Did You Know...
...During the Civil War, the Confederacy established its own Patent Office which issued 266 patents, a third of which concerned implements of war.
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 |
| 7357051 | Ratchet-type adjustment device A ratchet-type adjustment device for the ratcheting displacement of an adjustment body with respect to a fixed base element having an oblong actuating element, where the actuating element can be displaced along linear toothed portions, which are fitted to the adjust... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7353730 | Foot depressing parking brake apparatus A foot depressing parking brake apparatus including a brake pedal main body 3 pivotably supported by a support shaft 2, a ratchet plate 4 having ratchet teeth 4b and attached to the brake pedal main body 3, a ratchet pole | 04/08/2008 |
| 7331868 | Wagering gaming device providing physical stimulation responses to various components of the gaming device A wagering gaming device that physically stimulates an input device of the gaming device to stimulate a player. The input device, includes a component stimulator and an actuation member. The input devices sends a signal or plurality of signals to a processor upon ac... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7246383 | Fit adjustment mechanism for helmets A fit adjustment mechanism for the headband of a helmet including a bridge and a buckle. The bridge has ratchet teeth extending from the exterior surface. Each of the ratchet teeth has a tapered surface, a top land, and a retention surface with an undercut face bene... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7234372 | Reversible ratcheting tool with a smaller head and improved driving torque A ratcheting tool includes a handle and a head with a compartment. A drive member includes a first end extended beyond the compartment, a second end extended beyond the compartment, and a gear wheel formed between the first end and the second end. The gear wheel is ... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7140476 | Hand brake lever A hand brake lever, especially for a motor vehicle, includes at least two tubes (2, 3) telescopically inserted into each other for actuating a locking device (5) of a parking brake. The tubes (2, 3) automatically lock in any pulled-out position ... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7000496 | Cable retraction mechanism for trigger shifters A bicycle shifter having a housing mountable to a handlebar, a takeup mechanism for pulling a shift cable and a release mechanism for releasing the shift cable. The takeup mechanism includes a takeup tooth segment, a takeup pawl and an actuation element. The release... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6976402 | Parking brake lever The present invention relates to a parking brake lever that is operated by a hand. The parking brake lever has a supporting member fixed to a vehicle frame and which is provided with ratchet portion, and an oscillating member, which oscillates with respect to the su... | 12/20/2005 |
| 6962093 | Noise reduction structure for power take-off unit gear assembly A noise reduction structure is provided for use with a meshing gear assembly, such as in a power take-off unit for selectively providing power to one or more rotatably driven accessories. The meshing gear assembly includes meshing input and output gears that are sup... | 11/08/2005 |
| 6910738 | Device and method for assembling a recliner mechanism An adjustable pivot rotatably supports and adjusts a position of a pivoting member within a housing. The adjustable pivot includes a central cylinder defining a first axis and rotatably supporting the pivoting member. A second cylinder extends from the central cylin... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6817264 | Parking brake operating device for vehicle A parking brake operating device for vehicle, wherein a vehicle is held by a specified braking force by manually rotating a brake lever (2), a held state is released by rotatingly operating the brake lever (2) upward by a specified amount from the held... | 11/16/2004 |
| RE38498 | One-way clutch apparatus A one-way clutch apparatus comprising a driving member having a plurality of recesses, a corresponding plurality of biasing members disposed in the recess, a corresponding number of keys or struts disposed over the biasing members in the recesses, and a driven membe... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6547684 | Ratchet tensioner with plunger releasing mechanism A ratchet tensioner includes a plunger releasing mechanism for turning a ratchet pawl against the force of a plunger spring to disengage a locking prong of the ratchet pawl from a rack tooth of a plunger. The plunger releasing mechanism has a pin insertio... | 04/15/2003 |
| 6431025 | Ratchet mechanism for a surgical retractor assembly A ratchet mechanism for a surgical retractor blade having a dual ratchet holder. A pivot ratchet is mounted on the dual ratchet holder. A pawl key mounted on the dual ratchet holder. The pawl key is used to engage the teeth on the pivot ratchet. The mecha... | 08/13/2002 |
| 6363901 | Pull starter for engine An outboard motor has a quieter operating recoil starter arrangement. The recoil starter has a starter drum with a dog clutch arrangement having two dog cam members. The dog cam members rotate between an initial position and an extended position under the... | 04/02/2002 |
| 6206078 | Ratchet type cam lock for a roller A hub provided at an end of a roller rotates with the roller. A stationary cap mounted to an axle of the roller is positioned adjacent the hub. A pawl pivots on the cap and is movable to engage gears on the hub. The pawl has two abutment surfaces mounted.... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6148979 | Compliant overrunning clutch with centrifugal throw-out A compliant overrunning ratchet and pawl clutch mechanism with centrifugal throwout comprising a ratchet wheel and a one-piece pawl wheel. The ratchet wheel has plurality of angled teeth disposed about its perimeter. The pawl wheel comprises a one-piece c... | 11/21/2000 |
| 6116580 | Reversible winch ratchet mechanism A mechanical winch includes a ratchet lever having a single pawl which may be positioned in either one of two orientations in order to preclude clockwise or counterclockwise movement of the winch, drum or reel. In each orientation, the ratchet lever may a... | 09/12/2000 |
| 6089306 | Ratchet type cam lock for a roller A hub provided at an end of a roller rotates with the roller. A stationary cap mounted to an axle of the roller is positioned adjacent the hub. A pawl pivots on the cap and is movable to engage gears on the hub. The pawl has two abutment surfaces mounted.... | 07/18/2000 |
