John E Meadows Deceased1600 Oakmont Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94595

5934865, Aug 10, 1999

Nov 25, 1997

8/977780

John W. Meadows - Mountain View CA

Trace Digital LLC - San Jose CA

B65H 300
B65G 5902

4147969

A disk gripper featuring a spindle fitting through the central hole of a disk, with the spindle harboring a movable latch which is a pin carried by a movable arm. An actuator shifts the latch out of the spindle once the spindle has entered a disk hole with the latch causing the disk to slide laterally into a curled finger which provides a protective, non-contacting envelope. The disk is held in place on the shoulder of a bulbous portion of the spindle which keeps the disk on the shoulder of the spindle. The actuator is activated by a floating sensor ring carried by the spindle. When the spindle passes through a disk hole, the sensor ring moves upwardly, resting on the disk sending an upright tripper into an optical detector causing the latch to retract and allowing the spindle to pass into the disk hole. After passage into the disk hole the latch is released, causing lateral disk motion, causing the disk to laterally slide into a securely held position.

4702668, Oct 27, 1987

Jan 24, 1985

6/694585

Brian R. Carlisle - Palo Alto CA
Carl R. Witham - Dublin CA
Donald R. Allan - Menlo Park CA
John W. Meadows - Los Altos Hills CA

Adept Technology, Inc. - San Jose CA

B25J 1800

414744R

A direct drive robot which includes a pedestal having two motors which rotate around a common axis to directly drive rotation of first and of second linking arms which are rotating in a plane perpendicular to this pedestal. The first, inner link is preferably driven through a column directly driven by a first motor rotor, the column supporting the inner end of the link. The second, outer link is driven by the second coaxial direct drive motor through a simple, highly-tensioned belt and pulley arrangement. As a result of this direct drive arrangement, movement is provided about two separate parallel axes by two arms arranged perpendicular to the first axis which mounts the two major driving motors of the robot. These two arms are linked together between this major pedestal and the end effector of the robot, centralizing the driving motors at the main stabilizing pedestal, while providing rapid rotational movement around each of the two axes. The first axis is defined by the major pedestal, the second axis is defined by the junction between the inner and outer linking arms which connect the pedestal to the end effector.

3987527, Oct 26, 1976

Jul 7, 1975

5/593689

John Meadows - Palo Alto CA

Raychem Corporation - Menlo Park CA

H02G 112

29236

A mechanism employed for cutting and stripping a plurality of wires simultaneously by means of a single lever which is moved in a first direction to cut the plurality of wires and in a second direction to strip a length of insulation from the cut wires. The mechanism includes a base support and a carriage pivotally mounted thereto. The carriage supports the wire knife and anvil, the stripper knives, a cam arrangement for actuating the wire knife and stripper knives and the control lever. An automatic lock is provided which prevents the carriage from pivotting to strip the wires when the cutting operation is being performed and also prevents return of the wire knife and stripper knife when the stripping operation is being carried out. The mechanism is employed in this embodiment with wire positioning and clamping means. An assembly is used to stress the clamping means to insure the retention of the wires held therein.

5314293, May 24, 1994

Sep 8, 1992

7/941859

Brian R. Carlisle - Palo Alto CA
Carl R. Witham - Dublin CA
Donald R. Allan - Menlo Park CA
John W. Meadows - Los Altos Hills CA

Adept Technology, Inc. - San Jose CA

B25J 1700

4147445

An articulated direct drive robotic manipulator providing rotation of first and second arms about first and second parallel axes including first and second motors for driving the rotation of the first and second arms. A pedestal is mounted on a base, the first motor is directly coupled to a rotatable column in the pedestal for providing a first robot arm with a first degree of freedom, a second motor is coupled to a rotatable column coaxial to the first column for providing the manipulator with a second degree of freedom by rotation of the second arm. The distal end of the second arm includes support for an end effector for movement about a third axis which is a vertical axis and a fourth axis which is a rotational axis and support for a quill. Also included is a modular device adapted to be coupled to the end of the quill which can move within horizontal planes passing through the third axis to provide a fifth degree of freedom.