Patents by Inventor William E. Owen

William E. Owen 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: 6321657
    Abstract: A monorail transit system includes transit drive units for supporting a transit car body on a beam and propelling the body along the beam. Improvements to the transit system include a quiet steel rail with vibration isolation for the beam, a vehicle braking system using a fixed plat engaged with a steel rail to arrest motion of the drive unit, a beam stabilizing support structure comprising a column with an insert that extends into a hollow beam portion, a drive unit coupled to the transit car body so as to be able to rotate with respect to the body while the drive unit and transit car body are traversing a curve in the rail, a leveling system for automatically leveling the car body with respect to a loading platform and a mechanism for automatically tilting the car body in response to centrifugal forces and then leveling the body, an articulating car body for accommodating curved beams, and a mechanism for providing positive traction on an inclined steel rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Inventor: William E. Owen
  • Patent number: 5323836
    Abstract: A portable display system including an array of modular corrugated paperboard panels arranged in a matrix having at least two vertically adjacent rows of panels. Each panel has peripheral flaps folded back to provide strength and to capture threaded fasteners that protrude from the rear of the panels. Attachment hinges engage the fasteners at the rear of the panels to align and join adjacent panels. A vertical reinforcing tube is attachable at each end of the display by passing through holes defined in flaps at the rear of the panels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1994
    Assignee: Boise Cascade Corporation
    Inventors: Paul B. Tuttle, William E. Owens
  • Patent number: 4690064
    Abstract: A monorail beam is provided with a lower, upwardly-facing support surface, a lower, laterally-facing support surface and an upper, medially-facing support surface (relative to the support beam). Vehicles are hangingly supported, pendulum-like, from davit-like cantilevering arms of support trucks having wheels which run on or act against the base support surfaces so that they run along the side or sides of the beam. The beam may be elevated on columns, surface mounted, or depressed in tunnels. By preference, the vehicles' bodies are detachable from the trucks, and the heaviest air-conditioning components are mounted on the trucks rather than on the bodies. Power transmission and automatic control systems are described, as are switching systems and station facilities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1987
    Inventor: William E. Owen
  • Patent number: 3973723
    Abstract: A container blank is disclosed for forming a carton having bottom, side and end walls, and top flaps connected with the side walls, said top flaps having locking tabs adapted for insertion within locking slots contained in fold line means at the upper edges of the end walls. Each locking tab is folded to define inner first and outer second tab portions, said second tab portion being adapted to resiliently expand outwardly to a position in which the free extremity thereof extends into a locking recess contained in the end wall. To release the second locking tab portion, an object such as the user's finger is inserted into a releasing aperture contained in the end wall to displace the second locking tab inwardly, thereby to permit opening of the container top flaps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1976
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1976
    Assignee: Boise Cascade Corporation
    Inventor: William E. Owens