The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 29, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 05, 1996
Glenn H Mackal, St. Petersburg, FL (US);
Other;
Abstract
A CO.sub.2 cartridge is permanently attached to a cartridge status indicator so that a user need not perform a detailed inspection to determine if the cartridge has been used or not. If the cartridge has been used, the status indicator will so indicate upon casual visual inspection, and if the cartridge has not been used, the causal inspection will also reveal that fact. The gas is released by two different methods. The first requires only that the user pull a cord. Pulling the cord shifts a support member laterally within the inflator, and previously misaligned legs and bores enter into alignment with one another. When aligned, the legs enter into the bores under the influence of a spring positioned in the inflator and the support member is driven into puncturing relation to a membrane. If moisture is encountered, the cord need not be pulled because the moisture collapses a dissolvable element, and the pierce pin is driven into puncturing relation with the membrane under the force of the spring.