| 6085770 | Remote cylinder valve opener A method and apparatus for remotely opening a manual valve of a gas cylinder from a remote location. The gas cylinder is first connected to a purge system which is purged of oxygen and pressurized with an inert gas to a pressure near that of the gas cylin... | 07/11/2000 |
| 6019198 | Mechanically driven ratchet assembly A mechanically driven ratchet assembly which has a pawl gear attached to a rotationally biased shaft, a pawl assembly having a pawl tooth for engagement with a pawl gear, and a ratchet gear which alternately permits movement when driven by the pawl gear o... | 02/01/2000 |
| 5787761 | Cable slack adjuster A slack adjuster (1) for a cable operated system, such as a brake assembly operable by a brake lever (2), includes two drive parts (9) and (10) which are engageable to form a drive connection between the brake lever (2) and the cable (29) to enable the le... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5690202 | Overrunning clutch mechanism An overrunning clutch for a torque converter utilizing a housing having an endless inner surface. A plurality of ratchet teeth are located on the endless inner surface of the housing such that each of the ratchet teeth possess a contact surface. A retaine... | 11/25/1997 |
| 5662542 | Actuating drive having a spring return feature An actuating drive with a spring return feature for valves in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems includes an electric drive (1), a reduction gearing (2) having a return spring tensionable by the actuating movement and serving for the spring... | 09/02/1997 |
| 5649457 | Park lock arrangement for continuously variable transmission A park lock arrangement for use in a continuously variable transmission including a housing, an end cover and a casing having one end portion coupled with the housing and the opposite end portion coupled with the end cover. The casing has an inwardly rece... | 07/22/1997 |
| 5630339 | Park mechanism for vehicle transmission A park pawl in a transmission is rotatably supported on a manually rotatable control rod and resiliently biased toward engagement with a toothed output gear by a spring acting between the control rod and the pawl. A lost-motion driving connection provided... | 05/20/1997 |
| 5597057 | One-way clutch apparatus A one-way clutch apparatus comprising a driving member having a plurality of recesses, a corresponding plurality of biasing members disposed in the recesses, a corresponding number of keys or struts disposed over the biasing members in the recesses, and a... | 01/28/1997 |
| 5582370 | Switch machine with ratchet mechanism on hand throw mechanism There is provided an improved hand throw device of an electric motor driven switch machine having a ratchet mechanism that permits torque to be applied to the hand throw device in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction as desired by an operator... | 12/10/1996 |
| 5572908 | Ratchet mechanism for telescope devices on toy vehicles A ratchet mechanism for telescope devices on toy vehicles comprises a manually drivable driving gearwheel rotatably positioned on a telescope base body, a rack on the telescopic arm, the rack engaging with the driving gearwheel, and a pawl of ratcheting e... | 11/12/1996 |
| 5568908 | Six-way manual seat adjustment assembly An improved manually adjustable vehicle seat assembly is disclosed. The adjustable vehicle seat assembly includes a vehicle seat, track assemblies each with a stationary track fixed to a vehicle floor and a translating track slidably interconnected with t... | 10/29/1996 |
| 5544925 | Spring mounting device for automotive door lock apparatus An automotive door lock apparatus comprises a lock body having a latch for engaging with a striker and a ratchet for preventing the latch from pivoting in reverse direction, the lock body defining a cavity for receiving the latch and the ratchet, a spring... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5540117 | Locking system for articulated fittings of car seats, in particular for wobble fittings A locking system for articulated fittings of car seats with a free-swivelling backrest. In particular, a wobble fitting is used with the articulated fitting and is made up of at least one notch, with which a pawl engages in a locking position, and a first... | 07/30/1996 |
| 5531303 | torque mechanism for a power transmission A parking pawl is pivotally mounted on a transmission housing for selective engagement with a park gear which is rotatable with a transmission output shaft disposed along a longitudinal axis in the transmission housing. The pawl is moved into engagement w... | 07/02/1996 |
| 5513607 | Starting apparatus for an internal combustion engine Starting device for an internal combustion engine including a rope pulley (10), a freewheel coupling having a driving coupling part on the pulley, and a driven coupling part on a flywheel of the engine. The driving coupling part includes a ratchet wheel (... | 05/07/1996 |
| 5511447 | Automatic ratchet block A ratchet block comprised of a frame, movable sheave assembly, ratchet assembly, ratchet assembly and cam wherein the ratchet automatically engages under load permitting rotation of the sheave in only one direction, and disengages when the load is removed... | 04/30/1996 |
| 5467666 | Non-jamming self-adjust pawl and ratchet mechanism An improved non-jamming self-adjust pawl and ratchet mechanism for use in an automotive parking brake system or the like, includes cam-out and cam-in devices that are spaced to define an overlap dwell distance to insure suitable engagement between the adj... | 11/21/1995 |
| 5375481 | Multi-position ratchet mechanism A multi-position ratchet mechanism for holding a surgical retractor blade which permits a retractor blade to be rotated into the wound and retracted at the same time to duplicate the natural "toe-in" method of retraction achieved with the hand. The ratche... | 12/27/1994 |
| 5365804 | Parking mechanism for a power transmission A countershaft type power transmission has a plurality of selectively engageable friction clutches for establishing a plurality of forward drive ratios and a reverse drive ratio between meshing gear members on an input shaft, a countershaft and an output ... | 11/22/1994 |
| 5361645 | Shift lever apparatus for use in bicycle A shift lever apparatus for use in bicycles comprising first and second ratchet wheels and first and second switch levers, all of them being mounted on a main shaft. The first and second switch levers contain first and second ratchet pawls for engaging wi... | 11/08/1994 |
| 5339706 | Latchable steering column tilt mechanism A latchable tilt mechanism for a steering column of a vehicle includes a first bracket attached to a sleeve of the steering column and a second bracket pivotally attached to the first bracket and operatively connected to a rotatable steering wheel of the ... | 08/23/1994 |
