Patents by Inventor Keith E. Lawrence

Keith E. Lawrence 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: 6230695
    Abstract: Past exhaust emission control systems fail to utilize exhaust gas recirculation during all operating parameters of an engine. The present exhaust gas recirculation system reduces the emissions emitted from an engine during all operating parameters of the engine. The engine has a cylinder, a rotatable crankshaft and a turbocharger defining a compressor section compressing a flow of intake air to a first preestablished pressure and being driven by a flow of exhaust gas having a first preestablished pressure. The exhaust gas recirculation system is comprised of a portion of the flow of exhaust gas being recirculated back to the cylinder and forming a flow of exhaust gas recirculation. The flow of exhaust gas recirculation is cooled. The flow of exhaust gas recirculation is mixed with exhaust gas and compressed to a second preestablished pressure by the positive displacement pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2001
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Gerald N. Coleman, Dennis D. Feucht, Keith E. Lawrence
  • Patent number: 6216458
    Abstract: An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system for a turbo-charged internal combustion engine is provided. The EGR system includes a recirculation conduit for recirculating a volume of exhaust gas from the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold; a cooling air conduit for transporting a flow of cooling air; and a gas-to-air heat exchanger disposed in operative association with the recirculation conduit and the cooling air conduit and adapted for cooling the volume of recirculated exhaust gas in the recirculation conduit. The cooling air passing through the gas-to air heat exchanger can be diverted from the pressurized intake air, cooled (ATAAC) air, or even fresh ambient air obtained from a source external to said engine and which optionally may be forcibly directed through the heat exchanger via a blower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew J. Alger, Brett M. Bailey, Gerald N. Coleman, Todd A. Davis, Dennis D. Feucht, Keith E. Lawrence, Cho Y. Liang
  • Patent number: 6205775
    Abstract: Past exhaust emission control systems fail to utilize exhaust gas recirculation during all operating parameters of an engine. The present exhaust gas recirculation system reduces the emissions emitted from an engine during all operating parameters of the engine. The engine includes a cylinder, a rotatable crankshaft and a turbocharger defining a compressor section compressing a flow of intake air to a first preestablished pressure and being driven by a flow of exhaust gas having a first preestablished pressure. The exhaust gas recirculation system is comprised of a portion of the flow of exhaust gas being recirculated to the cylinder and forming a flow of recirculated exhaust gas. The flow of recirculated exhaust gas is cooled. The flow of recirculated exhaust gas is compressed to a second preestablished pressure being at least equal to the first preestablished pressure of the intake air. And, a quantity of the flow of recirculated exhaust gas is controlled depending on the operating parameter of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Gerald N. Coleman, Keith E. Lawrence
  • Patent number: 6192686
    Abstract: Past exhaust emission control systems fail to utilize exhaust gas recirculation during all operating parameters of an engine. The present exhaust gas recirculation system reduces the emissions emitted from an engine during all operating parameters of the engine. The engine has a flow of intake air being at a first preestablished pressure and a flow of exhaust gas being at a first preestablished pressure being less that said first preestablished pressure of said intake air. The exhaust gas recirculation system is comprised of a portion of the flow of exhaust gas being recirculated to the cylinder and forming a flow of exhaust gas recirculation. The flow of exhaust gas recirculation is cooled. The flow of exhaust gas recirculation is compressed to a second preestablished pressure by a positive displacement pump. The second preestablished pressure of the flow of exhaust gas recirculation is at least equal to the first preestablished pressure of the intake air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2001
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Gerald N. Coleman, Dennis D. Feucht, Keith E. Lawrence
  • Patent number: 6185939
    Abstract: Past exhaust emission control systems fail to utilize exhaust gas recirculation during all operating parameters of an engine. The present exhaust gas recirculation system reduces the emissions emitted from an engine during all operating parameters of the engine. The engine includes a cylinder, a rotatable crankshaft and a turbocharger defining a compressor section compressing a flow of intake air to a first preestablished pressure and being driven by a flow of exhaust gas having a first preestablished pressure. The exhaust gas recirculation system is comprised of a portion of the flow of exhaust gas being recirculated to the cylinder and forming a flow of recirculated exhaust gas. The flow of recirculated exhaust gas is cooled. A portion of the flow of intake air is compressed to a second preestablished pressure. The flow of recirculated exhaust gas is compressed to a second preestablished pressure being at least as great as the first preestablished pressure of the intake air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2001
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Gerald N. Coleman, Michael J. Evancik, Dennis D. Feucht, Keith E. Lawrence, Jiubo Ma
  • Patent number: 5765534
