Celebrity Inventors
Lawrence Welk, the bandleader who entertained millions of Americans over a generation of broadcasting his TV show, once received a patent: for a music-themed design of an ashtray.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8074966 | Drive device A driving device for adjusting an activating element of a throttle, of a valve, of a connecting device, of a metering device or the like in particular in the field of oil and gas exploration with at least one rotary gear movably connected to the activating element a... | 12/13/2011 |
| 7377479 | Position restoring apparatus for an open and close device A position restoring apparatus for an open and close device includes a casing base, a first actuating member, a second actuating member, a first end cover, a second end cover, an output shaft and a motor. The casing base has main member with a hollow seat. The first... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7261276 | Flow regulator valve An apparatus such as a multiple orifice valve (MOV) for controlling a flow of pressurized fluid. A housing directs the flow from an inlet to an outlet and supports an interior stationary surface. A moveable surface selectively impedes the flow and is disposed in fac... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7207547 | Valve operating assembly and system for operating lever-operated valves An assembly for swinging an external handle of a tank dome valve on a tank dome about a generally horizontal axis has a gearbox and an air motor. In a preferred embodiment, a housing is cooperatively formed by the gearbox casing and the motor cover. The gearbox cont... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7192004 | Electric driving device for a valve An electric driving device for a valve includes a lower casing member, a cover plate, a driving unit, a cylindrical part, a control part, a third rod and a fourth rod. The cover plate closes the open top of the lower casing member. The driving unit has an electric m... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7182314 | Apparatus for actuating a valve An apparatus for actuating a valve includes a rotatable control shaft connected to the valve and a gearbox wheel is secured to the control shaft. A worm intermeshes with the gearteeth of the gearbox wheel such that when the worm is rotated, the wheel and the shaft a... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7121240 | Valve controller The valve controller is driven by a motor. The valve controller has a control circuit and a driving circuit. The driving circuit drives a motor based on a control signal generated by the control circuit and a rotational position signal generated by a rotational posi... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7097148 | Scissor thrust valve actuator Apparatus for actuating a valve includes a support frame and at least one valve driving linkage arm, one end of which is rotatably connected to a valve stem of the valve and the other end of which is rotatably connected to a screw block. A motor connected to the fra... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7055795 | Drive mechanisms for valve actuators The present invention provides a motorized valve actuator wherein the drive from the motor to the output shaft of the actuator is via a worm and worm wheel or other gear mesh which is incapable of being back driven, the actuator having an alternative manual drive, t... | 06/06/2006 |
| 6978979 | Isolating device Isolating device, in particular for an injection valve with a turning spindle, rotatably mounted in a device housing, actively connected to a drive device, for the variable displacement of an operating element for an isolation stop valve, connected to the turning sp... | 12/27/2005 |
| 6955338 | Air-passage opening/closing device An air passage opening/closing device includes a film member for opening and closing an opening of an air passage of a case. One end of the film member is fixed to a fixing portion on an outer periphery of the opening of the air passage, and the other end thereof is... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6805332 | Inflatable seat valve A hand-operated hemispherical or spherical valve that provides an improved seal when dealing with fluids containing, or consisting entirely of, particulate matter is provided by the present invention. The valve utilizes an inflatable elastomeric valve seat that inte... | 10/19/2004 |
| 6766709 | Universal gear self-locking/unlocking mechanism A self-locking device for a gear set is configured to permit forward-driving an input in either of first and second rotational directions and for substantially preventing an output from being back-driven in either of the rotational directions. The device includes a ... | 07/27/2004 |
| 6584867 | Spur gear to interconnect rack and worm A gear for use as the pinion in a rack and pinion gear includes spur gear teeth that have an upper portion of the face cut in a worm cut so the gear is effective as a worm wheel for a worm gear while retaining involute curved faces so it is effective as t... | 07/01/2003 |
| 6471182 | Control valves for heating and cooling systems An actuator for opening and closing a globe valve. The globe valve has a stem through which positioning of the globe valve is achieved. The globe valve is normally biased to open position. The actuator comprises an electric motor which drives a worm and p... | 10/29/2002 |
| 6446660 | Valve assembly with multiple mode actuators A multiple mode valve assembly including valve actuators equipped with a combination of a shaft (4) and a spindle (5), coaxial and immobilized in an axial direction, but capable of rotating freely one with respect to the other, so that by means of the spi... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6443422 | Apparatus and method for adjusting an actuator on a real-time basis An apparatus (30) and method for adjusting an actuator (32) on a real-time basis includes a rack (40) extending axially over at least a portion on an outer surface of an adjustable member (36). The actuator (32) has a bore (42) that extends from the rack ... | 09/03/2002 |
| 6393931 | Decluthable manual override gearbox A declutchable manual override gearbox, comprising a casing, and a drive shaft mounted for rotation within the casing. The drive shaft has an input end and an output end, the input end of the drive shaft adapted to engage the output of a rotary actuator a... | 05/28/2002 |
| 6382247 | Dry sectional gate relief valve An intake relief valve comprises a bronze sectional gate positioned within the valve chamber adjacent to an outlet section of the valve. A quick attachment coupler of the valve connects the outlet section typically to a pumper fire truck, and a hose from ... | 05/07/2002 |
| 6371440 | Electronic motorized zone valve An valve actuator in a hydronic heating and cooling system includes a motor for changing the position of a valve, a switch for switching power to the motor, and a sensor for detecting the arrival of the valve at a desired position and for stopping the mot... | 04/16/2002 |
| 6296009 | Arm-driven sleeve valve with centralized drive mechanism An arm-driven sleeve valve utilizes a single pin connection to transmit torque from a shaft of the sleeve valve to a pair of arm portions suspended therefrom for controlling the flow of fluid from the valve by axially moving a gate. The single pin connect... | 10/02/2001 |
| 6276664 | Worm driving a servo actuator with spring return and rotary valve employing same A motorized servo actuator has an output shaft rotated by a sector gear driven by a worm. The worm has a co-axially disposed torsion spring which is wound as the worm rotates. The worm is driven by a motor and gear train. In the event of motor failure dur... | 08/21/2001 |
| 6216724 | Safety valve A safety valve to stop flow in the flow pipe (3), the safety valve including a drilling device (8) with its frame (6) to drill a hole in the flow pipe, a winding device (7) fixed to the frame of the drilling device and a band (4) wound with a winding devi... | 04/17/2001 |
| 6196520 | Air distribution device with a shutter of the drum type, in particular for a motor vehicle An air distribution device comprises a casing (10) provided with a cylindrical wall (12) having at least one air passage opening (14, 16), a shutter (20) mounted so as to pivot with respect to an axis of rotation (X--X) and having a generally cylindrical ... | 03/06/2001 |
| 6186471 | Electronic motorized zone valve An valve actuator in a hydronic heating and cooling system includes a motor for changing the position of a valve, a switch for switching power to the motor, and a sensor for detecting the arrival of the valve at a desired position and for stopping the mot... | 02/13/2001 |
| 6186162 | Leak detection and shut-off apparatus A water shut-off system incorporates a water shut-off valve utilizing a pair of adjacently disposed electrodes, a transmitter and a receiving means. The water shut-off valve is in the form of a ball valve. A timing logic causes current to flow to a valve ... | 02/13/2001 |
| 6176254 | Flow control valve using a direct current motor A flow control valve for allowing the flow to be controlled on a proportional basis using a direct current(DC) motor thereby improving the flow control function. The flow control valve is constructed in a manner that a valve housing having a guide space a... | 01/23/2001 |
| 6145538 | Flow control valve employing a step motor A flow control valve employing a step motor includes a valve housing having liquid inlet and outlet passageways, and a guide space which is communicated with the liquid inlet and outlet passageways, a spool which is connected to be movable up and down to ... | 11/14/2000 |
| 6129337 | Valve actuating device A valve actuating device comprising a lower housing seat, a first transmission member, a main shaft, a second transmission member, a fifth transmission member, and an upper housing body; the second transmission member is fastened pivotally at the lower se... | 10/10/2000 |
| 6105595 | Method, system, and apparatus for automatically preventing or allowing flow of a fluid An automatic fluid valve (25) includes a drive member (32) having an aperture (43) and a driven member (54). The automatic fluid valve (25) also includes at least one torque transfer member (38) for transferring torque from the drive member (37) to the dr... | 08/22/2000 |
| 6079442 | Valve actuator There is disclosed an actuator for a rotary valve, such as a butterfly valve which rotates a quarter of a turn between open and closed positions. The actuator includes a drive mechanism releasably attachable to the stem of the valve for rotating it in res... | 06/27/2000 |
| 6070852 | Electronic throttle control system An electronic throttle control system having a housing with a motor, throttle valve, gear mechanism, and fail-safe mechanism. A spring member attached to a gear member and default lever, and which is biased when the throttle valve is in its fully open and... | 06/06/2000 |
| 6028384 | Actuator The present invention is a new type of an electromechanical actuator that combines two rotary outputs from a solitary electrical input into a single molded housing. The actuator comprises an input assembly responsive to an external electrical control sour... | 02/22/2000 |
| 6009899 | Variable orifice dual gate valve A variable orifice dual gate valve having two opposed slidable valve gates in overlapping sliding contact relationship. Inner orifice edges of these plates coact to form a variable size orifice in the valve body upon simultaneously sliding of the valve ga... | 01/04/2000 |
| 6003837 | Valve actuator There is disclosed an actuator for a rotary valve, such as a butterfly valve which rotates a quarter of a turn between open and closed positions. The actuator includes a drive mechanism releasably attachable to the stem of the valve for rotating it in res... | 12/21/1999 |
| 5950765 | Two stage motorized actuator A two stage motorized servo-actuator having a worm driven high reduction gear train providing a rotary output. The motor shaft has a worm and co-axially therewith, a beveled pinion. The motor worm is continuously engaged with a first stage gear. The first... | 09/14/1999 |
| 5899222 | Ball valve control system The present invention relates to an improved ball valve assembly which is adapted to be fitted into a water delivery device such as a spigot or fire hydrant. More specifically, the ball valve assembly is specifically installed and adapted for remote contr... | 05/04/1999 |
| 5797585 | Control device for a pivoting valve flap for a heating and/or air conditioning installation in a motor vehicle A flap valve for a heating and/or air conditioning installation for a motor vehicle has a valve flap which is operated by a control device between an open position and a closed position. The control device comprises a driving lever which is coupled, throu... | 08/25/1998 |
| 5762098 | Fluid mixing device, particularly for industrial inks or paints An automatic fluid mixing device wherein a cylindrical supporting structure supports a first number of valves angularly spaced along a first circumference, and a second number of valves angularly spaced along a second circumference concentric with and ins... | 06/09/1998 |
| 5727772 | Remote valve control device A remote valve control device is provided, comprising first and second perpendicularly oriented shafts connected by a linkage comprising either a universal joint or a pair of bevel gears. The linkage converts rotational movement of the first shaft about a... | 03/17/1998 |
