Patents Represented by Attorney Roger M. Rickert
  • Patent number: 4384635
    Abstract: A hermetic compressor housing formed from sheet metal as two housing halves which when joined form a generally ellipsoidal inner surface having a maximum radius of curvature of about one order of magnitude greater than the minimum radius of curvature and deviating from the generally ellipsoidal shape only where necessary for supporting a compressor-motor assembly therein and for joining the housing halves is disclosed and provides a housing of relatively uniform rigidity to reduce the level of sounds radiated thereby. In one specific embodiment all of the audible natural resonant frequencies of the housing are above 3500 Hz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1980
    Date of Patent: May 24, 1983
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: David C. Lowery
  • Patent number: 4383214
    Abstract: The laminating stator core for an engine ignition system includes in addition to that ignition system an arrangement for charging the storage battery of an internal combustion engine powered device during engine operation with a charging coil surrounding one leg of the ignition stator core, a capacitor in parallel with the coil, and a rectifier coupled to the charging coil for conveying a varying unidirectional current to the battery. The ignition system may be of the type having a three legged E-shaped laminated stator core and a flywheel supported permanent magnet with charging coils being positioned on each of the outer E legs with diodes in series with each charging coil and means connecting the two coil-diode series circuits in parallel with one another and to the battery for providing a pair of sequential primary charging current pulses to the battery during each revolution of the flywheel. A fourth laminated stator core leg supporting a charging coil may be employed in some circumstances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1980
    Date of Patent: May 10, 1983
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: John N. MacLeod
  • Patent number: 4380217
    Abstract: An ignition system breaker point assembly for an internal combustion engine to be mounted on the engine adjacent a rotating engine shaft is disclosed and includes an electrically insulating cam supported on the engine shaft for rotation therewith and an electrically insulating housing containing a movable contact member and a stationary contact member with a portion of the movable member extending from the housing toward the cam surface to be actuated by the cam for making and breaking electrical contact. The stationary contact may be adjusted from outside the housing for varying the breaker point gap and a spring may be included within the housing providing continuous electrical and mechanical contact with the movable contact member, urging that movable contact member toward the stationary contact member and the portion of the movable contact member which extends beyond the housing toward the cam. Desirably, the cam comprises an eccentric annulus of a self-lubricating electrically insulating material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1981
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1983
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventors: Anthony E. Wasmer, Stephen L. Koenigs
  • Patent number: 4380216
    Abstract: An improved engine construction is disclosed having a valve train including valves and corresponding valve stems for controlling the intake and exhaust ports, cams for imparting reciprocating motion to the valves by way of the valve train, and a valve spring for biasing each valve toward its closed position and the valve train into tracking relation with the cam. The only element of the valve train coupling a cam to a stem is a cam follower with a depression for receiving the corresponding stem end and a cam engaging surface opposite the depression with the cam follower being held captive intermediate the stem and cam solely by the spring biasing of the stem toward the cam and the engagement of the stem end and the depression. The spring biasing is provided by a coiled wire spring having outwardly extending legs each of which engages a corresponding stem to urge the valves toward their closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 1980
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1983
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: William C. Kandler
  • Patent number: 4375794
    Abstract: An ignition system of the contactless interrupt type for an internal combustion engine is disclosed with a control circuit including a pair of solid state semiconductor devices with one connected to the other in a controlling relation. The ignition system has a high voltage transformer with a secondary winding coupled to a spark plug and a primary winding shunted by the controlled one of the pair of semiconductors. A current flow is induced in the primary winding and then interrupted near its maximum value by rendering both of the semiconductor devices nonconducting. The controlling semiconductor may be a gate controlled switch or so-called gate turn-off device while the controlled semiconductor may be a power transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1980
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1983
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Anthony E. Wasmer
  • Patent number: 4370099
    Abstract: A discharge gas temperature sensing corrective arrangement for a hermetic motor-compressor unit is disclosed wherein a heat sensitive element is supported in a discharge muffler located remote from the compressor outlet and in good heat transfer relation with compressed gas entering the discharge muffler from the compressor outlet so that the heat sensitive element provides an indication of the temperature of that compressed gas as it enters the discharge muffler. The discharge muffler outlet is connected to a somewhat conventional refrigerating circuit and a conduit connects the discharge muffler inlet to the compressor outlet. The compressor may include a plurality of gas compressing cylinders having their respective discharge ports connected together to form a discharge gas manifold which functions as a muffler within the compressor with the conduit connected to that discharge gas manifold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1977
