Lansing-related Patent Parade

[moldyoldy]

Ever wondered about the evolution of magnet structures for loudspeakers? How about diaphragm production techniques?

Got an original idea you'd like to retire on and want to ensure no one has beat you to it?

Wanna step into a time machine of technology?

Been posting too much nonsense, and need something different to do?

If you answered Yes to any of that rot, you may qualify as a patent surfer.

Some of you have been doing this for some time. You can share your favorite "finds" here.

For newbs, I've collected some info here to help you get started. Other tips and hints are welcomed. I've not yet ventured into International waters, so what I'm posting (may be) limited to US patents.

Just about when you think you've had a wazoo-full of "prior art" and never-ending drawing descriptions, you'll come across something so hilariously ridiculous you'll just have to look at more.

Let's try to stay on Lansing-related products, unless the dialog warrants something else appropriate. I'll start with a list of Altec patents I've found so far. Should be pretty easy to assemble a complete listing of Lansing Heritage product patents in a short time.

I hope this thread becomes something of merit and useful to those interested in such things. If that should be the case, I reserve the right (and accept the responsibility) for creating an organized, condensed version for the Lansing Heritage record. (if desired)

Keep it between the ditches!

[moldyoldy]

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Straight from the horses mouth. Also the hard way to do it. Searching patents here requires dedication. Read for reference, but skip down to "Google" for daily use.

It's all here. 1976 to current patents are text-searchable. Drawings and text on drawing pages are saved as images.

For pre-1976 patents, scanned originals are stored entirely as images, thus searching is limited to info in the filename, namely, the patent number, the patent date, or the "Current US Classification".

90% of the stuff in which we're interested, is in "Current US Classification" 181/xxx, (Acoustics), with the x's representing one of the many subclasses (or a wildcard). To be thorough, pull up everything in the subclass of interest, and weed 'em out. Surprisingly, some subclasses have only a few entries.

" USPTO's full-page images, nearly four terabytes overall, are stored and delivered at full 300 dots per inch (d.p.i.) resolution in an image file format called "TIFF," using CCITT Group 4 compression. This is the format which is required by the international standards to which all patent offices must conform. TIFF is also the most used lossless image format in the world.

"Unfortunately, due to the volume of the image data, available funding, and other technical considerations, PTO cannot convert these images to a format more popular on the Web either permanently or by converting on-the-fly as they are delivered."

"As a result, you must install and use a browser plug-in -- similar to those required to access Adobe® PDF files, RealPlayer®, or Macromedia Flash® files -- on your workstation in order to view these files directly. An alternative method is to use third-party software or services to view these images either directly or after conversion to another format, such as Adobe® PDF. "

"The plug-in you use cannot be just any TIFF image plug-in. It must be able to specifically display TIFF files using ITU T.6 or CCITT Group 4 (G4) compression."

"The only free, unlimited time TIFF plug-ins offering full-size, unimpeded patent viewing and printing unimpeded by any advertising on Windows® x86 PCs of which we are aware are:

1. • AlternaTIFF: http://www.alternatiff.com/ (tested: IE, Netscape, Opera)
2. • interneTIFF: http://www.internetiff.com/ (tested: IE, Netscape)

For the Apple Macintosh®, Apple's freely distributed QuickTime version 4.1 or later works with our images for pre-Safari Macintosh, but does not provide direct printing capability. Please visit http://www.apple.com/software/ and type "patent" to locate plug-ins for recent versions of Macintosh browsers "

"For Linux®, a plug-in called "Plugger" works nicely with Netscape Communicator®. It is available at http://fredrik.hubbe.net/plugger.html""

On my PC, AlternaTiff blows QuickTime away. YMMV.

[moldyoldy]

Googling patents.

.

Surfing as it should be!

"Google Patent Search covers the entire collection of patents made available by the USPTO—from patents issued in the 1790s through those issued in the middle of 2006. We don’t currently include patent applications, international patents, or U.S. patents issued over the last few months, but we look forward to expanding our coverage in the future."

