Automated leveling apparatus
Contents
1.2. determining sensing does not imply that mathematical processing must be performed and does not imply that numerical methods must be used and does not imply that an algorithm or process is used d The terms determine sense determining or sensing does not imply that any particular device must be used For example a computer need not necessarily perform the determining or sensing Forms of Sentences a Where a limitation of a first claim would cover one of a feature as well as more than one of a feature e g a limitation such as at least one widget covers one widget as well as more than one widget and where in a second claim that depends on the first claim the second claim uses a definite article the to refer to the limitation e g the widget this does not imply that the first claim covers only one of the feature and this does not imply that the second claim covers only one of the feature e g the widget can cover both one widget and more than one widget Each claim in a set of claims has a different scope Therefore for example where a limitation is explicitly recited in a dependent claim but not explicitly recited in any claim from which the dependent claim depends directly or indirectly that limitation is not to be read into any claim from which the dependent claim depends When an ordinal number such as first second
3. AE EE eereererereereeeetereereregeerecgerecredteeececeereereredt WS 3 geterteeevtteevteeeterettereereteerervertteteereceerecerre ERENS RA RE RR ORR Se SCH EE H View Peranect tile Whee e lt j Angin a EE US 7 350 304 B2 1 AUTOMATED LEVELING APPARATUS BACKGROUND When hanging items on a wall or other surface it is well known that such items can become undesirably misaligned Such misalignment can detract from the pleasure of viewing the item Currently a viewer is required to move the misaligned item manually Without the use a level a viewer may have to approach the item realign it and then move a distance away from the item to determine whether the item has been moved back to the desired orientation The viewer may have to repeat this process numerous times in order to accurately move the item to the desired orientation More over such manual alignment can often spark controversy or disagreement between multiple viewers over whether the item has in fact been returned to proper alignment Improved methods for aligning items hung on a wall or surface are therefore desirable BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1A is a backside perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention FIG 1B is a side perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG 1A FIG 1C is a backside perspective view of a Frame with a Leveling A
4. Each of the devices may themselves comprise computers or other computing devices such as those based on the Intel Pentium or Centrino processor that are adapted to communicate with the computer Any number and type of devices may be in communication with the computer In an embodiment a server computer or centralized authority may not be necessary or desirable For example the present invention may in an embodiment be practiced on one or more devices without a central authority In such an embodiment any functions described herein as performed by the server computer or data described as stored on the server computer may instead be performed by or stored on one or more such devices Continuing Applications a The present disclosure provides to one of ordinary skill in the art an enabling description of several embodi ments and or inventions Some of these embodiments and or inventions may not be claimed in this patent application but may nevertheless be claimed in one or more continuing applications that claim the benefit of priority of this patent application Applicants intend to file additional applications to pursue patents for subject matter that has been disclosed and enabled but not claimed in this patent application 35 U S C 112 paragraph 6 US 7 350 304 B2 11 a In acclaim a limitation of the claim which includes the phrase means for or the phrase step for means that 35 U S C 112
5. paragraph 6 applies to that limitation b In a claim a limitation of the claim which does not include the phrase means for or the phrase step for means that 35 U S C 112 paragraph 6 does not apply to that limitation regardless of whether that limitation recites a function without recitation of structure mate rial or acts for performing that function For example in a claim the mere use of the phrase step of or the phrase steps of in referring to one or more steps of the claim or of another claim does not mean that 35 U S C 112 paragraph 6 applies to that step s c With respect to a means or a step for performing a specified function in accordance with 35 U S C 112 paragraph 6 the corresponding structure material or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof may perform additional functions as well as the specified function d Computers processors computing devices and like products are structures that can perform a wide variety of functions Such products can be operable to perform a specified function by executing one or more pro grams such as a program stored in a memory device of that product or in memory device which that product accesses Unless expressly specified otherwise such a program need not be based on any particular algorithm such as any particular algorithm that might be disclosed in this patent application It is well known to one of ordinary skill
6. third and so on is used as an adjective before a term that ordinal number is used unless expressly specified otherwise merely to indicate a particular feature such as to distinguish that particular feature from another feature that is described by the same term or by a similar term For example a first widget may be so named merely to distinguish it from e g a second widget Thus the mere usage of the ordinal numbers first and second before the term widget does not indicate any other relationship between the two wid gets and likewise does not indicate any other charac teristics of either or both widgets For example the mere usage of the ordinal numbers first and second before the term widget 1 does not indicate that either widget comes before or after any other in order or location 2 does not indicate that either widget occurs or acts before or after any other in time and 3 does not indicate that either widget ranks above or below any other as in importance or quality In addi tion the mere usage of ordinal numbers does not define a numerical limit to the features identified with the ordinal numbers For example the mere usage of the ordinal numbers first and second before the term widget does not indicate that there must be no more than two widgets d When a single device or article is described herein more than one device article whether or not
7. 5 Apr 1 2008 U S Patent 4 4 amp H EC Hoon ee rei ne ny d 3 x ec 2 A ks Genren iby 1 A A A 2 i N EG SESSE ESE EE GROS ER ERGE EE RR RR SS ER RR EE RE ER SR GR EST EERS RS EER EE sone AAA AAA ARE Na SESSE KEES SESSE INS H ED EG EE EE Ee EE H EEN E ue KARRE EES ERGER ERROR EER H KE Aone EE EE EE OE EE EE EE GEE EE See ee EE EE ee ee y U S Patent Apr 1 2008 Sheet 4 of 5 US 7 350 304 B2 EE EE EE EA EE EE EE EE EE EE EE gt 7 H 3 v i F EE ANNE CEET Zoff een N E R 3 Za ent NEN ye N 2 a A ae Brae nnn F Es wS SH EE ON H EO AA Se oe SS AMAA 8 E am SR sen 42 gt US 7 350 304 B2 Sheet 5 of 5 Apr 1 2008 U S Patent eebe ME EE terete i i f
8. contrary the inven tion is to cover all modifications alternative constructions substituted materials devices or electrical components wir ing and the like including any and all equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the claims Referring concurrently to FIGS 1 and 3 of the drawings details are provided for an apparatus which as designed is responsive to changes in angle of the Frame 17 so as to an 5 20 40 45 55 12 prevent the Frame 17 from remaining in a misaligned state Tilt Switches 2 also known as inclinometers are well known and widely used and are appropriate for use in various embodiments of the present invention and are com mercially available in a variety of styles and types with and without the use of mercury other liquid electrolyte or other conductors Therefore only a brief description of generic tilt switches will be provided below By way of example one suitable tilt switch to be used herein is a mercury tilt switch that is manufactured by RXR Electronics of Avenel N J as Part No 1700TLMC Another alternative would be use of a single or dual tilt sensors manufactured by Signal Quest of Lebanon NH as Part No SQ SEN 001P 001PS Various alternative part selections and implementations are readily apparent to anyone skilled in the art However a new Dual Pole Double Throw DPDT Tilt Switch is disclosed herein and is ideally suited for use with various embodi ments Altern
