Kwikset Corporation

Fragramatics Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Clinton E Sheppard

Hanna Farag

James Larry Ingram

Mark S Bloom

John Charnley

Yefim Y Fundyler

Tony M Goodwin

A torque augmentor operatively associated with the cylinder assembly and the plug assembly of a pin tumbler lock cylinder increases the threshold torque required to rotate the plug assembly in the cylinder assembly, thereby hampering an attacker's 'feel' for the relationship of the cylinder pins to the shear line, and of the plug assembly to the cylinder. One embodiment of the pick-resistant lock cylinder includes a spring-biased ball normally disposed across the shear line. Another embodiment has a cam normally biased into engagement with a cam follower, the cam being disposed on one of the cylinder assembly and the plug assembly, and the cam follower being disposed on the other. Another embodiment includes an hourglass-shaped false shear line creator operatively associated with the cylinder assembly and plug assembly. The coaction of the torque augmentor and false shear line creator of the lock cylinder of the present invention also hampers an attack by bumping.

Pick-resistant lock cylinder using torque resistance

Coin operated vending machines and vending methods for self service car washes that vend different commodities or services at a united price. The machines vend vacuum at different speeds, and spot remover or fragrance. Each machine has a computer-controlled, multi-segmented bar graph providing an analog indication of the amount of a vend that remains, and a dot matrix system for displaying text messages. The bar graph has multiple adjacent segments each having multiple cells that contain separate LEDS of different colors. The bar graph provides a relative, analog indication of the amount of a particular commodity remaining to be vended. When a vend starts, all of the bar graph segments are illuminated and as vending continues, bar graph segments and individually cells are sequentially decremented. Different products are associated with different colors. The customer may switch selections while a credit balance remains, and bar graph illumination is reset to 100%.

Multiple service vending machine with unitized pricing and proportionalized analog display

Growing community of inventors

Mountain Home, AR, United States of America

Clinton E Sheppard