Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7836813 | Self-locking braking device for rotary shafts, and relevant applications A self-locking braking device, for rotary shafts connectable to external loads, comprises braking means which can be operated to lock, respectively to release the rotation of a drive shaft; the braking means consist of a rigid braking disk, rotating with the drive s... | 11/23/2010 |
| 7451688 | Lock mechanism for use with fluid pressure-operated apparatus A lock mechanism is provided in a head cover of a cylinder tube. The lock mechanism comprises a holder, which is installed in the head cover, a plurality of balls that are retained displaceably in a radial direction with respect to the holder, and a displacement mem... | 11/18/2008 |
| 7320198 | Integrated gas spring actuator strut assembly with threaded nut in gas spring An integrated gas strut actuator assembly particularly adapted for providing power actuation of a motor vehicle lift gate or other opening closure. The assembly integrates the function of a counterbalancing gas spring and that of a electrically powered actuator. The... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7216581 | Piston locking actuator A locking actuator may be locked in an extended position. A piston with a first and a second end defines a recess that originates proximate to the first end. A strut is adapted to at least partially nest within the recess and the strut is adapted to hold at least on... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7201259 | Adjustable-length compression spring An adjustable-length compression spring comprises a casing filled with pressure fluid. A piston rod is sealingly extended through a guide and seal unit which closes the casing, a piston, which is sealingly guided therein, being joined to the piston rod. The piston d... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7178639 | Locking device A device is provided for clamping a loaded rod (2) with at least one clamping element (3), which is movably mounted on its conical outer periphery in a corresponding conical outer ring (4). The outer ring (4) is thereby axially movable in... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7131518 | Motion control apparatus with backlash reduction A motion controller for use with a rod (10A, 10B, 10C) has a backlash reducer (88A, 88B, 88C) that substantially reduces or eliminates the space created after manufacturing parts with specified tolerance dimensions to substa... | 11/07/2006 |
| 6896239 | Method and apparatus for locking a valve An apparatus for locking a valve having a valve member movable between an open position and a closed position. The apparatus includes an actuator assembly, a locking base, a locking shaft, and a locking pin. The actuator assembly moves the valve member between the o... | 05/24/2005 |
| 6874405 | Breather filter for sealed spring brake actuators A brake actuator assembly includes a housing defining a spring chamber. A spring is disposed in the spring chamber, the spring being biased toward an extended position and movable against the bias toward a caged position. A release assembly is provided for selective... | 04/05/2005 |
| 6752066 | Device for controlling the oscillation of the arm of a handling equipment of the swingable lever type A handling equipment of the swingable arm type comprises a double acting cylinder within whose chamber a main piston is sealingly mounted, which is slidable owing to the selective delivery of fluid under pressure at opposite zones of the chamber, which is connected ... | 06/22/2004 |
| 6575678 | Locking cylinder A hydraulic cylinder having an integral self-contained locking mechanism is described. A locking cylinder includes a housing that contains a screw shaft and a rod/piston assembly. A rod end of the rod/piston assembly can be connected to one load and the e... | 06/10/2003 |
| 6178870 | Fluid pressure cylinder with a lock mechanism This fluid pressure cylinder with a lock mechanism is adapted to provide, on the lock mechanism cover, an area where valves for controlling the cylinder and lock mechanism can be installed. In the cylinder, a brake shoe grips a piston rod 6 via balls held... | 01/30/2001 |
| 6105484 | Lockout device for valve actuators A lockout device is used to prevent linear movement of a piston rod in a pneumatic cylinder actuator used for controlling the position of a valve flow control member or other applications. The lockout device includes a locking plate having a piston rod ho... | 08/22/2000 |
| 5636562 | Spring brake actuator with release tool requiring limited axial space A brake release tool incorporates a two-part structure wherein a portion accessible from outside the brake actuator does not move axially away from the brake actuator during caging. In this way, less room is necessary outwardly of the brake actuator housi... | 06/10/1997 |
| 5390495 | Assembly of a hydraulic motor and of a brake and compactor applying same This invention relates to an assembly of a hydraulic motor and of a brake which is coupled thereto, comprising in particular a brake shaft which traverses said motor and brake entirely. According to the invention, the brake shaft comprises an axial throug... | 02/21/1995 |
| 5216942 | Piston lock for power cylinders A power cylinder of the type in which the piston may be locked to maintain am associated tool or clamp in a fixed position. A nut is provided in an end wall of the cylinder and the piston rod of the piston passes through the nut. The initial portion of th... | 06/08/1993 |
| 5209064 | Device for mutual immobilization of two elements mounted for relative rotation This invention relates to an assembly of a hydraulic motor and a combined device for immobilization, comprising: a reaction cam; a cylinder-block mounted to rotate with respect to the reaction cam; a first immobilization member fast with the cylinder-bloc... | 05/11/1993 |
| 5020418 | Piston lock for power cylinders A power cylinder of the type in which the piston may be locked to maintain the associated tool or clamp in a fixed position. A pair of guide rods extend in parallel spaced fashion through the bore of the cylinder from end to end of the cylinder and the pi... | 06/04/1991 |
| 4907496 | Spring force actuators A spring force actuator comprising a housing, an output member axially moveable in the housing, a spring captive between the member and the end wall of the housing. The actuator further comprises an axially located screw-threaded wind-off element operable... | 03/13/1990 |
