Patents by Inventor William L. Hancock

William L. Hancock 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: 4475724
    Abstract: A wire spring assembly adaptable for use in a mattress for a sleeper sofa or roll-away bed in which individual wire spring units are secured to each other and arranged in rows that extend transversely of the assembly. Each spring unit has a pair of end portions, a plurality of torsion bars and one or more connecting bars extending between the torsion bars. The end portions are adaptable to be attached to the corresponding end portions of adjacent spring units in the same row. The assembly further includes a plurality of flexible wire members extending longitudinally of the assembly substantially the length thereof, which are secured to the end portions of some of the spring units to position the rows while allowing the mattress to be folded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1982
    Date of Patent: October 9, 1984
    Assignee: Hoover Universal, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Hancock
  • Patent number: 4452438
    Abstract: A box spring assembly which includes a generally rectangular frame, a welded wire grid disposed above and aligned with the frame, a plurality of upwardly extending limited deflection wire springs which are mounted at their lower ends on the frame and at their upper ends are secured to the welded wire grid, and improved corner springs which are yieldable and are supported on the corners of the frame so as to support the corners of the grid. Each of the corner springs is a limited deflection spring formed at its upper end with an attaching portion that is readily secured to the grid by a conventional clip and including upright columns which will yield under load and which will also engage the frame to limit deflection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1982
    Date of Patent: June 5, 1984
    Assignee: Hoover Universal, Inc.
    Inventors: William L. Hancock, Wilbur C. Bewley, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4285488
    Abstract: A swivel chair having a main screw connected to the chair seat and rotatably supported in a mounting assembly on the chair base enabling rotation of the seat relative to the base without varying the height of the seat. Height adjusting apparatus provides for the selective adjustment of the height of the chair seat and includes a nut member threadably mounted on the screw member. The nut member has a thread that is deformed into frictional engagement with the screw thread and when a seating load is applied to the nut member, the magnitude of the frictional resistance of the nut to turning on the screw is increased. As a result, rotation of the chair seat and the screw member will cause the nut member to rotate relative to the mounting assembly and remain fixed relative to the screw member to prevent an unintended varying of the height of the chair seat when it is rotated during use, while still enabling manual intended rotation of the nut when the chair height is to be adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1981
    Assignee: Hoover Universal, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Hancock
  • Patent number: 4253208
    Abstract: A box spring assembly which includes a generally rectangular frame and a wire spring assemblage mounted on the top side of the frame; the assemblage including a large number of straight wires arranged criss-cross fashion and arcuate springs that support and connect the straight wires at some of the points of intersection. A basic wire grid is formed with downwardly extending hook portions that snap over some of the spring wires to secure the grid to the assemblage so as to bridge the spaces between the straight wires. The "spring back" capability of the spring wires allows them to spring into the hook portions so as to retain the grid in position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1979
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1981
    Assignee: Hoover Universal, Inc.
    Inventors: William L. Hancock, John P. Kitchen, Ned W. Mizelle
  • Patent number: 4251892
    Abstract: A box spring assembly which includes a generally rectangular frame, a plurality of upwardly extending wire springs mounted on the frame, and a wire grid supported on the upper ends of the springs so that the grid and springs cooperate to yieldably resist downwardly directed bedding loads. Each of the springs has a body comprised of two side-by-side arcuate portions formed integral at their upper ends with torsion bars that are connected by a connecting bar located between the arcuate portions. The arcuate body portions thus resist bedding loads with bending stresses and without any areas of stress concentration that would cause early spring failure. The torsion bars in each spring divide the spring load and resist bedding loads principally with torsional stresses, the combination of both bending and torsional stresses in the springs enabling increased load-resisting capabilities in the springs with a resulting efficient use of spring wire material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1979
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1981
    Assignee: Hoover Universal, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Hancock
  • Patent number: 4186223
    Abstract: A process for converting a length of wire into a spring which is then heat treated and exposed to a fluidized bed for coating, the quality of the resulting coating being indicative of the quality of the heat treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1977
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1980
    Assignee: Hoover Universal, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Hancock
  • Patent number: 4087070
    Abstract: A swivel chair having a non-keywayed main screw rotatably connecting the chair seat and a supporting base to enable rotational movement of the seat with respect to the base. The top portion of the main screw is secured to the bottom of the seat, and the bottom portion is contained in the base for rotation therein. A ring shaped member, formed of a high coefficient of friction material such as rubber, is mounted on the screw at a position above the base. A nut is mounted on the screw and has a threaded portion the bottom of which comes in contact with the ring shaped member which is in turn rotatably mounted on the base by a washer formed of Teflon or similar low friction material. During normal rotation of the seat and thus the screw, the ring shaped member serves to grip the nut and rotate it with the screw, thereby keeping the seat at a constant vertical position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1976
    Date of Patent: May 2, 1978
    Assignee: Hoover Ball and Bearing Company
    Inventor: William L. Hancock
  • Patent number: 3977029
    Abstract: A box spring assembly having a generally rectangular frame consisting of side and end rails and a plurality of spaced cross rails extending between the side rails, a border wire conforming generally to the shape and boundaries defined by the side and end rails, a plurality of longitudinal and transverse main springs parallel to the side and end rails and perpendicular to each other, and a plurality of internal support springs extending diagonally between pairs of main springs, all of the springs being of the formed wire type. Each main spring is attached to the border wire by a clip, and either the border wire or the spring or both are coated with a plastic material to preclude slippage of the clip. Furthermore, each internal support spring is attached to a pair of main springs by a clip, and either the support spring or the main spring or both are coated with plastic. All the wires may be coated with a different color plastic to facilitate assembly of the product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1974
    Date of Patent: August 31, 1976
    Assignee: Hoover Ball and Bearing Company
    Inventor: William L. Hancock