Patents Examined by Han L. Liu
  • Patent number: 6715994
    Abstract: A bilge pump having a mounting member adapted to be mounted to a vessel and a base movably engageable with the mounting member and positionable in at least two positions relative to the mounting member. A housing is releasably coupled to the base and defines a cavity for receiving a motor. A locking ring is engageable with the motor and the housing to secure the motor in the cavity while allowing the motor to be movable with respect to the housing. The cavity in the housing communicates with an outlet portion defining a socket. An outlet nozzle having an outlet end is movably received in the socket so that the outlet end can be moved relative to the housing. These features can be employed individually or in combination to make the bilge pump highly adaptable, thereby facilitating installation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Assignee: Shurflo Pump Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Anil B. Patel, Brian A. Babson
  • Patent number: 6716006
    Abstract: A telescopic dual movement pump has a nozzle assembly, a central tube connected to the nozzle assembly, a first tube enclosing the central tube and slidable relative to the central tube and a second tube enclosing the first tube and slidable to the first tube. The central tube has a first piston assembly which includes a block slidably received in the first tube. The first tube has an end provided with a second piston assembly which includes a second block slidably received in the second tube. The movement of the block and the second block in two opposite directions is able to force air inside the pump to be ejected out of the pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Inventor: Hsi-Kung Yang
  • Patent number: 6712585
    Abstract: A brushless direct current magnetic pump includes a drive shaft that passes through and that is coupled to a magnet carrier. The magnet carrier with an annular sleeve with at least six outer ribs that define at least six slots that extend axially along the sleeve. The at least six slots accommodate at least six bar magnets and at least six sensor magnets. A Hall effect sensor is included in the motor assembly to provide positional information of the sensor magnets to a controller for improved speed control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignee: Viking Pump, Inc.
    Inventors: Victor C. Iehl, Michael R. Crawford, Howard Koth
  • Patent number: 6709245
    Abstract: The invention relates to a pump, in particular to oil pumps for internal combustion engines comprising a gear assembly or rotor assembly with one each of a pressure and suction region arranged in a pump housing, which may be sealed from each other by means of an axially displaceable piston valve which defines a supply chamber and a housing cover, closing the pump housing. The pressure region comprises a pressure channel connected to the waist of the control piston, whereby the control piston cooperates with a plunger on the end thereof facing the supply chamber, which is arranged at right angles to the control piston. The plunger is pre-tensioned against the control piston by means of a pressure spring, and the plunger and control piston are connected by means of a sliding surface, arranged at an angle to the control piston axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: GKN Sinter Metals GmbH
    Inventor: Josef Bachmann
  • Patent number: 6705841
    Abstract: A variable displacement piston compressor comprising a housing and a shaft supported within the housing for rotational movement about an axis. The shaft includes a stepped down portion defining a reduced diameter within the shaft. A pin extends generally outward from the shaft and includes a distal end. A sleeve is mounted about the shaft, is slidable along the shaft, and is rotatable with the shaft. The sleeve extends over a portion of the stepped down portion of the shaft and defines a radial gap between the sleeve and the stepped down portion. A swash-ring is supported on the sleeve and is rotatable with the shaft. The swash-ring is pivotably coupled to the distal end of the pin. The swash-ring defines an angle with the axis that is adjustable with respect to the axis. A biasing member engages the sleeve and biases the sleeve along the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Pawelski, Brian R. Kelm, Douglas Alexander Young
  • Patent number: 6705840
    Abstract: A dual tandem pump apparatus having a pair of coaxially arranged pump shafts and a separate input shaft that is not coaxial with the pump shafts. Charge pumps may be mounted on end caps secured to the housing or may be driven directly by the input shaft. A coupler or bevel gear arrangement is used inside the pump housing to drive the pump shafts from the input shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Assignee: Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership
    Inventors: Raymond M. Hauser, Lonnie E. Holder
  • Patent number: 6701714
    Abstract: A combustor for a gas turbine engine is provided which includes a plurality of liner segments and a support shell. The support shell includes an interior and an exterior surface, a plurality of mounting holes, and a plurality of impingement coolant holes extending through the support shell. Each liner segment includes a panel and a plurality of mounting studs. The panel includes a face surface and a back surface, and a plurality of normal or inclined coolant holes extending therethrough. The back surface of the panel has a surface profile for improving the heat transfer properties of a liner segment without substantial increase in pressure drop across the combustor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Steven W. Burd, Kenneth S. Siskind, Charles B. Graves