." Using the same technology that powers Google Book Search, Google has converted the entire image database of U.S. patents into a format that’s easy to search. You can search the full text of U.S. patents from the Google Patent Search homepage , or visit the Advanced Patent Search page to search by criteria like patent number, inventor, and filing date".

Things get fun here. Search by inventor, assignee, keywords, whatever. Google's OCR engine is awesome, but sometimes fumbles, like on "Loudspeaker with Expanding Hoen" Altec's '51 Duplex patent. Still pretty darn good considering some of the paper documents were 200+ years old when they were scanned!

TIPS

Lots of new leads appear in the "References cited". Also the reason for occasional multiple hits, which can become an indicator on its' own, as commonly-cited patents become so for a reason.

Patents beginning with "D" are design patents, drawings or images of specific ornamental appearance.

Narrow your search by a date range, either by filed date, or by issue date (often 2-4 years apart). I consider the filing date of more significance for obvious reasons.

After reading a few, you'll get a feel for the lingo which will aid in searching. For instance, "acoustical transformer" may get more hits from the old days than "phase plug", which is a more modern term. Trade names (i.e. Duplex or VOTT) seldom appear in patent text unless specically named as an integral part of the patent.

[moldyoldy]

Following is a list of Altec Lansing patents (not including Altec Lansing Technologies or University Sound). I believe it to be complete, but please add any more you find.


LOUD-SPEAKER WITH EXPANDING HORN
Patent number: 2568883 Filed: Mar 24, 1947

COMBINED MICROPHONE AND STAND UNIT
Patent number: D157724 Filed: Apr 25, 1949

SHIELDED CONDENSER MICROPHONE
Patent number: 2579162 Filed: Feb 24, 1950

SHIELDED CABLE SYSTEM FOR MICROPHONES AND THE LIKE
Patent number: 2716187 Filed: Feb 24, 1950

COMBINED MICROPHONE AND SUPPORT UNIT
Patent number: D161891 Filed: Jun 19, 1950

CONTROL SYSTEM
Patent number: 2802116 Filed: Sep 13, 1954

REMOTE SOUND SYSTEM MONITOR CIRCUIT
Patent number: 3161731 Filed: Oct 16, 1962

HORN-LOADED LOUDSPEAKER
Patent number: 3432002 Filed: May 1, 1967

VOLTAGE-HOLDING CIRCUIT AND METHOD
Patent number: 3579129 Filed: Apr 25, 1969

SPEAKER DEVICE FOR SOUND REPRODUCTION IN LIQUID MEDIUM
Patent number: 3670299 Filed: Mar 25, 1970

PROTECTED POWER SUPPLY
Patent number: 3670232 Filed: Nov 9, 1970

ELECTRICAL ADJUSTMENT OF TIME- CONSTANT APPARATUS
Patent number: 3660690 Filed: Nov 9, 1970

DIRECTIONAL LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM
Patent number: 3722616 Filed: Dec 14, 1970

HERMETIC TRANSFORMER
Patent number: 3670276 Filed: Feb 11, 1971

METHOD OF SOUND TRANSDUCER CONSTRUCTION
Patent number: 3792526 Filed: Apr 21, 1971

CONDENSER MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIER
Patent number: 3913024 Filed: Aug 14, 1974

Heat dissipating device for loudspeaker voice coil
Patent number: 3991286 Filed Jun 2, 1975

Method for aligning loudspeaker diaphragm and voice coil assembly
Patent number: 3967367 Filed: Oct 14, 1975

Protective circuit utilizing multilevel power supply output
Patent number: 3987342 Filed: Nov 24, 1975

Continued

[moldyoldy]

Loudspeaker
Patent number: D248647 Filed: Apr 14, 1976

Loudspeaker
Patent number: D250586 Filed: Apr 15, 1976

Acoustical transformer for horn-type loudspeaker
Patent number: 4050541 Filed: Apr 21, 1976

