Patents by Inventor William A. Gardner
William A. Gardner 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).
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Patent number: 12077346Abstract: A bottle closure and opener device for use on a wine bottle including a sleeve having a top side, a bottom side, an outer surface, and an inner surface, the top side having a first opening, the bottom side having a second opening, and the inner surface including inner threads, wherein the internal threads are configured to mate with external threads on a top portion of the wine bottle. A cork having an upper portion positioned within the first opening of the sleeve and extending above the bottle top and a lower portion of the cork positioned within the wine bottle's neck opening to seal a liquid within the wine bottle and to seal oxygen from entering the bottle. During operation, the cork and sleeve combination are configured to be removed from the wine bottle's opening via unscrewing the sleeve from the top portion of the wine bottle.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2024Date of Patent: September 3, 2024Assignee: Gardner Technologies, LLCInventor: William A. Gardner
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Patent number: 11952178Abstract: A bottle closure and opener device for use on a wine bottle including a sleeve having a top side, a bottom side, an outer surface, and an inner surface, the top side having a first opening, the bottom side having a second opening, and the inner surface including inner threads, wherein the internal threads are configured to mate with external threads on a top portion of the wine bottle. A cork having an upper portion positioned within the first opening of the sleeve and extending above the bottle top and a lower portion of the cork positioned within the wine bottle's neck opening to seal a liquid within the wine bottle and to seal oxygen from entering the bottle. During operation, the cork and sleeve combination are configured to be removed from the wine bottle's opening via unscrewing the sleeve from the top portion of the wine bottle.Type: GrantFiled: June 4, 2023Date of Patent: April 9, 2024Assignee: Gardner Technologies, LLCInventor: William A. Gardner
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Publication number: 20110036839Abstract: A plastic screw cap has a threaded top portion and tabs of varying heights disposed around an inner circumference of a lower sleeve-portion. These tabs clasp a land disposed on a container neck to restrain the sleeve portion on the neck when the cap is unscrewed. A threaded top portion mates with threads on the container above the land. A sealing liner and diffusion barrier disposed at the bottle opening, together with a crush-resistant cap structure, prevent wine leakage and control oxygen ingress. Typically, the plastic cap is threaded onto the container neck, forming a tamper-evident seal. When unscrewed, the plastic-cap top moves up the container threads, exerting a pull on the sleeve portion, which is restrained due to the closure tabs acting on the land. Between the closure tabs and the threaded top is a breakaway line, which tears due to the removal forces. This tear evidences tampering.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 13, 2010Publication date: February 17, 2011Inventor: William A. Gardner
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Publication number: 20040232101Abstract: An apparatus for removing a stopper from a bottle by rotating a threaded capsule surrounding the threaded neck of a bottle. The capsule is preferably received over a narrowed neck of the bottle to maintain the appearance of a foil-wrapped and cork-closed bottle. The bottle may be sealed with plugs (natural cork, synthetic cork, molded plugs), planar seals, or a combination thereof. The capsule may engage the stopper directly or by way of a stopper anchor. Aspects of the invention include preventing uncontrolled egress of stoppers from pressurized bottles, the resealing of various forms of bottles after removal of the stopper, locking the closure in place, and providing evidence of tampering.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 12, 2003Publication date: November 25, 2004Inventors: William A. Gardner, Patrick M. Whelan, Alan Virdee
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Publication number: 20040232102Abstract: An apparatus for removing a stopper from a bottle by rotating a threaded capsule surrounding the threaded neck of a bottle. The capsule is preferably received over a narrowed neck of the bottle to maintain the appearance of a foil-wrapped and cork-closed bottle. The bottle may be sealed with plugs (natural cork, synthetic cork, molded plugs), planar seals, or a combination thereof. The capsule may engage the stopper directly or by way of a stopper anchor. Aspects of the invention include preventing uncontrolled egress of stoppers from pressurized bottles, the resealing of various forms of bottles after removal of the stopper, locking the closure in place, and providing evidence of tampering.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 12, 2003Publication date: November 25, 2004Inventors: William A. Gardner, Patrick M. Whelan, Alan Virdee
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Publication number: 20040232099Abstract: An apparatus for removing a stopper from a bottle by rotating a threaded capsule surrounding the threaded neck of a bottle. The capsule is preferably received over a narrowed neck of the bottle to maintain the appearance of a foil-wrapped and cork-closed bottle. The bottle may be sealed with plugs (natural cork, synthetic cork, molded plugs), planar seals, or a combination thereof. The capsule may engage the stopper directly or by way of a stopper anchor. Aspects of the invention include preventing uncontrolled egress of stoppers from pressurized bottles, the resealing of various forms of bottles after removal of the stopper, locking the closure in place, and providing evidence of tampering.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 12, 2003Publication date: November 25, 2004Inventors: William A. Gardner, Patrick M. Whelan
