1064 results about "Living hinge" patented technology

A safety shield for a needle assembly which includes a cover, a mount and a hinge forming a shield body. The shield body defines a cavity in which a needle assembly having a needle and a luer hub is positioned. The mount includes a socket for receipt of the luer hub while the cover includes a retainer for coupling with the needle assembly. A hinge includes a living hinge between the cover and the mount. A tab encloses one end of the mount. Both the cover and the tab are associated with the mount by means of frangible webs to define a sealed body. A flexible tear strip extends over the cavity to fully seal the body.

An article of footwear includes a sole having a shank area located between a forefoot portion and a rear foot portion of the sole, an upper including an inner counter and an outer counter, and a pivot mechanism attaching the outer counter to the sole so as to permit the outer counter to pivot relative to the inner counter at a pivot point located at the shank area of the sole. The outer counter pivots between an open position away from the inner counter and a closed position in supporting engagement with the inner counter. The pivot mechanism may be a mechanical, composite, or living hinge. The article of footwear may further include a locking mechanism for selectively securing the outer counter in the closed position in supporting engagement with the inner counter.

A compact, low-profile surgical retractor (100) avoids the need for a bulky frame. The retractor includes retractor blade components (110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160) joined pivotally. A cable (170) is guided by each retractor blade component. A winding mechanism (180), such as a spool, is carried by one of the retractor blade components (120) for winding up the cable to cause the retractor blade components to transition from a closed position to an open position. The winding mechanism may be actuated by a detachable handle (200). The retractor blade components may be unitary, injection-molded pieces. The retractor blade components may be fixed pivotally, such as by pins, or pivotally joined by living hinges. A less-invasive surgical method is also provided in which the retractor is inserted into the body through an incision.

A case for a portable media player includes a holder for the portable media player and a rear wall having at least one handle movable between a closed position for storage and an open position for engagement by a finger of a user operating the portable media player. Two handles may be provided with respective insertion and engagement openings formed therein for the finger of the user. The handle may be cut out of the rear wall, may be formed in one piece with the rear wall, may move freely back and forth between the open and closed positions at a living hinge and may be flush with the rear wall in the closed position.

A directionally flexible shank for an article of footwear is disclosed, which provides support to the bottom of a user's foot while providing flexibility for foot movements in one or more particular directions. The directionally flexible shank may also support the arch of the foot. The directionally flexible shank may include a plurality of articulatable segments that can easily rotate with respect to each other in a first direction and thereby permit the directionally flexible shank to flex away from the foot, while limiting articulation in an opposite direction. The articulatable segments are connected to each other via hinge structures, which may include living hinges formed of a thermoplastic material. The hinge structures may also be formed from a flexible sheet attached to a bottom portion of the directionally flexible shank. Methods are also disclosed for manufacturing the directionally flexible shank.

A bipolar forceps is provided. The bipolar forceps includes a housing having a shaft including an electrically conductive distal end. A drive assembly is operable to reciprocate an actuation tube within the shaft. A portion of the actuation tube is electrically conductive. An end effector assembly operatively connects to the shaft and includes a pair of first and second jaw members biased in an open configuration. The first and second jaw members are pivotable about a living hinge. Distal reciprocation of the actuation tube causes each of the jaw members towards one another about the living hinge. One of the jaw members is in electrical communication with the distal end of the shaft and the other jaw member is in selective electrical communication with a distal end of the actuation tube such that when the jaw members are in a closed configuration a closed loop electrical circuit is formed.

A framed filter media comprising a filter media having a fluid inlet face and a fluid outlet face with peripheral sidewalls. The peripheral sidewalls are attached to a strip frame by an adhesive-potting compound. The continuous strip frame is formed into three or more (up to an infinite number if the sidewall sections(s) is formed into a circular filter frame) sidewall sections having a substantially flat sidewall and at least two projecting filter retaining tabs which form a channel on a first face of the sidewall section for containing the adhesive potting compound. The sidewall sections are separated by corner notches extending through the retaining tabs at least to the substantially flat sidewalls. Two terminal sidewall sections meet to form a seam such that the sidewall sections circumscribe the filter media peripheral sidewalls. The continuous strip frame is formed by extruding a continuous strip frame blank comprising at least a substantially flat sidewall and at least two projecting filter retaining tabs forming a continuous channel on a first face of the continuous strip frame blank. The filter retaining tabs are then notched to form corner notches which corner notches extend at least to the substantially flat sidewalls creating sidewall section between the corner notches and optionally scoring first and/or second faces of the sidewall portions to form living hinges. The continuous strip frame blank is further cut into discrete strip frame blanks.

A surgical ligation clip includes first and second jaws that are connected at their proximal ends to each other by a living hinge. Each of the jaws includes a clamping surface that is in opposition to the clamping surface of the other jaw. In order to prevent the body vessel from moving proximally beyond the clamping surfaces of the first and second jaws, a tissue stop is formed at a proximal end of the clamping surfaces of the surgical ligation clip. In embodiments, the tissue stop includes a first stop member that extends from the proximal end of the clamping surface of the first jaw towards the second jaw and a second stop member that extends from the proximal end of the clamping surface of the second jaw member towards the first jaw.

