Patents by Inventor Robert Clinton Utter

Robert Clinton Utter 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: 5720374
    Abstract: A rotating clutch has a feed passage that is maintained at a predetermined pressure by a backfill control valve during periods of clutch disengagement when the clutch apply chamber is not pressurized. The valve is slidably disposed in a stationary housing in fluid communication between a pressure source and the apply chamber of the clutch. When the pressure source is reduced below a predetermined level, the valve is positioned to prevent the pressure in the passage from decreasing below the predetermined level while exhausting the clutch apply chamber. When clutch actuation is desired, the pressure source increases to open the backfill valve. With the valve opened by pressure, the fluid pressure is supplied to the clutch apply chamber thereby applying the clutch. The valve is positioned in the housing to admit pressurized fluid from the source to the clutch apply chamber while disconnecting the apply chamber from exhaust when clutch apply is required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1998
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Martin Robert Dadel, Charles Francis Long, Robert Clinton Utter