Loudspeaker
Patent number: D249941 Filed: Sep 17, 1976

Acoustical transformer for coupling sound waves from the diaphragm to the throat of a horn
Patent number: D249509 Filed: Sep 23, 1976

Parallel power amplifier circuits
Patent number: 4081757 Filed: Nov 19, 1976

Electronic filter circuit
Patent number: 4078215 Filed: Nov 26, 1976

Modular printed circuit board assembly having cooling means incorporated therein
Patent number: 4122508 Filed: Sep 6, 1977

Two-section exponential acoustical horn
Patent number: 4176731 Filed: Nov 21, 1977

Method and apparatus for testing and evaluating loudspeaker performance
Patent number: 4130023 Filed: Dec 27, 1977

Adjustably positioned phasing plug
Patent number: 4180710 Filed: Aug 24, 1978

Input decoupling circuit for transistor differential amplifier
Patent number: 4180780 Filed: Oct 2, 1978

Loudspeaker horn
Patent number: 4187926 Filed: Dec 8, 1978

Loudspeaker overload protection circuit
Patent number: 4296278 Filed: Jan 5, 1979

Acoustical transformer for compression-type loudspeaker with an annular diaphragm
Patent number: 4325456 Filed: Oct 10, 1980

Network for use with piezoceramic transducer
Patent number: 4481663 Filed: May 16, 1983

Power amplifier with current limiting means
Patent number: 5029299 Filed: May 9, 1990

[moldyoldy]

Here’s a list of LMCo / JBL / Lansing Sound product patents (doesn’t include Harman International). The first 2 are somewhat problematic, as they are issued to the inventors, and not assigned to JBL. The first is Blackburn’s radial phase plug, and the second is Richard Ranger’s Paragon. Nevertheless, they were Lansing products, so I included them. There may be others like this, I saw another Ranger patent for a theater system, but passed it by, not knowing.

If you have an item with a patent label, please add those numbers too, if they aren’t yet listed.

LOUDSPEAKER
Patent number: 2183528
Filing date: Aug 14, 1937

STEREOPHONIC SOUND DISTRIBUTOR
Patent number: 3065816
Filing date: Mar 10, 1958

Loudspeaker assembly
Patent number: D247490
Filing date: Dec 15, 1975

Electrical connector
Patent number: 4039243
Filing date: Sep 7, 1976

Diaphragm suspension construction
Patent number: 4324312
Filing date: Oct 1, 1979

Loudspeaker magnet housing
Patent number: D266420
Filing date: Oct 9, 1979

Loudspeaker horn
Patent number: 4308932
Filing date: May 6, 1980

Loudspeaker magnet housing
Patent number: D267644
Filing date: Aug 3, 1981

Defined coverage loudspeaker horn
Patent number: 4580655
Filing date: Oct 5, 1983

Acoustic diaphragm
Patent number: 4655316
Filing date: Mar 13, 1985

Speaker mounting assembly
Patent number: 5143339
Filing date: Mar 1, 1991

Phasing plug for compression driver
Patent number: 5117462
Filing date: Mar 20, 1991

Arrangement to correct the linear and nonlinear transfer behavior or electro-acoustical transducers
Patent number: 5438625
Filing date: Apr 9, 1992

Temperature/environment-resistant transducer suspension
Patent number: 5455396
Filing date: Oct 21, 1994

Low TCR wire in high power audio coils
Patent number: 5664023
Filing date: Nov 14, 1994

Loudspeaker thermal management structure
Patent number: 5533132
Filing date: Jan 23, 1995

Front-locking swivel ball loudspeaker mount
Patent number: 5704578
Filing date: Nov 3, 1995

Loudspeaker enclosure
Patent number: D394263
Filing date: Mar 14, 1997

Inductive braking in a dual coil speaker driver unit
Patent number: 5828767
Filing date: Sep 22, 1997

Vehicle sound system
Patent number: 6990208
Filing date: Mar 8, 2000