Patents Examined by Patrick C Williams
  • Patent number: 11506228
    Abstract: A drive circuit for operating a solenoid includes a main switch and a charge pump circuit. The main switch is coupled in series with a coil of the solenoid. The main switch is configured to selectively enable current flow from a voltage source according to a main switching signal to translate a poppet of the solenoid between an opened position and a closed position. The charge pump circuit is coupled to the voltage source. The charge pump circuit is configured to discharge through the coil to translate the poppet from the closed position to the opened position, and to charge when the poppet is held in the opened position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Capstan Ag Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Kale Schrader, Duane Needham
  • Patent number: 11499649
    Abstract: A flow control valve includes a housing having a valve chamber, an inlet port, an outlet port, and a valve seat. In addition, the flow control valve includes a valve body disposed in the valve chamber, an actuator having an output rotational shaft, a feed screw mechanism to convert forward and reverse rotational motion of the output rotational shaft to axial reciprocating motion of the valve body, a backlash preventive spring positioned between the housing and the valve body, and a spring supporting device formed on the housing and having a spring seating surface. The spring seating surface is spaced from the valve seat in an opening direction of the valve body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinji Murai
  • Patent number: 11499650
    Abstract: A valve assembly including a valve housing and a handle that is movable about an actuation axis to actuate a valve actuator within the valve housing between an open position and a closed position. The handle has a first opening and the valve housing has a second opening. When the valve actuator is in the closed position the first opening aligns with the second opening to enable receipt of a lockout member that prevents movement of the valve actuator from the closed position to the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Parker-Hannifin Corporation
    Inventor: Zachary Spencer Smith
  • Patent number: 11499652
    Abstract: A valve assembly is provided, the valve assembly includes a shaft, the shaft comprising a sight through-hole; and a flow through-hole. The valve assembly further comprises a shaft position mechanism, the shaft position mechanism comprising a driving means configured to provide movement to the shaft, and at least one diode and at least one corresponding sensor. The valve assembly further includes at least one flow path from at least one fluid inlet to at least one fluid outlet, wherein the shaft is configured to move across the at least one flow path so as to allow flow therethrough in a first position, and to block the at least one flow path in a second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Dariusz Sapija, Agata Kurowska
  • Patent number: 11480265
    Abstract: Systems and methods described herein provide for pressure relief valve detection and monitoring. A valve assembly includes a striker and an indicator assembly separated by a diaphragm. The diaphragm may be elastically or permanently deformable. The striker may be connected to a relieve valve disk that releases in response to high fluid pressure at the valve. Movement of the striker may be detected by contact with the diaphragm or by sensors near the diaphragm, which may trigger the indicator assembly to provide an external indication of a valve opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Hansen Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Orval Kuhn, Michael Fischer, Santhosh Kumar, Bryant Crane
  • Patent number: 11473698
    Abstract: A spool valve device includes: a housing with channels; a spool moving to change channel connection statuses; an electric actuator including an electric motor and linear-motion conversion mechanism, the motor rotating an output shaft by torque corresponding to a drive current supplied to the motor, the mechanism converting rotational output shaft movement into straight movement and applying thrust corresponding to the torque to the spool to change position; a biasing member applying biasing force to the spool against the actuator thrust; an angle detector detecting an motor output shaft angular position; a driving portion driving the motor by controlling drive current flow supplied to the motor based on a position command input and the angular position detected by the angle detector; and an abnormality determining portion calculating the spool position based on the detected angular position and determine presence or absence of operation spool abnormality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideki Tanaka, Yukito Imamura, Kenjirou Hara, Masahiro Yamada, Keita Morikawa
  • Patent number: 11473694
    Abstract: A valve operator assembly may include a housing, a yoke, and one or more stoppers. The housing is mountable on a valve, and includes a body having a sidewall including a shaft bore, to receive a shaft rotatable within the housing, and a cover having a top member mountable on a top portion of the body and a side portion extending downwards adjacent to and partially overlapping the sidewall. The yoke is operably coupled by a yoke nut to the shaft to impart rotation to a valve stem of the valve when the shaft is rotated. The one or more stoppers are disposed within the housing to restrict the linear motion of the yoke nut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: Spears Manufacturing Co.