9. for stored repre sentations of information Any number of other arrangements may be employed besides those sug gested by e g tables illustrated in drawings or else where Similarly any illustrated entries of the databases represent exemplary information only one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the number and content of the entries can be different from those described herein Further despite any depiction of the databases as tables other formats including relational databases object based models and or distributed data bases are well known and could be used to store and manipulate the data types described herein Likewise object methods or behaviors of a database can be used to implement various processes such as the described herein In addition the databases may in a known manner be stored locally or remotely from any device s which access data in the database Various embodiments can be configured to work in a network environment including a computer that is in communication e g via a communications network with one or more devices The computer may commu nicate with the devices directly or indirectly via any wired or wireless medium e g the Internet LAN WAN or Ethernet Token Ring a telephone line a cable line a radio channel an optical communications line commercial on line service providers bulletin board systems a satellite communications link a combina tion of any of the above
10. other square rectangle or other shaped objects 1 e Frames or Works and methods for their use Various embodiments of the present invention provide an inexpensive and easy to use apparatus and method that permits a User to attach an apparatus to existing Frames with various advantages Such embodiments will keep a picture or other object or Frame in a substantially continuously level 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 position or otherwise Aligned position Thus a User ensure that any Frame or other hanging and relatively flat object will generally remain in a pleasantly horizontal or other desired aspect without need for ongoing User inspec tion or manual adjustment In some circumstances various embodiments of the present invention may be adapted for use in conjunction with many known devices and therefore is an improvement upon several of the previously known inventions Various embodiments of the present invention address the need to provide a leveling device for existing or traditional Frames or other objects and the need to provide for any ongoing automatic adjustments Various embodiments of the present invention address the problem of a picture hung out of level and corrects such pictures if there is user error upon initial installation or subsequent manual adjustment of the device s or frames Various embodiments of the present invention may be readily employed with the mil
11. previously mentioned the Leveling Apparatus width may be countered with the attachment of a slide or Glide Button 16 or alternatively as seen in FIG 5A and 5B a Glide Wheel 23 Affixing either device to the Frame 17 in the bottom backside corner opposite the Leveling Apparatus e g as depicted in FIG 5C the Frame 17 will remain equidistant from the wall at US 7 350 304 B2 17 both corners of Frame 17 in an esthetically pleasing position An additional benefit of this arrangement is that the Frame 17 may be more equally distant from the wall at all four corners Finally adding a Glide Button s and or Glide Wheel s may reduce friction between the wall and the corner of the Frame 17 opposite the Leveling Apparatus which in turn will reduce power requirements consump tion and wear and tear on the Motor 3 The Glide Button 16 may be affixed to the Frame 17 using adhesive double sided tape 26 as shown in FIGS 5C and 5D or a Glide Pin or nail or tack may be used not shown or absent double sided tape or a pin it may be affixed using commercially available temporary or permanent adhesives Glide Button 16 may be made of a plastic resin nylon or other semi pliable or ridged material commonly used with so called chair glides such as the chair glides manufactured by International Equipment Components of Signal Hill Calif e g their Light Duty Nylon Base round tubing with nail i e pin chair glide as their Part No IL
12. the steps be performed in that order On the contrary the steps of processes described herein may be performed in any order practical Further some steps may be performed simultaneously despite being described or implied as occurring non simultaneously e g because one step is described after the other step Moreover the illustration of a process by its depiction in a drawing does not imply that the illustrated process is exclusive of other variations and modifications thereto does not imply that the illustrated process or any of its steps are necessary to the invention and does not imply that the illustrated process is preferred h Although a process may be described as including a plurality of steps that does not imply that all or any of the steps are essential or required Various other embodiments within the scope of the described inven tion s include other processes that omit some or all of the described steps Unless otherwise specified explic itly no step is essential or required i Although a product may be described as including a plurality of components aspects qualities character istics and or features that does not indicate that all of the plurality are essential or required Various other embodiments within the scope of the described inven tion s include other products that omit some or all of the described plurality j Unless expressly specified otherwise an enumerated list of items which may or may not be
13. 22 R1 The Glide Wheel 23 may be constructed similarly to the pressure Wheel 5 and may be of the same or smaller size than Wheel 5 however it should be constructed in combi nation with the Glide Wheel Bracket 24 and Glide Wheel Adhesive Tape 25 such that in combination the entire assembly maintains the Frame 17 at a distance generally equal to the overall width of the Leveling Apparatus Glide Wheel 23 may be affixed to Frame 17 using Glide Wheel Adhesive 25 which may be double sided adhesive tape or absent Glide Wheel Adhesive via a bracket mounting holes and screws or nails using any commercially available wood screw or other screw or nail of an approximate length which is less than or substantially less than the depth of the Frame 17 but still of an appropriate length to ensure that the Glide Wheel 23 remains firmly affixed to Glide Wheel 23 and Frame 17 Instead of a DC Motor various other means for rotating a wheel gear or other components may be substituted for the DC motor For example an AC Motor may be directly attached to a turning wheel with power supplied via a common household electrical plug and power converter or transformer Also instead of a Wheel 5 other components may be employed to selectively move a portion of an object e g a corner of a frame in a manner that aligns the object e g moves the corner up or down For example a ball of an appropriate diameter or a cylinder of an appropriate diam eter and l
