Patents Examined by Jessica Frantz
  • Patent number: 7261523
    Abstract: A pump system for providing a pressurized liquid comprising an elevated supply reservoir of a liquid at a first pressure; at least one pair of vertically reciprocating liquid transfer vessels (each of the transfer vessels having a force transfer assembly operatively associated with it that transfers downward force into upward force and a liquid pump operatively associated with the force transfer assembly for delivering liquid at a second pressure that is greater than said first pressure) and a storage reservoir below said supply reservoir for receiving liquid from said supply reservoir and delivering said liquid to each of said liquid pumps. The supply reservoir is adapted to supply the liquid to the transfer vessels under gravity flow, and the liquid applied to said transfer vessels provides the downward force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Inventor: Serafim Felix Da Silva
  • Patent number: 7255540
    Abstract: A gas processing well head pump assembly consisting of a reciprocating piston compressor pump having input and output ports; an internal combustion engine connected operatively to the compressor pump; a first gas conduit having a wall, a well head end, a pump end, and having an expanded bore between the well head and pump ends, the pump end being fixedly attached to the gas pump's input port, the wall having a first and at least a second aperture overlying the expanded bore; a second gas conduit having a pump end fixedly attached to the gas pump's output port, the second gas conduit entering the first gas conduit's expanded bore through the first aperture, and the second gas conduit exiting the expanded bore through the at least second aperture; and a natural gas liquids separator positioned within the first gas conduit's expanded bore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Inventor: Jerry A. Cooper
  • Patent number: 7244108
    Abstract: This invention relates to a hermetic compressor used on a refrigerant cycle such as a refrigerator, and discloses a low noise compressor designed to attenuate a resonance sound in a compression chamber and intake pressure pulsing more operatively at a position adjacent to their sources, which intake pressure pulsing occurs at an intake valve port. In the compressor, a resonance space 38 is provided adjacent to the intake valve port 29 that is closer in distance to a noise source. As a result, noise can be reduced more operatively than muffling functions of an intake muffler 31 do. In addition, although acoustic characteristics of the intake muffler 31 amplify noises having specific frequencies, such noises can be attenuated before being amplified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Refrigeration Company
    Inventors: Akihiko Kubota, Hidetoshi Nishihara, Masahiko Osaka, Toshihiko Ota, Hiroki Awashima, Manabu Motegi, Kazuhito Noguchi, Takeshi Kojima, Masahiro Kakutani
  • Patent number: 7241119
    Abstract: A flexible tube has a first portion and a second portion located close to each other in the vicinity of an opening of an accommodating case. A pressing member moves from the first portion to the second portion along the tube while pressing a portion of the tube. An auxiliary member is provided in the vicinity of the opening of the case. The auxiliary member has an auxiliary surface. When the pressing member passes the vicinity of the opening of the case, the auxiliary member transfers the pressing member from the second portion to the first portion via the auxiliary surface. This structure ensures a silent operation of the tube pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shuhei Harada
  • Patent number: 7229257
    Abstract: A horizontal type compressor comprising: a differential pressure plate for dividing an inside of a casing into a high pressure chamber and a lower pressure chamber and thus maintaining an oil level of the high pressure chamber to be higher than that of the lower pressure chamber; and a lubricating unit for supplying oil stored in the high pressure chamber to each sliding part in the compressor and making the oil which finished a lubricating operation return to the high pressure chamber from the lower pressure chamber. The compressor smoothly supplies refrigerant oil and minimizes an amount of the refrigerant oil discharged outside the compressor, thereby prolonging a life of the compressor and increasing a reliability of the compressor. Also, the differential pressure plate and the muffler are integrally formed, thereby reducing a fabricating cost and reducing an assembling process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Hyun-Jun Ko, Youn-Bong Han
  • Patent number: 7207786
    Abstract: Fuel pump assembly 10 includes a filter 42 that rests on ledge 48, between the pump housing 22 and inlet cap 56. Filter detector 50 has a valve engager 62 for opening the check valve 58 and bearing feet 52 that engage the perimeter of the filter. When the filter is absent from the pump, the bearing feet 52 of the filter detector move beyond the ledge 48 into the recess 54 and the valve engager stem 62 retracts from the check valve 58 and the valve closes to terminate flow of fuel to the pump. The inlet and outlet caps 56 and 76 are rotatably mounted to the intermediate body of the pump to allow the fuel inlet and outlet to be oriented at angular intervals about the pump. A progressive seal is formed at the O-ring 86 between the inlet end cap 56 and the fuel pump housing to continue the seal as the end cap is removed or reassembled with the housing so that the check valve is closed before the housing is opened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Inventor: Barry S. Grant
