Did You Know...
...that power steering was invented by independent inventor Francis W. Davis? As chief engineer in the 1920s of the truck division of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, he saw how hard it was to steer heavy vehicles. So that he would be able to keep the profits from his future invention, Davis left his job, rented a small engineering shop in Waltham, Mass., and developed a hydraulic power steering system that led to power steering.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7367740 | Mechanically lockable universal joint and structures employing such joint An adjustable support stand for an article such as a camera employs a plurality of elongated links connected to one another at their ends by lockable universal joints. Each joint consists of a pair of complementary knuckles, each joined to a link end by a splined co... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7278218 | Laser line generating device with swivel base A base for a light generating device or a leveling device, having a first surface that includes a connection structure to receive and mount either a light generating device or a leveling device thereto, and a second surface including a nonmechanical attachment struc... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7269907 | Laser line generating device with swivel base A laser alignment device includes a laser generating device, an upper attachment portion, and a lower attachment portion. The laser generating device includes a housing and a laser generator. The upper attachment portion is disposed near a bottom of the housing, and... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7216403 | Ergonomic appliance handle The ergonomic appliance handle is an extension handle that is attachable to a carrying or transport handle on a canister style vacuum cleaner or similar floor appliance. The ergonomic appliance handle provides an elongated handle shaft that is attached to the canist... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7189246 | Medical instrument holding device A medical instrument holding device includes a grasping portion onto which a medical instrument is mounted, an acceptant arm supported by a link mechanism, and a ball joint element adapted to be fixed to and released from the acceptant arm. The grasping portion is c... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7156806 | Stabilized table rail clamp A clamping device which secures a retractor support apparatus to an operating table having a side rail. The clamping device has a first clamping member disposed between a side of the operating table and the side rail. The clamping device also includes a second clamp... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7124755 | Respiratory circuit support arm A support arm for use in a respiratory circuit is provided. The support arm includes a plurality of arm segments that are movably connected with one another such that the arm segments are adjustable with respect to another. At least one inflatable bladder is provide... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7025315 | Geodesic mounting apparatus A multi-positionable mounting device that provides a substantially stable, load-bearing but relatively adjustable ball and socket mounting device. An interior surface of the socket is formed of first and second opposing part hemispherical socket portions that are re... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7021592 | Quick-adjusting mounting head An easily adjustable scope mounting head and stand. The stand includes a stabilized base with a vertical rod extending upward. The scope mounting head is attached to the vertical rod. A ball and socket joint is located on one end of the mounting head and an adjustin... | 04/04/2006 |
| 6912959 | Surgical table and clamp system A radiolucent surgical table is provided with a patient support member and includes a low shadow accessory interface profile formed by a plurality of interconnected curved surfaces disposed along the outer edge of the patient support member for selective attachment ... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6910781 | Quick release vehicle mirror A mirror assembly for a vehicle is securable to a tubular member that defines a central axis and is secured to the vehicle. The mirror assembly comprises a clamping assembly including a concave surface that is engagable with the tubular member. A housing is coupled ... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6575653 | Jointed support structure The invention relates to a jointed support structure, in particular for the adjustable attachment of objects, such as medical instruments, to a support, such as a surgical operating table, comprising at least one clamping element having a movable clamping... | 06/10/2003 |
| 6390424 | Accessory support device and method An accessory holder that can support an item in an infinite number of positions and orientations has advantages, especially in supporting a hair drier. The device includes a substantially longitudinal base member and a support device that enables securing... | 05/21/2002 |
| 5692721 | Tamper-proof bracket and housing assembly An adjustable bracket and housing assembly mountable to any horizontal or verticle surface designed primarily for passive infrared detective for security systems. The bracket has a mounting member (30), a cylindrical member (20) allowing horizontal adjust... | 12/02/1997 |
| 5584596 | Caliper control for universal support arm A tension control device is provided, for example, for locking and unlocking a movable support arm for a keyboard or the like, by engaging or disengaging rotational joints having axially displaceable rotationally lockable couplings traversed by a tension ... | 12/17/1996 |
| 5348259 | Flexible, articulable column A flexible, articulable column having a central cable tensioning member with a series of ball and socket members strung on the cable forming articulable joints. Each socket member has at least one conical opening with internal teeth engagable with a ball ... | 09/20/1994 |
| 5249591 | Foldable camouflage assembly A foldable assembly structure to be used for camouflage nets which comprise a central telescopic pole composed of a plurality of sections which fit into each other, provided with fastening means. The upper free end of said pole is provided with a joint li... | 10/05/1993 |
| 5167661 | Device for articulation and relative locking of two pieces This articulation device makes it possible to position a first elongated piece 20, which is capable of being pivoted through 360° according to the arrow A, and a second piece 30, which is capable of swivelling about the shaft 40 according to the arrow B.... | 12/01/1992 |
