Patents by Inventor Mark O. Gardner

Mark O. Gardner 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).

  • Sensor apparatus with butterfly valve for maintaining packing density of moving material
    Patent number: 6083103
    Abstract: In an agricultural harvester, a characteristic of crop material is sensed as the crop material is moved through a feed tube by an auger having flighting which terminates upstream of a sensing region. The auger flighting conveys crop material into the sensing region where it accumulates and then is pushed from the sensing region by further crop material conveyed into the region. This results in a more uniform packing density of the crop material in the sensing region where the measurement is made, provided the feed tube is oriented vertically or at a small angle relative to vertical. To obtain a uniform packing density when the feed tube is horizontal or inclined only slightly, a butterfly valve is provided downstream of the sensing region. The valve has flaps that are spring biased to a closed position to block the flow of crop material from the sensing region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: New Holland North America, Inc.
    Inventors: John H. Posselius, Mark O. Gardner
  • Decorative shielding for combine harvester
    Patent number: D436363
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2001
    Assignee: New Holland North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Russell W. Strong, David B. Stauffer, Mark O. Gardner
  • Decorative shielding for combine harvester
    Patent number: D460461
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: New Holland North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Russell W. Strong, David B. Stauffer, Mark O. Gardner