Patents by Inventor Michael Henker

Michael Henker 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).

  • Patent number: 11708913
    Abstract: A valve includes a housing having a housing cavity and at least two housing openings. A valve body is rotatably provided in the housing cavity and includes a valve body top portion, a valve body bottom portion and a valve body sidewall. The valve body sidewall has an upper valve body sidewall and a lower valve body sidewall which are connected to each other. An outer surface of the upper valve body sidewall is a partial cylindrical surface, and an outer surface of the lower valve body sidewall is shaped to have a gradually decreasing diameter in a direction from top to bottom. A seal is provided on the valve body sidewall and the seal is configured to match with the housing to enable the valve body sidewall to close at least one of the housing openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventors: Yue Ma, Ziteng Zheng, Michael Henker
  • Publication number: 20230220844
    Abstract: A fluid adjusting device includes a reservoir, at least two connection channels, at least two supply channels and at least one one-way valve, the reservoir is provided with a fluid storage cavity and at least two fluid outlets in communication with the fluid storage cavity, and the fluid storage cavity is configured to store a cooling fluid; the at least two connection channels can be connected to at least two circulation circuits respectively; the at least two fluid outlets are in communication with the at least two connection channels by means of the at least two supply channels respectively; and the at least one one-way valve is arranged in at least one of the at least two supply channels, and is configured to enable a fluid to flow from the reservoir to the corresponding connection channel in unidirectional manner. The fluid adjusting device can accurately control temperatures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2023
    Publication date: July 13, 2023
    Inventors: Yue MA, Michael HENKER
  • Patent number: 11578806
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses a seal and a regulating valve having the seal. The seal is used for sealing a flow channel between a pipe orifice of a housing and a valve body in the regulating valve. The seal includes an elastic member and an embedded member. The elastic member is ring-shaped, the embedded member is at least partially embedded in the elastic member, and the hardness of the embedded member is greater than that of the elastic member. The seal of the present disclosure has a simple structure, which not only enables miniaturization of the structure of the regulating valve, but also can simplify assembly steps of the regulating valve, thus facilitating assembly automation of the regulating valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventors: Yue Ma, Michael Henker, Ziteng Zheng
  • Patent number: 11543040
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to a valve comprising a housing, an actuating shaft and a plurality of groups of valve body elements. The plurality of groups of valve body elements are disposed in the housing and capable of rotating in the housing. The actuating shaft is configured to selectively actuate at least one group of valve body elements in the plurality of groups of valve body elements to rotate. The valve is provided with a plurality of fluid passages therein, and the actuated at least one group of valve body elements can connect or disconnect at least one of the plurality of fluid passages. The valve provided by the present disclosure can control and switch more fluid passages when an output power of an actuating device is limited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Henker, Yue Ma
  • Patent number: 11396953
    Abstract: A valve includes a housing, a valve body, a seal member mounting groove, and a seal member which is inserted into the seal member mounting groove from an insertion opening. The seal member is configured to come into contact with the valve body and a housing sealing surface when the valve body closes the housing opening so as to enable the valve body to close a housing opening in a sealed manner. The seal member mounting groove further includes a seal member limiting structure. The seal member limiting structure is disposed on a groove wall. The seal member limiting structure is configured to restrict movement of the seal member toward the valve body relative to the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Yue Ma, Michael Henker, Zhipeng Deng
  • Patent number: 11236836
    Abstract: An actuating mechanism includes an actuating shaft, an actuated member, and an engaging and disengaging structure. The actuating shaft is configured to be rotatable. The actuated member can be actuated by the actuating shaft to rotate. The engaging and disengaging structure includes an actuating structure provided on the actuating shaft and an actuated structure provided on the actuated member. When the actuating structure engages with the actuated structure, the actuating structure can drive the actuated structure to rotate, such that the actuating shaft can drive the actuated member to rotate. Further, a set of actuating and actuated structures of the actuating mechanism can rotate and stop according to set angle requirements, such that a valve body can be actuated to connect and disconnect different fluid passages as required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Yue Ma, Michael Henker, Ziteng Zheng, Sheng Feng
  • Publication number: 20210332893
    Abstract: A valve includes a housing having a housing cavity and at least two housing openings. A valve body is rotatably provided in the housing cavity and includes a valve body top portion, a valve body bottom portion and a valve body sidewall. The valve body sidewall has an upper valve body sidewall and a lower valve body sidewall which are connected to each other. An outer surface of the upper valve body sidewall is a partial cylindrical surface, and an outer surface of the lower valve body sidewall is shaped to have a gradually decreasing diameter in a direction from top to bottom. A seal is provided on the valve body sidewall and the seal is configured to match with the housing to enable the valve body sidewall to close at least one of the housing openings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Publication date: October 28, 2021
    Inventors: Yue MA, Ziteng ZHENG, Michael HENKER
  • Publication number: 20210254739