14. DMA CDMA and 3G and or iv encrypted to ensure privacy or prevent fraud in any of a variety of ways well known in the art g Thus a description of a process is likewise a description of a computer readable medium storing a program for performing the process The computer readable medium can store in any appropriate format those program elements which are appropriate to perform the method h Just as the description of various steps in a process does not indicate that all the described steps are required embodiments of an apparatus include a computer computing device operable to perform some but not necessarily all of the described process i Likewise just as the description of various steps in a process does not indicate that all the described steps are 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 required embodiments of a computer readable medium storing a program or data structure include a computer readable medium storing a program that when executed can cause a processor to perform some but not necessarily all of the described process j Where databases are described it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that 1 alternative database structures to those described may be readily employed and ii other memory structures besides databases may be readily employed Any illustrations or descriptions of any sample databases presented herein are illustrative arrangements
15. United States Patent US007350304B2 12 10 Patent No US 7 350 304 B2 Van Luchene 45 Date of Patent Apr 1 2008 54 AUTOMATED LEVELING APPARATUS 6 987 460 B2 1 2006 Tews etal 340 689 75 Inventor Andrew Stephen Van Luchene Santa Fe NM US cited by examiner 73 Assignee Leviathan Entertainment Primary Examiner Yaritza Guadalupe McCall Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Gonzales Patent Services patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Ellen Gonzales U S C 154 b by 127 days 57 ABSTRACT 21 Appl No 11 384 650 22 Filed Mar 20 2006 ap File Various embodiments of the present invention provide 65 Prior Publication Data inexpensive and easy to use apparatus and method that permits a user to attach an apparatus to existing picture 15 200 0214668 1 20 2007 frames or other objects with various advantages Such 51 Int Cl embodiments will keep a picture object or frame in a GOIC 9 06 2006 01 substantially continuously level position or otherwise 52 US 33 366 11 aligned position Thus using the disclosed apparatus a user 58 Field of Classification Search 33 366 11 ensure that any picture frame or other hanging and 33 366 19 366 25 relatively flat object will generally remain in a pleasantly See application file for complete search history horizontal or other desired aspect without nee
16. atively single or dual solid state single or dual axis inclinometers could be used such as those manufactured by Spectron of Hauppauge N Y as Part No TAD II This option provides for a threshold which may be adjusted by the user and this threshold may determine the target angle which is deemed the horizontal or other desired angle of alignment Other types of inclinometers and other devices which determine an inclination with respect to the horizontal i e the plane that is normal to the axis defined by the direction of gravity or other angle of desired alignment exist and are well known to those skilled in the art In an embodiment a dual throw dual pole switch such as that described above and further defined below and in Diagram 4 6 would be employed as a component of the disclosed apparatus The Motor 3 and Tilt switch 2 shown in FIGS 1 1 is enclosed by an outer protective casing 19 A mounting bracket with screw holes 27 is affixed to the casing 19 to enable the Leveling Apparatus to be attached to the rear of the picture Frame 17 or other object to be aligned In another embodiment Casing 19 may include dual sided adhesive tape 25 FIG 1B instead of a mounting bracket and screw holes 27 which may be used to secure the apparatus to the Frame 17 without penetrating the Frame 17 or permanently or otherwise marring and or damaging the Frame 17 As shown in the embodiment depicted in FIG 4B the control Tilt Switch inc
17. cessors one or more microcontrollers one or more digital signal processors will receive instructions e g from a memory or like device and execute those instruc tions thereby performing one or more processes defined by those instructions US 7 350 304 B2 9 b A processor means one or more microprocessors central processing units CPUs computing devices microcontrollers digital signal processors or like devices or any combination thereof c Thus a description of a process is likewise a description of an apparatus for performing the process The appa ratus can include e g a processor and those input devices and output devices that are appropriate to perform the method d Further programs that implement such methods as well as other types of data may be stored and trans mitted using a variety of media e g computer read able media in a number of manners In some embodi ments hard wired circuitry or custom hardware may be used in place of or in combination with some or all of the software instructions that can implement the pro cesses of various embodiments Thus various combi nations of hardware and software may be used instead of software or hardware only The term computer readable medium refers to any medium that participates in providing data e g instructions data structures which may be read by a computer a processor or a like device Such a medium may take many forms inc
18. d for ongoing 56 References Cited user inspection or manual adjustment U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 800 841 1 10 2004 Chou 7 RH r a N N N 2 H D d N ES eeng Y NaS 3 N SAAMI ASE R EK Ge fa N Q QS E e N N BE NG 3 si ja a Za o we 3 ow Se H ES wit KZ 3 Claims 5 Drawing Sheets 4 US 7 350 304 B2 Sheet 1 of 5 Apr 1 2008 U S Patent 2 ths EIEN en OT bs Ka 2 Eri i H 3 KE 54 Liz i OON IAEN A EE Ser RER 3 er H N N m 2 sy CS 4 ds 4 88 AN d Soeke OER eebe stenge a RS X ad sean EE Ee EE EE EE 5 veer 20 bard on ER US 7 350 304 B2 Sheet 2 of 5 Apr 1 2008 U S Patent ten boeneerorerrreererresrerrrih areas 8 7 Kg are Sen ten MEE Hs aie nena Se SRSA EE et 070 j S Bim GT uer 2 thes US 7 350 304 B2 Sheet 3 of
19. disclosure in any way Devices that are described as in communication or otherwise connected with each other need not be in continuous communication or connection with each other unless expressly specified otherwise On the contrary such devices need only transmit or be other wise connected to each other as necessary or desirable and may actually refrain from exchanging data or electrical current most of the time For example a machine in communication with another machine via the Internet may not transmit data to the other machine for a prolonged period e g weeks at a time In addition devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries f A description of an embodiment with several compo nents or features does not imply that all or even any of such components features are required On the con trary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the present invention s Unless otherwise specified explicitly component feature is essential required 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 g Although process steps algorithms or the like may be described in a sequential order such processes may be configured to work in different orders In other words any sequence or order of steps that may be explicitly described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that
20. e area such as raised nubs or rings as depicted in FIGS 2C and 2D respectively 3 this alternative position or orientation of Wheel 5 effectively reduces the overall width of the appa ratus and therefore the distance that the Frame 17 is pushed away from the wall or other mounting surface and 4 this reduction in width also effectively changes the relative size of the optional Glide Button s and or Glide Wheel s if used Referring to FIG 4A an optional enhancement to the apparatus may be the inclusion of a Solar Charger which includes a Photovoltaic Cell 7 that may be positioned and affixed to the top edge of the apparatus or the top edge of the Frame 17 or anywhere ambient or other light may fall The Photovoltaic Cell 7 may provide ample power to operate the device without the use of a Battery 4 and or to serve as an aid to help extend the useful life of a battery Moreover a Charging Regulator 8 may be included in the Solar Charger to both regulate the charging rate provided by the Photo voltaic Cell 7 and to guard against overcharging the Battery 4 Simply increasing the length of the wires attached between the Photovoltaic Cell 7 and the apparatus enclo sure 19 FIG 1 a may accomplish remote placement of the Photovoltaic Cell 7 In this case additional adhesive tape mounting brackets or other hardware e g a separate enclo sure may be optionally added to the Solar Charger Referring to FIGS 5C and 5D as
