Patents by Inventor Michael Jay Strait

Michael Jay Strait 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).

  • Dipstick and electronic fluid level sensor
    Patent number: 11614354
    Abstract: A system, as an engine with a crankcase containing oil or a fluid mixed with oil, has a reservoir containing liquid that extends up to a level of the fluid. A dipstick support structure supports a dipstick on it so that the dipstick extends into the fluid past the level of the fluid, and so that the dipstick is manually removable from the dipstick support structure by a user. An electrical system is connected with the dipstick, and the electrical system electrically senses the level of the fluid based on an electrical characteristic of the dipstick that varies with the varying level of the fluid when the dipstick extends into it. The electrical characteristic may be capacitance of the dipstick detected by sequential charging and discharging of the dipstick to produce a square wave electrical signal the frequency of which corresponds to the level of fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Renk America LLC
    Inventors: David Carl Swenson, Timothy Ryan Klein, John Wesley Clark, Michael Jay Strait
  • DIPSTICK AND ELECTRONIC FLUID LEVEL SENSOR
    Publication number: 20210223086
    Abstract: A system, as an engine with a crankcase containing oil or a fluid mixed with oil, has a reservoir containing liquid that extends up to a level of the fluid. A dipstick support structure supports a dipstick on it so that the dipstick extends into the fluid past the level of the fluid, and so that the dipstick is manually removable from the dipstick support structure by a user. An electrical system is connected with the dipstick, and the electrical system electrically senses the level of the fluid based on an electrical characteristic of the dipstick that varies with the varying level of the fluid when the dipstick extends into it. The electrical characteristic may be capacitance of the dipstick detected by sequential charging and discharging of the dipstick to produce a square wave electrical signal the frequency of which corresponds to the level of fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2019
    Publication date: July 22, 2021
    Inventors: David Carl Swenson, Timothy Ryan Klein, John Wesley Clark, Michael Jay Strait