Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7909308 | Winch system for VTOL aircraft A winch system includes a cable storage system (34), a drive system (30) and a deployment system to deploy a cable having a hook system attached thereto. A right angle sheave (46) guides the cable between the cable storage system and the drive s... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7523920 | Length-adjustable chain mount and storage apparatus A length-adjustable chain mount and storage box apparatus is mounted to a vertically-movable support structure of a vehicle and arranged so that only a selected outer end length portion of a lift chain need to be pulled from the confines of a storage box whereupon t... | 04/28/2009 |
| 7429031 | Ground support system A ground support system for wire rope of a hoist that includes a support, and at least two tension capstans aligned on the support. Each of the tension capstans is rotatable, and each of the tension capstans has at least one annular groove engageable with the wire r... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7100901 | Tension ratchet with a belt magazine, and belt magazine The invention relates to a tension ratchet with a belt magazine, for rapidly fixing a good to be transported to a vehicle, an object to a support, or several objects to each other. The tension ratchet (30) is combined with a belt magazine (1) which rec... | 09/05/2006 |
| 6820863 | Portable motorized chain driver A portable, motorized chain driver for lifting and lowering loads by attaching the chain driver to a manual chain hoist for driving the chain. The chain driver comprises a chain and rotor housing attached to a compact electrical or gas driver unit with an angled hea... | 11/23/2004 |
| 6796522 | Reel-less line retriever A reel-less line retriever suitable for rescue work provides open housing and guides such as may receive a flexible line along its length without threading through the guides and housing to be positioned between a pair of engaging wheels. The wheels are compressed a... | 09/28/2004 |
| 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 |
| 6286816 | Chain hoist A chain hoist, includes a chain which is trained over first and second sprockets defining a movement path for the chain, with the first sprocket being connected to a load-bearing member, and with the second sprocket being part of a drive unit for operatin... | 09/11/2001 |
| 6086050 | Apparatus for pulling a traction cable through an underground pipe A pulling apparatus includes a frame having a securing stirrup for securing a beam. The beam is provided at one end with a return pulley. Due to the structure of the securing stirrup, the tractive forces are transferred completely to the beam and the fram... | 07/11/2000 |
| 6073917 | Capstan guide ramp coupling structure and method A guide structure for guiding rope into turns of a helically wound arrangement of the rope upon a generally cylindrical capstan rotating to receive helical turns of the rope thereon, includes a helically ramped guide surface upon which the rope travels in... | 06/13/2000 |
| 5996971 | Well pipe hoist and hoisting method A portable apparatus for pulling well pipe upwardly through a well includes a well pipe hauling head which incorporates two opposed, inwardly tapering discs which are adapted to frictionally engage well pipe therein by only a quarter-turn engagement with ... | 12/07/1999 |
| 5984277 | Method of operating a winch, and associated device The present invention relates to a method of operating a winch, in which a rope which is wound onto a driven reel is supplied to at least one capstan head and wound around said capstan head, with a capstan drive rotating the capstan head and producing a r... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5927690 | Push-pull chain drive door operator system A push-pull chain garage door operator system includes a drive module and an elongated guide rail for a push-pull chain connected to a carriage assembly mounted on the guide rail. The chain is engaged with a sprocket mounted on a generally rectangular pla... | 07/27/1999 |
| 5624207 | Ocean bottom cable handling system and method of using same A marine seismic cable deployment and retrieval system for utilization in conjunction with a marine vessel. The present, searched for invention teaches a large wheel mounted in the front of the vessel for retrieving seismic cable from the water, and a hor... | 04/29/1997 |
| 5484253 | Conformed frame apparatus for handling loads involved in arbor rigging procedures A frame apparatus is constructed to be mounted on and conformed to the trunk of a tree for use by arborists in handling loads involved in an arbor rigging procedure. The frame apparatus engages a curved surface of the trunk of the tree at three triangular... | 01/16/1996 |
| 4958805 | Windlass for offshore structures A windlass for offshore structures comprises power mechanism (18) for rotation of a chain wheel (13) about a horizontal axis (24a) during maneuvering of an anchor chain (14) extending between an anchor and a chain box (15). The chain wheel (13) is rotatab... | 09/25/1990 |
| 4883191 | Releasable chain keeper A keeper is disclosed for releasable attachment to a chain in order to support a gathered length of the chain at a safe, yet accessible overhead location above the ground surface. The keeper includes a tubular body which can be used to accumulate a length... | 11/28/1989 |
| 4858890 | Method and apparatus for lifting objects inside a limited access vessel A hoist and method are provided for lifting objects inside a vessel having a wall defining a port and having a platform on the exterior of the wall. The hoist includes a frame with a support portion extending outwardly from the port adjacent the platform ... | 08/22/1989 |
