Did You Know...
...that in the early 1940s GE engineer James Wright was charged with a task of utmost importance to the war effort: develop a cheap substitute for rubber that could be used to produce tires, gas masks and a whole host of military gear. Wright tackled the task diligently -- and wound up inventing Silly Putty.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7367548 | Method and apparatus for elevated storage of articles Method and apparatus for elevated storage of articles including application of a spring clutch winch to provide the required lifting and holding forces. In preferred embodiments, the apparatus includes a spring clutch winch, one or more elongate elements payed out f... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7293761 | Diagnostic system for cranes A hoist system for critical loads incorporates improved safety technology to monitor various possible fault conditions. For example, a command-not-operated function causes braking of the hoist when an encoder detects one of a group of conditions including a lack of ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7284743 | Hoist limiting system A hoist limiting system (15) comprising a frame (16), a hoist drum (17) supported by the frame and rotatable about a hoist axis (x-x), a hoist driver (19) supported by the frame and configured to rotate the hoist drum in opposite upward (... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7226038 | Load arrestor, lifting system and method A load arrestor for use in conjunction with a primary lift, the load arrestor comprising a spool about which winds a safety line attached to a load supported at least in part by the primary lift, a lock mechanism comprising a lock plate connected to and rotatable wi... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7226039 | Hoist assembly for a motor vehicle spare tire The compact hoist assembly includes a housing having a molded plastic body sandwiched between parallel spaced metal plates, and an upper portion of the housing projects into an elongated mounting channel. The housing supports a rotary drive shaft which supports an a... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7219879 | Apparatus for signaling rotation of a winch to an operator thereof An apparatus for signaling rotation of a winch in which a rotating gear internal in the winch turns an optical disc with alternating segments of distinguishing features. The disc is then in turn read by an optical sensor that can generate a pulsed output signal base... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7195214 | Stand for display A stand for a display having a base, a supporting case mounted on the base, a supporting member mounted inside the supporting case and having an end seated on the base to support the weight of the display, and a mounting bracket engaged with the the other end of the... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7097155 | Winch or hoist including a device for signaling when a preset minimum number of cable windings are left on a winding drum A method and apparatus for indicating when only a given minimum preset number of winding layers are present on a drum of a winch. An optical sensor system is included in a space in a hollow housing to count the number of revolutions of the drum and the direction of ... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7080825 | Chain motor drive control system An improved chain motor drive controller is provided for a chain hoist. The system employs a position encoder including a position sensor located within the casing of the chain hoist to producing encoded electrical position signals. A motor pulley is mounted on the ... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7080824 | Chain motor drive controller An improved chain motor drive controller is provided for a chain hoist. The system employs a position encoder including a position sensor located within the casing of the chain hoist to producing encoded electrical position signals. A motor pulley is mounted on the ... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7021867 | Method and machine for dynamic ground compaction At least one cable is attached to a load lying on the ground via a releasable connection mechanism. A traction force is applied to the cable to hoist the load up to a prescribed height. That traction force is then eliminated or reduced to initiate a downward movemen... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7007928 | Tire winch, tire winch kit and method A tire winch, tire winch kit, and method of pulling an object. The tire winch includes a spool having a substantially cylindrical hub dimensioned to accept and wind a cable thereabout, and a means for attaching the spool to a tire such that the rotation of the tire ... | 03/07/2006 |
| 7000903 | Wireline subsea metering head and method of use A system and method to measure positioning with respect to deploying a subsea load, the system comprising a subsea metering head having a position sensor; a controllable winch operatively connected to the winch flexible cable; and a controller operatively in communi... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6957929 | Single and dual reel flying lead deployment apparatus The flying lead deployment apparatus with one reel assembly is made of a frame assembly; a reel assembly with flying lead disposed in the frame assembly adapted to rotate to distribute the flying lead; a first ROV-flying lead interface connected to the frame assembl... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6957804 | Blade installation tool An apparatus for lifting and aligning a blade to a support, such as a grader moldboard or a scraper bowl. In one aspect the invention is an apparatus with a frame, flexible hoisting means for holding the blade, a drum to which each flexible hoisting means is attache... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6926259 | Hoist system The invention is a hoist system for use on a drilling rig made of a tubular mast with a front, back, and top side, a splittable block connected to the mast top side, a trolley with a trolley top and bottom side, wherein the trolley's top side is connected to the spl... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6889958 | Brake for hoist assembly A lift assembly having a drum rotatably mounted to a frame and linearly translatable with respect to the frame. A plurality of head blocks are connected to the frame along a helical mounting path, wherein linear translation of the drum during takeoff or take-up main... | 05/10/2005 |
| 6776396 | Hoisting device for an elevator In a hoisting device for an elevator, a driving motor is made cylindrical, and a brake system is accommodated radially inwardly of the driving motor. The driving motor and the brake system overlap in a radial direction. ... | 08/17/2004 |
| 6520484 | Hoisting apparatus A hoisting apparatus is provided to facilitate maintenance of a load such as luminaires used at high elevations under safe working conditions. The apparatus comprises at least one cable, a load holder for holding the load, a base secured to a ceiling of a... | 02/18/2003 |
