Patents Examined by William J. Wicker
  • Patent number: 5564915
    Abstract: An enclosure is provided for protecting a bag containing fluid used in connection with a pump for pumping the fluid to the patient. The pump closes off the opening into the enclosure. A first end of the pump is positioned within the enclosure adjacent to a retaining lip. A latch structure latches a second end of the pump to the enclosure to mount the pump to the enclosure. A bag spike chamber is provided for receiving a bag spike used to connect the pump to the bag. A platform is provided for supporting the bag above the bag spike chamber. Alternatively, the enclosure may include a bag post for hanging the bag and/or a syringe holder for securely holding a syringe. A ridge on the front of the control module of the pump engages the enclosure during mounting of the pump to the enclosure. A ridge on the back of the control module fits into the enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 15, 1996
    Assignee: SIMS Deltec, Inc.
    Inventor: Jay G. Johnson
  • Patent number: 5525044
    Abstract: There is presented a gas compressor including a housing defining adjacent first and second chambers in axial alignment, a rod extending through the first chamber and into the second chamber, a tubular projection extending from a first end of the housing into the second chamber, a cylindrically-shaped end portion fixed to the rod and disposed slidably upon the projection and within the second chamber, a piston fixed to the rod and slidably disposed within the first chamber, and conduits for admitting gas to the first chamber, transferring gas from one compression stage to another, and discharging compressed gas from the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Thermo Power Corporation
    Inventor: Tze-Ning Chen
  • Patent number: 5482351
    Abstract: A seat including a first portion; a support member borne by the first portion; and a second portion borne by the support member and disposed in space relation thereto, and wherein the seat is borne by the second portion, and wherein the first portion is positioned in force transmitting relation relative to the support member, and wherein force applied to the seat is transmitted through the first portion to the support member thereby causing the support member to deform and thus dissipate some of the force acting upon the seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1996
    Assignee: ERDA, Inc.
    Inventors: Ronald L. Young, Kurt F. Breuer, David E. Brandt
  • Patent number: 5454697
    Abstract: An in-tank type electrically operated fuel pump assembly includes an electric motor which is controlled by a control circuit located externally of a pump housing and adjacent to a passage through which fuel is fed from the pump. A case in which the control circuit is enclosed is not subjected to a high pressure, assuring stable protection of the control circuit for a long period of time. Furthermore, the control circuit is effectively cooled by the flowing fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 3, 1995
    Assignee: Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shingo Nakanishi
  • Patent number: 5447416
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a pumping device comprising two suction inlet holes spaced a predetermined distance apart by an extension tube. In a variant, the pumping device comprises two pump barrels cooperating each with the two inlet holes. In another variant, the pumping device comprises a pump barrel and control means for controlling the flow rates of the effluents coming from the two inlet holes. The pumping device is used in a subhorizontal drain hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 5, 1995
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventor: Christian Wittrisch
  • Patent number: 5443590
    Abstract: A rotatable turbine frame includes annular outer and inner bands having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart struts extending therebetween. An annular drive shaft is fixedly joined to the inner band for transmitting output torque therefrom, and the struts are backwardly radially inclined relative to the direction of rotation of the frame so that gas flow between the struts tends to straighten the inclined struts to effect a compressive load component therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1995
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John J. Ciokajlo, Ambrose A. Hauser, Samuel H. Davison
  • Patent number: 5435127
    Abstract: An ejecting exhaust nozzle in a gas turbine engine includes a convergent section, a divergent section, extending downstream from the convergent section, and an ejector for ejecting an airflow into the core airflow is fed by a boost pump. The boost pump includes a flow mixer with a boost plane wherein a fan airflow is injected into a ram airflow and then mixed in a mixing section extending downstream from the boost plane. Varying the fan airflow to boost the ram airflow to control a boosted ram airflow pressure allows ejector operation throughout the flight envelope of the gas turbine engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1995