  • Patent number: 6702554
    Abstract: The invention relates to a liquid tank with centrifugal pump with a substantially vertical pump shaft for discharging of the liquid, wherein the pump is arranged with the intake side at the bottom of the tank and via a drive shaft connected to drive means preferably arranged above the tank, where the drive shaft with a coupling is in operable connection with the pump shaft, and wherein the pump near the coupling has a first main shaft at the upper end of the pump shaft and a second main bearing opposite the coupling at the lower end of the pump shaft near the tank bottom, and wherein there is connection between the discharge side of the pump step opposite each bearing and the bearing faces of the relevant bearing, and wherein there is provided an outlet from each bearing to the intake side of the pump step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Inventor: Eric Aarestrup Sørensen
  • Patent number: 6699019
    Abstract: A system for pumping water from a well (32) drilled into an underground water source (44) that is operable in association with the windmill (10) having a tower frame (14), a wind driven turbine (12), and a reciprocating pump shaft (16) operably connected to the turbine. The system includes an air pump (20) mechanically linked to the reciprocating pump shaft (16) of the windmill (10) and operable by the direct reciprocating motion of the shaft (16). The air pump (20) operates through the reciprocating motion of the windmill shaft (16) and delivers a flow of compressed air into the well (32) down to a point below the water level within the well (32). An air lift fluid pump (20, 36) is positioned within the well (32) and comprises a submerged mixing chamber wherein compressed air is injected into the mixing chamber forming a buoyant air-water mixture. This buoyant mixture flows towards the surface which in turn draws water up through the fluid conduit (38) to the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Inventors: Steven Craig Myers, Allan Curtis Hogue
  • Patent number: 6688854
    Abstract: There is disclosed a high-pressure compressor comprising a compression mechanism for reciprocating/driving a piston with respect to a conventional cylinder by rotation of a motor and compressing an operating fluid sucked by this driving to generate the high-pressure operating fluid according to improvements in a piston shape, positions of a cylinder operation surface and the piston, specifics shapes of the cylinder and piston, and connecting constitution of the piston to a connecting rod, which solves problems such as occurrence of wear on a cylinder inner surface by displacement of the piston, size enlargement by an increase of a removal capacity, difficulty in processing the piston and connecting rod, and a large top clearance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuo Sakamoto, Hiroshi Nishikawa, Makoto Aida, Takahiro Nishikawa, Kazuya Sato, Takayuki Mizuno, Aritomo Sato
  • Patent number: 6685447
    Abstract: A rotordynamic system includes a vertically arranged motor, rotordynamic device and controller. The rotordynamic device is a centrifugal pump or compressor operated by the motor to drive a fluid from the input to the output. A liquid cooling system operates to maintain the controller and motor at a desired operating temperature. Due to the liquid cooling system, the controller operates the motor at effectively any practical speed. The liquid cooling system is in heat exchange relationship with an oil system contained within the motor to distribute thermal energy therebetween to further increase thermal control of each.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand
    Inventors: William J. Mabe, Christopher B. Garlasco, III, Gail Roberts, James Larry Jones
  • Patent number: 6685451
    Abstract: A valve assembly for an oil pumping system including a shell, a seat affixed in a lower end of the shell, a ball positioned within the shell and having a diameter greater than a diameter of the seat, and a cage positioned within the interior passageway of the shell. The cage has a first ported area and a second ported area on opposite sides of a ball retaining system. An elastomeric ring or a resilient member is positioned against a top of the cage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Inventor: Ray K. Ivey
  • Patent number: 6682314
    Abstract: A control valve has a valve housing and a valve chamber defined in the valve housing. A valve body is accommodated in the valve chamber for adjusting the opening degree of a supply passage. A pressure sensing chamber is defined in the valve housing. The pressure at a pressure monitoring point in a refrigerant circuit is applied to the pressure sensing chamber. A bellows is located in the pressure sensing chamber. The bellows has a movable end. A transmission rod is slidably supported by the valve housing. The transmission rod includes the valve body. A support spring is located between the inner wall of the pressure sensing chamber and the movable end of the bellows. The spring supports the movable end such that the movable end can be displaced. The movable end of the bellows includes a protrusion such that the spring and the movable end of the bellows are fitted to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
    Inventors: Satoshi Umemura, Tatsuya Hirose, Taku Adaniya, Ken Suitou, Ryo Matsubara, Kazuhiko Minami
  • Patent number: 6682313
