Patents by Inventor Wayne C. Sumpman

Wayne C. Sumpman 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: 6747534
    Abstract: This concerns a molded case circuit breaker having separable main contacts and an operating mechanism utilized to cause the separable main contacts to open and close. A trip unit is provided to actuate the operating mechanism in desirable circumstances. The trip unit has a magnetic trip level adjustment dial, which has an adjustment face with a series of detents therein. The dial has a cam service, which interacts with internal portions of the trip unit to set or calibrate the level at which a magnetic trip actuation occurs. The aforementioned detent interacts with a spring loaded L-shaped member which fits into the casing of the trip unit along with the dial as a single unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Mueller, Wayne C. Sumpman, James A. Trax
  • Patent number: 6229418
    Abstract: This concerns a molded case circuit breaker having separable main contacts and an operating mechanism utilized to cause the separable main contacts to open and close. A trip unit is provided to actuate the operating mechanism in desirable circumstances. The aforementioned trip unit has disposed on an outside surface thereof, dials for adjustment of the thermal and magnetic tripping characteristics of the circuit breaker. The face of the trip unit also has a set of hinge regions disposed therein into which a plastic, transparent, hinged cover may be inserted. The top of the trip unit has a convenient ridge around the outside of the dial regions. The cover after insertion is rotated downward on to the face of the dial region and then moved transversely to abut one of the ridges. Both the cover and the surface of the dial region have bridged openings therein through which a single wire may be fed and locked in place with a solder lock at the ends of the wires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Mueller, Wayne C. Sumpman
  • Patent number: 6100777
    Abstract: This concerns a four pole molded case circuit breaker having separable main contacts and an operating mechanism utilized to cause the separable main contacts to open and close. A trip unit is provided to actuate the operating mechanism in desirable circumstances. The circuit breaker in this case has four-poles, one of which is a neutral pole. The circuit breaker trip unit has rotatable trip bars therein, one of which is associated with the three-line terminals and one of which is associated with the neutral terminal. If the line terminal trip bar is actuated to move because of a fault to overload in one of the line terminals, only the line terminals will open because the neutral trip bar will not be moved. However, if the neutral trip bar is moved because of a predescribed neutral current value in the neutral conductor all of the contacts including the neutral contact will be opened because of the interlocking arrangement between the neutral trip bar and the line trip bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Mueller, Wayne C. Sumpman
  • Patent number: 6084188
    Abstract: A molded case circuit breaker having separable main contacts and an operating mechanism utilized to cause the separable main contacts to open and close. A trip unit is provided to actuate the operating mechanism in desirable circumstances. The circuit breaker has external terminals which are connectable with an external load and an external power supply. A collar is used to interconnect the circuit breaker terminals with the load and power supply. The terminal collar in this case is non-symmetrical. The non-symmetrical collar provides two functions: the first function is that the path of electrical continently between adjacent collars is enlarged for higher voltage applications because of the non-symmetrical nature of each collar; secondly, the circuit breaker case has a seat therein which has the same cross-section as the non-symmetrical collar, so that the collar can only be inserted therein in one cross-sectional orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Mueller, Thomas A. Whitaker, Wayne C. Sumpman
  • Patent number: 4802531
    Abstract: A heat exchanger and electromagnetic pump assembly is disclosed as comprising a heat exchanger including a housing for defining an annularly shaped cavity and supporting therein a plurality of tubes. An electromagnetic pump is disposed beneath the heat exchanger and is comprised of a plurality of flow couplers disposed in a circular array. Each flow coupler is comprised of a pump duct for receiving primary liquid metal, and a generator duct for receiving an intermediate liquid metal. A downcomer tube is disposed centrally of the assembly and passes through the annularly shaped cavity and the array of flow couplers to discharge the intermediate fluid into a first plenum chamber. The first plenum chamber is disposed in communication with the generator ducts of all of the flow couplers, thus permitting the intermediate liquid metal to flow upward therethrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1989
    Assignee: Electric Power Research Institute
    Inventors: Richard D. Nathenson, Christopher C. Alexion, Wayne C. Sumpman
  • Patent number: 4749023
    Abstract: A continuous metal caster cooling system is provided in which water is supplied in jets from a large number of small nozzles 19 against the inner surface of rim 13 at a temperature and with sufficient pressure that the velocity of the jets is sufficiently high that the mode of heat transfer is substantially by forced convection, the liquid being returned from the cooling chambers 30 through return pipes 25 distributed interstitially among the nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 7, 1988
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Robert Draper, Wayne C. Sumpman, Robert J. Baker, Robert S. Williams
  • Patent number: 4303368
    Abstract: The remote docking apparatus comprises a support plate with locking devices mounted thereon. The locking devices are capable of being inserted into tubular members for suspending the support plate therefrom. A vertical member is attached to the support plate with an attachment mechanism attached to the vertical member. A remote access manipulator is capable of being attached to the attachment mechanism so that the vertical member can position the remote access manipulator so that the remote access manipulator can be initially attached to the tubular members in a well defined manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1978
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1981
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Thomas H. Dent, Wayne C. Sumpman, John J. Wilhelm