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ronald J. Luffy, John B. Taylor, Jr., William V. Sutherland, Frederick J. Stine, James A. Crowley, David E. Mann, William Steyer
  • Patent number: 5433550
    Abstract: A connecting device for releasably interconnecting first and second bodies includes a housing which can be applied to a holding means, and a locking pin having a locking head which can be turned to and fro between a starting position in which the locking head can be introduced into a receiving opening in the holding means and a locking position in which the locking head engages under a support portion formed by edge regions of the receiving opening. A stressing spring arrangement is operable to urge the locking pin from an axially advanced position in the starting position of the device into an axially withdrawn position in the locking position, in which the pressure contact surface of the locking head is pressed by the spring arrangement against the support portion of the holding means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 18, 1995
    Assignee: Barvaria Cargo Technologie GmbH
    Inventor: Thomas Huber
  • Patent number: 5429482
    Abstract: A reciprocatory piston type compressor having a compressor body in which a low pressure suction chamber for the refrigerant before compression, a discharge chamber for the refrigerant after compression, and a plurality of axial cylinder bores receiving a corresponding number of reciprocatory pistons are provided therein, and a rotating plate suction valve capable of mechanically and forcibly opening suction ports in synchronism with the suction stroke of the reciprocatory pistons to thereby permit the refrigerant gas before compression to be drawn into the cylinder bores without time delay. A discharge valve capable of mechanically and forcibly open the discharge ports in synchronism with the discharge stroke of the pistons is also provided in the compressor body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1995
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho
    Inventors: Kenji Takenaka, Kazuya Kimura, Hiroaki Kayukawa, Chuichi Kawamura
  • Patent number: 5427469
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a cable or rope restraining device which comprises a U-shaped member or U-bolt to engage two saddle clamps. The first saddle clamp is a friction clamp for securing a dead end section of the rope. The second saddle clamp provides a channel for loosely containing a live section of the rope.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 27, 1995
    Inventor: Timothy G. Galarnyk
  • Patent number: 5419689
    Abstract: A vacuum pump which includes an oil pump for raising the pressure of oil in the vacuum pump during operation of the vacuum pump and an inlet valve for isolating the vacuum pump inlet during non-operation of the vacuum pump. The vacuum pump has an operating valve acting in an oil line between the oil pump and the inlet valve and in an oil line between the inlet valve and an oil reservoir. The operating valve is movable by means of oil pressure between a second position associated with vacuum pump operation in which the oil line between the inlet valve and the oil reservoir is closed and a first position associated with vacuum pump non-operation in which the oil line between the inlet valve and the oil reservoir is open. A means is provided to allow high pressure oil from the oil pump to communicate with the inlet valve in at least the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1995
    Assignee: The BOC Group plc
    Inventor: Alan E. K. Holbrook
  • Patent number: 5414992
    Abstract: A method for supplying cooling air on vehicles such as high speed aircraft includes diverting high pressure air from the compressor section of a gas turbine engine, cooling this air in a heat exchanger, and expanding the diverted high pressure air through an auxiliary turbine. Coolant in the heat exchanger may be inlet ram air, fan air, or aircraft fuel (which may be endothermic), and the coolant is ultimately introduced into the engine downstream of the compressor section. An auxiliary compressor may be used to further compress the diverted high pressure air or coolant prior to the flowing thereof through the heat exchanger, and one or more auxiliary turbines may be used to power the auxiliary compressor, or mechanical accessories on the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 16, 1995
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Marvin R. Glickstein
  • Patent number: 5413431
    Abstract: A protective cover for a ball joint assembly includes a plurality of arms. The arms are movable between a retracted position and an extended position in which the arms can be manually grasped to pull the cover off of the ball joint assembly. The cover is one piece and has a side wall with cylindrical sections and an end wall. The arms are mounted on the end wall. When the arms are to be moved from the retracted position to the extended position, the end wall of the cover is pressed against the end of the ball stud to flex the end wall and move the arms from the retracted position to the extended position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 9, 1995
    Assignee: TRW Inc.