    Inventors: Wayne Spears, David Glover, Douglas Swingley
  • Patent number: 11473686
    Abstract: This disclosure provides a valve seat having cladded surfaces of high hardness in order to improve the service life of valve seats. The cladded surfaces may include various materials of favorable mechanical properties for mitigating failure mechanisms known for common valve seats (e.g., having a common base metal throughout). In one example, the cladded surfaces are created using an additive manufacturing process, such as laser metal deposition. The cladded surfaces offer advantages including metallurgical bonding, localized low heat input at the laser focus (thus enabling accurate control of temperature and mitigating undesirable heat treatment effects), ductility in middle layers for increasing impact resistance, variable cladding thickness (optionally exceeding 1 mm), increased hardness by material and fusing temperature selections, corrosion resistance, modification of mechanical properties of the same selected material, and allowing for sensor embedment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: SPM Oil & Gas Inc.
    Inventors: Jacob A. Bayyouk, Sozon Tsopanos
  • Patent number: 11458501
    Abstract: A liquid material discharge device and method capable of suppressing generation of bubbles caused with a rod raising operation in a negative pressure environment. In a liquid material discharge device used in a negative pressure space and including a storage container; a compressed-gas supply source pressurizing the storage container; a nozzle having a discharge flow path; a reciprocating valve rod; an actuator driving the valve rod; a valve seat having a communication hole that is communicated with the discharge flow path; and a discharge control device controlling the actuator to open and close the communication hole by a tip of the valve rod, the discharge control device controls an acceleration time Au in rising of the valve rod by the actuator to be held within a range of 2 to 300 [ms], thus preventing generation of bubbles caused with the rising of the valve rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: MUSASHI ENGINEERING, INC.
    Inventor: Kazumasa Ikushima
  • Patent number: 11454335
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a heat exchanger system for a servovalve, comprising a base comprising a supply port in fluid communication with a return port, a first passage for fluid connection to a source of cooling fluid, and a second passage in fluid communication with the return port. The system further comprises one or more pipes located over a surface of the base, the one or more pipes fluidly connected between the first passage and the second passage, such that in use cooling fluid may flow from the first passage to the second passage via the network of pipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Marcin Cis, Piotr Sawicki
  • Patent number: 11454995
    Abstract: A fitting device for delivering mixed water, comprising a first inflow line for feeding hot water and a second inflow line for cold water, wherein the first and second inflow lines lead into a mixing chamber for mixing cold and hot water, wherein provision is made of a first shut-off device for controlling and/or for shutting off the flow from the first inflow line into the mixing chamber, wherein the first shut-off device has a temperature-sensitive element to control the flow from the first inflow line in a manner dependent on the temperature, wherein the second inflow line has an inflow to the mixing chamber that is formed independently of the first shut-off device, wherein the mixing chamber has an outlet line for the outflow of the mixed water, wherein provision is made of a temperature-setting device for setting the temperature of the mixed water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: Aquis Systems AG
    Inventor: Kai Huck
  • Patent number: 11441686
    Abstract: A fluid control valve includes a housing defining a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. A valve seat is coupled to the housing and is positioned between the inlet and the outlet. The valve seat includes an end surface, seating surface extending from the end surface toward the seat axis, and a groove surface extends from the seating surface and defines a groove extending around the seat axis. The valve seat further includes an inner surface defining a central bore extending along the seat axis. A spindle is disposed within the housing and is reciprocally moveable between closed and open positions within the central bore of the valve seat. The spindle defines a longitudinal axis and includes an outer surface and a plurality of flow passages formed in the outer surface to prescribed lengths and extending in generally parallel relation to the axis of the spindle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Control Components, Inc.
    Inventor: Chulho Pang
  • Patent number: 11433229
    Abstract: A pressure relief valve for a reservoir has a main body with a central chamber defining an outer radial seat, a positive-pressure port with an inner radial seat, and a negative-pressure port comprising an internal passage spanning the outer seat. The sealing disk has an anchor body retained in the central chamber and a flexible diaphragm biased against the outer seat. An axial passage in the anchor body couples the central chamber to ambient atmospheric pressure. The sealing ball is biased against the inner seat. When a pressure inside the reservoir exceeds ambient by a positive-pressure threshold, then the sealing ball lifts off the inner radial seat to exhaust a gas through the positive-pressure port. When the pressure inside the reservoir is below ambient by a negative-pressure threshold, then the diaphragm is lifted off the outer seat to intake atmospheric gas into the reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: TERUMO CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takehiko Asada
  • Patent number: 11434629
    Abstract: A sanitary insertion unit (1), including an insertion housing (6), in which insertion housing a valve having a valve piston (10) is provided, which valve piston is slidably guided in the insertion housing and can be moved from a resting position under the pressure of the inflowing water against the restoring force of at least one restoring element (11). The restoring unit has at least one movement damper (12, 13), which damps or brakes the movement of the valve piston from the resting position to the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: NEOPERL GMBH
    Inventor: Marc Tempel
  • Patent number: 11421792
    Abstract: A valve assembly for a high-pressure fluid pump is described herein. The valve assembly includes a valve seat disposed in a cylindrical bore in a fluid end of the pump, and a valve body that includes: a top plate defining at least one pressure window, a lower sealing surface disposed below the top plate, and a dampener disk disposed between the top plate and the lower sealing surface, the dampener disk configured to expand in response to pressure exerted thereon via the top plate and through the at least one pressure window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: SPM Oil & Gas Inc.
