Patents by Inventor Willson C. Swartout

Willson C. Swartout 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: 4681345
    Abstract: A device is provided which passively reminds persons seated in an automobile to fasten his or her seat belt. The device comprises seat belt clip means having a projection extending therefrom which, when the seat belt is disengaged, is positioned so that the projection extends into the space normally occupied by a user of the seat and to the back of a person who sits in the seat, thereby causing discomfort until the person properly engages the seat belt. When the seat belt is properly engaged, the projection stows unobstrusively out of the way of driver and controls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1986
    Date of Patent: July 21, 1987
    Inventor: Willson C. Swartout
  • Patent number: 4638307
    Abstract: Apparatus is provided for determining when a weight has been lifted from a specific location. It is especially useful for sounding an alarm when an invalid patient attempts to get up from a chair or a bed. The apparatus comprises a very thin sealed reed switch affixed near the bottom of a compressible pad and a magnet affixed near the top of the pad, the reed switch being connected in an electrical circuit containing an alarm mechanism such that, when the pad is compressed and the magnet is in close proximity to the reed switch, the circuit is open and no alarm sounds, but when the weight causing the compression of the pad is lifted, the circuit closes and the alarm sounds. When a battery is used to power the electronics in a preferred embodiment, no power is drained in this system in use until the weight is removed, the life of the battery thereby approximating its shelf life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 1985
    Date of Patent: January 20, 1987
    Inventor: Willson C. Swartout