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Patent number: 6763961Abstract: An apparatus for removing a cork from a bottle in which an anchor is embedded in the cork and a cork-pulling sleeve is provided for engaging the anchor for removal of the cork. The cork-pulling sleeve includes inner threads that mate with external threads on the neck of the bottle, and rotation of the cork-pulling sleeve in relation to the bottle extracts the cork.Type: GrantFiled: November 27, 2002Date of Patent: July 20, 2004Assignee: Gardner Technologies, Inc.Inventors: William A. Gardner, Gil G. Gilley
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Publication number: 20040031770Abstract: An apparatus for removing a stopper from a bottle by rotating a threaded capsule surrounding the threaded neck of a bottle. The capsule is preferably received over a narrowed neck of the bottle to maintain the appearance of a foil-wrapped and cork-closed bottle. The bottle may be sealed with plugs (natural cork, synthetic cork, molded plugs), planar seals, or a combination thereof. The capsule may engage the stopper directly or by way of a stopper anchor. Aspects of the invention include preventing uncontrolled egress of stoppers from pressurized bottles, the resealing of various forms of bottles after removal of the stopper, locking the closure in place, and providing evidence of tampering.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 21, 2003Publication date: February 19, 2004Applicant: GARDNER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.Inventors: William A. Gardner, Patrick M. Whelan, Alan Virdee, Paul K. Novak
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Publication number: 20030146184Abstract: An apparatus for removing a cork from a bottle in which an anchor is embedded in the cork and a cork-pulling sleeve is provided for engaging the anchor for removal of the cork. The cork-pulling sleeve includes inner threads that mate with external threads on the neck of the bottle, and rotation of the cork-pulling sleeve in relation to the bottle extracts the cork.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 27, 2002Publication date: August 7, 2003Inventors: William A. Gardner, Gil G. Gilley
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Patent number: 6510957Abstract: An apparatus for removing a cork from a bottle in which an anchor is embedded in the cork and a cork-pulling sleeve is provided for engaging the anchor for removal of the cork. The cork-pulling sleeve includes inner threads that mate with external threads on the neck of the bottle, and rotation of the cork-pulling sleeve in relation to the bottle extracts the cork.Type: GrantFiled: January 12, 2001Date of Patent: January 28, 2003Inventors: Gil G. Gilley, William A. Gardner
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Publication number: 20010013500Abstract: An apparatus for removing a cork from a bottle in which an anchor is embedded in the cork and a cork-pulling sleeve is provided for engaging the anchor for removal of the cork. The cork-pulling sleeve includes inner threads that mate with external threads on the neck of the bottle, and rotation of the cork-pulling sleeve in relation to the bottle extracts the cork.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 12, 2001Publication date: August 16, 2001Inventors: Gil G. Gilley, William A. Gardner
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Patent number: 6179140Abstract: An apparatus for removing a cork from a bottle in which an anchor is embedded in the cork and a cork-pulling handle is provided for engaging the anchor for removal of the cork. The cork-pulling handle can be connected to the anchor by any of several means, and can be stored with the bottle as an integral part of the bottle/capsule/label package or provided separately.Type: GrantFiled: March 22, 1999Date of Patent: January 30, 2001Inventor: William A. Gardner
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Patent number: 5884789Abstract: An apparatus for removing a cork from a bottle in which an anchor is embedded in the cork and a cork-pulling handle is provided for engaging the anchor for removal of the cork. The cork-pulling handle can be connected to the anchor by any of several means, and can be stored with the bottle as an integral part of the bottle/label package or provided separately.Type: GrantFiled: November 18, 1996Date of Patent: March 23, 1999Inventor: William A. Gardner
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Patent number: 5848105Abstract: A method and apparatus for separating and removing distortion from interfering co-channel signals and suppressing adjacent-channel interfering signals of the Gaussian Minimum-Shift Keyed (GMSK) or other MSK type with filtering structures that exploit the cyclostationarity of the received GMSK or other MSK signals in order to accommodate a greater number (or the same number, but with greater quality) of transmitted signals received by one or more antennas than can be accommodated by existing filters. The parameters in these filtering structures are adapted by either of two adaptation apparatus that exploit both the known training sequence that is transmitted in most wireless communications systems, and the constant modulus property exhibited by each of the transmitted GMSK or other MSK signals.Type: GrantFiled: October 10, 1996Date of Patent: December 8, 1998Inventors: William A. Gardner, Stephan V. Schell