| 6499724 | Safety latch for a tire carrier A winch assembly includes an actuating mechanism coupled to a winch and a latch. Rotation of the winch in a first direction drives the actuating mechanism to position the latch at a first position. The actuating mechanism includes a clutch allowing furthe... | 12/31/2002 |
| 6390452 | Safety latch for a tire carrier and improvements therefor This invention provides a safety mechanism for a winch assembly when storing a load, such as a tire under a vehicle or a boat on a trailer, in a raised or stored position. The invention finds particular application to a spare tire, but those skilled in th... | 05/21/2002 |
| 6135421 | Hoist with proximity limit switches A hoist apparatus comprising a frame, a hoist drum mounted on the frame for rotation about a drum axis, a motor connected to the drum for selectively rotating the drum in opposite wind-up and wind-off directions about the drum axis, a hoist rope wound aro... | 10/24/2000 |
| 5906358 | Monitoring operation of a winch A method of operating a winch having a winch drum mounted in a housing to reel in and pay out the cable over a plurality of repeated cycles of use during a period of use of the winch. A digital counter is mounted on the housing so as to be responsive to e... | 05/25/1999 |
| 5803437 | Chainless drive winch A chainless drive winch is provided having a cable cylinder meshing with an orthogonal, cylindrical reduction gearing member. The reduction gearing member may be driven by, for example, an electric motor. A brake is provided operable only when the reducti... | 09/08/1998 |
| 5790407 | Time-based control system A time-based control system (10) for controlling a process incorporating external devices using a predefined response profile (13). The response profile (13) is continuously compared to the actual response of the controlled device (11). A plurality of sen... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5632469 | Electric hoist with speed control, a protective housing and a swivelable circuit board in the housing An electric hoist with motor-speed-regulated lifting speed, in particular an electric chain hoist, including an electric motor, a gear unit, and a wheel around which the hoisting chain is looped. A load-carrying device is arranged on the hoisting chain. T... | 05/27/1997 |
| 5465939 | Directional control assembly for an air winch A mechanical limit control device for adjustably halting the operation of a winch at preset points including a proportionally driven flexible cog belt providing a compact conformable configuration having projections which operate a snap action air valve t... | 11/14/1995 |
| 5228661 | Spare tire carrier and winch A spare tire lift-and-carry apparatus for use on a vehicle includes a rotatable input shaft supported by a housing. A transmission mechanism is provided for transferring torque from the rotatable input shaft to a cable storage member driven in rotation ab... | 07/20/1993 |
| 5167400 | Has invented certain and useful improvements in control device for lifting winches, in particular for drilling rigs A control device for lifting winches, in particular for drilling rigs, uses an electric motor able to operate in all four quadrants of the torque-speed diagram. A control circuit procures controlled excitation of the electric motor. A manipulator on a con... | 12/01/1992 |
| 5149057 | Tape drive with self-expanding coils for sludge collector Apparatus for taking up and paying out first and second ends of an endless loop of tape that has an intermediate section. A first reel connected to the first end carries a first coil of the tape. The first coil extends from the first reel and is normally ... | 09/22/1992 |
| 5106593 | Apparatus for producing Czochralski-grown single crystals An apparatus for producing a single crystal grown by Czochralski method includes a winding drum disposed in a case for winding up and down a flexible pull wire, a power transmission mechanism for driving the winding drum, and a bearing unit for rotatably ... | 04/21/1992 |
| 4805650 | Apparatus for cleaning a tank-like vessel An apparatus for cleaning a tank-like vessel comprising (a) a supporting arm attached to a fixing plate, which can perpendicularly extend downward, (b) a folding arm of which base portion is rotatably attached to the lower end of the supporting arm, a position... | 02/21/1989 |
| 4639182 | Crane device installed in cargo transporting vehicle A crane device is installed in a freight car with a roof and comprises a revolvable frame suspended by the roof so as to be revolvable about a vertical axis, a derrick boom assembly having a telescopically extendable boom and luffably supported by the rev... | 01/27/1987 |
| 4636962 | Microprocessor-controlled hoist system Load position limits and incremental lowering of a load are controlled by a microprocessor forming an interface between an operator's control station and the hoist. Other hoist status conditions such as underspeed and overspeed of the hoist motor are dete... | 01/13/1987 |
| 4585182 | Time measuring device for a fishing reel A double-bearing fishing reel has a spool shaft with a spool secured thereto. The spool shaft is supported between a pair of right and left reel side plates. A handle shaft is rotatably supported by one of the reel side plates. The handle shaft and the sp... | 04/29/1986 |
| 4580765 | Compaction machine The invention relates to a machine for dropping heavy weights on the ground for carrying out processes of dynamic compaction or dynamic consolidation wherein a brake is provided on the hoist drum which can be actuated automatically after a given period of... | 04/08/1986 |
| 4580640 | Stroke control responsive to impact of hydraulic hammer A pickup is connected to a system of sheaves of a mobile hydraulic hammer for providing a signal proportional to velocity of a hammer weight. The pickup is connected to the input of a differentiating circuit, and the output of the differentiating circuit ... | 04/08/1986 |
| 4545017 | Well drilling apparatus or the like with position monitoring system A well drilling apparatus includes a monitoring system for monitoring the exact elevation of the traveling block. The monitoring system detects the elevation of the traveling block by means of periodically transmitted signals which are reflected back to t... | 10/01/1985 |
| 4491301 | Tackles Interposed between the driving shaft of the tackle and the hoisting hook of the tackle is a flat textile strap or a flat metal braid. The strap or braid is attached to the drum of a drum-pulley keyed on the driving shaft at the end of the strap or braid. ... | 01/01/1985 |
| 4434971 | Drilling rig drawworks hook load overspeed preventing system The method and apparatus for preventing runaway lowering of a hook block in an oil drilling rig characterized by monitoring the instantaneous values of hook load and speed and using these values together with parameters associated with the rig drawworks t... | 03/06/1984 |