21. ength could replace the Wheel 5 The principles and apparatus described herein may be readily employed to maintain an object s alignment with other planes besides the horizontal plane For example embodiments of the invention can be readily employed to achieve alignment with any arbitrary angle e g a plane that forms an angle of five degrees or 90 degrees with the horizontal plane It would be readily apparent to anyone with ordinary skill in the art that the tilt switch may be manually aligned or in some cases electronically or pro grammatically adjusted or aligned in any desirable orien tation or axis including multiple orientations or axes Con sequently the apparatus may be designed or used to maintain any desirable alignment as compared with any fixed point in space It will be readily apparent to anyone with ordinary skill in the art as to the electrical components wiring and other modifications necessary to add an audible notification device such as a beeper or buzzer and or a visual notification such as a steady or flashing light to the apparatus The addition of a buzzer beeper or other audible and or visual notification 5 35 40 45 50 55 18 device s may add a pleasing effect to the overall operation of the apparatus such that the User may be made aware of the apparatus operation and may observe or point out to other bystanders the apparatus as it automatically aligns the object or frame S
22. ents Additional non limiting embodiments are provided in the following enumerated paragraphs 1 A Leveling Apparatus comprising a An Enclosure b A Tilt Switch operably connected to the enclosure c A Battery in electrical communication with the tilt switch d A Direct Current DC Motor in electrical commu nication with the battery and e A Wheel attached to the Motor via a Gear 2 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 capable of automatically adjusting a Frame through the use of a pressure wheel placed vertically or horizontally against any fixed object and controlled thereby 3 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 further comprising a Glide Button that maintains a Frame equidistant from a wall or other mounting sur face 4 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 further comprising and includes a Glide Wheel Mount ing Bracket 5 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 3 further comprising a Glide Pin 6 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 further comprised of a Photovoltaic Cell or Array attached to the Leveling Apparatus enclosure 7 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 further comprised of a Photovoltaic Cell or Array providing sufficient excess wiring to aflix the Photo voltaic Cell or Array to a point distant from the Lev eling Apparatus enclosure including the top or side of a Frame or to an adjacent wall or other fixture or object 8 A Le
23. f the Battery 16 Awiring method as defined in Embodiment 13 further comprised of a Resistor that regulates the speed of the Motor jak 5 20 20 It will of course be understood that the foregoing description is of exemplary embodiments of the invention and that the invention is not limited to the specific embodi ments shown Various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art and all such variations and modifications are intended to come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims What is claimed is 1 An apparatus comprising a component for attaching to an object a tilt switch that is operable to determine if an axis of the object is misaligned with a desired axis a second device that orients the object based on the determining of the tilt switch and a power source in electrical communication with the tilt switch wherein the second device comprises a wheel that is in electrical communication with the power source 2 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tilt switch comprises a housing with a cylindrical cavity containing a mobile electrically conductive material 3 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein when the tilt switch determines that an axis of the object is misaligned with the axis of gravity a circuit is completed between the tilt switch the power source and the wheel such that the wheel is rotated so as to return the object to proper alignment
24. he edge opposite the apparatus on the Frame 17 A Guide Wheel 23 would roll freely e g up or down in converse reaction to the movement of the opposite edge of the Frame 17 In the event other orientations 1 other than on a vertical plane are desired the Glide Wheel 23 would be installed in an orientation substantially similar to that of the affixed apparatus Referring to FIGS 2A and 2B an alternative to the Wheel 5 s orientation is disclosed The apparatus depicted in FIGS 2A and 2B works in nearly an identical fashion as that of the embodiment depicted in FIGS 1A 1D with one major modification i e to the orientation of the so called pres sure Wheel 5 Instead of being mounted such that the narrow portion of Wheel 5 faces and rests against or touches the wall as in the previously described embodi ment the flat or wide portion of the Wheel 5 faces and comes into contact with the wall as seen in FIG 2B using wheels oriented in a flat position relative to the wall or other mounting surface as seen in FIGS 2C and 2D using Wheel 5 There are at least four advantages to this orientation of the Wheel 5 1 By positioning the Wheel 5 so that a larger surface area of the Wheel 5 is in contact with the wall greater friction may be generated thereby transferring more of the Motor s 3 energy into vertical or other desired directional movement 2 the Wheel 5 may have additional abrasive elements added to its larger surfac
25. iment the portion of the object e g the bottom edge would be substantially perpendicular to the axis defined by the direction of gravity and where the portion defines an axis such an axis lies substantially in the horizontal plane but may form a small angle with respect to the horizontal plane Thus aligned can mean aligned within a threshold number of degrees e g within 5 degrees of a plane e g the horizontal plane In other embodiments an object or portion of the object is aligned with respect to a plane that is not coincident with the horizontal plane For example it may be desirable to align an object or portion of an object b User shall mean any person including a person mak ing use or practicing the various disclosed embodi ments of the invention c Frame shall mean a structure or framework support ing or containing something or in which a picture is mounted or any other fixtures such as a mirror com mercial signage or other similar objects that may be hung e g on a wall or other base d Work shall mean an object including but not limited to a picture painting mirror or poster that is contained within a Frame or other border materials e Tilt Switch shall mean a device whether or not commercially available or custom manufactured that is capable of detecting a change in orientation on a single axis or on multiple axes A Tilt Switch may include but is not limited to any one or more a
26. imiting in any sense The presently disclosed invention s are widely applicable to numer ous embodiments as is readily apparent from the disclosure One of ordinary skill in the art will recog nize that the disclosed invention s may be practiced with various modifications and alterations such as structural logical software and electrical or electro mechanical modifications Although particular features of the disclosed invention s may be described with reference to one or more particular embodiments and or drawings it should be understood that such features are not limited to usage in the one or more particular embodiments or drawings with reference to which they are described unless expressly specified otherwise The present disclosure is neither a literal description of all embodiments of the invention nor a listing of features of the invention which must be present in all embodiments Neither the Title set forth at the beginning of the first page of this patent application nor the Abstract set forth at the end of this patent application is to be taken as limiting in any way as the scope of the disclosed invention s An Abstract has been included in this application merely because an Abstract of not more than 150 words is required under 37 C F R 1 72 b The title of this patent application and headings of sections provided in this patent application are for convenience only and are not to be taken as limiting the
