Patents by Inventor Michael F. Butler

Michael F. Butler has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240157092
    Abstract: A catheter pump is disclosed. The catheter pump can include an impeller and a catheter body having a lumen in which waste fluid flows proximally therethrough during operation of the catheter pump. The catheter pump can also include a drive shaft disposed inside the catheter body. A motor assembly can include a chamber. The motor assembly can include a rotor disposed in the at least a portion of the chamber, the rotor mechanically coupled with a proximal portion of the drive shaft such that rotation of the rotor causes the drive shaft to rotate, the rotor including a longitudinal rotor lumen therethrough. The motor assembly can also comprise a stator assembly disposed about the rotor. During operation of the catheter pump, the waste fluid flows from the lumen into the chamber such that at least a portion of the waste fluid flows proximally through the longitudinal rotor lumen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2024
    Publication date: May 16, 2024
    Inventors: Adam R. Tanner, Paul F. Muller, Alan Schenck, Michael R. Butler, Todd Jenkins
  • Patent number: 11925795
    Abstract: A catheter pump system is disclosed. The catheter pump system can include a shaft assembly and an impeller coupled with a distal portion of the shaft assembly. A motor assembly can impart rotation on the impeller through the shaft assembly, the motor assembly comprising a motor which rotates the shaft assembly. The catheter pump system can include a fluid pathway which conveys fluid proximally during operation of the catheter pump system. A seal can be disposed between the motor assembly and the impeller. The seal can be configured to impede or prevent the fluid from the fluid pathway from entering the motor assembly at least about an outer periphery of the shaft assembly. The seal can comprise an opening through which a portion of the shaft assembly extends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: TC1 LLC
    Inventors: Paul F. Muller, Keif M. Fitzgerald, Michael R. Butler, Todd Jenkins
  • Patent number: 11918800
    Abstract: A catheter pump system is disclosed. The catheter pump system can include a shaft assembly and an impeller coupled with a distal portion of the shaft assembly. The catheter pump system can include a motor assembly, the motor assembly comprising a chamber and a shaft-driving portion disposed in the chamber. The shaft-driving portion can be configured to impart rotation to the impeller through the shaft assembly. The chamber can be filled with a gas that at least partially surrounds the shaft-driving portion. A fluid pathway can convey fluid proximally during operation of the catheter pump system. A bypass pathway can be in fluid communication with the fluid pathway, the bypass pathway configured to direct at least a portion of the fluid to bypass the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: TC1 LLC
    Inventors: Paul F. Muller, Keif M. Fitzgerald, Michael R. Butler, Todd Jenkins
  • Patent number: 11911579
    Abstract: A catheter pump is disclosed. The catheter pump can include an impeller and a catheter body having a lumen in which waste fluid flows proximally therethrough during operation of the catheter pump. The catheter pump can also include a drive shaft disposed inside the catheter body. A motor assembly can include a chamber. The motor assembly can include a rotor disposed in the at least a portion of the chamber, the rotor mechanically coupled with a proximal portion of the drive shaft such that rotation of the rotor causes the drive shaft to rotate, the rotor including a longitudinal rotor lumen therethrough. The motor assembly can also comprise a stator assembly disposed about the rotor. During operation of the catheter pump, the waste fluid flows from the lumen into the chamber such that at least a portion of the waste fluid flows proximally through the longitudinal rotor lumen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: TC1 LLC
    Inventors: Adam R. Tanner, Paul F. Muller, Alan Schenck, Michael R. Butler, Todd Jenkins
  • Patent number: 4498909
    Abstract: A process for continuously gasifying wood, wood chips, wood charcoal, or other low-ash biomass material in a mechanically-ashed gasifier using a fixed bed gasification system to obtain a gaseous product relatively rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Product gas comprising carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, together with methane and other diluents, is withdrawn from the gasification chamber. Sufficient noncombustible, particulate, refractory material is fed to the gasifier to provide an adequately deep layer of noncombustible solids on a moveable grate which supports the fuel bed, the object being to prevent damage to the grate and the grate-actuating mechanism caused by overheating, when the ash bed becomes too thin. The product gases from the gasification chamber may be used as raw synthesis gas for the production of, for example, methanol or as furnace heating gases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1982
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1985
    Assignee: DM International, Inc.
    Inventors: Geoffrey Milner, Michael F. Butler, Robert A. Ashworth