| 4853500 | Jamfree cable storage Apparatus is provided for retrieving an elongated flexible cable-type member such as a thick electrical cable used at airports to supply power to airliners, which stores the cable in a bin in a manner that avoids repeated twisting of the cable and the con... | 08/01/1989 |
| 4828225 | Power cable retriever An apparatus is provided for use at an airport for drawing in and paying out an electric cable, which reliably grips the cable even when it is covered with a slippery anti-freeze fluid used at airports. The apparatus includes a motor-driven traction wheel... | 05/09/1989 |
| 4692569 | Airline electrical ground cable feed out and retrieval storage apparatus In an aircraft cable feed out and retrieval storage apparatus, a storage compartment communicates with an assembly housing, having an inclined wall connecting between the two, with the assembly housing incorporating a base that mounts a pair of friction w... | 09/08/1987 |
| 4575050 | Mobile cable winch In a portable cable winch the smooth shell of a motor-driven cable drum is provided with at least one conical surface having an angle of inclination corresponding to the angle of friction between the load-bearing cable and the cable drum. A clamping disk ... | 03/11/1986 |
| 4535946 | Fixed position machine for coiling down a cable A fixed position machine for coiling down a cable (8) in successive layers inside a tank (1) comprises a horizontal arm (12) rotatably mounted on a column situated (11) on the axis of the tank. The cable to be coiled down passes under the tank and round a... | 08/20/1985 |
| 4497471 | Assembly on a chain sheave/chain-rope system In a chain sheave/chain-rope system wherein an end of a chain is connected to an end of a rope via a splice member, guide members are provided on the splice member for cooperation with guide members within a hawsehole that precedes the chain sheave. As a ... | 02/05/1985 |
| 4468006 | Continuous winch A continuous cable winch having at least one cable drum arranged within the winch frame, and a cable storage drum located externally of the frame for receiving a non-loaded cable section which is disposed with play in a guide which surrounds the cable and... | 08/28/1984 |
| 4465261 | Apparatus for pulling an electric cable or wire An apparatus for pulling an electric cable or wire between two locations such as along the length of a pipeline is described including an engine mounted in the box of a truck and having a pinch wheel operatively connected thereto. A torque balanced pullin... | 08/14/1984 |
| 4434974 | Pneutmatic hoist brake and control A pneumatic brake assembly for incorporation into chain hoists and the like includes a planar disk slidably secured to the output shaft of a pneutmatic motor by complementary splines. The disk is biased toward a planar surface and when in contact with suc... | 03/06/1984 |
| 4408747 | Device and method for collecting chains or the like A device for collecting chains or the like in a manner suitable for storage and/or transport. A chain guide is adapted to be displaced, while the chain is fed, e.g., from a chain manufacturing plant, over a collection station along a cyclically repeated m... | 10/11/1983 |
| 4354667 | Crab pot line hauler The improved crab pot line hauler's drive motor, sheave and associated line guide means having a common support are mounted as a composite unit on pivotal support bearings that permit the unit to revolve freely about a fixed bearing axis in addressing its... | 10/19/1982 |
| 4245947 | Self-loading car-top carrier A weather-protected, self-loading car-top carrier adapted to transport bulky loads and described in an embodiment suited for the transport of small motorized vehicles such as used by handicapped persons comprises a fixed rail assembly and a weather-protec... | 01/20/1981 |
| 4165830 | Crab pot warp line coiler A crab pot warp line coiler is disclosed utilizing the unique properties of "Crab Lay" type synthetic line. Drawn by the coiler from a pot hauler, the line passes initially around an input guide sheave and thereupon downwardly across a vertical span into ... | 08/28/1979 |
| 4114855 | Collector for hoist chain A differential gear or motor driven shaft carries drive sprockets for a m chain having a load end and a tail end. The shaft also carries a pulley or gear for driving with a belt or chain a corresponding pulley or gear on an intermediate shaft. This inter... | 09/19/1978 |
| 4111398 | Haulage winches There is provided a winch which comprises at least one, preferably twin, haulage drums, at least one haulage wheel for delivering cable to the drum, and drive mechanism for rotating the haulage drum and the haulage wheel. Advantageously, the winch compris... | 09/05/1978 |
| 4043538 | Chain hoist An improved combination; chain hoist; slack chain transport chute; and slack chain receiving carrier depending therefrom. The carrier is of vertically flexible and overall resilient construction, so as to accommodate it to impacts from various sources und... | 08/23/1977 |
| 3990551 | Cable gathering device A closed compartment for storing multi-conductor electric cable on an electrically powered mobile mining machine is secured to and extends laterally from a sidewall of the vehicle. The storage compartment has a slotted opening in the front portion thereof... | 11/09/1976 |
| 3977037 | Vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner of a baseboard type which is concealed in a handsome article of furniture so that the vacuum cleaner concurrently serves as a piece of furniture. To this end, the vacuum cleaner herein disclosed comprises a housing structure of a substant... | 08/31/1976 |
| 3958297 | Suction cleaner A suction cleaner, wherein the interior of a container thereof is divided into two chambers, namely, the first chamber and the second chamber, by a partition, and the first chamber accommodates a suction fan, a filter member and a dust-receiving box insta... | 05/25/1976 |