    Date of Patent: January 25, 1983
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Edwin L. Gannaway
  • Patent number: 4364172
    Abstract: An electrical connector for a multiconductor cable is disclosed where the connector is formed at one end of a conductor disposed in a flexible metal conduit by providing the conductor with a terminal at the one end and placing at least a portion of the terminal along with portions of the conductor and the flexible metal conduit in a connector forming cavity to thereafter form insulating material about the terminal, conductor and flexible metal conduit portions in the cavity. By this technique the insulating material may be made to conform to the exterior of the flexible metal conduit portion and also to conform to a section of the interior of that conduit along a length extending beyond the cavity thereby providing an extremely rugged and serviceable connector arrangement. The terminal may be simply crimped about the conductor near the end thereof and somewhat beyond the end of the flexible metal conduit and the insulating material formed by an injection molding technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1980
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1982
    Inventor: Steven M. Kelly
  • Patent number: 4360481
    Abstract: A carburetion system for an internal combustion engine having improved fuel metering is disclosed and includes a fuel supply conduit which is formed in a portion of the body of the carburetor extending from a fuel source to the carburetor bore with that carburetor body portion having a first linear temperature coefficient of expansion. A mixture control member formed of a material having a second linear temperature coefficient of expansion engages the body in a first region and defines relative to the carburetor body in a second remote region a fuel metering orifice for controlling fuel flow through the fuel supply conduit. The mixture control member may be moved relative to the first and second regions to change the fuel to air ratio supplied to the engine. Employing a fuel metering orifice in the adjustable fuel metering arrangement, the minimum flow area of which has a simply connected convex cross sectional configuration, minimizes the adverse effects of ambient temperature changes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1980
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1982
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Vernon R. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 4358727
    Abstract: The laminated stator core for an engine ignition system includes in addition to that ignition system an arrangement for charging the storage battery of an internal combustion engine powered device during engine operation with a charging coil surrounding one leg of the ignition stator core and a rectifier coupled to the charging coil for conveying a varying unidirectional current to the battery. The ignition system may be of the type having a three legged E-shaped laminated stator core and a flywheel supported permanent magnet with charging coils being positioned on each of the outer E legs with diodes in series with each charging coil and means connecting the two coil-diode series circuits in parallel with one another and to the battery for providing a pair of sequential primary charging current pulses to the battery during each revolution of the flywheel. A fourth laminated stator core leg supporting a charging coil may be employed in some circumstances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1980
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1982
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Kenneth W. Campen
  • Patent number: 4357177
    Abstract: An upright vacuum cleaner conversion and storage pedestal for receiving and supporting a vacuum cleaner and adapting the cleaner to flexible hose cleaning tasks is disclosed having a wheeled base or bed releasably fastenable to the bottom of the cleaner with a vacuum transmitting conduit in the base positionable in substantially airtight relation with the suction mouth of the cleaner and communicating with a coupler for joining a flexible air hose to the conduit so that the pedestal supported cleaner may be used in much the same manner as a conventional canister type cleaner. A leg may be pivotably supported beneath the base, movable between a stowed horizontal position and an extended position for supporting the cleaner and pedestal on a stairway with wheels of the base resting on one step surface and the leg resting on the next lower step surface so as to adapt the upright vacuum cleaner to vacuuming stairways and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1981
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1982
    Inventor: Robert D. Knox
  • Patent number: 4356624
    Abstract: Electric heater assemblies to encircle and warm hermetic compressor housings are fabricated by the selection of a sheathed tubular heating element of a length of the same order of magnitude as the circumference of the compressor housing to be encircled and a bend is introduced near the end of the selected element. An elongated tensioning member and the element bend are positioned closely adjacent one another and a mass of non-metallic material molded about the element bend and a portion of the tensioning member to join the member to the selected element. Opposite ends of the tensioning member may be joined to the heating element near the opposite ends thereof by introducing a similar bend near the end opposite the one end of the selected element and similarly juxtaposing the tensioning member and bend and thereafter molding a further mass about the element bend and tensioning member so as to form a loop for encircling the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1980
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1982
    Assignee: Lyall Electric, Inc.