27. in means in this patent application including anything which may be incorporated by reference unless expressly specified otherwise The phrase at least one of when such phrase modifies a plurality of things such as an enumerated list of things means any combination of one or more of those things unless expressly specified otherwise For example the phrase at least one of a widget a car and a wheel means either i a widget ii a car iii a wheel iv a widget and a car v a widget and a wheel vi a car and a wheel or vii a widget a car and a wheel US 7 350 304 B2 5 Numerical terms such as one two etc when used as cardinal numbers to indicate quantity of something e g one widget two widgets mean the quantity indicated by that numerical term but do not mean at least the quantity indicated by that numerical term For example the phrase one widget does not mean at least one widget and therefore the phrase one wid get does not cover e g two widgets The phrase based on does not mean based only on unless expressly specified otherwise In other words the phrase based on describes both based only on and based at least on The term represent and like terms are not exclusive unless expressly specified otherwise For example the term represents does not mean represents only unless expressl
28. in the art that a specified function may be implemented via different algorithms and any of a number of different algorithms would be a mere design choice for carrying out the specified function e Therefore with respect to a means or a step for performing a specified function in accordance with 35 U S C 112 paragraph 6 structure corresponding to a specified function includes any product programmed to perform the specified function Such structure includes programmed products which perform the function regardless of whether such product is programmed with i a disclosed algorithm for performing the function 11 an algorithm that is similar to a disclosed algorithm or iii a different algorithm for performing the func tion Disclaimer a Numerous references to a particular embodiment does not indicate a disclaimer or disavowal of additional different embodiments and similarly references to the description of embodiments which all include a par ticular feature does not indicate a disclaimer or dis avowal of embodiments which do not include that particular feature Description of Various Embodiments While the invention is susceptible to various modifica tions and alternative constructions certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail It should be understood however that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed but on the
29. irection when viewing the device from the right side of the frame which causes the right corner to move lower in relation to the wall In either case as the Fame or object or Work returns to proper alignment e g level with the floor or Earth the Tilt Switch is returned to the null position which opens the previously established circuit Without power the motor ceases to turn causing the wheel to stop In this fashion the Frame remains in a consistently Aligned position Further more battery or other electrical power is conserved as such power is generally consumed when the Frame is misaligned An embodiment of the present invention includes a buzzer or other device capable of generating a sound which may alert the User that the apparatus is functioning An embodiment of the present invention includes a Light Emitting Diode LED or other device capable of generating visible light which may alert the User that the apparatus is functioning Various other embodiments are described Definitions Terms a Aligned shall mean aligned in a desired manner such as substantially level with the earth In an embodiment aligned means that a portion of the object that is desired to be aligned e g a portion such as a bottom horizon tal edge lies substantially in the plane that is normal perpendicular to the axis defined by the direction of gravity This plane is referred to as the horizontal plane In such an embod
30. le Pole Double Throw SPDT Tilt Switches as seen in FIG 3B In either depicted case the depicted wiring ensures that only one circuit with a given polarity is closed at any given time thus protecting the Motor 3 from any electromechanical failure and only delivering the desired movement of the Frame 17 In an embodiment the apparatus derives its power from a single Battery 4 As an example the Battery 4 could be a single AA battery such as one manufactured by Energizer of St Louis Mo as Part No Energizer Max E91 AA Alkaline Battery or any other commercially available battery or batteries as required or desirable in light of criteria such as the specifically selected motor type employed including the motor s amperage and the voltage requirements A 0 7 Watt or alternative voltage DC motor could be used such as one manufactured by Danaher Motion of Wood Dale as Part No 08G An alternative motor might be one such as a 1 5 3V DC Metal Gear Motor as manufactured by Radio Shack of Forth Worth Tex as their Model 273 258 Catalog 273 258 It would be apparent to anyone skilled in the art to construct the disclosed apparatus using a variety of generally available DC or other motors tilt switches batteries or AC power supplies gears wheels wiring meth ods wires and other electrical and or mechanical compo nents adapting the enclosure motor size horse power bat tery voltage amperage or other power supply and other com
31. lions of existing popular and widely used picture frames and other Frames that are hung using the well known and widely adopted hook and wire hardware as depicted in FIG 1C showing a Hook 15 and wire 14 Various embodiments of the present invention work effec tively with existing picture frames and other hanging objects without the need for major modifications to the frames or objects nor changes to widely accepted practices nor any particular skills or craftsmanship by the User Various embodiments of the present invention permit a Frame that is nudged or that is otherwise not properly Aligned to be automatically returned to its Aligned position An embodiment of the present invention includes an apparatus for automatically adjusting and leveling hanging pictures or other Frames or objects and methods for use of such an apparatus In an embodiment the device comprises seven main components including a an 1 Enclosure 2 Dual Throw Dual Pole Tilt Switch or other device s for determining misalignment 3 Direct Current DC Motor or other power source or motor type 4 Battery or other power source 5 A Wheel attached to the Motor via a Gear 6 Wiring connecting the Tilt Switch Battery Motor and if included Solar Charger 7 Solar Charger or other means for recharging a battery or other power source It is readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various substitutions may be made to the s
32. ludes a hollow glass vial 10 that is suspended at the interior of the outer casing 20 The vial is shown having left and right chambers 21 and 22 that are angled slightly upward relative to the center section of the vial A supply of mercury 9 or any other suitable electrically conductive liquid or other conductor such as e g a elec trically conductive metal ball is carried within the hollow vial 10 First ends of a dual pair of electrical switch contacts 11 and 12 are separated from one another at the interior of the vial 10 at either end 21 and 22 of the chamber 20 thereof The opposite ends of switch contacts 11 and 12 are con nected to respective electrical wires as more fully described in FIGS 3A and 3B The electrical wires 11 and 12 complete the aforementioned control circuit so that the Tilt Switch 2 and the Motor 3 may be connected in an electrical series with one another to control the operation of the Motor 3 in a manner that will be disclosed further below and as depicted in the wiring diagrams in FIGS 3A and 3B By connecting a Tilt Switch es 2 Motor 3 Battery 4 Pressure Wheel 5 Gear 6 with wiring according to FIG or FIG 3B as appropriate or with other wiring assemblies US 7 350 304 B2 13 that would be readily apparent to anyone skilled in the art the resulting apparatus can be attached to e g the bottom right edge of any picture Frame Work or object Once in place with a charged battery or other po
