Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Hand bars and hand barrows – Ball retriever
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-17
2001-09-04
Kramer, Dean J. (Department: 2167)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Hand bars and hand barrows
Ball retriever
C294S026000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283519
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hangers and un-hangers of Christmas lights on hooks attached to eaves of houses and positioning other items in and out of hard-to-reach places.
2. Relation to Prior Art
Hanging Christmas lights usually requires a ladder to be moved from-hook-to-hook about a house and other structures such as a nearby garage and poles. Previously, hook hangers have been devised to aid in hanging Christmas lights, but not with the ease, convenience and reliability of a spring-tensioned hook on a non-conductive handle in a manner taught by this invention.
Examples of different but related lighting rods are described in the following patent documents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,617, issued to Marinaro, described a combination window washer and lighting rod without the convenience of spring-held grasping and controllable releasing of cord taught by this invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,975, issued to Casper, described a decorating system for positioning Christmas tree light cords on limb hooks with an aperture into which a hook-holder with a handle was positioned.
Problems with hanging and unchanging Christmas lights and other items such as lines on hooks on buildings and other structures continue to exist, however.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of these problems, objects of patentable novelty and utility taught by this invention are to provide a lighting rod which:
Spring-grasps a cord, line or other item on a distal end of a pole while a proximal end having a handle is being held to position the cord, line or other item where desired;
Releases cord or other item by actuation of the handle on the proximal end;
Spring-grasps cords, lines or other items on hooks or in places that are too high or distantly positioned to reach without a ladder;
Grasps threaded hooks snugly while being screwed into or out from wood, sheet metal of plastic material in desired hooking positions such as eaves of houses or other structures that are too high or distantly positioned to reach without a ladder or other extension means;
Prevents conduction of electrical current to a user by non-conductivity of the pole;
Holds tools for long-reach access;
Holds and/or positions other items such as window washers, basketball hoops, volleyball-net lines, tent lines, vehicle-load tie-down lines, fishing lines, clothes lines, mooring lines, and various decorative lines;
Picks fruit and nuts from trees; and
Grasps saprophyte growths and other items from trees and other distant places.
This invention accomplishes these and other objectives with a lighting rod having a rigid reach rod that is preferably a nonconductive tube such as PVC and has a holder hook on a hook end and a hook releaser on a handle end. The holder hook spring-grasps cords, lines and pairs of items against a rod tip by contractive spring pressure of a hook spring on or in the rod. The hook releaser has a release rod that is actuated against a base of the holder hook to release spring-closure pressure on the holder hook. A groove in the rod tip receives an open end of the holder hook to allow tight retainment of a cord, line or other items positioned in the holder hook. An attachment-hook groove in the rod tip can be provided to receive a hook portion of an attachment hook for containing the attachment hook rigidly while a threaded shank of the attachment hook is being screwed into material by rotation of the rod for screwing attachment hooks into and out of the material.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1724435 (1929-08-01), Studwell
patent: 2542665 (1951-02-01), Gustafson
patent: 3101964 (1963-08-01), Reaser
patent: 3311398 (1967-03-01), Erhardt
patent: 3863377 (1975-02-01), Leonard
patent: 4242930 (1981-01-01), Myers et al.
patent: 5553905 (1996-09-01), Bentivegna
patent: 5560975 (1996-10-01), Casper
patent: 5713617 (1998-02-01), Marinaro
patent: 5964489 (1999-10-01), Mahoney
Bacon Oneal
Dutton Calvin E.
Kramer Dean J.
Van Gilder Derek R.
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