Did You Know...
...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7281401 | Protective sleeve for latch mechanism for lock A protective sleeve for a lock includes a circumferential wall delimiting a longitudinal through-hole. The circumferential wall includes at least one longitudinal slot, forming at least one shielding skirt for shielding a housing of a latch mechanism of a lock that ... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7178842 | Push button lock mechanism for a handle set A handle set includes a handle assembly having an operator, a rose insert, and a shank having a bore. The rose insert has a central opening and a post. The shank is affixed to the operator and rotatably received in the central opening. A rotational stop is coupled t... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7082794 | Mortise lock A mortise lock includes a chassis mounted in a mounting hole of a door and an outside handle assembly mounted to a side of the chassis. The outside handle assembly includes an outside spindle having a first end partially received in the chassis and operably connecte... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7063363 | Apparatus for retaining a retractor mechanism in a lock assembly A retainer apparatus including a retainer clip having a back component, a pair of side plate components, and a pair of front plate components that hold a retractor mechanism for extending and retracting a latch of a lock assembly. The retainer apparatus allows the r... | 06/20/2006 |
| 6929290 | Adjustable button mechanism for a lock An adjustable button mechanism for a lock includes: a driving tube of a hollow tubular shape, having a first end and a second end, the first end connecting to a driving mechanism of the lock, the second end forming a positioning slot; a connecting member having a fi... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6860529 | Push button with latch kick-off A tubular lockset includes a push button locking actuator with an automatic kick-off feature. A spindle assembly extends between an interior knob or lever and an exterior knob or lever. A latch assembly includes a bolt and a locking member that is movable between a ... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6802546 | Convertible door lock latch mechanism A convertible door latch assembly convertible between a non-locking configuration and a locking configuration. The convertible door latch assembly including a bolt housing, a bolt slidably engaging the bolt housing and having a first slot and a second slot, a drawba... | 10/12/2004 |
| 6709034 | Sliding door handle having an integral push button locking mechanism There is provided an improved sliding door handle assembly having a spring operated integral push button locking mechanism. Specifically, the improved sliding door handle assembly is comprised of a handle assembly including an upper handle section and a lower handle... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6536248 | Door lock-and-handle assembly A door lock-and-handle assembly includes a housing receiving a latch bolt therein, a spindle for driving the latch bolt between extended and retracted positions, a handle coupled to the spindle, a sliding member connected to the latch bolt, a driving memb... | 03/25/2003 |
| 6364382 | Drawing plate structure of a latch of an auxiliary lock A drawing plate structure of a latch of an auxiliary lock includes a drawing plate having a top portion extended toward one side, thereby forming a top flat portion. A lock tongue is provided with a slot, and the top flat portion of the drawing plate is i... | 04/02/2002 |
| 5653134 | Magnetic card key-operated locking device A magnetic card key-operated locking device is disclosed. The locking and opening motion of the locking device is performed by a magnetic interaction between the card key and a plurality of magnetized pins. The pins are movably placed in a plurality of ho... | 08/05/1997 |
| 5577780 | Push/pull latch assembly A latch assembly is operated by either pushing or pulling against the end of, displacing a given amount of longitudinal travel, a spindle which has a helically formed portion of a given length engaged by congruently formed cam aperture surfaces. The cam i... | 11/26/1996 |
| 5284372 | Locking mechanism of a latch bolt A latch bolt includes an outer knob and an inner knob, a tube rotatably engaged in the inner knob, a button having one end engaged in the tube and having the other end extendible outward of the inner knob, and a barrel rotatably received in the tube. The ... | 02/08/1994 |
| 5259652 | Door latch assembly A latch assembly comprising a housing; a latch element retractably mounted in said housing; a spindle extending transversely through the housing and rotatably mounted therein; an operative connection between the spindle and the latch element whereby the l... | 11/09/1993 |
| 5004278 | Door lock having security device An improvement of the door lock which is extensively used in all kinds of doors is disclosed which is characterized in that a security device is added to the existing door lock without modifying the constitution and the operating principle of the existing... | 04/02/1991 |
| 4629228 | Push-pull door latch A push-pull door latch having a pivotally secured handle and handle support perative for rotating a cam member via a pinion member in response to pivotal motion of an elongated leg on the handle support and the engagement of a driver tab on the elongated l... | 12/16/1986 |
| 4470278 | Lockset A lockset for a door has a strike on the door frame and a latch bolt on the door panel. The latch bolt is reciprocable and is projected by a spring and preferably has a deadlatch operation. The latch bolt is retractable by rotation of an inner knob or of ... | 09/11/1984 |
| 4296956 | Cam operated lock, particularly for doors Cam operated lock comprises a latch mobile against a spring along a tubular guide. The latch is operated by way of a cam which can be rotated against a spring by a manually operating member, preferably a handle. The handle needs to be turned through only ... | 10/27/1981 |
| 4295349 | Door lock A door lock comprises a latch and a mechanism for locking the latch which includes a pivotal element having at least one arm engageable with the latch to withdraw it to the open position a locking bolt depressable to move into a blocking position to preve... | 10/20/1981 |
| 4294089 | Latchbolt rim lock A latchbolt rim lock of simple sturdy construction with smooth effective operation and long life. A die cast case forms guides for a bolt having a head and draw plate, and has U-shaped ribs on its rear wall to define seats for springs biasing the bolt for... | 10/13/1981 |
| 4223929 | Door latch assembly A door latch assembly is disclosed adapted for use with a courtesy lock mechanism which can be released in case of emergency by pushing a release stem. The latch assembly has a splined rollback operating shaft which is hollow to receive the release stem t... | 09/23/1980 |
| 4143529 | Tamperproof security door lock A mechanism which may be added to existing conventional type cylindrical door locks at the time of manufacture thereof or to such locks already in the field with just a slight modification of the existing lock. The structure of the added security mechanis... | 03/13/1979 |
| 4033157 | Locking mechanisms The invention provides a locking mechanism to control the latch on a cabinet drawer or the like having a bolt which operates to engage or release the latch, the bolt in turn being controlled by a locking pin activated by a key operated cylinder lock. Addi... | 07/05/1977 |
| 4012064 | Door lock A door lock wherein a generally U-shaped body straddles a door edge, the U-shaped body carrying a retractable bolt, actuating knobs or the like, interconnecting means between the bolt and actuating means, and suitable locking and releasing means.... | 03/15/1977 |
| 3944040 | Apparatus for facilitating pick up of dry cleaning Apparatus used to facilitate pick up of dry cleaning which uses a multi-drawered cabinet with each drawer having a separate access door. The door is unlocked when a coin is deposited therein and thereafter when closed is locked. A key operated device enab... | 03/16/1976 |