    Abstract: A pump primer for a pump on a fire truck uses a high-speed compressed air in a venturi in a compressed air chamber to generate a vacuum in a vacuum chamber to prime a pump, with an integral valve which separates the pump from the priming ejectors (venturis), the valve being opened by the compressed air when the primer is activated, the valve being closed by a spring return when the compressed air supply is removed, where water drawn in through the primer is freely drained by gravity to prevent freezing in cold weather.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: Trident Emergency Products, LLC
    Inventor: Michael Sulmone
  • Patent number: 6679684
    Abstract: A pump device comprising a support member having a fitting recess, a movable member which is reciprocated in said fitting recess to suck a working fluid, pressurize the fluid and deliver the pressurized fluid, and a movement restricting device operable to deform a wall at least partially defining the fitting recess of the support member, such that the wall is deformed toward the movable member, for restricting a reciprocating movement of the movable member in the fitting recess, at least when an amount of the pressurized fluid required to be delivered by the pump device is smaller than a nominal delivery amount of the pump device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Kominami
  • Patent number: 6679683
    Abstract: The present invention provides the art with a scroll machine which has a plurality of built-in volume ratios along with their respective design pressure ratios. The incorporation of more than one built-in volume ratio allows a single compressor to be optimized for more than one operating condition. The operating envelope for the compressor will determine which of the various built-in volume ratios is going to be selected. Each volume ratio includes a discharge passage extending between one of the pockets of the scroll machine and the discharge chamber. All but the highest volume ration utilize a valve controlling the flow through the discharge passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: Copeland Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen M. Seibel, Michael M. Perevozchikov, Norman Beck
  • Patent number: 6672842
    Abstract: A hydraulic pump for use in a pump assembly of a railway track lubricating system includes a housing defining an intake chamber having an intake port, an outlet channel leading to an outlet port, a gear chamber containing interengaged gears, a discharge port having a discharge port, a window opening between the gear chamber and the discharge chamber, and a double head piston having a first head in the intake chamber, a second head in the discharge chamber, and a spring for biasing the piston to a first position where the first head is spaced a maximum from a wall between the intake chamber and the discharge chamber. The outlet port has a smaller cross section than the outlet channel so that checked charged deliveries of hydraulic fluid into the intake chamber will cause the piston to move from its first position to a second position and force grease out of the discharge chamber through the discharge port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Applied Technology Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Peter C. Lounsberry, Devin W. Brown
  • Patent number: 6672844
    Abstract: A variable displacement compressor has a control valve for controlling the displacement of the compressor. When the pressure in a discharge chamber of the compressor (discharge pressure) is equal to or higher than a first threshold value, a controller executes a limiting control for limiting the discharge pressure. During the limiting control, the controller gradually decreases a duty ratio, which is sent to the control valve, such that the displacement of the compressor is gradually decreased. When the duty ratio is decreased to a reference duty ratio, the controller sets the duty ratio to zero %. As a result, the compressor displacement is minimized and the discharge pressure is lowered. Therefore, the pipes of an external refrigerant circuit does not receive excessive load based on high discharge pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
    Inventors: Tetsuhiko Fukanuma, Atsuyuki Morishita, Tomohiko Yokono
  • Patent number: 6669450
    Abstract: A rotary slant shaft type gas compressor having a multi-stepped exhaust system is provided, which includes: a driving shaft fixed with a cylinder head formed with gas holes; a gas guide member for intake of gas and discharge of compressed gas; a case head member coupled with the driving shaft and formed with an intake port and three exhaust ports; a valve plate member fixed on an inner surface of the case head member to contact an outer surface of the cylinder head, and formed with a gas intake valve groove and three gas exhaust valve grooves; a cylinder block formed with cylinder bores, integrally coupled with the cylinder head, and slidably inserted by pistons; and a swivel plate member connected to the cylinder block and the pistons and converting the rotation force to reciprocation motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Airzen Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kyu-Ok Jeong
  • Patent number: 6669448
    Abstract: A method for controlling the operation of one or more electrically-operated pumps (11, 12) to pump a liquid from a well or sump (10) which, in use, receives a substantially continuous inflow of said liquid, characterized in that the method includes the step of starting or stopping each pump in relation to the approach of a change of tariff for the electricity supplied for the operation of each said pump (11, 12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Pulsar Process Measurement Ltd.
    Inventors: Keith Beard, Paul Lewis, Steven Lycett, Sang Tran