    Abstract: A jumper tube assembly connects a fluid supplying port of a fluid passing member to an inlet port of a fuel injector and passes fluid flow between the fluid supplying port and the inlet port. A tubular conduit of the jumper tube assembly is connected at a first end portion by brazing to a sealing member has a configuration sufficient to absorb a fluid applied load and provide a leak resistant joint at the inlet port to the fuel injector. The jumper tube assembly is particularly suited for use in a fuel injection system of an internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Peter A. Brown, Keith E. Lawrence, Richard A. Linse, William E. Moser
  • Patent number: 5603512
    Abstract: An oil control ring assembly having a sealing ring and a scraping is disposed within a groove in a piston. The scraping ring assembly has a scraping end portion and spaced apart ends defining a gap. The sealing ring has a sealing end portion and mated spaced apart radially stepped ends defining a stepped gap. The sealing end portion is connected to the scraping end portion and the stepped gap on the sealing ring is offset from the gap on the scraping ring. A spring applies a radial force to the scraping ring which urges the end portion of the scraping ring into engagement with the cylinder wall and a reaction force moment about the end portion forces the end portion of the of the seal ring into contact with an upper surface of the groove. The oil control ring assembly simultaneously provides for side and gap sealing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1997
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Keith E. Lawrence, Tsu P. Shyu, Donald J. Waldman, Ross P. Wietharn
  • Patent number: 5564699
    Abstract: An oil control ring assembly having a sealing ring and a scraping is disposed within a groove in a piston. The scraping ring assembly has a scraping end portion and spaced apart ends defining a gap. The sealing ring has a sealing end portion and mated spaced apart radially stepped ends defining a stepped gap. The stepped gap on the sealing ring is offset from the gap on the scraping ring. A spring positioned between an inner wall of the groove and the scraping ring biases the scraping ring at a specified tension. An alignment wire maintains misalignment between the stepped gap and the gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 15, 1996
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Keith E. Lawrence, Tsu P. Shyu, Donald J. Waldman, Ross P. Wietharn
  • Patent number: 5499615
    Abstract: A liquid propane injection system for a diesel engine includes a liquid propane fuel tank, a pump, a heat exchanger, a reservoir, and an injector. The pump receives liquid propane from the liquid propane fuel tank, and increases the pressure of the received liquid propane to a level suitable for use by the diesel engine. The heat exchanger receives liquid propane from the pump, and vaporizes the liquid propane. The reservoir stores vaporized liquid propane received from the heat exchanger, and has sufficient storage capacity to compensate for any time lag between instantaneous engine fuel demand and the supply of liquid propane by the pump. The injector receives vaporized liquid propane from the reservoir, and injects the vaporized liquid propane into a combustion chamber of the diesel engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1996
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Keith E. Lawrence, Kenneth J. Suda, William J. Hays
  • Patent number: 5237976
    Abstract: An arrangement in a single housing positioned over a piston cylinder of an engine of independently operable "on-off" valve actuators, "on-off" valves, hydraulic fluid headers and rails, engine intake and exhaust valves, and unit fuel injector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1993
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Keith E. Lawrence, Tsu P. Shyu
  • Patent number: 5131316
    Abstract: An autoloader, capable of loading regardless of gun elevation, includes arcuate guide tracks mounted to the chute of a weapon pod protecting the breech of an exterior, turret-mounted gun. The guide tracks, of a radius of curvature centered on the gun elevation axis, mounts a trolley for guided movement between a lower magazine position and an upper gun loading position. A compact rammer, pivotally mounted to the trolley, extracts a shell from a magazine affixed to the turret floor while in the trolley magazine position and controls the shell during transfer to the trolley gun loading position. During shell transfer, the rammer is pivoted relative to the trolley to swing the shell out of the chute and into the pod to a ramming position aligning the shell with the gun boreline. The rammer then executes a two-stage ramming stroke to ram the shell into the gun breech. The trolley and rammer are powered by separate electric motors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 21, 1992
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Keith E. Lawrence, Edward H. Behrens, Robert E. Chiabrandy
  • Patent number: 4429587
    Abstract: A lubrication system for a gearbox having a forced flow of lubricant around one or more flow loops using dynamic forces imparted to the lubricant by a major element, preferably one primarily serving another function, which acts as a pump and cooperates with the gearbox casing to provide a dynamic reservoir. The primary lubrication flow loop includes an efficient flow diverter to feed a lubricant distribution reservoir, dispensers, predetermined regulated flow paths to critical items and a centrifugal separator built into the pump to deaerate the lubricant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1981
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1984
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: George A. Finn, III, James E. Kuneman, Keith E. Lawrence