Recently Issued Patents

10.14.22

Patent Protection & Registration

Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. Utility and plant patents can last up to 20 years, while design patents can last up to 14 years. When a patent expires, the patented material enters the public domain, making it free to use by anyone without a license. U.S. patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

U.S. Patent No. 11,466,493 entitled “Hinge for an Item of Furniture” issued October 11, 2022 to Samet Kalip Ve Maden Esya San. Ve Tic. A.S. to Istanbul, Turkey. Invented by Ertac Capur of Beylikdüzü, Turkey; Ufuk Kiziltan of Esenyurt, Turkey and Himmet Tanriverdi also of Esenyurt, Turkey. The invention relates to a hinge for an item of furniture, comprising a first and a second hinge part (100, 200) that are pivotably interconnected by means of a hinged connection, the second hinge part (200) carrying or comprising a mounting element (300), the mounting element (300) comprising at least one guide assembly comprising at least one guide (405) that extends in the direction of a longitudinal axis (L) of the mounting element (300), the mounting element (300) being connected to a retaining part (400) when in the mounting position, and the guide assembly acting between the mounting element (300) and the retaining part (400), by means of which guide assembly the mounting element (300) can be moved into a mounting position in a manner guided in the guide direction. A significant improvement in the ease of mounting is achieved in a hinge of this kind if the guide assembly comprises a first centering guide (406), by means of which the mounting element (300) is aligned in a first mounting direction when adjusted in the guide direction (L).

U.S. Patent No. 11,469,058 entitled “Sliding Switch Contact Structure” issued October 11, 2022 to Elrad Electronics d.o.o. of Gornja Radgona, Slovenia. Invented by Rudolf Faude of Balingen, Germany. The invention relates to an electrical switch (30) for an electrical appliance (2), in particular for a power tool, which has at least two switching contacts (34, 36), which can be jointly moved between a switched-off position (38), in which the switching contacts (34, 36) have no electrical connection to a counter contact (42) of the switch (30), and a switched-on position (40), in which the switching contacts (34, 36) are electrically connected to the counter contact (42). To maintain a contact resistance of the switch (30) at a largely constant value over the service life, it is proposed to arrange and/or design the switching contacts (34, 36) and/or the counter contact (42) such that, when the switch (30) transitions between the switched-off position (38) and the switched-on position (40), the switching contacts (34, 36) successively enter into electrical contact with the counter contact (42) or successively break the electrical contact.

U.S. Patent No. 11,465,461 entitled “Construction Machine and Method For Controlling a Construction Machine” issued October 11, 2022 to Wirtgen GmbH of Windhagen, Germany. Invented by Frank Burkhard of Vettelschoß, Germany. The invention relates to a construction machine, road milling machine, stabiliser, recycler, surface miner, and a to method for controlling a construction machine. The construction machine has a machine frame 2 supported by a chassis 1 and a plurality of hydraulic systems 15, 16, each of which has at least one hydraulic component 18, 22, at least one hydraulic pump 17, 21 for conveying hydraulic fluid for the at least one hydraulic component and at least one hydraulic line 28, 31 for transporting the hydraulic fluid from the at least one hydraulic pump to the at least one hydraulic component. The drive device of the construction machine comprises at least one internal combustion engine 24. A power transmission device 44 is provided for transmitting at least part of the drive power from the internal combustion engine 24 to the hydraulic pumps 17, 21. The construction machine according to the invention is characterized by a hydraulic control device 26, which is assigned to two hydraulic systems 15, 16 of the plurality of hydraulic systems. The hydraulic control device 16 is designed such that, in a special operating mode, at least part of the hydraulic fluid delivered by the hydraulic pump 17 of the one hydraulic system 15 is supplied to the other hydraulic system 16.

U.S. Patent No. 11,465,158 entitled “Separation of Ferrous Materials” issued October 11, 2022 to MSS, Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee. Invented by Felix A. Hottenstein of Nashville, Tennessee; Arthur G. Doak of Nashville, Tennesse; and Caleb H. Blackwell of Goodlettsville, Tennessee. A sorting apparatus is provided for sorting selected magnetically attractable articles from a stream of articles including non-selected magnetically attractable articles. The apparatus may include a conveyor for conveying the stream of articles. The conveyor may include a conveyor belt formed in an endless loop including a discharge end configured to launch the stream of articles off the conveyor. A conveyor guide may be located inside of the endless loop adjacent the discharge end. The conveyor guide may be configured to support the conveyor belt such that the conveyor belt slides on the conveyor guide along a downwardly curved path. An array of magnets may be arranged inside of the endless loop for interacting with the stream of articles as the stream of articles passes off the discharge end.

U.S. Patent No. 11,466,412 entitled “Self-propelled Milling Machine, as Well as Method for Controlling a Self-propelled Milling Machine” issued October 11, 2022 to Wirtgen GmbH of Windhagen, Germany. Invented by Christian Berning of Zuelpich, Germany; Andreas Vogt of Asbach, Germany; and Cyrus Barimani of Koenigswinter, Germany. In a self-propelled construction machine comprising a machine frame with a longitudinal axis, a controller for the travelling and milling operation, a height-adjustable working drum, and a slewable transport conveyor: that the control system, at least as a function of a virtual trajectory for positioning the transport conveyor which is freely specifiable in a stationary coordinate system that is independent of the position and alignment of the machine frame, controls, by means of open-loop control or closed-loop control, at least the slewing angle of the transport conveyor automatically in such a fashion that a reference point of the transport conveyor always remains on the specified trajectory in the case of a change in position of the machine frame within the coordinate system.