Patents by Inventor Edwin Thomas

Edwin Thomas 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: 6116247
    Abstract: A cleaning unit used to clean condensates formed during use of a component of a smoking system. The component can be a heating fixture having a cigarette receiving section and a plurality of longitudinally extending circumferentially spaced apart heating elements located within a can which accumulates the condensates. During a cleaning operation, the heating fixture is fitted within a cavity in the cleaning unit such that the cigarette receiving end of the heating fixture engages an O-ring and the terminal base portion abuts against an indented stop in an interior sidewall of a removable portion of the housing. The cleaning unit includes a water inlet connected to a source of pressurized water such as a faucet and a spray member extends into the cigarette receiving section to spray jets of water against the interior of the can.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: Philip Morris Incorporated
    Inventors: Joseph Leslie Banyasz, Aubry T. Burton, John M. Campbell, Woontung Geoffrey Chan, Mary Ellen Counts, William James Crowe, Jay A Fournier, Patrick H. Hayes, Willie Gray Houck, Jr., Robert E. Lee, III, Donald Bruce Losee, John B. Paine, III, Robert L. Ripley, Charles Edwin Thomas, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5749451
    Abstract: A clutch assembly has a clearance between the piston and the clutch pack when the clutch is disengaged. This clearance is set and maintained by a one-way mechanism which establishes the limit of linear movement of the clutch piston during piston retraction or disengagement of the clutch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Edwin Thomas Grochowski
  • Patent number: 5667454
    Abstract: A power transmission has coaxially aligned input and output shafts. The shafts are interconnected by a multi-speed transmission and the output shaft is connected to a final drive mechanism through a pair of meshing gear members. A planetary reversing gear arrangement is connected between the input and output shafts for reversing the rotational direction from the input shaft prior to delivery to the final drive mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 16, 1997
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Edwin Thomas Grochowski
  • Patent number: 5647597
    Abstract: A rotating machine has a splined primary shaft rotatably mounted in an opening of an oil-filled housing and a primary seal carried by the housing for sealing with a mating secondary splined shaft upon insertion of the secondary shaft into the housing opening for mating with the primary shaft. A retractable member is carried by the primary shaft for sealing with the primary seal to maintain the oil within the housing prior to the insertion of the secondary shaft and prevent the flow of oil to the spline. Upon insertion of the secondary shaft through the housing opening, the secondary shaft seals with the primary seal to prevent leakage from the housing. Furthermore, the secondary shaft forcibly retracts the retractable member away from the primary seal and establishes a flow path around the retractable member to the secondary shaft so that oil flows to the mating splines of the shafts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 15, 1997
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Edwin Thomas Grochowski