Patents by Inventor Nile Fairfield

Nile Fairfield 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).

  • Publication number: 20210164458
    Abstract: The performance of a solenoid drive liquid pump can be very dependent on the magnitude and stability of an input voltage, with non-ideal input power resulting in loss of efficiency and potential damage to the pump. Pulse width of drive signals provided to the pump, which cause solenoids to alternately energize to move liquid through the pump, may be adjusted in duration in order to compensate for non-ideal input voltage. A drive control module of the pump gathers voltage information, determines an improved pulse width based upon that voltage information, and then provides drive signals based upon the improved pulse width. Operating in this manner, a pump can operate at or near peak efficiency despite both significant variances in input voltage and non-sinusoidal input voltage, and without customized components or adapters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2021
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Inventors: Jason Carman, Nile Fairfield
  • Patent number: 10920768
    Abstract: The performance of a solenoid drive liquid pump can be very dependent on the magnitude and stability of an input voltage, with non-ideal input power resulting in loss of efficiency and potential damage to the pump. Pulse width of drive signals provided to the pump, which cause solenoids to alternately energize to move liquid through the pump, may be adjusted in duration in order to compensate for non-ideal input voltage. A drive control module of the pump gathers voltage information, determines an improved pulse width based upon that voltage information, and then provides drive signals based upon the improved pulse width. Operating in this manner, a pump can operate at or near peak efficiency despite both significant variances in input voltage and non-sinusoidal input voltage, and without customized components or adapters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Milton Roy, LLC
    Inventors: Jason Carman, Nile Fairfield
  • Publication number: 20190154031
    Abstract: An audio detection unit inside of the pump can be used to capture acoustic waveforms from the pump during operation and, when compared to characterized data, can accurately determine an operating condition of the pump. Such operating conditions can include whether the pump is operating as expected, if it has lost prime, if it has a failure, or if it can be determined that failure is likely to occur in the near future.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2018
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Applicant: Milton Roy, LLC
    Inventors: Jason Carman, Nile Fairfield
  • Publication number: 20190078565
    Abstract: The performance of a solenoid drive liquid pump can be very dependent on the magnitude and stability of an input voltage, with non-ideal input power resulting in loss of efficiency and potential damage to the pump. Pulse width of drive signals provided to the pump, which cause solenoids to alternately energize to move liquid through the pump, may be adjusted in duration in order to compensate for non-ideal input voltage. A drive control module of the pump gathers voltage information, determines an improved pulse width based upon that voltage information, and then provides drive signals based upon the improved pulse width. Operating in this manner, a pump can operate at or near peak efficiency despite both significant variances in input voltage and non-sinusoidal input voltage, and without customized components or adapters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: March 14, 2019
    Applicant: Milton Roy, LLC
    Inventors: Jason Carman, Nile Fairfield
  • Publication number: 20190078570
    Abstract: Metering pumps are typically used to move a specified volume of liquid in a specified time to provide an accurate flow rate. A recurring automatic priming function is provided for operating such a metering pump by running the pump for a short duration and periodically thereafter. This may maintain fluid in the pumping system such that the pump is automatically in a primed configuration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: March 14, 2019
    Applicant: Milton Roy, LLC
    Inventors: Jason Carman, Nile Fairfield
  • Publication number: 20190078959
    Abstract: A metering pump is typically used to move a specified volume of liquid in a specified amount of time. Because it may be desirable to maintain fluid in the pumping system such that the metering pump is maintained in a primed condition, an automatic prime detection function is provided by monitoring the current to a solenoid assembly of the pump. A loss of prime condition can then be detected by comparing the measured current to a characterized selected current value such that operation of the metering pump can be changed based on load.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: March 14, 2019
    Applicant: Milton Roy, LLC
    Inventors: Jason Carman, Nile Fairfield