    Inventors: Don A. Coverstone, Larry G. Harris
  • Patent number: 4351728
    Abstract: A seperator, for example, for use in paper production, of the kind having a rotationally symmetrical strainer through which the suspension flows, enclosed in a housing which has an inlet for the suspension to be cleaned and outlets both for cleaned suspension and for impurities held back by the strainer, and having blades revolving in front of the strainer which are divided into part-blades along the axis of rotation, that is, by planes perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and are offset relative to each other in the circumferential direction is disclosed. Several rows of part-blades are arranged over the strainer basket, these part-blades being of such a length and staggered over the circumference in such a way that substantially at every height level, relative to the height of the strainer basket, part-blades from several rows pass by the strainer basket. A separator free of troublesome pressure pulsations is thereby provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1982
    Assignee: J. M. Voith GmbH
    Inventors: Dieter Egelhof, Hans R. Schmid
  • Patent number: 4347659
    Abstract: An arrangement whereby a plurality of coils may be simultaneously formed on a common coil form and thereafter that form sliced or sectioned to yield individual coils is disclosed employing an elongated hollow coil form of insulating material with a plurality of lateral surface openings spaced therealong and extending in the direction of elongation. A conductive strip extends along the surface of the coil form and has a plurality of conductive tabs extending from the strip and through corresponding coil form openings into the hollow interior of the form. A plurality of wire ends are attached to the conductive strip and the coil form rotated to generate the plurality of coils thereon. A second conductive strip may be placed along the formed coils for terminating the other coil lead so that when individual coils are severed from the form, convenient terminals connected to the beginning and terminus of the coil are available for connecting the coil in circuit with other components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1982
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Richard L. Dalton, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4323522
    Abstract: A manually actuable primer for an internally vented float regulated fuel bowl type carburetor employs an arrangement for minimizing variations in fuel mixture richness resulting from variations in air intake path restrictions as might be created by a clogged air filter includes a bifurcated float bowl air vent conduit with one branch communicating with the carburetor bore in the region of the Venturi and the other branch communicating with the bore outside the region of the Venturi along with an arrangement for directing displaced fuel from the fuel supply chamber directly into a conduit which normally conveys fuel from a fuel well to the Venturi region, the directing arrangement being formed as an annular insert for the fuel well, the aperture of which forms the fixed fuel metering orifice of the carburetor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1980
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1982
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Jerome L. Rasmussen
  • Patent number: 4322743
    Abstract: A method is disclosed of projecting images on a screen which are so bright as to be easily visible in a lighted room, including projecting a pair of stereoscope pictures which can be seen in three dimensions without the observer wearing special spectacles or using other personal optical aids. The combination includes a large projection optic combined with a special screen which acts as a screen but which also has focus power and casts an image of the projection optic out in space in a limited viewing area for the observer's use in viewing a single two dimensional picture. In a modified form of the invention the large projection optic is divided into an array of segments where adjacent pairs of segments separately project each of a pair of stereoscopic pictures onto the screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1979
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1982
    Inventor: Glenn E. Rickert
  • Patent number: 4314960
    Abstract: A method of insulating electrical connectors having terminals with leads extending therefrom by using a flexible insert arrangement for an electrical connector mold for supporting leads extending therefrom and closing the mold end which includes a flat resilient body having one or more lead-accepting depressions normal to the body across one edge thereof and an arrangement actuable as the mold halves are closed on one another for deforming the body to temporarily displace the body resilient material about each electrical lead extending from the mold to complete the formation of an insulating material-accepting connector forming cavity. A flowable insulating material is then injected into the cavity to form the insulated connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1980
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1982
    Assignee: Lyall Electric, Inc.
    Inventor: Alan R. Hass
  • Patent number: 4306752
    Abstract: Locomotive air brake system in which each individual car has a solenoid actuable dump valve for substantially simultaneous dumping of air to enhance causing of simultaneous braking of each car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1980
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1981
    Inventor: Cecil R. Brandt
  • Patent number: 4294003
    Abstract: A radiant heating device and a method of forming such a device are disclosed wherein a metal heat radiating plate has a first surface for forming a front surface of the heating panel with the surface opposite that first surface having an electrically insulated sheet heating element affixed thereto. The plate and heating element are embedded in a flowable material to cover the heating element and the plate edges about substantially the entire periphery of the plate while leaving the plate front surface substantially material free and that flowable material solidified to form an electrically and thermally insulating frame for supporting the plate and the heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1979
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1981
    Assignee: Lyall Electric, Inc.
    Inventor: Don A. Coverstone
  • Patent number: 4292904
    Abstract: A furnace system, especially a coal burning furnace and boiler system, in which the coal to be burned is placed on a grate at the bottom of the combustion chamber. According to the invention, automatic means are provided for supplying the coal to the boiler in response to the demands of the boiler. In addition, the boiler system of the present invention includes new and improved means for heating water to about 180.degree. F. to produce steam for use in generating power, such as in a steam locomotive railroad engine pulling up to at least 150 cars. The present invention also, in addition, provides the steam generating raw and distilled water supplies in indirect heat exchange closely adjacent the boiler in order to take advantage of the boiler for maintaining heating of the water supplies. Furthermore, the boiler system of the present invention provides means for recycling the combustion gases back into the combustion chamber whereby to enhance the heat producing efficiency of the boiler system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1980
    Date of Patent: October 6, 1981
    Inventor: Cecil R. Brandt
  • Patent number: 4285440
    Abstract: A vented fuel reservoir filler cap having a check valve positioned intermediate an inner surface of that cap and an annular gasket seated in the cap so that both the gasket and check valve will in turn be captured between the cap inner surface and the fuel reservoir filler when the cap is in the reservoir closing position is disclosed with the check valve comprising a disc-like support with an elongated valve cavity carried by the support and having openings near opposite ends thereof with a valve member captive within the valve cavity and movable between a position near one cavity end for closing the valve and a position near the other cavity end allowing the valve to remain open. The spit resistant characteristics of the cap are enhanced by providing a baffle intermediate the check valve and an aperture in the fuel cap for venting the reservoir and may be further enhanced by providing another baffle on the side of the check valve opposite the first baffle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1981
    Assignee: Tecumseh Products Company
    Inventor: Gar M. Adams