Gmi Holdings, Inc.

Thomas Angelini

William J Rakocy

Terry Lee Crock

Gregory E Williams

Nicholas A Dragomir

Louis G Whitaker

A tip-resistant canister for use in wet/dry vacuums is disclosed. The tip-resistant canister has recessed caster supports and a skirt for resisting tipping. The recessed caster supports lower the center of gravity of the canister thereby making the canister more difficult to tip. The skirt of the canister, on the other hand, strikes the ground whenever the canister does begin to tip thereby preventing the canister from falling completely onto its side. The impact of the canister skirt against the ground also has a tendency to cause the canister to return to an upright position.

Tip resistant canister for upright vaccum cleaners

Canister exterior for a wet/dry vacuum

Tip-resistant canister for upright vacuum cleaners

Power head for a wet/dry vacuum

A door operator for a reversibly operable door includes a frame and a carriage movably mounted on the frame and attached to a door for moving the door between open and closed positions. A drive member, specifically a roller chain, extends along the frame and moves the carriage. A drive train is provided within a housing and is connected for moving the drive member, and a control circuit is provided for controlling the drive train to open and close the door. A pair of limit switches is mounted within the housing and connected to the control circuit for stopping the drive train when the door has reached a completed position. A pair of limit cams are adjustably mounted on a limit wheel within the housing and separate from the carriage for engaging the limit switches. The limit wheel, which is separate from the drive member, is connected to the drive train to rotate when the drive train moves the carriage. The placement of limit switches and associated connecting wiring along the frame in the garage ceiling is eliminated. The limit cams can be easily and automatically positioned on the limit wheel by pushing a single switch without any manual movement of the limit switches or of the movable cams that contact the limit switches.

Limit switch arrangement for garage door operator

A door operator for a reversibly operable door, such as a garage door includes a frame, a motor on the frame, a flexible drive member connected to the motor, and a carriage is mounted for movement along the frame. The carriage moves generally parallel to a portion of the frame and is attached to the door to open and close the door by movement of the carriage along the frame. The carriage can be selectively engaged and disengaged from the flexible drive member using an actuating member extending from the carriage. The carriage and the flexible drive member are engaged and disengaged upon successive motions of the actuating member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the carriage. The same motion of the actuating member is used to both engage and disengage the mechanism, with successive actions performing the engagement and the disengagement, so that it is not necessary for the user to memorize a complicated engagement or disengagement procedure in order to perform the operation. The mechanism may include a lever bar that provides leverage to the engaging and disengaging action, so that the force applied by the user to the vertically extending actuating member is increased to overcome any resistance resulting from the load on the carriage. The carriage may be adapted for use with an enclosed rail or frame extension and may be comprised of multiple parts that may be disassembled, permitting the carriage to be removed from the frame at any location and eliminating the need for removal of the carriage only through the end of the frame.

Drive mechanism engaging means for garage door operator

A door operator for a reversibly operable door, such as a garage door, includes a frame and a carriage movably mounted on the frame and attached to a door for moving the door between open and closed positions. A flexible drive member, such as an endless chain, extends on the frame and is capable of moving the carriage. A drive train is on the frame connected for moving the flexible drive member. A motor housing is mounted on the frame within the motor housing and connected to the drive train. The motor has a shaft extending from the motor housing and engaging the drive train. A bearing assembly that includes metal thrust bearings is on the shaft adjacent to the motor. The metal thrust bearing assembly increases the performance of the electric motor, and thus provides a more powerful motor without changing to a larger motor or otherwise modifying the motor design. The motor is mounted on the frame so as to allow the shaft freely to move axially relative to the motor to permit the shaft to self-align. The rotor thus seeks its position of least resistance and maintains this position without manual adjustment, providing an improvement in motor performance.

Growing community of inventors

Sebring, OH, United States of America

Thomas Angelini