33. luding but not limited to non volatile media volatile media and transmission media Non volatile media include for example opti cal or magnetic disks and other persistent memory Volatile media include dynamic random access memory DRAM which typically constitutes the main memory Transmission media include coaxial cables copper wire and fiber optics including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled to the processor Trans mission media may include or convey acoustic waves light waves and electromagnetic emissions such as those generated during radio frequency RF and infra red IR data communications Common forms of com puter readable media include for example a floppy disk a flexible disk hard disk magnetic tape any other magnetic medium a CD ROM DVD any other optical medium punch cards paper tape any other physical medium with patterns of holes a RAM a PROM an EPROM a FLASH EEPROM any other memory chip or cartridge a carrier wave as described hereinafter or any other medium from which a computer can read Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying data e g sequences of instruc tions to a processor For example data may be i delivered from RAM to a processor i1 carried over a wireless transmission medium iii formatted and or transmitted according to numerous formats standards or protocols such as Ethernet or IEEE 802 3 SAP ATP Bluetooth and TCP IP T
34. numbered does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclu sive Therefore it is possible but not necessarily true that something can be considered to be or fit the definition of two or more of the items in an enumerated list Also an item in the enumerated list can be a subset a specific type of of another item in the enumerated list For example the enumerated list a computer a laptop a PDA does not imply that any or all of the three items of that list are mutually exclusive e g an item can be both a laptop and a computer and a laptop can be a subset of a specific type of a computer k Likewise unless expressly specified otherwise an enumerated list of items which may or may not be numbered does not imply that any or all of the items are collectively exhaustive or otherwise comprehensive of any category For example the enumerated list a computer a laptop a PDA does not imply that any or all of the three items of that list are comprehensive of any category 1 Further an enumerated listing of items does not imply that the items are ordered in any manner according to the order in which they are enumerated Computing a It will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various processes described herein may be implemented by e g appropriately programmed gen eral purpose computers and computing devices Typi cally a processor e g one or more micropro
35. pecific compo nents listed immediately above When mounted to the lower right corner or e g the lower left corner with minor and apparent modifications of a Frame or other object the apparatus is activated whenever the Frame or object becomes misaligned When either corner is lowered the integral Tilt Switch senses this misalign ment and an electrical circuit is created or closed This electrical circuit in turn supplies power in the form of an electrical current to a DC motor which causes the DC motor to turn which then turns a Gear that is further attached to a Wheel This Wheel is positioned in the apparatus such that when attached to the Frame the Wheel will come in direct contact with the adjacent wall or other stationary mounting object When the Wheel turns the Frame is moved e g up or down at the corner where the device is attached thereby realigning the Frame or object For example in the event that the lower right corner of the Frame or object is too low a Motor turns a Wheel in a US 7 350 304 B2 3 clockwise direction when viewing the device from the right side of the Frame which pushes the lower right corner of the Frame or object up the wall or along whatever the Frame or object may be attached In the event that the lower right corner of the Frame is too high the Tilt Switch is engaged such that the polarity of the current is reversed causing the motor to turn in a counter clockwise d
36. ple speed of Motor 3 rotation may be controlled through the use of a resistor or a variable resistor Depending upon the apparatus width e g given the small medium or large version s and or the type e g Wheel or Surface Pressure Wheel models an optional supporting device or Glide Button 16 as depicted in FIGS 5C and 5D of generally the same width as the apparatus may be affixed e g on the lower left edge of the Frame 17 that is opposite the apparatus e g left so as to prevent the Frame Work or other object from tilting inward on the edge opposite the apparatus or to be otherwise unstable against the wall The support device or Glide Button or other number of Glide Buttons 16 may be made of any suitable material that will balance the Frame properly i e substantially equally offsetting the width of the installed apparatus The material ma 0 an 5 20 25 35 40 45 50 55 65 16 may be such that it doesn t or minimally marks or otherwise mars the wall or other surfaces for example Nylon or Plastic Glides such as those used on chairs may be employed or a custom Glide Button 16 may be appropriate Alternatively instead of a Glide Button 16 a second or other number of non powered Glide Wheels 23 as depicted in FIGS 5A and 5B may be constructed of similar materials to that of Wheel 5 and could be attached e g to the lower left backside of the Frame 17 to provide smooth movement of t
37. ponents to satisfy the apparatus intended use so that the apparatus provides the required response to a given weight and size requirement of various available Frames By way of example but in no way limiting the general spirit and scope of the potential of the various embodiments it is anticipated that in an embodiment commercial imple mentations of an apparatus can be made available in a predetermined number of sizes e g three sizes small medium and large With different sizes it may be desirable to adjust the components and power of each apparatus accordingly so as to keep the device s cost and size to a _ 0 35 40 45 14 minimum while providing ample power to perform accept ably within the target environment In an embodiment use of the apparatus by a User can be accomplished via the following method or steps A Frame 17 such as that depicted in FIG 1C is first modified by attaching the Leveling Apparatus to the lower portion of the backside i e the side facing to the wall or adjacent mount ing surface or structure when the picture is hung right edge of the Frame 17 This may be accomplished using double sided adhesive tape 25 as seen in FIG 1B other forms of adhesive either permanent or temporary or with small wood screws via mounting bracket frame holes 27 as seen in FIGS 1A and 1D or with any other method of affixing adhering connecting or attaching the apparatus to the Fame 17 Many othe
38. pparatus and Glide Button attached FIG 1D is an enlarged and close up view of the lower right hand corner of FIG 1C FIG 2A is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention FIG 2B is a side perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention FIG 2C is a front perspective view of a pressure wheel that may be used with the alternative embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS 2A and 2B FIG 2D is a front perspective view of a pressure wheel that may be used with the alternative embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS 2A and 2B FIG 3A is a wiring diagram of an embodiment of the present invention using a single dual pole dual throw tilt switch DPDT FIG 3B is a wiring diagram of an alternative embodiment using two single pole dual throw tilt switches SPDT FIG 4A is a wiring diagram for an optional Solar Charger with a regulation device FIG 4B is a diagram of a dual pole dual throw DPDT mercury switch FIG 5A is a side view perspective of a Glide Wheel FIG 5B is a frontal view perspective of a Glide Wheel FIG 5C is an angled view perspective of a Glide Button and a Leveling Apparatus attached to a Frame FIG 5D is an angled perspective view of a Glide Button DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various embodiments of the invention relate to an appa ratus that may be attached to and which automatically adjusts and levels hanging pictures