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Patent number: 5737433Abstract: A sound environment control apparatus which allows a user, by operating a remote control unit, to selectively suppress any or all of multiple noises in his or her environment, or selectively listen to any of these while suppressing all other sound. One or more "primary" sound detectors are located in the user's sound domain to acquire all sounds that the user desires to hear as well as interfering sounds, and one or more "reference" sound detectors are placed at each interfering sound source that the user may wish to be able to control. Signals from the sound detectors are sent to a central processing unit/multiple sound controller where the interfering sounds are adaptively cancelled from the total audio provided by each primary sound detector or, when enhancement of a particular sound, rather than suppression, is desired, the audio from a reference sound detector is amplified and added to the total sound from the primary sound detector or used to replace the total sound from the primary sound detector.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 1996Date of Patent: April 7, 1998Inventor: William A. Gardner
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Patent number: 5692056Abstract: A method and apparatus for active cancellation of vibrational noise produced by a medical instrument in the head of a patient. Vibrations from the instrument, as well as vibrations in the bone structure in the head of the patient, are sensed and processed to generate cancelling noise waves which are then fed into the inner ear through vibrators placed on the head of the patient. An equalizer shapes the magnitude and phase spectrum of the vibrational signal picked up from the drill and delivers the equalized vibrational signals to the patient. An automatic adaptive controller adjusts the equalizer using control signals consisting of vibrations from the bone structure and the drill.Type: GrantFiled: June 13, 1996Date of Patent: November 25, 1997Inventor: William A. Gardner
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Patent number: 5570426Abstract: A method and apparatus for active cancellation of vibrational noise produced by a medical instrument in the head of a patient. Vibrations from the instrument, as well as vibrations in the bone structure in the head of the patient, are sensed and processed to generate cancelling noise waves which are then fed into the inner ear through headphones or through vibrators placed on the head of the patient. An equalizer shapes the magnitude and phase spectrum of the vibrational signal picked up from the drill and delivers the equalized signal to the patient. An automatic adaptive controller adjusts the equalizer using control signals consisting of vibrations from the bone structure and the drill.Type: GrantFiled: December 7, 1994Date of Patent: October 29, 1996Inventor: William A. Gardner
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Patent number: 5299148Abstract: A processor and method for extracting or estimating directions of arrival of signals from a received data vector x(t) which has been corrupted by interfering signals and noise is described. The processor extracts signals by forming the scalar product of x(t) and a weight vector which is chosen such that the spectral self-coherence or conjugate spectral self-coherence of the processor output is maximized. The processor estimates the directions of arrival of signals by spectral self-coherence-selective performance surfaces for maxima.Type: GrantFiled: May 22, 1990Date of Patent: March 29, 1994Assignee: The Regents of the University of CaliforniaInventors: William A. Gardner, Stephan V. Schell, Brian G. Agee
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Patent number: 5260968Abstract: A method and apparatus for spatial multiplexing of spectrally overlapping communications signals which does not require use of a training signal, computationally intensive direction-finding methods, or antenna calibration is presented. An adaptive antenna array at a base station is used in conjunction with signal processing through self coherence restoral to separate the temporally and spectrally overlapping signals of users that arrive from different specific locations within the locale and to mitigate multipath fading and shadowing at the base station and, by reciprocity, to transmit directively to minimize interfering signals arriving at the mobile (or portable or stationary) units and to mitigate multipath fading and shadowing at the mobile units. The radiation pattern of transmitted signal is matched to the adapted reception pattern of the signal received at the base station.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Grant No.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 1992Date of Patent: November 9, 1993Assignee: The Regents of the University of CaliforniaInventors: William A. Gardner, Stephan V. Schell
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Patent number: 5255210Abstract: A processor and method for extracting a signal s(t) from a signal input vector x(t) which has been corrupted by interfering signals and noise is described. The processor computes an output signal y(t) by forming the scalar product of x(t) and a vector w which is chosen such that the self-coherence or conjugate self-coherence of y(t) is maximized.Type: GrantFiled: August 3, 1992Date of Patent: October 19, 1993Assignee: The Regents of the University of CaliforniaInventors: William A. Gardner, Brian G. Agee