    Inventor: Gideon Nathanael Spencer
  • Patent number: 11413958
    Abstract: The present invention provides an attachment structure of a fuel cut-off unit (U) that is provided in a fuel tank (31) of a saddle-type vehicle (1), includes a breather passage (114) for discharging volatile fuel to the outside, and includes a valve device (50) for cutting off outflow of liquid fuel. The fuel cut-off unit (U) includes an accommodation container (100) constituted of a fitting portion (U2) which is inserted into the fuel tank (31) at the time of attachment to the fuel tank (31) and a unit exterior portion (U1) which is positioned outside the fuel tank (31). A first locking portion (105) for performing positioning at the time of attachment to the fuel tank (31) is formed in the fitting portion (U2). A penetration hole (C) penetrating from the inside to the outside such that the fitting portion (U2) is inserted therethrough is formed in the fuel tank (31).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ko Kurata, Hiroshi Inaoka, Ikuo Hara
  • Patent number: 11416011
    Abstract: A pressure-type flow rate control device includes a restriction part; a control valve provided upstream of the restriction part; an upstream pressure sensor for detecting pressure between the restriction part and the control valve; and an arithmetic processing circuit connected to the control valve and the upstream pressor sensor. The device is configured to perform flow rate control by controlling the control valve according to an output of the upstream pressure sensor. The arithmetic processing circuit performs an operation of closing the control valve in order to reduce a flow rate of a fluid flowing through the restriction part, and performs an operation of closing the control valve by feedback control in which a target value is an exponential function more gradual than the pressure drop characteristic data when a gas flows out of the restriction part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIKIN INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Katsuyuki Sugita, Kaoru Hirata, Nobukazu Ikeda, Kouji Nishino, Masahiko Takimoto, Takahiro Imai, Shinya Ogawa
  • Patent number: 11408535
    Abstract: A valve for pressurized fluid including a body housing a fluid circuit having an upstream end configured to be placed in communication with a reserve of pressurized fluid and a downstream end configured to be placed in communication with a user of fluid, the circuit including a collection of valve shutter(s) including at least one shutoff valve shutter allowing the circuit to be closed or opened, the valve including a member for manually controlling the collection of valve shutter(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme pour l'Étude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude
    Inventors: Samuel Vignerol, Antoine Frenal, Denis Muller, Hervé Paoli, Morgan Lamiable, Johan Broechler, Claudio Di Filippo
  • Patent number: 11408532
    Abstract: An electromagnetic switching valve includes: a sleeve, defining a port communicating with an oil passage; a spool, reciprocally movably disposed on an axis in the sleeve, opening and closing the port; an electromagnetic actuator, including a plunger disposed on the axis and a stator; a transmission member interposed between the plunger and the spool; and an energizing spring, energizing the spool toward the plunger. The transmission member includes a first abutting part of a convex shape tiltably abutting against a receiving recess of the plunger; a second abutting part of a concave shape abutting against a convex end of the spool; and an outer peripheral wall that, in a state of being deviated from the axis and inclined, regulates the inclination by contacting an inner peripheral surface of the sleeve or the stator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: MIKUNI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshiki Ogasawara, Masashi Ueda
  • Patent number: 11408419
    Abstract: A fluid end having its fluid flow bores sealed without threading a retaining nut into the walls of each bore. The fluid ends may be assembled using a plurality of different kits that each comprise a fluid end body, a component, a retainer element, and a fastening system. The retainer element holds the component within each of the bores formed in the fluid end body and the fastening system secures the retainer element to the body. The fastening system comprises a plurality of externally threaded studs, washers and nuts in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the fastening system comprises a plurality of screws.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Kerr Machine Co.
    Inventors: Kelcy Jake Foster, Mark S. Nowell, Brandon Scott Ayres, Christopher Todd Barnett