Patents by Inventor Stephen M. Welch

Stephen M. Welch 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).

  • CONDUIT FITTING WITH COMPONENTS ADAPTED FOR FACILITATING ASSEMBLY
    Publication number: 20240183470
    Abstract: A fitting includes a first and second threaded fitting component and a conduit gripping device receivable within the first threaded fitting component. A stroke resisting member is integral with the first threaded fitting component and includes a web having a first radial thickness and extending axially inward from the first threaded fitting component to a distal ring portion having a second radial thickness greater than the first radial thickness. A radially extending bearing surface of the distal ring portion axially engages a radially extending portion of the second fitting component when the first and second fitting components are joined together to the first relative axial position. The stroke resisting member resists additional axial stroke of the first and second fitting components, such that a tightening torque beyond the first relative axial position is increased by the axial engagement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2021
    Publication date: June 6, 2024
    Inventors: Daniel G. Trivett, Peter C. Williams, Cal R. Brown, Ronald P. Campbell, William J. Knaggs, Douglas J. McClure, Douglas S. Welch, Stephen J. Zaborszki, James E. Gotch, Connor M. Dorony, Matthew K. Messer
  • Autonomous robot system for steep terrain farming operations
    Patent number: 11856882
    Abstract: An autonomous farming system (26) comprising one or more ground-based drones (10) and one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (12), whose routes through a field are optimized by an autonomous farming control system (30) that utilizes linearly constrained integer quadratic programming. The farming system (26) is particularly suited for farming steep terrain that is not accessible to conventional farming equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Kansas Stte University Research Foundation
    Inventors: Sanjoy Das, Daniel Flippo, Stephen M. Welch
  • AUTONOMOUS ROBOT SYSTEM FOR STEEP TERRAIN FARMING OPERATIONS
    Publication number: 20220151135
    Abstract: An autonomous farming system (26) comprising one or more ground-based drones (10) and one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (12), whose routes through a field are optimized by an autonomous farming control system (30) that utilizes linearly constrained integer quadratic programming. The farming system (26) is particularly suited for farming steep terrain that is not accessible to conventional farming equipment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2020
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Inventors: Sanjoy Das, Daniel Flippo, Stephen M. Welch