39. pplied to the Motor 3 This in turn causes the Gear 6 to turn the Wheel 5 to turn clockwise when facing from the right edge of the frame which in turn causes the Frame 17 to rise on the right edge and thus the left side to fall i e lower The movement of the Frame 17 is caused by the combination of the Wheel 5 turning and friction generated when the Wheel 5 is resting against a generally solid and generally unmovable object such as a wall Friction between the Wheel 5 and a wall for example causes the Frame 17 to move inversely to the direction of the Wheel 5 To improve friction a Wheel 5 may be designed to enhance the friction Such enhancement may be accomplished in numerous ways including designing the Wheel 5 similarly to those depicted in FIGS 2C or 2D which includes raised portions on the Wheel s surface Moreover the Wheel 5 may be made of a soft rubber or other pliable or semi adhesive compound to ensure adequate friction while also ensuring that the move ment of the Wheel 5 does not mar or otherwise damage the mounting surface such as a wall Once the Frame is returned to the level state or other desired orientation i e is realigned the Mercury 9 in the Tilt Switch 2 or e g metal ball or other conductor returns to its neutral i e null or centered position which causes the circuit to open this then causes the Motor 3 Gear 6 and Wheel 5 to stop turning while simultaneously conserving Batte
40. r methods of affixing a device either tempo rarily or permanently are well known within the prior art In an embodiment when an appropriate Battery 4 is included and or along with an optional power switch or other mechanism that controls power not shown that is turned to the on position or otherwise activated the appa ratus is enabled to operate automatically When the Frame 17 becomes misaligned the Tilt Switch 2 is caused to be in an out of level or misaligned condition as well which in turn causes e g the Mercury 9 to come into contact with the Electrical Leads e g 11 or 12 and a circuit is formed or closed The mercury could be replaced with an electrically conducting metal ball or sphere which would make the Tilt Switch shown in FIG 4B more environmentally friendly without degrading performance Many other mechanisms may be used for causing an electrical connection to be formed when the tilt switch or other sensor is in a misaligned condition or state all of which are well known within the prior art If the apparatus is installed on the lower right edge of the object as described herein and the Frame 17 is tilted down on that right side i e the right side of the Frame 17 is lower than that of the left side then the Tilt Switch 2 likewise is tilted down on that same right side and a circuit is closed within the right side of the Tilt Switch 2 which in turn causes electrical power from the Battery 4 to be su
41. r phrase it explains For example in the sentence the computer sends data i e instructions over the Internet the term i e explains that instruc tions are the data that the computer sends over the Internet Determining Sensing a The terms determine sense determining or sensing and grammatical variants thereof e g to determine a price determining a value sensing an angle determine an object which meets a certain cri terion is used in an extremely broad sense The terms determine sense determining or sensing encompasses a wide variety of actions and therefore can include calculating computing processing exam ining deriving investigating looking up e g looking up in a table a database or another data structure ascertaining and the like Also determine sense determining or sensing can include receiving e g receiving information accessing e g accessing data in a memory the closing an electrical circuit and the like and can also include resolving selecting choosing establishing and the like The terms determine sense determining or sensing does not imply certainty or absolute preci sion and therefore can include estimating predicting guessing and the like 10 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 The terms determine sense
42. ry 4 power for future usage US 7 350 304 B2 15 In the case that the right edge of the Frame 17 is too high in a similar fashion the opposite circuit of the Tilt Switch 2 is closed thus providing Battery 4 power to the Motor 3 but with reverse polarity i e opposite the polarity used in the previous example which in turn causes the Motor 3 Gear 6 and Wheel 5 to spin in the opposite De counter clockwise direction which in turn causes the right edge of the Frame 17 to fall or lower As before as the Frame 17 returns to its original alignment e g a level condition the circuit is once again opened and the Motor 3 stops causing the Frame 17 to stop moving as well The Motor 3 is coupled with an appropriate Battery 4 and Gear 6 so that the Leveling Apparatus is designed to operate and adjust the Frame 17 slowly such that the Frame does not rise and fall Oe move up or down on any given edge too quickly and or endlessly i e swing back and forth but instead comes to rest as the Frame 17 reaches an Aligned state In this fashion the Frame 17 is always held in a constantly Aligned position without any user observation or intervention One advantage of various embodiments is that there are no closed circuits when the Frame 17 is level or otherwise Aligned in a desired position thereby generally reducing power consumption and potentially extending Battery 4 life Another advantage of various embodiments is
43. s necessary or desired of the following devices a Single Pole Double Throw SPDT mercury tilt 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 k The terms an embodiment 4 switch pendulum inclinator or tilt switch ball in tube tilt switch or any solid state liquid filled electrolytic inclinometer tilt sensor or any other suitable tilt sens ing device Motor shall mean a commercially available or cus tom manufactured Direct Current DC Motor or any other suitable device s that convert electrical current into mechanical or physical motion Solar Charger shall mean a device whether such device is commercially available or custom manufac tured that is capable of converting sunlight ambient light or other light whether or not considered visible light or other electromagnetic radiation into an elec trical current using one or more transducers e g photovoltaic cells and may include a regulation device to prevent overcharging The term product means any machine manufacture and or composition of matter unless expressly speci fied otherwise The term process means any process algorithm method or the like unless expressly specified other wise Each process whether called a method algorithm or otherwise inherently includes one or more steps and therefore all references to a step or steps of a process have an inherent anteceden
44. t basis in the mere recitation of the term process or a like term Accord ingly any reference in a claim to a step or steps of a process has sufficient antecedent basis embodiment embodi the embodiments one certain lt lt ments the embodiment or more embodiments some embodiments embodiments one embodiment another embodi ment and the like mean one or more but not all embodiments of the disclosed invention s unless expressly specified otherwise The term variation of an invention means an embodi ment of the invention unless expressly specified oth erwise m A reference to another embodiment in describing an N embodiment does not imply that the referenced embodiment is mutually exclusive with another embodiment e g an embodiment described before the referenced embodiment unless expressly specified otherwise The terms including comprising and variations thereof mean including but not limited to unless expressly specified otherwise The term consisting of and variations thereof mean including and limited to unless expressly specified otherwise The terms and the mean one or more unless expressly specified otherwise The term plurality means two or more unless expressly specified otherwise The term here
