Did You Know...
...that in 1800 ether was first used by partyers as a fun diversion? Sniffing the gas led to hilarious and raucous laughter as people watched each other become more and more intoxicated and silly. Several doctors independently realized the value ether would have to anesthetize surgery patients. Of those who claimed rights to the "discovery," none had a happy ending. One had a seizure and died defending his rights. Another spent his life in an asylum because he had been denied acclaim. A third became addicted to chloroform and, in a New York City jail, he soaked a cloth in the drug, severed an artery and bled to death.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7891265 | Motor assembly with anti-backlash nut and thermal insensitive mechanism A motorized anti-backlash linear actuator comprises a motor; a hollow shaft that is rotated about a central axis by the motor, an anti-backlash nut that is nested at least partially inside the hollow shaft; and an externally threaded rod or lead screw that engages w... | 02/22/2011 |
| 7703347 | Transmission for motorized track system A track system (18) of the type used to adjust the position a supported element such as vehicular seat (12) includes a pair of base rails (20) that slidably interact with a respective pair of driven rails (22). A transverse rail (24 | 04/27/2010 |
| 7338243 | Thread-cutting screw A thread-cutting screw (1) serves for being screwed into the bore-hole wall (1a) of a bore-hole (1b). It comprises a substantially cylindrical core (2) of metal which has a central longitudinal axis (4), a thread (... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7337688 | Two-part, low-backlash spindle nut Apparatus for screw transmission on a spindle comprising a nut having at least a first and second part with internal threads, at least one bore in the first and second parts, and at least one spring located within the at least one bore of the first and second parts ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7321175 | Low cost precision linear actuator and control system Embodiments of the present invention relate to a linear actuator in which the play and backlash in the linear motion of a stepper motor is reduced through the use of a torsion spring coupled to the stepper motor splined shaft. Also, embodiments of the invention incl... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7281604 | Electric power steering apparatus An electric power steering apparatus for converting rotation of a steering assist motor into movement of a steering shaft in the axial direction thereof in accordance with steering operation using a ball screw mechanism wherein a female thread groove formed around a... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7237449 | Drive mechanism and movable table unit provided with the same A drive mechanism is interposed between two members to make the members move relatively with respect to each other. At least one of the two members is guided to move linearly. The drive mechanism comprises: cam followers that are rotatably supported on one of the tw... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7168899 | Apparatus and method for centering a workpiece on a machine tool An apparatus is provided for centering a workpiece on a machine tool that includes first and second guide plates having respective first and second aligned bores therein for supporting a centering pin mounted therein for axial movement between a retracted position a... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7162941 | Universal slicer with positioning plate A universal slicer contains a housing, a rotatably mounted revolving blade, a positioning plate which is provided with a bearing surface for a product that is to be sliced, and a mechanism regulating the width of cut by adjusting the positioning plate in relation to... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7159515 | Device for attaching a roller to an abutment moving essentially at the peripheral speed of the roller by means of a spindle-nut combination A spindle-nut combination for applying a roller to a counterbearing moved essentially at the circumferential speed of the roller. In order to be able to adjust the play of the spindle in a simple manner, an additional nut is associated with, and displaceable against... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7150132 | Continuous hold-down system A hold-down system used to secure a building structure to the foundation, thereby enabling the building to better withstand forces like high winds and earthquakes because these forces may then be distributed to the foundation. The hold-down system is characterized a... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7141897 | Electric actuator expanded with sensor and electronic brake An electric actuator that is capable of driving a motor in a cylindrical structure, such that the electric actuator itself can be expanded. The electric actuator includes: a motor for driving the electric actuator and a screw cylinder for connecting a shaft of the m... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7107805 | Method for the production of a spindle nut of a spherical thread drive mechanism Method for the production of a spindle nut (3) of a spherical thread drive mechanism, whereby the spindle nut (3) has at least one screw-shaped track (4) formed as a single piece on its inner circumference, whose threads (38) are limited ... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7066045 | Assembly comprising a spindle and a moving nut An assembly comprises a spindle and a moving nut disposed on the spindle. The spindle and the moving nut are made of plastics. At least one of the two components spindle and moving nut being resilient such that the moving nut is prevented from getting stuck on the s... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7037060 | Shrinkage compensator for building tiedowns An automatic, self-energized, length extending, take-up unit for general use in wall hold down systems. The take-up unit is generally installed as a separate element, independent of threaded retaining elements of a hold down system. One embodiment includes an intern... | 05/02/2006 |
| 6941817 | Shaft delashing method and assembly with wireless interface A delashing assembly includes a tightening device for tightening a nut in relation to a main shaft supported on bearings and a wireless interface, wherein torque information is received by the tightening device over the wireless interface. A main shaft and main nut ... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6931960 | Leadscrew mechanical drive with differential leadscrew follower structure A leadscrew mechanical drive includes a leadscrew having a leadscrew axis and a leadscrew thread with a nonzero leadscrew thread pitch. A leadscrew follower structure preferably having two leadscrew followers is engaged to the leadscrew. Each leadscrew follower incl... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6930892 | Docking cassette for printed circuit boards A docking apparatus for printed circuit boards including a cassette housing so as to define a housing cavity for containing a printed circuit board (PCB) and a linkage mechanism disposed so as to be associated with the cassette housing. The linkage mechanism include... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6916248 | Flexible coupling Flexible couplings are provided comprising a male member disposed within a female member in a spaced apart configuration, with the space being filled, at least partially, with an elastically deformable material. The male and female members comprise features that pre... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6805025 | Harmonic drive and internal geared wheel for a drive of this type The refinement of such harmonic drives according to German Patent 1 98 33 290 C1=European Patent Application 0 974 773 A concerns damping of the noise generation as a consequence of the revolving displacement of discrete tappets (instead of the rotating deformation ... | 10/19/2004 |
