Patents by Inventor William E. Henson

William E. Henson 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: 6968924
    Abstract: A compact, portable, self-aligning anchor for anchoring an emergency escape system to a building. The anchor is comprised of a thin wall hemi-spherical housing, a tubular rope guide extending through the housing, a short rope extending through the tubular rope guide and a carabiner clip on a distal end of the rope for attaching the anchor to the emergency escape system. The anchor is placed or tossed on to the floor of a room and the rope is passed under a bottom surface of an inward opening door. The door is closed, the distal end of the rope is pulled to self align the anchor at about a 45 degree angle with respect to the door and the rope is attached to the emergency escape system to anchor the escape system to the building.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2005
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: 6832668
    Abstract: A compact descender apparatus which is easy to use and easy to store for lowering a person from an elevated position to a relatively lower position, having a generally cylindrical housing; a spool mounted for rotation in the housing having an axis of rotation which is in orthogonal relationship to a front face of the housing; a rope stored on the spool having a free end portion which extends upwardly to a helical groove on an outer portion of a friction core which is mounted on an upper portion of said housing for controlling a rate of descent with the descender; and a camshaft rotatably mounted in the housing for adjusting the rate of descent. A tang extending downwardly from a lower portion of the housing and a pair of spaced apart bosses having apertures on an upper portion of said housing are provided for attaching the descender apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: 6823966
    Abstract: A descender apparatus for lowering a person in a controlled manner from a height to a relatively lower height and for use as a safety equipment for workers and mountain climbers comprising a generally cylindrical housing; a rope arranged in the housing about a vertical axis of the housing in a stack of layers of closely wound coils and a friction core at one end of the housing for controlling a rate of descent and uncoiling the coils of rope as they are withdrawn from the housing; and a camshaft in transverse relationship to the axis of the housing for selectively controlling the rate of descent during the lowering of the person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2004
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: 6820721
    Abstract: An easy to use and easy to store rescue apparatus for lowering a person from an upper level to a lower level during an emergency. The rescue apparatus is comprised of a body harness and a decender mounted on a chest portion of the harness in plain view of a wearer. In a first aspect of the invention, a descender is stored in a vertical pocket of the body harness. A rope is tightly coiled inside of the descender and as the rope is withdrawn it passes through a friction core which limits a rate of descent and removes twists from the portion of the rope which is in the process of withdrawal. A camshaft is provided in the decender for accommodating differences in body weight and satisfying the preferences of wearers of the apparatus. In a second aspect of the invention, the decender is attached and exposed the chest portion of the harness. In a third aspect of the invention, an alternate descender is attached to the same body harness in the same manner as the second aspect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2004
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: 6808046
    Abstract: An improved body harness for use during an emergency and for fire fighters, tree trimmers, window washers, mountain climbers and construction workers. A pocket is provided on the front of the harness for enclosing either a descender and/or a lifeline. The pocket is capable of withstanding the forces of the descender during a lowering of a person wearing the harness from a height to a relatively lower height. An aperture is provided in an upper portion of the harness for installing the harness over a head of the person. Three buckles are used for installing the harness on a person. The body harness is moderate in cost, easy to install and requires only a small amount of storage space when the harness is not in use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Publication number: 20040118636
    Abstract: A compact descender apparatus which is easy to use and easy to store for lowering a person from an elevated position to a relatively lower position, having a generally cylindrical housing; a spool mounted for rotation in the housing having an axis of rotation which is in orthogonal relationship to a front face of the housing; a rope stored on the spool having a free end portion which extends upwardly to a helical groove on an outer portion of a friction core which is mounted on an upper portion of said housing for controlling a rate of descent with the descender; and a camshaft rotatably mounted in the housing for adjusting the rate of descent. A tang extending downwardly from a lower portion of the housing and a pair of spaced apart bosses having apertures on an upper portion of said housing are provided for attaching the descender apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Publication date: June 24, 2004
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: 4382508
    Abstract: A fabric member is stored in a transparent tube having a spray bottle of treatment fluid as one airtight end closure and a vial of paste or solid adjunct material as the other airtight end closure. Together, the tube, vial and bottle define a storage, environmental control and treatment container for the fabric member, particularly an athletic glove. In a second embodiment, a removable airtight end cap is substituted for the vial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1981
    Date of Patent: May 10, 1983
    Assignee: American Western Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Roberta Robbins, William E. Henson
  • Patent number: D517246
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2006
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: D523588
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2006
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: D490135
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2004
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson
  • Patent number: D490575
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: American Escape Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William E. Henson