Help Identifying A Socket

[HankMurphy]

I bought a bunch of garage sale dregs last weekend and came across a socket which I'm curious about identifying. This particular one is of no value, but I'd like to know the process people follow in identifying this stuff. It looks new.

I cannot take a picture with my cell phone that identifies the letter content, so those of you who post the tag "This Thread Is Useless Without Pictures" will have to be disappointed.

It's a 1/4" drive, 1/4" socket and appears to be new. There is no manufacturer on it. There are two rows of lettering and no other marks on the socket:

USA PAT 4644831 1/4
ROC PAT 27181 N CR-VA

I thought I'd seen something about Chrome Vanadium on alloy-artifacts, but I can't find it now. I'm guessing that the ROC indicates Taiwan manufacture, maybe for a US company.

So...what steps do you researchers use when identifying a socket like this?

Cheers,

 

[Uncle Buck]

ROC = Republic of China, your need for further information just ended! LOL

To actually answer your question some of the stuff some guys just know because one brand looks like another, or a guy has seen or owned the brand in the past. Other than that, Alloy artifacts is a huge resource, old catalogs found or borrowed, and more important, US Pat Searches will reveal information. Usually one or several of the things mentioned will reveal enough history to tell the story.

 

[olds394]

Go to Google patents and enter the number.

 

[Rigmaster]

first hit on a google search:

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4644831.html



aaaaaaaaaand, a little bit farther down the list:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4644831.html

 

[HankMurphy]

first hit on a google search:

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4644831.html



aaaaaaaaaand, a little bit farther down the list:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4644831.html

Great, thanks, this is what I was looking for. Do you or anyone else know how to find out to whom a patent was assigned? I see this information sometimes in alloy-artifacts and don't know how it's located.

Regarding ROC: the inventor address was in Taiwan.

Cheers,

Hank Murphy

 

[bgott]

Regarding ROC: the inventor address was in Taiwan.

Republic of China, which is Taiwan. PRC is People's Republic of China. That's the commies.