Patents by Inventor William M. Lester

William M. Lester 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: 5828436
    Abstract: An eyeglass frame made as one integral piece from a molded flexible, resilient synthetic material such as a polypropylene plastic which is able to return to its original shape when deformed, wherein said eyeglass frame includes a housing for lenses, and further includes temples which are able to be moved back and forth through 180.degree. in relation to the housing by means of a series of resilient deformations situated at specified spots along the molded material, thereby eliminating the need for screws and/or bolts to couple the temples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 5803314
    Abstract: A tapered valve seat and mating valve member are in fluid communication with a squeezable container interior. Fluid in the container under pressure axially displaces the valve from its seat, flows through the interface between the valve and seat and is discharged through conduits in the valve member and stem. A gradually curved undulating valve chamber ceiling wall engages a complementary curved shoulder on the valve member for limiting the axial displacement of the valve member between a locked state and a plurality of settable maximum valve interface clearances valve open states according to the relative annular positions of the shoulder to the chamber wall. The interface clearance and thus the valve maximum open position is set according to fluid viscosity to retain fluid therein to preclude ambient air passing to the container interior in response to a negative pressure in the container. This creates forces which close the valve in each relative position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 8, 1998
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 5782386
    Abstract: An annular tapered valve seat and mating valve on a valve member are secured in fluid communication with a container interior. Fluid in the container under pressure axially displaces the valve from its seat, flows through the interface between the valve and seat and is discharged through a transverse conduit in the valve member and an axial central conduit in the valve member stem which is sealingly engaged with a bore in the housing with annular ribs for guiding the stem. A tapered valve chamber wall engages a shoulder on the valve member for limiting the axial displacement of the valve member to retain fluid in the interface in the absence of container pressure above ambient. The fluid in the interface precludes ambient air passing to the container interior so that a negative pressure in the container results in ambient air pressure forcing the valve to its closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 21, 1998
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 5771642
    Abstract: An free standing platform for enabling elevated structures to survive earthquakes in which the columns supporting the elevated structure rest and float on platforms positioned between the columns and the ground, said platforms able to withstand and dissipate the forces present during an earthquake, and said columns being able to slidably move atop said platforms, thereby enabling the columns to survive the earthquake intact and to continue supporting the elevated structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1998
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 5515905
    Abstract: Horizontally movable mold halves respectively journal different plungers for movement within coaxial bores extending through the closed mold halves. With the mold closed, and one plunger extending through the mold to one side, a metered compartment is formed between the two carefully positioned plungers. A charge of molten metal, or the like, is transferred from a reservoir into the compartment and moved into the mold cavity by moving the two plungers in unison to a position at the die surface of the respective mold halves. After hardening, the mold halves are separated and one plunger ejects the molded article from the mold. The plungers and mold halves are moved by hydraulic cylinder rams into a sequence of fixed positions for different steps of a programmable molding cycle. Sensing switches provide feedback for establishing the plunger positions at various cycle steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1996
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 5477972
    Abstract: Tamper indicating closure device for securely sealing a container in the form of a clear cap and indicator element. The cap includes knife blades in the form of ramp shaped projections which extend from the bottom side of the cap surface. Each knife blade is radially offset from the center of the cap and extends generally parallel to the radius of the cap terminating in a generally vertical planner knife face that extends in an axial direction. A tamper indicating element including a first covering layer and a second color layer is inserted into the cap prior to securing the cap and indicating element to a container. When the cap is screwed onto the container, the ramp like shape of the knife blades cause the knife blades to pass over the indicating element without tearing or piercing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1995
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4793122
    Abstract: A tamper-indicating container closure includes a closure member defining container closing expanse, a tamper-indicating element in the closure interiorly of the closure member and times movable with the closure member for both retaining the tamper-indicating element with the closure and for selectively tearing the tamper-indicating element. The movable times are inaccessible through the closing expanse of the closure member and the closure affords visibility therethrough of the condition of the tamper-indicating element.In a typical jar container embodiment, the closure includes a cap having a disc-shaped rupturable telltale interiorly of the cap depending skirt and telltale retaining-tearing times extending from the cap interior surface downwardly into securement with the telltale disc and movable with the cap in the course of its rotative movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1982
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1988
    Assignee: TBL Development Corporation
    Inventors: Edward J. Towns, Edward M. Brown, William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4793505
    Abstract: A container closure includes a cap having depending interior tines in engagement with a tamper-indicating element and thereby moving the element into registry with a container access port. Load-sharing structure is incorporated in the cap to provide additive force for movement of the tamper-indicating element, such force being imposed on the element at a location spaced from the location of engagement of the tines and the element. The load-sharing structure may also provide for sealably reclosing the container upon opening of the closure and removal of the tamper-indicating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1983
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1988
    Assignee: TBL Development Corporation
    Inventors: Edward J. Towns, Edward M. Brown, William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4792053