| 4896586 | Piston stop assembly An assembly for stopping and retaining a floating piston within a closed cylinder includes a plurality of retaining ring segments which are seated within a groove provided in the internal wall of the cylinder. The retaining ring segments are held securely... | 01/30/1990 |
| 4854223 | Pneumatic or hydraulic drive for opening and closing of doors The invention is directed to a penumatic or hydraulic drive for opening and closing of doors, in which the linear motion of a double-acting piston 5 driven by a pressure medium is converted into a rotary motion of a spindle 2 through a piston rod 6 and a ... | 08/08/1989 |
| 4790234 | Fluidic power-assisted setting device A fluidic power-assisted setting device has a setting motor having an output torque; a threaded spindle supported for rotation; a spindle nut threadedly mounted on the spindle for linear displacement; a setting member attached to the spindle nut for linea... | 12/13/1988 |
| 4754694 | Fluid actuator with lock position indicating means A fluid actuator includes a lock mechanism for releasably locking the actuator against movement, and a lock release lever engageable by a lock piston upon application of system pressure thereto to release the lock mechanism. The lock mechanism includes an... | 07/05/1988 |
| 4628752 | Actuators and actuator assemblies An actuator assembly has two actuators mounted back-to-back such that their actuator rods are displaced in opposite directions. Each actuator has a spring embracing the rod between two slidable collars. The spring urges the collars apart towards stops on ... | 12/16/1986 |
| 4613353 | Convoluted shaft actuator link for glassware forming machine An actuator for use in or with a glassware forming machine for driving a member through an arcuate path, such member being a pusher cylinder for moving glassware articles. The pusher member comprises a linearly movable piston for linearly moving a convolu... | 09/23/1986 |
| 4574924 | Rotary shaft speed limiting arrangement A fluid controlled rotary shaft speed limiting arrangement has a brake disk secured to the shaft for rotational movement therewith. A braking arrangement exerts a braking force on the brake disk according to the amount of fluid pressure present in a brake... | 03/11/1986 |
| 4557746 | Electro-pneumatic actuator for glassware forming machine An actuator for use in or with a glassware forming machine for pneumatically driving a member through a predetermined path, such member being, in one embodiment, a pusher cylinder for moving one or more glassware articles through a predetermined arcuate p... | 12/10/1985 |
| 4509408 | Fluid pressure actuator A piston member is mounted in a cylinder body to be axially movable and unrotatable relative thereto. A ball nut retaining balls is fixed to the piston member, and a screw shaft having a helical groove in engagement with the balls is mounted to be rotatab... | 04/09/1985 |
| 4491059 | Fluid actuator with manual lock release and lock position sensor Fluid actuator includes a lock mechanism for releasably locking the actuator against movement, and a lock release assembly including a lock piston engageable with a toggle linkage upon application of fluid pressure to the lock piston to release the lock m... | 01/01/1985 |
| 4481864 | Hydraulic jack with mechanical safety lock A double-acting hydraulic jack, comprising a hollow piston reciprocable in a surrounding cylinder, includes a tubular shaft extending axially inside and carrying a nut of the circulating-ball type which coacts with a screw coaxially disposed in that shaft... | 11/13/1984 |
| 4463661 | Fluid actuator with remote lock release assembly Actuator includes a lock mechanism for locking the actuator against movement in one end position, and a separate lock release assembly exteriorly mounted on the side of the actuator housing. The lock release assembly includes a toggle linkage directly eng... | 08/07/1984 |
| 4463657 | Fluid actuator with sequence-power valve A fluid actuator including a lock mechanism for locking the actuator against movement in one position and a fluid operated sequence-power valve which when actuated by fluid pressure releases the lock mechanism and then ports such fluid pressure directly t... | 08/07/1984 |
| 4365539 | Fluid pressure actuator with stroke end lock mechanism A fluid pressure actuator includes a lock mechanism for locking the actuator against movement in one end position, and an external lock release lever engageable with an external extension of the lock mechanism for releasing same. The lock release lever is... | 12/28/1982 |
| 4359206 | Severe duty hydraulic cylinder with continuously effective locking device A hydraulic cylinder comprising a hydraulically operated power lifting ram for lifting heavy loads further includes a guide cylinder concentric about and enclosing the ram, the guide cylinder being secured to the lift platform for further support of the l... | 11/16/1982 |
| 4293115 | Testing mechanism for blowout preventer ram lock A testing mechanism for a ram lock for blowout preventer rams which permits testing of lock mechanism by overriding the automatic unlocking capability of the mechanism.... | 10/06/1981 |
| 4290577 | Blowout preventer ram lock A ram lock for blowout preventer rams which permits locking of the ram at multiple and adjustable positions. Automatic locking of the ram at a desired position, such as in adjustable sealing positions to compensate for ram elastomer wear, is obtained. The... | 09/22/1981 |
| 4240334 | Mechanically lockable hydraulic cylinder jack Disclosed herein is a hydraulic jack comprising a cylinder and a piston rod assembly which is movable between a retracted position and an extended position relative to the cylinder. The jack also has mechanical locking means including a rotatable shaft an... | 12/23/1980 |
| 4236442 | Digitally compatible servomotor The present servomotor has a working piston in a piston cylinder. The worg piston is connected to a spindle having a relatively high pitch. The spindle is attached at one end thereof to a control disk system comprising three control disks. The two outer ... | 12/02/1980 |
| 4182215 | Failsafe hydraulic prestressing nut The present invention relates to hydraulic prestressing nuts for setting a tensile stress in a bolt whereon the nut of the present invention is turned. The invention involves a nut body wherein an annular piston is arranged to be hydraulically extended fr... | 01/08/1980 |
| 4175793 | Parking brake control system for railway vehicles A parking brake for use primarily on railway vehicles of the mass transit type in conjunction with the service brake apparatus but operable independently thereof. A parking brake hydraulic cylinder is mechanically connected to the brake shoe hanger of the... | 11/27/1979 |
