Patents by Inventor Michael James Cunningham

Michael James Cunningham 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: 6530395
    Abstract: A check valve arrangement utilizes a disc (15) for a valve member while eliminating the need for a ball. A valve seat in the common sense is unnecessary, too. Instead, a substantially flat surface (13) interacts with the disc (15). In order to allow unidirectional flow only, the disc (15) is biased toward the surface (13) by means of an elastic bias ring (17) which itself is held in place by a retainer (6) extending through the center hole (16) of the disc (15) and thereby axially guiding the disc (15). If desired, the flat surface (13) can be supplemented with an embedded sealing ring 18 to provide optimum sealing properties without precise machining of the surface (13). By designing the disc (15) and the retainer (6) in rotational symmetry, a directional adjustment of the parts is made unnecessary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2003
    Assignee: Continental Teves, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael James Cunningham
  • Publication number: 20020195146
    Abstract: A check valve arrangement utilizes a disc (15) for a valve member while eliminating the need for a ball. A valve seat in the common sense is unnecessary, too. Instead, a substantially flat surface (13) interacts with the disc (15). In order to allow unidirectional flow only, the disc (15) is biased toward the surface (13) by means of an elastic bias ring (17) which itself is held in place by a retainer (6) extending through the center hole (16) of the disc (15) and thereby axially guiding the disc (15).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Publication date: December 26, 2002
    Applicant: Continental Teves, Inc
    Inventor: Michael James Cunningham