    Abstract: A tamper-indicating capped container includes an indicating member sealed across the container access port and the container cap is transparent and has capability for effecting visible change in the indicating member selectively in the course of container-opening sense movement of the cap. Tines may depend in cantilever manner from the cap interior to provide for tearing of the indicating member and the indicating member may be paper sheet material or a color change telltale.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1982
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1988
    Assignee: TBL Development Corporation
    Inventors: Edward J. Towns, Edward M. Brown, William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4784817
    Abstract: A container closure is comprised of a closure member molded on a liner, the liner having a first surface secured to the closure member and a second surface opposite the first surface and including a member depending therefrom and configured both for effecting sealing of a container and for releasable securement of the liner to a forming member in the course of such molding of the closure member thereon. The closure member and liner materials may thus be diverse, since they are separately formed. While there are separate manufacturing steps for making the liner and the closure member, the customary step of assembling preformed liners with preformed closure members to obtain desired performance diversity therebetween is eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: TBL Development Corporation
    Inventors: Edward J. Towns, Edward M. Brown, William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4674642
    Abstract: A container closure includes liner adapted to seal a container having contents under vacuum pressure, and a closure member securing the liner thereto about the liner periphery. An interior extent of the liner is thereby permitted movement relative to the closure member, i.e., is not secured to the closure member. At the point of container initial closure, the liner interior extent is withdrawn under vacuum pressure from its theretofore normal self-biased disposition adjacent the closure member to within the upper neck of the container and is deformed to the extent that initial container pressurization occasions. Upon loss of such initial vacuum pressure, the liner interior extent moves into its normal self-biased disposition adjacent the closure member. Discernment of the disposition of the liner interior extent relative to the closure member is thus indicative of whether the initial vacuum pressure is being maintained or has been lost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: TBL Development Corporation
    Inventors: Edward J. Towns, Edward M. Brown, William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4673096
    Abstract: A container closure includes a closure member having a top panel and a liner retained rotatively in the closure member, the liner having an upper surface in facing relation to the top panel and a lower surface opposite such first liner surface. The liner has configuration in its upper surface for limiting engagement between same and the top panel to a fraction of interfacing surfaces thereof. The liner has a member depending from its lower surface for sealing engagement with a container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: TBL Development Corporation
    Inventors: Edward J. Towns, Edward M. Brown, William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4428413
    Abstract: A melting pot reservoir for non-ferrous metals and the like to be die cast in a cold chamber mold is provided with a pumping mechanism having a displacement plunger for metering out by displacement from the reservoir an exact volume of molten material into the mold. This same plunger is provided with a vernier adjustment and accompanying control circuit that automatically moves the plunger an increment into the molten material after each charge the precise amount to restore the molten material level to a predetermined optimum datum level for delivery of exactly the precise amount of charge into the cold chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1981
    Date of Patent: January 31, 1984
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 4253588
    Abstract: A housing is threaded to the container and includes a valve stem having a flexible valve disc member. In the housing are upper and lower adjacent valve seats which mate with the disc member to form closed valves therewith. When in contact with the upper seat the valve can be opened and closed by the pressure differential between the container and the ambient. When manually placed in contact with the lower seat the disc member snaps in place by flexing over the upper seat into a locked closed valve state with the lower seat and does not open in response to pressure differentials between the container and the ambient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1979
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1981
    Assignee: William Morris Lester
    Inventors: William M. Lester, Edward M. Brown, Edward J. Towns
  • Patent number: 4203536
    Abstract: A housing containing annular tapered valve seat and mating valve secure the valve in fluid communication with the container interior. Fluid in the container under pressure displaces the valve from its seat, flows through the interface between the valve and seat and is discharged to the ambient through a fluid passage coupled to the interface. A shoulder in the housing engages a shoulder on the valve for limiting the displacement of the valve to a value sufficiently small to retain fluid in the interface in the absence of pressure above ambient in the container. The fluid in the interface acts effectively as a seal to ambient air so that a negative pressure in the container results in ambient air pressure forcing the valve to its closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 1978
    Date of Patent: May 20, 1980
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 3951111
    Abstract: This engine or energy converter has a casing comprising coaxial spaced sections each having a cavity bounded by opposed parallel flat inner side surfaces merging with semi-cylindrical top and bottom inner surfaces and a rotor coaxial with said sections, having rotor portions in said sections. Said rotor portions carry outwardly spring pressed opposed aligned radial pistons. The pistons of one rotor portion are disposed at right angles to the pistons of the other rotor portion. In each section there is formed a top chamber on one side of the rotor portion for said sections and a bottom chamber on opposite side of the rotor portion for said section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1974
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1976
    Inventor: William M. Lester
  • Patent number: 3948225
    Abstract: This engine has coextensive rotors on parallel axes in coextensive cavities having parallel axes. In each cavity there is an inlet and compression chamber on one side of the rotor in said cavity and an explosion and exhaust chamber on the other side of said rotor in said cavity. The engine also has valve means to allow compressed combustion gas from the inlet and compression chamber of one cavity to pass to the explosion and exhaust chamber of the other cavity. Each rotor carries diametrically disposed, outwardly spring pressed radial pistons to sweep through said chambers in wiping relation to the internal surfaces of said cavities. The rotors are connected for rotation in the same direction at equal speeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 1974
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1976
    Inventor: William M. Lester