Patents by Inventor Alan Willard

Alan Willard 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: 9303604
    Abstract: An asymmetrical orifice for bypass control in a clean fuel module may include a body having first and second end surfaces and an inner surface defining a bore through the body extending from a first opening through the first end surface to a second opening through the second end surface. The first opening has a first opening inner diameter and the second opening has a second opening inner diameter that is less than the first opening inner diameter. The asymmetrical orifice also includes a flow control contour in the second end surface surrounding the second opening of the bore. The configuration may give the asymmetrical orifice a first discharge coefficient for fluid flowing from the first opening to the second opening that is greater than a second discharge coefficient for fluid flowing in a second direction from the second opening to the first opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: David Elliot Hackett, Scott Shafer, Martin Lehman, Alan Willard Wells, Lifeng Wang
  • Publication number: 20150198124
    Abstract: An asymmetrical orifice for bypass control in a clean fuel module may include a body having first and second end surfaces and an inner surface defining a bore through the body extending from a first opening through the first end surface to a second opening through the second end surface. The first opening has a first opening inner diameter and the second opening has a second opening inner diameter that is less than the first opening inner diameter. The asymmetrical orifice also includes a flow control contour in the second end surface surrounding the second opening of the bore.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2014
    Publication date: July 16, 2015
    Applicant: Caterpillar, Inc.
    Inventors: David Elliot Hackett, Scott Shafer, Martin Lehman, Alan Willard Wells, Lifeng Wang
  • Patent number: 6125434
    Abstract: A method of dynamic memory reclamation for reclaiming memory leaks is disclosed, in which inaccessible heap segments are reclaimed without recompilation or relinkage of an application. The method comprises intercepting a call from an application to allocate or deallocate a heap segment, forwarding the call to the memory manager, passing the memory allocation and deallocation information from the memory manager to a file, performing a conservative garbage collection process using the memory allocation and deallocation information in the file to detect inaccessible heap segments, and calling to the memory manager from the file to deallocate the inaccessible heap segments. These steps are repeated periodically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Northorp Grumman Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Alan Willard, Ophir Frieder
  • Patent number: 5499015
    Abstract: An inventory of goods is protected from theft by means of electronic article surveillance (EAS) markers integrated with items of the inventory. Each such item has a structural member in which a cavity is integrally formed. A respective magnetostrictive element is housed, free of mechanically clamping constraint, in each cavity. A respective biasing element is located adjacent to the cavity on each such item of inventory. The biasing element provides a magnetic field to bias the respective magnetostrictive element. EAS equipment is provided at a retail store where the inventory is maintained. The EAS equipment generates an alternating electromagnetic interrogation field, and when an item of inventory having the integrated EAS marker is exposed to the interrogation field, the biased magnetostrictive element is excited into mechanical resonance that is detected by the EAS equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 12, 1996
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corp.
    Inventors: Stephen Winkler, Hans Witzky, Alan Willard
  • Patent number: 5428875
    Abstract: A theft deterrent tag for protecting an article is disclosed wherein the tag comprises a tag body, a tack-like assembly for securing the tag body to an article and a cutting blade for cutting the article upon a preselected force being applied to the tag body or the tack-like assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1995
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Thang T. Nguyen, Alan Willard