Southwestern Industries, Inc. - Assigned Patents

Manufacturers Index - Southwestern Industries, Inc.

Southwestern Industries, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Company Website: https://www.southwesternindustries.com/
Manufacturer Class: Metal Working Machinery

Patents

This page contains information on patents issued to this manufacturer.

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Patent Number	Date	Title	Name	City	Description
D194,853	Mar. 19, 1963	Machinist's precision measuring instrument	Edward J. Williams	Encino, CA
3,307,265	Mar. 07, 1967	Distance measuring by friction wheel instruments	Frederick P. Jenks	Los Angeles, CA	Trav-A-Dial improvements.
		Distance measuring by friction wheel instruments	Edward J. Williams	Woodland Hills, CA
3,311,985	Apr. 04, 1967	Friction wheel measuring apparatus	Merville E. Hodge	Altadena, CA	This patent is the culmination of a series of three applications dating back as far as 1958-12-16, for what became known as the Trav-A-Dial. This invention was intended for measuring the "relative travel between the cutting member of a machine tool and the work being machines, such as on engine lathes, milling machines, shaving machines, drill presses, and the like... There has long existed a need... for a compact measuring instrument which provides an accurate direct reading to within one-thousandth of an inch, which has unrestricted range of measurement... High hopes for solving this problem by means of a friction wheel type of measuring device have never been realized because for one reason or another such devices have not operated with sufficient accuracy and reliability... By utilizing a new and different construction for friction wheel measurement apparatus... I have been able to combine into one device the competing characteristics required..." The Trav-A-Dial was originally manufactured by M. E. Hodge Corp., Pasadena, CA, which introduced the product in 1958 but only lasted until 1959. An improved version of the product was then introduced by Southwestern Industries, Inc., Los Angeles. As of 2026 this product is still available although it has been largely made obsolete by digital readout systems (DROs).
3,378,929	Apr. 23, 1968	Measuring device	Clinton E. Deardorff	Woodland Hills, CA	Improvements to patent 3,311,985.
		Measuring device	Edward John Williams	Woodland Hills, CA
CA-809,873	Apr. 08, 1969	Friction wheel measuring system with digital readout remote from measurement location	William L. Kitchens	Los Angeles, CA	Digital display unit for a rotary-wheel linear measurement system.
		Friction wheel measuring system with digital readout remote from measurement location	Guy E. Inshaw	Los Angeles, CA
GB-1,189,323	Apr. 22, 1970	Improvements in and relating to Measuring Apparatus	William L. Kitchens	Los Angeles, CA	Digital display unit for a rotary-wheel linear measurement system.
		Improvements in and relating to Measuring Apparatus	Guy E. Inshaw	Los Angeles, CA
		Improvements in and relating to Measuring Apparatus	Richard E. Tisch	Los Angeles, CA
3,561,120	Feb. 09, 1971	Distance measurement with friction wheel devices	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA
3,561,121	Feb. 09, 1971	Distance measurement with friction wheel devices	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	Improvements to patent 3,378,929.
GB-1,340,781	Feb. 13, 1971	Improvements relating to mounting mechanisms for friction wheel measuring devices	Irven Harold Culver	Los Angeles, CA	Improvements to the Trav-A-Dial design of patent 3,378,929 to improve repeatability with especially with longer travel than was possible with early versions of the Trav-A-Dial.
3,724,082	Apr. 03, 1973	Flexure mounting for friction-wheel measurement device	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	Mounting system that maintains a roughly constant force between metering wheel and measurement surface, using an end-loaded leaf spring.
3,740,856	Jun. 26, 1973	Flexure mounting for friction wheel measuring devices	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	Another improvement to the Trav-A-Dial.
3,771,228	Nov. 13, 1973	Friction wheel measuring device	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	Another improvement to the Trav-A-Dial.
3,844,044	Oct. 29, 1974	Mounting for precision friction wheel measuring devices	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	Another improvement to the Trav-A-Dial.
3,876,174	Apr. 08, 1975	Universally adjustable mounting apparatus	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	Improved mounting for the Trav-A-Dial.
3,877,273	Apr. 15, 1975	Gear rolling method and apparatus	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	Mechanism to form a gear using cold rolling. A smooth blank is forced against a forming roll; the force varies according to the expected amount of engagement between blank and roll. The roll has a uniform and constant profile, in contrast to earlier solutions where the roll either has multiple sets of teeth or where there is one set of teeth but they vary in profile axially of the roll. There are also earlier solutions where uniform-profile rolls were used for finishing gear teeth, but the mechanism of this patent starts with a toothless blank.
GB-1,411,291	Oct. 22, 1975	Friction wheel measuring devices	Irven Harold Culver	Los Angeles, CA	Improvements to the Trav-A-Dial of US patents 3,311,985 and 3,378,929, and specifically to improving repeatability of the the longer-measuring-distance variants that were marketed under the name Tedd.
GB-1,427,490	Mar. 10, 1976	Mounting for precision friction wheel measuring devices	Irven Harold Culver	Playa Del Rey, CA	This is the British equivalent of US patent 3,844,044.