Patents by Inventor Lee John Becker

Lee John Becker 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: 10808735
    Abstract: A hydraulic park system includes a spool valve linked to a park mechanism. In some circumstances, a hold-out-of-park mechanism is utilized to hold the spool in position. To avoid wear on the aluminum spool, a steel saddle is inserted onto the spool between two lands such that the hold-out-of-park mechanism engages the steel saddle. The steel saddle is inserted from the side of the spool. To ensure that the hold-out-of-park engages the correct side of the saddle, the saddle must be held in a predefined circumferential position about the bore axis. The saddle is constrained from rotation about the spool axis by abutting flat surfaces on the spool and the saddle. The spool is constrained from rotation relative to the bore by the park mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Lee John Becker, Timothy Andrew Sikowski
  • Publication number: 20200096017
    Abstract: A hydraulic park system includes a spool valve linked to a park mechanism. In some circumstances, a hold-out-of-park mechanism is utilized to hold the spool in position. To avoid wear on the aluminum spool, a steel saddle is inserted onto the spool between two lands such that the hold-out-of-park mechanism engages the steel saddle. The steel saddle is inserted from the side of the spool. To ensure that the hold-out-of-park engages the correct side of the saddle, the saddle must be held in a predefined circumferential position about the bore axis. The saddle is constrained from rotation about the spool axis by abutting flat surfaces on the spool and the saddle. The spool is constrained from rotation relative to the bore by the park mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Inventors: Lee John Becker, Timothy Andrew Sikowski
  • Patent number: 5890509
    Abstract: A cooler bypass valve, located in a hydraulic circuit between the discharge side of a torque converter and lubrication circuit, includes a valve spool urged by feedback pressure acting in opposition to the force of a compression spring to a bypass cooling mode position where the converter discharge fluid flow is connected to the lubrication circuit bypassing the oil cooler. The bypass valve includes a viscosity-sensitive pressure divider, which includes a series arrangement of a laminar orifice and a sharp-edged orifice located between the converter discharge and an oil sump. As oil temperature increases, flow through the laminar orifice produces a control pressure in opposition to the feedback pressure and additive to a spring force, which combine to move the valve spool to a cooling mode position where substantially all of the converter discharge is directed through the oil cooler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lee John Becker, Timothy Arnold Droste