Coating implements with material supply – Including tool – Concave tool face
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-15
2001-08-28
Walczak, David J. (Department: 3751)
Coating implements with material supply
Including tool
Concave tool face
C401S009000, C401S198000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280109
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
(Not applicable)
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
(Not applicable)
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to markers for marking the external surface of a wire strand casing, and more particularly to an improved marker for simultaneously marking the entire perimeter surface of a cylindrical strand of material.
(2) Background Information
In wiring residential dwellings, several wire strands will terminate within an electrical box. The electrical box may be the location for an outlet, a switch, or other electrical device. Because residential dwellings are wired with conventional wire of the variety including a black casing, a white casing, and a bare ground wire, it often occurs at electrical boxes that several white wires terminate within a single box.
The national electrical code requires that the terminal end of any wire at an electrical box which is a “hot” wire, must be permanently marked with black ink along the terminal end of the casing. In this way, an electrician adding a particular electrical device, such as a switch or outlet, will know which wires are “hot” and which wires are “neutral”.
In the prior art, the terminal ends of the wire are conventional marked with a black marker, requiring the flat tip of the marker to be run longitudinally along the length of the terminal end of the casing around all sides until the entire perimeter of the casing is permanently marked. While this task is not difficult, it is tedious and time consuming, when it is considered the number of boxes and terminal wire ends which commonly occur in a conventional residential dwelling.
If the wires are improperly marked, they are “red tagged” by an inspector, and require the electrician to return to the job site and complete the task of marking the terminal wires.
The same problem exists in other types of strand-like material, such as tubing or rope. For example, in the medical industry the use of intravenous (IV) solution delivery systems may require multiple IVs connected between a patient and multiple fluid sources.
One solution found in the prior art is the manufacture of a colored stripe directly in the product. This practice has been found both in the electrical industry and in the flexible tubing industry. However, the cost of manufacturing a product with a permanent stripe requires the modification of existing equipment, or the purchase of entirely new equipment, adding significantly to the cost of manufacture. Additionally, it would require an electrician to carry yet another type of wire along on every job. If multiple different strands are necessary, the user must maintain an extensive inventory of strands of a wide variety of different colored stripes.
U.S. Pat. No 5,954,443 to Bacon discloses an apparatus for marking a strand of material including a guide notch for directing the strand material against a marking nib. In one version of this invention, a notch is cut directly into the nib to guide the strand material along the marking nib. While this patent improves the reliability of marking the strand material, it still requires numerous passes along the length of the strand to mark the entire perimeter casing of the strand.
Similarly, the lubricant applicator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,930,061 discloses an arcuate shoe member with a curvature matching that of a cylindrical rod to be lubricated. Again, in order to lubricate the entire perimeter surface of the rod, either the rod must be rotated on its axis, and the lubricator moved the length of the rod a plurality of times to coat the entire length of the rod.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved marker for wire casings for quickly and easily marking the entire perimeter of the wire casing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a marker which will mark the entire perimeter of a wire casing in a single pass.
A further object is to provide a marker for wire casings which is economical to manufacture, and simple to use.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
The marker of the present invention includes an enclosed housing with a marker tip of a marking element projecting from an open end of the housing. An aperture is formed through the marking tip, through which a wire may be journaled to mark the entire perimeter surface of the wire as the wire is pulled through the aperture.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2095650 (1937-10-01), Reichenbach
patent: 2101132 (1937-12-01), Daly et al.
patent: 2408481 (1946-10-01), Reid
patent: 2930061 (1960-03-01), O'Neil
patent: 3352623 (1967-11-01), Sanet
patent: 4254645 (1981-03-01), Kouris
patent: 4723859 (1988-02-01), Kitoh
patent: 4770557 (1988-09-01), Pitts
patent: 4821748 (1989-04-01), Reas
patent: 5071276 (1991-12-01), Nielsen et al.
patent: 5820285 (1998-10-01), Ikeda et al.
patent: 5954443 (1999-09-01), Bacon
Frederiksen Mark D.
Koley Jessen P.C. A Limited Liability Organization
Walczak David J.
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