Patents by Inventor Michael S. Butkovich

Michael S. Butkovich 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: 5325896
    Abstract: A Stage II Vapor Recovery System is provided with a special array of storage tanks, dispensers, fuel pumps, vapor assist pumps, and flow control nozzles, to capture hydrocarbon emissions, prevent condensate from blocking vapor return lines, and dispense gasoline or other liquid fuel and condensate to customer tanks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 5, 1994
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Wolfgang H. Koch, Dennis J. Strock, Michael S. Butkovich, Harry B. Hartman
  • Patent number: 5273087
    Abstract: A user friendly vapor recovery nozzle with special signaling devices to signal and assure the customer of proper delivery of fuel and return flow of hydrocarbon vapors. In the preferred embodiment, the signaling devices include both a fuel flow indicator and a vapor flow indicator. The flow indicators can comprise one or more fuel and vapor driven balls, paddle wheels, propellers, spinners, blades, or vanes. In the preferred form, the vapor recovery nozzle has an inner fuel spout to discharge gasoline into a customer's tank and has an outer spout which cooperates with the inner spout to provide a vapor return passageway to return vapors emitted during fueling to a vapor return hose. The nozzle has a liquid sensing tube in the vapor return passageway to sense when the customer's tank is filled. An automatic shutoff valve cooperates with the liquid sensing tube to shutoff the supply of gasoline when the customer's tank is filled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1993
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Wolfgang H. Koch, Dennis J. Strock, Harry B. Hartman, Michael S. Butkovich, Terrance L. Lambert, Charles M. Daul, Philip B. Jones
  • Patent number: 5234036
    Abstract: A process comprising fueling a tank, collecting emitted vapors, and recovering condensed vapors. In the process, gasoline is discharged into a fill opening or filler pipe of a tank through a fuel outlet conduit of a nozzle. Gasoline vapors emitted during fueling are collected with a vapor return conduit of the nozzle and conveyed through a vapor return hose. A portion of the gasoline vapors in the vapor hose are condensed and removed from the vapor hose with a condensate pickup tube extending from the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1993
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Michael S. Butkovich, Dennis J. Strock
  • Patent number: 5213142
    Abstract: A Stage II Vapor Recovery System is provided with a special array of storage tanks, dispensers, fuel pumps, vapor assist pumps, and flow control nozzles, to capture hydrocarbon emissions, prevent condensate from blocking vapor return lines, and dispense gasoline or other liquid fuel and condensate to customer tanks. Specifically, fuel lines connect storage tank to flow control nozzles via dispensers and are assisted by fuel pumps to pump gasoline into customers' tanks. The nozzles have vapor passageways to capture hydrocarbon vapors emitted during fueling. The captured vapors are pumped by vapor assist pumps from the vapor passageways through vapor return lines into the storage tanks. The nozzles are equipped with condensate liquid pickup tubes to remove condensed vapors blocking the vapor return lines. The condensate liquid tubes communicate with condensate venturi ports adjacent venturi sleeves in the nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1993
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Wolfgang H. Koch, Dennis J. Strock, Michael S. Butkovich, Harry B. Hartman
  • Patent number: 5199471
    Abstract: In the process, fuel is pumped from a storage tank through a dispenser and nozzle into a customer's tank. Hydrocarbon vapors emitted during fueling are collected through a vapor recovery passageway between the inner and outer spouts of the nozzle and conveyed by a vapor pump through vapor return lines into the storage tank. A portion of the vapors in the vapor return lines condense and are removed with the nozzle's condensate pickup tube. The removed condensate is dispensed into the customer's tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1993
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Harry B. Hartman, Michael S. Butkovich, Dennis J. Strock, Wolfgang H. Koch
  • Patent number: 5105073
    Abstract: A credit card reader extender comprising an elongate generally rectangular body having a top side, a bottom side, a central portion and two end portions. The central portion has a generally rectangular opening therethrough extending from the bottom side to the top side and is adapted to be received over and to fit closely around a card reader of a card reading machine. The card reader is generally elongate and has a slot therein extending downwardly from the top side thereof into the card reader and longitudinally parallel to an elongate axis thereof. The end portions of the body each have a slot extending downwardly from the top side thereof into the body end portion and longitudinally parallel to an elongate axis of the body and in alignment and in registry with the slot in the card reader.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Albert J. Kovach, Michael S. Butkovich
  • Patent number: 5025946
    Abstract: The anti-theft device for use in a liquid storage tank having an opening in an upper wall of the tank for receiving and mounting an access fill pipe which receives therein a drop tube having an access port. The anti-theft device comprises a mounting ring; a plug; a truncated porous hollow cone having a larger upper end fixed to the mounting ring and a smaller lower end fixed to the plug which is disposed generally concentric with the elongate axis of the drop tube. The plug may also be provided with a shaped key-way opening to allow gauging of liquid contents of a storage tank with a gauge level stick. The mounting ring of the truncated porous hollow cone is attached to the drop tube within the access fill pipe at a point below the access port of the drop tube and above the upper wall of the storage tank. The key-way opening of the plug can be T-shaped, cross-shape, C-shape, or of a circular-shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Michael S. Butkovich, Gerard V. LaLonde, Irwin Ginsburgh
  • Patent number: 4615362
    Abstract: An environmentally safe protection device is provided to contain and store both fill hose spillage and underground tank overfill of gasoline and diesel fuel. The containment and protection device has a fill tube and an auxiliary vapor return tube to accommodate Stage I Vapor Recovery. The containment device also has a reservoir to contain overfill from the underground tank and spillage from the fill hose. A special valve assembly automatically drains motor fuel from the reservoir into the underground tank when the tank is at least partially empty and prevents upward passage of motor fuel and vapors into the reservoir when the tank is overfilled. A dual lid arrangement is provided to prevent water and debris from contaminating the fuel in the reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1985
    Date of Patent: October 7, 1986
    Assignee: Standard Oil Company (Indiana)
    Inventors: Harry B. Hartman, Gerard V. LaLonde, Michael S. Butkovich
  • Patent number: D296462
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1988
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Harry B. Hartman, Gerard V. LaLonde, Michael S. Butkovich
  • Patent number: D338209
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1993
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Michael S. Butkovich, Dennis J. Strock, Wolfgang H. Koch
  • Patent number: D338210
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1993
    Assignee: Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: Terrance L. Lambert, Dennis J. Strock, Michael S. Butkovich, Wolfgang H. Koch