  • Patent number: 7207785
    Abstract: A vane pump is disclosed for use with gas turbine engines that is adapted and configured to provide a failure mode similar to that of a traditional gear pump. The vane pump includes a pump housing, a cam member, a cylindrical rotor member and a mechanism for communicating a high pressure fluid from the discharge arc region to the inlet arc region when the tip surface of each vane element has experienced a predetermined amounted of wear so as to prevent pump startup. The tip surface of each vane element wears as a result the sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Goodrich Pump & Engine Control Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: William H. Dalton, Kurt G. Grochowski
  • Patent number: 7201566
    Abstract: In a reciprocating-piston machine, in particular a refrigerant compressor for a motor vehicle air-conditioning system, including a machine shaft, a plurality of pistons are arranged, at the same distance from the machine shaft, on a cylinder envelope defined by the axes of the pistons and extending around the machine shaft, and an annular pivoting disc which is driven by the machine shaft and which engages the pistons via a joint arrangement, the joint arrangement has an at least partially spherical receptacle, in which at least one sliding element structure is arranged moveably relative to the associated piston and relative to the pivoting disc, including a first sliding element having a first sliding face in the form of a spherical segment with a first geometric center (M1, M3), and a second sliding element having a second sliding face in the form of a spherical segment with a second geometric center (M2, M4) arranged at a distance from the first geometric center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignees: DaimlerChrysler AG, Obrist Engineering GmbH
    Inventors: Roland Cäsar, Peter Kuhn
  • Patent number: 7195464
    Abstract: A hydraulic axial piston pump comprising a cylinder block closed at sides by a head and by a containment casing for piston actuating a plate, an electric motor coupled to the plate, reversible locking means for a bypass valve inserted in a seat of the body and kinematically connected to a microswitch connected to the electric motor, the reversible locking means comprising a retention element insertable transversely to the seat in a receptacle formed in the body without structure discontinuity, the bypass valve head being integrated in a shell external to the body and enclosing the microswitch and the kinematic system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Lavorwash S.p.A.
    Inventor: Giancarlo Lanfredi
  • Patent number: 7179063
    Abstract: In a reciprocating-piston machine, in particular a refrigerant compressor for a motor vehicle air-conditioning system, including a machine shaft rotatably supported in a housing, a plurality of pistons arranged circularly around the machine shaft in the housing, and an annular pivoting disc driven by the machine shaft and engaging the pistons via a joint arrangement, the pivoting disc being connected in an articulated manner to the machine shaft via a driver for transmitting the machine shaft drive forces to the pistons and mounted on a machine shaft-supported sliding body so as to be pivotable about a hinge axis oriented transversely to the machine shaft, the sliding body has an elongated recess which is open at one axial end for receiving the driver and the sliding body further includes at its inside adjacent the machine shaft a cavity, which is in communication with a bore forming a discharge passage extending through the machine shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignees: DaimlerChrysler AG, ObristEngineering GmbH
    Inventors: Roland Cäsar, Peter Kuhn
  • Patent number: 7168930
    Abstract: A peristaltic pump 10 for use in ophthalmic surgery includes a housing 12, a pump head 14 having plurality of rollers 16, a backing plate 18 attached to the housing 12, and a length of surgical tubing 50. The rollers 16 and backing plate 18 cooperate to pinch the length of surgical tubing 50 to peristaltically pump fluids from a surgical site to a collection bag 64. At least one of the pump head 14 and the backing plate 18 is moveable, during operation of the pump 10, from a tubing pinched position to a tubing vent position. This movement allows the tubing 50 to be vented by removing the pinched closure of the tubing 50.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Bausch & Lomb Incorporated
    Inventors: Laurence J. Cull, James T. Perkins, Robert Fries
  • Patent number: 7156625
    Abstract: Fuel pump 10 includes a filter 42 that rests on ledge 48, between the pump housing 12 and inlet cap 56. Filter detector 50 has a valve engager stem 62 for opening the check valve 58 and bearing feet 52 that engage the perimeter of the filter but the bearing feet are out of alignment with the ledge. When the filter is absent from the pump, the bearing feet 52 of the valve engager move beyond the ledge 48 and the valve engager stem 62 retracts from the check valve 58 and the valve closes to terminate flow of fuel to the pump, thus limiting the fuel that can escape from then pump when it is opened. At least one of the inlet and outlet caps 56 and 76 are rotatably mounted to the intermediate body of the pump to allow the fuel inlet and outlet to be oriented at angular intervals about the pump to facilitate the connection of fuel lines to the pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Inventor: Barry S. Grant