    Abstract: A valve includes a housing, a valve body, a seal member mounting groove, and a seal member which is inserted into the seal member mounting groove from an insertion opening. The seal member is configured to come into contact with the valve body and a housing sealing surface when the valve body closes the housing opening so as to enable the valve body to close a housing opening in a sealed manner. The seal member mounting groove further includes a seal member limiting structure. The seal member limiting structure is disposed on a groove wall. The seal member limiting structure is configured to restrict movement of the seal member toward the valve body relative to the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2021
    Publication date: August 19, 2021
    Inventors: Yue MA, Michael HENKER, Zhipeng DENG
  • Patent number: 11085547
    Abstract: A regulating valve has a housing, a first valve body, a second valve body, a third valve body, a fourth valve body, and an actuating shaft. The housing has a first cavity and a second cavity. The first valve body is disposed in the first cavity. The second valve body is disposed in the first cavity, and the first valve body and the second valve body can rotate about a first axis X. The third valve body is disposed in the second cavity. The fourth valve body is disposed in the first cavity, and the third valve body and the fourth valve body can rotate about a second axis Y. The actuating shaft is rotatably disposed in the first cavity, and the actuating shaft can selectively drive one or more of the first valve body, the second valve body, the third valve body, and the fourth valve body to rotate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Yue Ma, Michael Henker, Ziteng Zheng, Sheng Feng
  • Publication number: 20210215258
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses a seal and a regulating valve having the seal. The seal is used for sealing a flow channel between a pipe orifice of a housing and a valve body in the regulating valve. The seal includes an elastic member and an embedded member. The elastic member is ring-shaped, the embedded member is at least partially embedded in the elastic member, and the hardness of the embedded member is greater than that of the elastic member. The seal of the present disclosure has a simple structure, which not only enables miniaturization of the structure of the regulating valve, but also can simplify assembly steps of the regulating valve, thus facilitating assembly automation of the regulating valve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Publication date: July 15, 2021
    Inventors: Yue MA, Michael HENKER, Ziteng ZHENG
  • Publication number: 20200256472
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses a valve, comprising: a housing; at least one valve body disposed in the housing, and the at least one valve body being rotatable in the housing; and at least one sealing element provided between the housing and the at least one valve body, wherein the at least one sealing element is formed by integral molding. According to the present disclosure, the sealing element is molded on the valve body or the housing, thereby reducing the production cost while ensuring the leakproofness of the sealing elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventor: Michael HENKER
  • Publication number: 20200256475
    Abstract: The present application discloses a valve comprising: a housing; at least one valve body disposed in the housing, the at least one valve body being rotatable in the housing; and at least one sealing element provided between the housing and the at least one valve body; at least one lifting structure configured to move the at least one sealing element upward and downward relative to the housing or the at least one valve body to adjust the relative distance between the at least one sealing element and the housing/the at least one valve body; wherein when the at least one valve body rotates, the at least one sealing element at least partially leaves the housing or the at least one valve body, so that the driving force required to rotate the valve body can be reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventors: Michael HENKER, Yue MA
  • Publication number: 20200248824
    Abstract: An actuating mechanism includes an actuating shaft, an actuated member, and an engaging and disengaging structure. The actuating shaft is configured to be rotatable. The actuated member can be actuated by the actuating shaft to rotate. The engaging and disengaging structure includes an actuating structure provided on the actuating shaft and an actuated structure provided on the actuated member. When the actuating structure engages with the actuated structure, the actuating structure can drive the actuated structure to rotate, such that the actuating shaft can drive the actuated member to rotate. Further, a set of actuating and actuated structures of the actuating mechanism can rotate and stop according to set angle requirements, such that a valve body can be actuated to connect and disconnect different fluid passages as required.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventors: Yue MA, Michael HENKER, Ziteng ZHENG, Sheng FENG
  • Publication number: 20200224777
    Abstract: A regulating valve has a housing, a first valve body, a second valve body, a third valve body, a fourth valve body, and an actuating shaft. The housing has a first cavity and a second cavity. The first valve body is disposed in the first cavity. The second valve body is disposed in the first cavity, and the first valve body and the second valve body can rotate about a first axis X. The third valve body is disposed in the second cavity. The fourth valve body is disposed in the first cavity, and the third valve body and the fourth valve body can rotate about a second axis Y. The actuating shaft is rotatably disposed in the first cavity, and the actuating shaft can selectively drive one or more of the first valve body, the second valve body, the third valve body, and the fourth valve body to rotate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Publication date: July 16, 2020
    Inventors: Yue Ma, Michael Henker, Ziteng Zheng, Sheng Feng
  • Publication number: 20200224779
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to a valve comprising a housing, an actuating shaft and a plurality of groups of valve body elements. The plurality of groups of valve body elements are disposed in the housing and capable of rotating in the housing. The actuating shaft is configured to selectively actuate at least one group of valve body elements in the plurality of groups of valve body elements to rotate. The valve is provided with a plurality of fluid passages therein, and the actuated at least one group of valve body elements can connect or disconnect at least one of the plurality of fluid passages. The valve provided by the present disclosure can control and switch more fluid passages when an output power of an actuating device is limited.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Publication date: July 16, 2020
    Inventors: Michael Henker, Yue Ma