45. the ability to operate the apparatus without any further User observation or intervention Alternative designs to the present invention would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art including designs that maintain a constant supply of current and controlling the Motor 3 or Wheel 5 via integrated circuits or other computer or electromechanical control One advantage of this design would be to provide the User with more control of the apparatus activation thresholds and or sensitivity e g the angle at which the device is activated or deactivated and or to permit User selection and final placement of the device without mechanical modification e g placing the device in the lower left backside edge instead of the lower right backside edge As mentioned in an embodiment the apparatus is placed on the lower right backside edge of the Frame 17 however anyone skilled in the art would find it readily apparent that the device could be easily used with minimal or no revi sions to operate while positioned at any of the comers or even anywhere that is slightly off center of the Frame 17 It is generally easier for the apparatus to function due to increased leverage the farther the apparatus is located away from the center of gravity of the object Additional embodi ments may permit the User to change the Leveling Appa ratus orientation and or speed of operation and or Tilt Sensor activation point and or sensitivity For exam
46. they cooperate may alternatively be used in place of the single device article that is described Accordingly the functionality that is described as being possessed by a device may alternatively be possessed by more than one device article whether or not they cooperate Similarly where more than one device or article is described herein whether or not they cooperate a single device article may alternatively be used in place of the more than one device or article that is described For example a plurality of computer based devices may be substituted with a single computer based US 7 350 304 B2 7 device Accordingly the various functionality that is described as being possessed by more than one device or article may alternatively be possessed by a single device article f The functionality and or the features of a single device that is described may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are described but are not explicitly described as having such functionality fea tures Thus other embodiments need not include the described device itself but rather can include the one or more other devices which would in those other embodiments have such functionality features Disclosed Examples and Terminology Are Not Limiting a Numerous embodiments are described in this patent application and are presented for illustrative purposes only The described embodiments are not and are not intended to be l
47. uch optional notification device s would typically not be an ongoing nuisance as the apparatus would generally be in a stable or aligned position therefore the notification device s would generally only be activated when the apparatus is in actual operation Additional benefits of notification device s are 1 in the event a person or other outside force such as the wind moves or otherwise disturbs the alignment of a Frame or other object a sound and or light will be generated which might prove useful in a personal residence or in an art gallery or museum 2 such notification device s may serve as a warning or alarm to deter unauthorized persons from disturbing valuable items and 3 should one or more com ponents in the apparatus fail which causes the device to swing or otherwise fail to achieve the desired alignment the notification device may alert the User to such a failure of the apparatus A buzzer could be used such as one manufactured by Radio Shack of Fort Worth Tex as their Model 273 054 Catalog 273 054 A light could be used such as a Light Emitting Diode such as one manufactured by Radio Shack of Fort Worth Tex as their Catalog 276 350 It will thus be apparent that there has been provided in accordance with the present invention a Leveling Apparatus with an integrated Tilt Switch and ideally a Dual Throw Dual Pole Tilt Switch which achieves the aims and advan tages specified herein Additional Embodim
48. veling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 further comprised of a Photovoltaic Cell or Array and a Charging Regulator which extends the useful life of US 7 350 304 B2 19 the battery in the Leveling Apparatus and furthermore prevents overcharging the battery 9 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 further comprised of a buzzer or beeper to alert the User that the Leveling Apparatus is in operation 10 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 with an integral tilt switch capable of user manual adjustable threshold and sensitivity settings 11 A Leveling Apparatus as defined in Embodiment 1 with an integral tilt switch capable of user software adjustable threshold and sensitivity settings 12 A tilt switch capable of controlling two or more circuits given one angle of declination comprised of two or more sets of electrical leads 13 A wiring method connected to a Battery Tilt Switch and Motor such that the Motor may only receive electrical power with a given specific polarity as con trolled by a Tilt Switch capable of controlling the state of an electrical circuit according to the angle of incli nation of the switch 14 Awiring method as defined in Embodiment 13 further comprised of Photovoltaic Cell or Array to provide additional charging power when exposed to ambient light 15 A wiring method as defined in Embodiment 13 further comprised of a Charging Regulator that prevents over charging o
49. wer source installed or attached the apparatus will automatically adjust a Frame 17 e g up or down until the Frame is realigned as desired Note that Wheel 5 may or may not include materials to aid in generating traction or friction For example Wheel 5 may be constructed of semi pliable or hard plastic or rubber or it may have a rubber coating or layer or groves or treads to aid in generating friction Other coatings on the Wheel may be employed to generate appropriate amounts of friction with the applicable surfaces and or the Wheel 5 may be com posed of other materials to generate appropriate amounts of friction with the applicable surfaces Upon closer inspection of FIGS 3A and 3B anyone skilled in the art will notice that both Motor 3 electrical contacts are connected to both positive and negative wiring posts which is ultimately attached to Battery 4 With proper installation of the Tilt Switch es 2 it will be readily apparent that only a single circuit can be engaged or closed at any given moment depending upon the angle of inclina tion of the Tilt Switch es This novel arrangement provides a reversal of polarity which permits the apparatus to deliver selective motion or movement e g to deliver up or down movement of the Frame 17 in a manner which achieves alignment FIG 3A assumes the use of a novel Dual Pole Dual Throw Tilt Switch as further disclosed herein however an alternative method is disclosed using two Sing
50. y specified otherwise In other words the phrase the data represents a credit card number describes both the data represents only a credit card number and data represents a credit card number and the data also represents something else w The term whereby is used herein only to precede a clause or other set of words that express only the intended result objective or consequence of something that is previously and explicitly recited Thus when the term whereby is used in a claim the clause or other words that the term whereby modifies do not estab lish specific further limitations of the claim or other wise restricts the meaning or scope of the claim x The term e g and like terms means for example and thus does not limit the term or phrase it explains For example in the sentence the computer sends data e g instructions a data structure over the Internet the term e g explains that instructions are an example of data that the computer may send over the Internet and also explains that a data structure is an example of data that the computer may send over the Internet However both instructions and a data structure are merely examples of data and other things besides instructions and a data structure can be data The term i e and like terms means that is and thus limits the term o
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