    Inventor: Russell T. Fellows
  • Patent number: 5410884
    Abstract: A gas turbine combustor suppresses the generation of NOx by mixing a fuel and air homogeneously. A pilot nozzle is provided at the center of the gas turbine combustor. A plurality of main nozzles surround the pilot nozzle. A diverging cone projects from the vicinity of the injection port of the pilot nozzle such that the flame from the main nozzles is sustained by the pilot nozzle and NOx is suppressed. The main nozzles can be provided upstream of the injection port of the pilot nozzle in which case an annular premixing nozzle having a throttled exit end is disposed downstream of the main nozzles. The main nozzle may also be in the form of a fuel nozzle having a plurality of tubes, a gaseous fuel being injected through one of the tubes, and liquid fuel being injected into the annular premixing nozzle through the other of the tubes so that the liquid fuel is atomized to mix the fuel and air homogeneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 2, 1995
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ichiro Fukue, Shigemi Mandai, Katsunori Tanaka, Hitoshi Kawabata, Nobuo Sato, Hiroyuki Nishida, Tetsuo Gora
  • Patent number: 5411346
    Abstract: A cutout is formed through a panel for providing a closed slot or channel surrounding a cleat having a tee shape, for receiving a midportion of a tie wrap inserted through the slot on one side of the panel to a position over a narrowed neck portion of the cleat, thereby permitting a component placed over the cleat on the one side of the panel to be secured thereto by tightening the tie wrap around both the cleat and the component, without requiring access to both sides of the panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 2, 1995
    Assignee: Siemens Stromberg-Carlson
    Inventor: Mark Kozlowski
  • Patent number: 5406878
    Abstract: Transmitting actuating forces from an actuator to a swashplate of an axial piston unit through a pin extending from a lever of the swashplate induces torsional stresses in the lever. The present invention overcomes this problem by securing a lever to a swashplate so that a distal end portion thereof extends into a slot of an actuator. The distal end portion has a cylindrical shaped surface pivotally seated in a mating socket formed in a slide block positioned within the actuator slot. The actuating forces transmitted from the actuator to the lever are thus transmitted in a straight line motion with minimal torsional stresses introduced into the lever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 18, 1995
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip L. Freeman, James C. Goade, Claude H. Werner
  • Patent number: 5407296
    Abstract: A one piece shaft clamp is disclosed having a flange and a tapered shank. The shaft clamp has a central bore that conforms in size and shape to the cress-sectional shape of a shaft. Relatively thin cuts are formed in the clamp through the shank and partially through the flange to form segments. Additional cuts are made in the flange adjacent the thin cuts to form relatively thin beams that resiliently interconnect the segments. The one piece shaft clamp is used in conjunction with a member that is to be secured to the shaft. The member has a tapered bore that mates with the tapered shank of the clamp so that when the shank is forced into the bore, the segments are urged into locking engagement with the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 18, 1995
    Assignee: The Whitaker Corporation
    Inventor: Christopher K. Brown
  • Patent number: 5392594
    Abstract: An oxygenated organic liquid product and a fuel gas are produced from a portion of synthesis gas comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and sulfur-containing compounds in a integrated feed treatment and catalytic reaction system. To prevent catalyst poisoning, the sulfur-containing compounds in the reactor feed are absorbed in a liquid comprising the reactor product, and the resulting sulfur-containing liquid is regenerated by stripping with untreated synthesis gas from the reactor. Stripping offgas is combined with the remaining synthesis gas to provide a fuel gas product. A portion of the regenerated liquid is used as makeup to the absorber and the remainder is withdrawn as a liquid product. The method is particularly useful for integration with a combined cycle coal gasification system utilizing a gas turbine for electric power generation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert B. Moore, William P. Hegarty, David W. Studer, Edward J. Tirados
  • Patent number: 5393207
    Abstract: A centrifugal blood pump features a pump assembly including a cylindrical barrel insertable into a motor stator. The barrel contains a motor rotor which is directly coupled to the pump's impeller. The barrel can be oriented and locked in the motor stator in many different angular orientations. Hemolysis is prevented in spite of high speed operation by reducing the clearance between the impeller and the impeller chamber, rounding the edges of the impeller blades, and providing a deflector to prevent blood from being impelled more than once around the impeller chamber periphery. An efficient releasable locking mechanism is also disclosed, as is a preferred method of assembling the pump assembly with close tolerances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignee: Nimbus, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy R. Maher, Pieter W. C. J. le Blanc, Lynn P. Taylor
  • Patent number: 5393206
    Abstract: A motor vehicle fuel pump including a tubular steel housing and a roller vane positive displacement pump and an electric motor in the tubular steel housing. The roller vane pump includes a pair of flat side plates, a rotor between the side plates, and a T-shaped sleeve bearing in a plain bore in one of the side plates. A lip at one end of a tubular body of the sleeve bearing has a side defining an annular seat in a plane perpendicular to the tubular body. The tubular body has a shaft bore therethrough and a stepped outer wall including a large diameter part adjacent the annular seat and a small diameter part adjacent the large diameter part. The large diameter part is force fitted in the plain bore until the annular seat engages flush against a flat, outside surface of the side plate. The annular seat positions the longitudinal centerline of the tubular body perpendicular to the outer side plate for optimum alignment with the armature shaft when an end of the latter is disposed in the shaft bore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Robert A. Roth, John G. Fischer