength material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2007
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20070227457
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for separating animal waste from litter are provided. In one form, the apparatus includes a drum that contains litter and a helical rake that is rotatable in the drum. The rake can rotate relative to the drum to reduce power requirements for the rotary rake drive. Preferably, the drum is also rotatable by turning of the rake in the drum, but only for a limited, fixed angular distance which also reduces peak power requirements for the rotary drive motor for the rake.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2006
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20070195515
    Abstract: Lighted reading glasses are provided that have high intensity lights, such as in the form of LEDs that generate narrow light beam cones and which are oriented via light mounts as by inward canting of the light beam cones to meet and overlap so high brightness light is generated in a conical overlap area of light which is maximized in size in the range of normal reading distances. The light mounts include housings that are very compactly sized via the use of small coin cell batteries for powering the LEDs they hold. In this manner, a very small and compact light module is provided that, while especially well-suited for reading glasses due to the preferred inward cant provided by light mounting surfaces of the housing to tailor the location of the overlap lighted area to the reading area, can also be used with other types of head gear, such as caps or other types of hats.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2002
    Publication date: August 23, 2007
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20070170263
    Abstract: A reading card is provided having a reading lens portion that is integrally molded in a unitary form with a card base. The lens portion is formed so as to have a well-defined diopter rating. Preferably, the lens portion includes convexly curved, continuously smooth, opposite light refractive surfaces. Generally, the lens portion can be thicker than a thin, generally flat remaining portion of the card base. The reading card can be implemented in a credit or debit card size, or used as a key ring holder. Optionally, the reading card includes a light source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2007
    Publication date: July 26, 2007
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20070153500
    Abstract: A lighting device is provided having a light source and a blinder device to block incident light from the light source. In one form, the lighted device is a light module including a housing having an LED at one end with a blinder extension extending adjacent to the LED. The light module can be mounted adjacent to a lens with the blinder extension extending between the LED and the lens. The lens may be either of a refractive or non-refractive configuration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2006
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20070127250
    Abstract: A clip-on light apparatus is provided having a polyaxial coupling joint between a light module and frame to permit the light module to be pivoted about a plurality of axes relative to the frame for directing light in a plurality of directions. The polyaxial coupling joint preferably permits pivoting of the light module about at least two orthogonal axes. In one form, the light module is mounted to a pivot shaft about which the module can be turned with the pivot shaft itself being pivoted along one of the two orthogonal pivot axes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2006
    Publication date: June 7, 2007
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Patent number: 7188775
    Abstract: A light card is provided having a switch bar that avoids the need to bend an LED lead for turning the LED light on. The light card can be implemented in a credit or debit card size, with a viewing lens, or used as a key ring holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2007
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20060203478
    Abstract: A light device is provided having an elongate body that has a high strength construction. The high-strength light device is especially well-suited for use as a work light. The work light includes a high-strength body that has a handle and an elongate light-transmissive portion extending from the handle. Preferably, the light-transmissive portion includes a one-piece tubular wall that is tapered and which is molded from a high-strength material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2005
    Publication date: September 14, 2006
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Patent number: 7104670
    Abstract: Lighted reading glasses are provided to enable clear reading of normal sized text to occur when the reading material is held at usual distances from the reader in dimly lit or dark locations. The lighted glasses have high intensity lights, such as in the form of LEDs that generate narrow light beam cones and which are oriented via light mounts as by inward canting of the light beam cones to meet and overlap so high brightness light is generated in a conical overlap area of light which is maximized in size in the range of normal reading distances. The light mounts include housings that are very compactly sized via the use of small coin cell batteries for powering the LEDs they hold. The housings are tapered from their maximum width sized to be slightly larger than the diameter of the disc-shaped cell batteries to either end thereof along their length, and have a depth sized to accommodate two of the stacked very thin, e.g., one-eighth of an inch each, coin cell batteries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Patent number: 7086396
    Abstract: A heating apparatus is provided that is optimized in terms of its heating efficiencies and wind proofing against flame out. The heating apparatus includes a heating head and a burner assembly for igniting fuel from a fuel source. The heating head has a dual-walled construction to form several flue chambers with the inner wall preferably being insulated to maximize heat transfer to the outer wall from combustion gases flowing through the flue chambers. The flue chambers can also be formed to be substantially isolated from each other and configured to generate turbulent gas flow therein for maximum heat transfer to the outer wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Inventor: Michael Waters
  • Publication number: 20060150542
    Abstract: A swiveling skylight mount and system is provided. The mount may include a base mount defining an opening therein, the opening bounded by a constantly radiused wall. The mount may also include an adjustment ring, the adjustment ring including an aperture adapted for receipt of a skylight tube. The adjustment ring may include a constantly radiused outer surface. The outer surface of the adjusting ring may be disposed at least partially against the wall defined by the opening in the base mount, and adapted to swivel relative to the base mount. Such a swiveling sky mount may also be included in an adjustable skylight system, that also includes a flashing unit to which the base mount may be attached, and a light transmissive dome.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2005
    Publication date: July 13, 2006
    Inventors: James Brinton, Leonard Moody, Mark Feucht, Jeffrey Ronan, Michael Waters
  • Patent number: 7066619
    Abstract: A LED picture light. The housing is positionable adjacent to a picture in order to illuminate the picture. In some embodiments, the LED's can illuminate the picture without emitting substantial amounts of heat and without emitting substantial amounts of ultraviolet radiation. The picture light can include white and yellow LED's. The picture light can include a level sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Inventor: Michael A. Waters
  • Patent number: D591675
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2009
    Inventor: Michael Waters