Patents by Inventor Michael G. Early

Michael G. Early 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: 8809698
    Abstract: An electrical control module provides a plastic insert fitting inside a housing and compressed by assembly of the housing lid and base to be held securely therein. Elastic components on the plastic insert are compressed during the assembly provide a secure retention in the face of normal manufacturing tolerances. The plastic insert includes features for attaching electrical components such as electrical contactors, motor starters, disconnect switches, circuit breakers, and overload switches without conventional screw fasteners or the like through channels and elastic detents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: John S. Clark, Mark E. Innes, Michael G. Early
  • Publication number: 20130118797
    Abstract: An electrical control module provides a plastic insert fitting inside a housing and compressed by assembly of the housing lid and base to be held securely therein. Elastic components on the plastic insert are compressed during the assembly provide a secure retention in the face of normal manufacturing tolerances. The plastic insert includes features for attaching electrical components such as electrical contactors, motor starters, disconnect switches, circuit breakers, and overload switches without conventional screw fasteners or the like through channels and elastic detents.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2011
    Publication date: May 16, 2013
    Inventors: John S. Clark, Mark E. Innes, Michael G. Early
  • Patent number: 5684342
    Abstract: A starter comprising a contactor with an overcurrent relay provides an appropriate cooling interval for each of multiple classes of a load, such as a motor. An analog equivalent of a digital I.sup.2 t value calculated by a microcomputer in the overload relay is maintained by an external capacitor. When the microcomputer loses power following a trip, the capacitor discharges through a resistor at a rate selected to mimic cooling of the associated class of the load. Restart of the load is prevented until the appropriate interval, represented by the time required for the voltage on the capacitor to decay to a common reset value, has expired. The capacitor is charged to a voltage proportional to the I.sup.2 t trip value for the particular class of the load, which for all classes is below the forward drop of the clamping diodes on the microcomputer inputs to prevent discontinuities in the timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Edmund Innes, Michael G. Early
  • Patent number: 5610579
    Abstract: A controller for an electrical switching device such as a motor starting contactor including separable contacts, an operating mechanism for operating the separable contacts and a control mechanism responsive to a plurality of control sources for controlling the operating mechanism, includes a plurality of light emitting diode indicators each of which corresponds to one of the control sources; a membrane pushbutton; and a selection circuit, responsive to the pushbutton for selecting one of the control sources, including a circuit for detecting actuation of the pushbutton; a circuit responding to the actuation for sequentially indicating representations of at least some of the control sources on the corresponding ones of the indicators; and a circuit for detecting de-actuation of the pushbutton to select one of the control sources the representation of which is indicated on the corresponding one of the indicators at the time of the de-actuation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 11, 1997
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Michael G. Early, Pamela S. Combs