A cardboard box with four side panels, four bottom flaps and four top flaps. The box is made from a blank having a first height measured between the outermost edges of the top and bottom flaps. The flaps are rotated into abutting contact with the exterior surface of the panels thereby reducing the overall height of the box to the height of the panel. Adjacent pairs of top and bottom flaps are provided with living hinges that enable them to remain in this position when the box is collapsed. The collapsed box is shipped through the mail in this diminished size and then erected into a box of the same height as the panels.

A device for delivering therapeutic energy to tissue is provided. The device includes a proximal segment and a distal segment having one or more electrodes for delivering the therapeutic energy to the tissue. An articulating segment connects the proximal segment and the distal segment such that the distal segment is articulatable with respect to a longitudinal axis of the proximal segment. In one aspect of the invention, the articulating segment includes a living hinge. In another aspect of the invention, at least one electrically conductive articulating cable runs along the articulating segment, wherein the articulating cable is used both to articulate the distal segment and to deliver the therapeutic energy to the one or more electrodes.

Embodiments disclosed include fiber optic module housings used for fiber optic modules. The fiber optic module housings comprise at least one hinge to allow a component of the housing to be opened and closed to allow easy access to the fiber optic module housing and/or its internal chamber. The hinge may be a living hinge disposed within a single part to allow each side of the living hinge to be bent or folded. The hinge may be disposed on a panel configured to support one or more fiber optic components to allow the panel to be opened and closed about the module housing for access. The fiber optic module housing may also be entirely comprised of a single part employing the use of living hinges between foldable parts. In this manner, no sides or parts of the fiber optic module housing need be provided as separate parts.

The present invention is a truck bed liner having two side walls, a front wall, a bottom, and a rear wall, the bottom further having an integrated liner incorporated into it. The divider is formed by either molding or cutting slots on three sides of the liner bottom. The fourth side is molded or cut into a living hinge. The living hinge allows the unattached portion of the truck bed liner bottom to move freely about the hinge. The side walls of the truck bed liner include receiving channels into which the hinged dividers are locked into place. A latch is molded into and extends from the lower aspect of each sidewall at a point in which when the divider is placed into its horizontal position, will hold it in place. In operation, an operator can position the hinged divider to a 90 DEG position with respect to the bottom and lock it into the receiving channels found on the side walls. Once locked into position, a compartment is created on each side of the raised wall. When compartmentalization is no longer needed, the hinged portion of the liner can be removed from the side wall channels and placed into a horizontal position, being locked into position by the latches.

The present invention provides a lid 1 for a beverage cup. The lid 1 has a generally annular side wall 6, a rib 7 depending from the side wall 6, and a top wall 5 extending radially inward from the side wall 6. The lid 1 further includes a central region 4 positioned radially inward of the top wall 5. The central region 4 has a well 4b with a notched portion 24. The lid 1 also includes a projection 18 extending from a portion of the side wall 6. A living hinge formed by a line of weakness at the base 23 of the projection 18 permits the projection 18 to pivoted between an open position and a closed position. The central region 4 has a shoulder portion 24 that engages the tip 20 of the projection 18 to secure the projection 18 in the open position.

A plastic container having a container body and a permanently attached container lid is provided. The container lid is attached to the container body by a living hinge such that the entire plastic container is a one-piece construction. The container lid is pre-curved such that in an open state the container lid is curved. However, when the container lid mates with the container body in a closed state, at least a portion of the container lid that was previously curved becomes substantially planar such that portions of the lid remain biased into the container body. The container incorporates at least one projection that acts as a detent-catch mechanism to secure the lid to the body. The projection reduces the likelihood that the seal formed between the lid and the container when in a closed position will be inadvertently broken.

A push-to-release latching mechanism for retaining a transceiver module in a communication port of a computer or server is provided with a beam spring structure for positional restoration of the latch member, and the latch is supported and moveable relative to the host transceiver module. The latch member may be formed to include camming surfaces that facilitate the insertion of the transceiver module into a communication port and mate with a guide rail and connector resident in a communication port. The latch member may be adapted to latch with a rigid latch bar or a cantilevered spring. Additionally, the latch may be formed with a camming surface which insures that the latch is displaced to a latching position whenever network cables are connected to the transceiver module by camming the latch into the secure, latched position and subsequently preventing the latch from moving to an insecure or unlatched position. The latch member is pivotally supported on the transceiver module in a shaft/journal arrangement and thus is removed from the communication port whenever the transceiver module is removed, thereby preventing the latch from projecting from the communication port and being subject to damage. The latch member may be formed with a living hinge to provide a pivot axis and one end of the living hinge may be attached to a electronic module chassis or to a support structure which may be mated with a electronic module chassis for easy replaceability.