| 5140507 | Adjustable lighting system An adjustable lighting fixture having a power transfer means, such as a gearbox, interposed between the lamp holder, such as a gimbal ring, and the point of mounting, the output shaft of the gear box connected directly to the lamp holder to rotate the sam... | 08/18/1992 |
| 5039254 | Passive grabbing apparatus having six degrees of freedom and single command control A six degree of freedom grabbing apparatus (20) allows normally open jaws (22) to be positioned in a desired location and orientation relative to a work platform (19), whereupon a single control locks the grabbing apparatus is the desired location and ori... | 08/13/1991 |
| 5037053 | Support arm for optical accessories The present invention provides a support arm for optical accessories such as are used during the examination of eyes for determining the corrective eyeglass lens required. The support arm is supported by a vertical support post which defines a first axis ... | 08/06/1991 |
| 5020933 | Locking mechanism for medical devices Apparatus useful in surgery for holding retractors and other surgical instrumentation in a number of different positions required by a surgeon for the performance of a surgical procedure, including advanced sensing and regulation of retraction pressures a... | 06/04/1991 |
| 4971037 | Surgical retractor support A table-mounted surgical retractor support includes a wishbone-shaped structure comprising two identical rods which are separately attachable to a clamp located at the end of a supporting rod. The supporting rod is, in turn, connected to a similar clamp l... | 11/20/1990 |
| 4964748 | Positioning device A device for precisely positioning and locking an object in a selected position includes a first arm member having one end for engaging a base support and for clamping the base support and an opposite end on which is rotatably mounted a bracket in a clamp... | 10/23/1990 |
| 4949927 | Articulable column Presented is a method and apparatus for incrementally varying the frictional forces along an articulable column having succesive joints formed of alternate ball and socket members. Friction is varied by varying the contact angle between said ball and sock... | 08/21/1990 |
| 4893370 | Hand tool for cleaning smooth surfaces, in particular panes of glass A hand tool for cleaning smooth surfaces having a holder in the form of a flat box; a sponge block and a squeegee, spaced apart from and parallel to the sponge block; a swivelable handle disposed on the holder, on an incline and laterally about an axis ex... | 01/16/1990 |
| 4853965 | Flexible joint mechanism A flexible joint mechanism comprises male and female joint members for joining a microphone pole to a base member. The male joint member has a substantially spherical end surface. The female joint member has a dish-shaped end surface for receiving the sph... | 08/01/1989 |
| 4767231 | Adjustable arm An adjustable arm having a plurality of sections joined together by a ball and socket joint comprising a housing, a ball retained within the housing, a concave cup slidably mounted within the housing with clearance between the cup and the ball, a locking ... | 08/30/1988 |
| 4693240 | Orthopaedic fracture fixation apparatus A bone pin clamp for external fracture fixation apparatus comprises rotation, slide and housing elements (240, 220, 210) nested one within the next, each such element being apertured to receive a pin (100) therethrough, and the rotation and slide elements... | 09/15/1987 |
| 4685161 | Foldable framework and portable objects having such a framework A foldable framework and foldable objects such as stretchers, foldable beds, foldable bridges and the like embodying such framework. The framework comprises first and second carrier rod assemblies linked to each other by foldable connecting means, each su... | 08/11/1987 |
| 4653709 | Tilt-pan head for cameras The present invention provides a tilt-pan head for controlling the movement of instruments in which panning and tilting motions are required. Each function, the pan drag, the tilt drag, the pan locking and the tilt locking are controlled by four coaxially... | 03/31/1987 |
| 4606522 | Position adjustable instrument holder A jointed holder for holding articles, for example surgical retractors. The holder has a succession of rigid link shafts and a link joint and a terminal joint with drive pins in the link shafts and force transmission means in the link joints whereby tight... | 08/19/1986 |
| 4547092 | Accessory clamp for medical table An improved clamp for releasably and adjustably securing accessories, such as hanger rods for parenteral solution containers, to medical tables. The clamp has a generally cylindrical body comprising two main sections arranged in axial alignment: a base se... | 10/15/1985 |
| 4531855 | Adjustable arm An adjustable arm having a joint (17,19) at each end with a push rod (35) extending axially through the arm with each end of the rod bearing against one of the components (23,45) of the adjacent joint and means (31) for applying a compressive force to the... | 07/30/1985 |
| 4491435 | Jointed stand The jointed stand comprises two joint or swivel heads coupled to each other and two arms each extending from a related one of the joint heads and terminating in a respective ball-and-socket joint. Each ball-and-socket joint is operatively associated with ... | 01/01/1985 |
| 4461284 | Surgical retaining device A retaining device for fixedly holding a surgical instrument in a predetermined spatial orientation during surgery comprising an arm having a ball-and-socket joint for grasping the surgical instrument, another arm having a ball-and-socket joint for securi... | 07/24/1984 |
| 4431329 | Articulated support stand An articulated stand contains two relatively mutually pivotable arms at whose ends there are seated moveable joint heads. With the aid of a single clamping lever there can be concurrently locked or loosened a central joint as well as the joint heads. In o... | 02/14/1984 |
| 4402481 | Articulated device for service component An articulated device for a service component, wherein a front arm and a rear arm, each provided at one end with an engageable member, are rotatably connected to each other by a transmitting shaft slidably coupled into the enggeable members, the transmitt... | 09/06/1983 |
| 4342367 | Folding tool bar A folding tool bar apparatus for a farm implement having a hollow main frame and winged sections pivotally attached to each end thereof. The winged sections are pivotal between a first horizontally extended position and a second folded horizontal position... | 08/03/1982 |
| 4320884 | Tripod arm An adjustable arm for mounting an article on a tripod which is composed of first and second arms connected by an interposed joint member, said joint member having two halves pivotally arranged adjacent one another on a common axle, one end of each of the ... | 03/23/1982 |
