US 6,547,475 B2 · Anti-theft securing device and microscope having removable body part anti-theft protected

Abstract

An anti-theft device secures a removable body part, such as a viewing unit, to a microscope stand. The device is intended to replace a common thumbscrew used to fix the location of a removable body part in a corresponding guide of the microscope stand, and comprises a housing threaded into a tapped hole in the stand for carrying a plunger and a driver both movable within an axial passageway in the housing. The driver is threadably adjustable by hand between driving and non-driving positions with respect to the plunger, and the plunger has a limited range of motion so that it may retract enough to allow the removable body part to be adjusted within the guide but not enough to allow the body part to be removed from the guide when the driver is in a non-driving position. The housing is tightened onto the microscope body by a tool such as a wrench, and the driver is held captive by a snap ring fitting within an internal groove near a trailing end of the housing.

Claims19

Dependent claims

An anti-theft device comprising:

a housing having a leading end, a trailing end opposite said leading end, and a passageway extending through said housing from said leading end to said trailing end;
a plunger at least partially received by said passageway, said plunger being movable relative to said housing in an extension direction to cause a portion of said plunger to extend out of said housing through said leading end and in a retraction direction opposite said extension direction;
a driver partially received by said passageway through said trailing end, said driver being adjustable between a driving position wherein said driver is operatively engaged with said plunger to prevent motion of said plunger in said retraction direction and a non-driving position wherein said driver is not operatively engaged with said plunger to allow motion of said plunger in said retraction direction, and
means for limiting travel of said plunger in said retraction direction when said driver is not operatively engaged with said plunger.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Anti-theft securing device and microscope having removable body part anti-theft protected

Life of this patent

Anti-theft securing device and microscope having removable body part anti-theft protected

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims19