Caterpillar Inc.

Bao Feng

John M Spangler

M Brad Beardsley

Joseph Jeffery Every

Connor John Haas

Daniel Patrick Vertenten

Steven Charles Taylor

Hoisan Kim

Chuong Q Dam

Robert Michael Campion

Andrew Henry Nippert

Andrew Gordon Shull

Andrew N McGilvray

Mahmoud A Taher

Lucy Victoria Berg

Eric Kelsey

Qursheed Hussain Mohammed

Shuangbio Liu

Dongyun Hua

Bo Shi

Eric P Carlson

Conrad C Klepper

Colm M Flannery

A seal ring for a seal assembly includes a body and a seal flange. The body is generally cylindrical, extending along a longitudinal axis between a load end and a seal end. The seal flange is disposed adjacent the seal end of the body, projecting radially in a circumscribing manner from the body. The seal flange includes a sealing face having a sealing band for sealing contact with a mating seal ring. A layer of coating composition formulated to help increase the corrosion resistance of the seal ring is applied to at least the body. A mask is applied to the seal ring to cover at least a portion of the seal ring having the layer of coating composition applied thereto such that the sealing band remains exposed. The sealing band is polished by an isotropic finishing process. The mask is removed after the sealing band is isotropically polished.

Appliance for making isotropically finished seal ring of seal assembly for machine

A transmission system includes a clutch control valve assembly having an armature for adjusting a valve, rested upon metallic slide bearings under the force of gravity. The armature includes a core material that is metallic and magnetically soft, an outer thin-film coating that is non-metallic, and a backing substrate material for supporting the outer thin-filmed coating interposed the core material and the outer thin-film coating. The backing substrate material may be case hardened material derived from the core material, such as ferritic nitrocarburized (FNC) iron. The outer thin film coating may be a diamond-like carbon (DLC) material.

Clutch control valve assembly having armature with anti-adhesion surface treatment

A fuel injector system includes an injector body having a proximal end and a distal end, the injector body defining a nozzle having an outlet. The injector system includes a spill valve fluidly connected to the outlet and having a spill valve member movable between an open position and a closed position. The injector system includes a control valve including a control valve member movable between an open position and a closed position. The injector system includes a check valve fluidly connected to the outlet, the control valve including a check valve needle movable between an open position and a closed position. The injector system also includes an electrical monitoring circuit configured to output a signal indicative of at least one of the open position or the closed position of the spill valve member.

Fuel injector

Method and appliance for making isotropically finished seal ring of seal assembly for machine

A valve assembly in an internal combustion engine fuel system includes a valve member movable within a valve body to contact a valve seat and block fluid communication between first and second passages. The valve seat and valve member each include a multi-layered coating having a harder metal nitride base layer and a softer metal nitride outer layer. The base layer is relatively incompliant to impacts between the valve member and the valve seat, and the outer layer is relatively compliant to the impacts and thereby deformable. Related methodology is disclosed.

Valve assembly for fuel system and method

A bearing system includes a sleeve bearing supported on a shaft and a gear supported on the sleeve bearing. The shaft has an outer diameter shaft surface, the sleeve bearing has an inner diameter bearing surface and an outer diameter bearing surface, and the gear has a gear bore surface. At least one of the outer diameter shaft surface, the inner diameter bearing surface, the outer diameter bearing surface, and the gear bore surface includes an isotropic surface finish and a hard thin film over the isotropic surface finish. During a break-in period of operation of the bearing system, the hard thin film over the isotropic surface finish breaks in a counter surface of the bearing system to extend a hydrodynamic lubrication period of operation of the bearing system.

Machine bearing system including hard thin film and method of using same

A method and system for processing a bearing component to extend its useful life include using the component in the bearing assembly for a portion of its initial useful life and then removing the component from the bearing assembly. The surface of the removed component is subjected to isotropic finishing, after which a protective wear coating is applied to the surface of the component. Once processed, the used bearing component is reinstalled for use.

Remanufacturing of bearings using isotropic finishing and thin film coatings

The present disclosure is directed to a method of making a textured coating on a wear surface of a component. The method includes applying a mask on the surface and depositing a tribological coating on the surface. The method further includes removing the mask.

Textured coating on a component surface

A thermoelectric film is disclosed. The thermoelectric film includes a substrate that is substantially electrically non-conductive and flexible and a thermoelectric material that is deposited on at least one surface of the substrate. The thermoelectric film also includes multiple cracks oriented in a predetermined direction.

Thin film with oriented cracks on a flexible substrate

The present disclosure provides a method for producing a coating. The method may include providing a substrate material and initiating a coating-deposition process to apply a coating material to the substrate material to produce a coating on the substrate material, wherein the coating includes a diamond-like carbon coating. The method may further include monitoring an intensity of hydrogen-alpha emission of a plasma produced during the coating-deposition process and adjusting at least one process variable of the coating-deposition process to facilitate production of the diamond-like carbon coating.

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Dunlap, IL, United States of America

Bao Feng