| 6459770 | Backlash-resistant drive assembly for collimator in a CT scanner An assembly including a base and first and second spaced-apart shafts secured to the base and extending generally perpendicular to an elongated aperture of the base. A carrier includes a first support member slidingly receiving the first shaft, a second s... | 10/01/2002 |
| 6415679 | Manual drive for positioning precision instruments A carriage adapted for carrying a laboratory instrument such as a pipette, electrode, or syringe is driven by a drive shaft in the form of a lead screw. The lead screw is selectively driven by a high speed drive wheel or by a low speed drive wheel. The dr... | 07/09/2002 |
| 6349606 | Reduced backlash translating system Apparatus embodying the invention includes first and second motors coupled to a carriage assembly for moving the carriage assembly back and forth between first and second end points. The first motor is for developing a force to drive the carriage in one d... | 02/26/2002 |
| 6321614 | Screw drive with rolling elements, and method of assembly A screw drive (10a) with rolling elements, optionally a ball screw drive, includes a screw spindle with a spindle axis (S) and a double nut (14a) running on the screw spindle, with two separately formed single nuts (16a , 18a) which are substantially rigi... | 11/27/2001 |
| 6318204 | Helical gear Screw mechanism having a spindle (1) which is secured in the axial direction and has a spindle axis (1'), and a spindle nut (5) which is connected to a slide (7) which can be driven and is guided in the axial direction, a joint being provided between the ... | 11/20/2001 |
| 6311576 | Anti-backlash nut for lead screw An anti-backlash nut includes a body having an axially-extending bore and internal threads for engaging a lead screw inserted into the bore. The internal threads are divided circumferentially into three inner segments each movable in a radial direction. T... | 11/06/2001 |
| 6301334 | Backlash-resistant drive assembly for collimator in a CT scanner A drive assembly for a collimator of an X-ray imaging device includes a carrier which is adapted for translation in the z-direction along two parallel shafts. One of the shafts is coupled to a driver, such as a motor, by a backlash-resistant nut assembly.... | 10/09/2001 |
| 6267021 | Anti-backlash device for a motorized optical component positioning stage An anti-backlash device for a positioning stage arranged for the precise movement of components composed of a pair of plates having rail receiving grooves, a pair of rails joining the plates and attached thereto and a work piece mounting table, the anti-b... | 07/31/2001 |
| 6240798 | Reinforced anti-backlash nut with graduated thread depth fingers An anti-backlash nut has flexure members which are continuously biased inwardly against a lead screw by a force-applying sleeve which acts on ramps on the flexure member. The spline means include means on the longitudinal flexure members and the force app... | 06/05/2001 |
| 6237434 | Ball screw and nut assembly with a nut having a preloaded wiper thread and method of its manufacture and operation A ball screw and nut linear actuator has a screw and nut with helical grooves and threads providing a helical raceway between them. The raceway has a ball return portion and provides a track for a train of recirculating load bearing balls. A wiper member ... | 05/29/2001 |
| 6205878 | Ball roller spindle An apparatus for converting a rotational movement into a back and forth movement is described, which has a spindle with an outer surface having at least one guiding groove, a bearing body with a wall section surrounding the surface concentrically and a fo... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6142032 | Adjustable anti-backlash nut assembly An anti-backlash nut assembly for translational movement along the axis of a leadscrew in response to rotational movement of the nut assembly relative to the leadscrew. The nut assembly comprises (i) a primary nut having an internal thread which mates wit... | 11/07/2000 |
| 6131478 | Anti-backlash nut assembly An anti-backlash nut, movable along a rotatable screw. The nut has internal threads complementary to the threads in the screw. The nut has two nut halves movable as a unit and also rotatable relative to each other on the screw, and are connected to the nu... | 10/17/2000 |
| 6119541 | Methods for adjusting a lead screw nut and a nut for adjustably engaging a lead screw An adjustable nut for mounting a movable working assembly to a lead screw having a longitudinal axis and a thread, and methods for adjusting lead screw nuts. In one embodiment, the adjustable nut has a first member, a second member and an adjustment assem... | 09/19/2000 |
| 6116107 | Lead screw piezo nut positioning device and piezo nut positioner assembly thereof A lead screw piezo nut positioning device includes coupling and driven members and a piezo nut positioner assembly. The coupling member is secured to an external machine part and received about a lead screw such that the lead screw does not directly drivi... | 09/12/2000 |
| 6082209 | Ball screw A ball screw includes a screw shaft 2 having an external ball-screw thread 2a, at least one ball nut 3 having an internal ball-screw thread which is opposite to the external ball-screw thread 2a of the screw shaft 2, a spiral raceway formed by combination... | 07/04/2000 |
| 6053065 | Spindle drive A spindle drive with a spindle and a spindle nut which moves on the spindle and is used for high precision drive of a linearly movable device is provided. The spindle nut comprises a base block connected to the movable device and having a bore extending a... | 04/25/2000 |
| 6053062 | Linear motion apparatus A linear motion apparatus comprises a linear track rail having a roller running groove; a feeding threaded shaft rotatably arranged in parallel with the track rail; and a movable block arranged on the track rail through rollers, and provided with a nut po... | 04/25/2000 |
| 6041671 | Miniature anti-backlash nut assembly An anti-backlash mechanism is described in the form of a pair of nuts or nut halves with internal threads complementary to the threads on a lead screw. The mechanism is traslated by rotation of the screw. One of the nuts has an outer cantilevered wall wit... | 03/28/2000 |
| 5971675 | Boring device A boring device for finishing high precision bores including a cylindrical body and a tool supporting member movable in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical body and adapted to retain a boring tool or implement. Movement o... | 10/26/1999 |
