Ebw, Inc.

Muskegon Automation Equipment, Inc.

Other

Weld Technology Industries, L.l.c.

Bruce R Johnson

Leo J LeBlanc

Robert P Whitney

Larry A Brandt

A welding gun that prevents rotation of the electrode, including a cylinder and a reciprocating piston assembly having a pair of pistons. In addition to the conventional connecting rod, the pistons are interconnected by an anti-rotation rod radially offset from the connecting rod. The anti-rotation rod extends through a partition fixed within the cylinder, thereby preventing the piston assembly from rotating within the cylinder. The welding gun also includes an internal proximity switch for detecting when the piston assembly is fully retracted.

Welding gun with anti-rotation cylinder and internal proximity switch

The brake shoe rivet press is for removing in a single operation rivets which are arranged in rows to hold a fibrous liner to the base of a brake shoe to thereby permit removal and later replacement of the liner. The press has a frame and a punch holder fixedly carried by the frame. The punch holder has a plurality of movable punches also arranged in rows and corresponding in number to the number of rivets in the brake shoe. The press includes upper and lower rams movably carried by the frame on opposite sides of the punch holder. The lower ram is provided with a support surface for positioning and supporting the brake shoe and also includes a plurality of openings arranged in rows for receiving the spent rivets. The upper ram has an operating surface, which, when the upper ram is actuated, engages the punches so as to urge them against the rivets to remove them from the brake shoe in a single operation. A hydraulic circuit is provided for controlling the movements of the upper and lower rams. In a further embodiment, the upper ram has two strokes, with a first removing rivets from a center of the arc, and a second stroke which removes all of the rivets.

Brake shoe rivet press

A vent valve for controlling the flow of vapor to or from the head space of a storage tank for fuel or other liquids includes a valve housing scalingly mounted in an opening through the top of the tank. A vertical vapor flow passage through the housing opens at its upper end at the exterior of the tank and at its lower end into the headspace of the tank. A spring biased valve head normally closes the lower end of the vapor flow passage to seal the headspace of the tank. A detachable and disposable pneumatic motor is mounted in a downwardly convergent frusto conical seat defined within the flow passage by webs integrally formed on the housing. The motor has a motor cylinder whose exterior surface is of a frusto conical configuration complementary to the seat and is wedged downwardly into the seat by mounting screws which pass through tabs formed on the cylinder into threaded bores in the top surfaces of the webs accessible from the upper end of the passage. The wedge action provides a seal between an air flow passage through the cylinder wall and an air flow passage through one of the webs through which air under pressure may be passed to drive the motor piston and its rod downwardly against the valve head to open the valve. The motor, including the piston and rod may be molded from a suitable thermoplastic material.

Vapor vent valve

A two stage float actuated shutoff valve for preventing overfilling of an underground storage tank has a first float actuated valve flapper movable to a closed position to block a major portion of the fuel inlet passage of the underground tank when the level of fuel in the tank rises to a first predetermined level. Closure of the first valve blocks a first portion of the flow passage while maintaining a second portion of the flow passage open to permit a reduced flow of fuel through the flow passage, thereby generating an observable water hammer effect signalling that the filling operation should be terminated. If the incoming flow is not terminated, the continued rise of the level of fuel in the tank will in time actuate a second float controlled valve to completely close the fuel inlet passage. The incoming fuel is supplied from a delivery truck tank, fuel flowing gravitationally from the truck tank through an operable shutoff valve on the tank, a delivery hose and a drop tube into the underground tank. Once closed, the second float controlled valve will remain closed as long as the truck tank shutoff valve is open, upon closure of the truck tank shutoff valve the resulting reduction of the hydraulic head on the second valve is reduced to a head which can be overcome by a spring biasing the second valve to its open position to so that fuel can be drained from the delivery hose and drop tube into the underground tank.

Two stage automatic shutoff valve

A pressure relief or rollover valve is utilized on the tank of a fuel delivery truck to vent or relieve an abnormal internal pressure within the tank, such as that generated by an accidental deformation of the tank wall, while preventing spillage of fuel during the venting. A tubular valve housing is mounted in the top of the tank with a cover at the exterior of the tank releasably locked in sealed engagement with the upper end of a passage through the housing which opens at its lower end into the tank interior. A valve plate within the housing is biased downwardly to a valve closed position against an upwardly facing valve seat in the passage by springs engaged between the closed cover and the valve plate. A flexible bladder is sealed to the bottom of the cover to define an air chamber sealed from the passage, and openings through the cover vent this air chamber to atmosphere. A shield plate rests on the top of the cover to overlie the vent openings.

Roll over pressure relief valve

Method for forming a tubular metal member of a shape and length having an opened end and a closed end into an element which is formed of a different shape and length by forcing and thereby flowing the metal of the tubular member from one mold cavity to another. The method utilizes a form mold having an entrance cavity of a shape and length generally corresponding to the tubular member and in which the entire tubular member is initially located and an exit cavity of a different shape and length in which the flowing metal of the tubular metal member is forced to form the element having the shape and length of the exit cavity. The form mold has an entrance opening in a side wall thereof which is connected to the entrance cavity. The tubular metal is initially located entirely within the entrance cavity of the form mold, with the closed end thereof located adjacent the exit cavity and the opened end of the tubular metal member being located at the entrance opening to the entrance cavity. Means are provided for simultaneously applying a mechanical force and a hydraulic force in a first direction to the tubular metal member to thereby flow the metal of the tubular member from the entrance cavity into the exit cavity to form the formed element. The form mold has a passage leading from the exit cavity to a source of hydraulic fluid which reacts against the closed end of the tubular metal member in a second direction in opposition to the hydraulic and mechanical forces applied in the first direction to the tubular metal member in order to control the speed of the formation of the formed element. Further, a method is disclosed for initially setting up the mold to ensure that the tube will be formed as quickly as possible and yet will have no bends.

Method for making an irregularly shaped drawn tube

A two stage float actuated shutoff valve for use in underground fuel storage tanks having a co-axial vapor recovery system utilizes a drop tube co-axially mounted within the storage tank fill pipe. Fuel flowing into the tank is passed through the drop tube which projects downwardly into the interior of the tank to a valve housing located at the lower end of the drop tube. Tubular floats slidably mounted on the drop tube within the tank independently operate pivoted flapper valves to a closed position within the valve housing, a lower float closing one valve flapper to block a major portion of the incoming fuel flow passage when the level of fuel in the storage tank reaches a predetermined first level and a second upper float closing a second flapper to completely close the flow passage when the level of fuel rises to a predetermined level about the first level. A float actuated locking arrangement for preventing inadvertent premature closing of either valve flapper is disclosed.

Two stage automatic shut off valve

A pneumatically actuated vent valve for venting the headspace of a fuel storage tank such as generally cylindrical a gasoline delivery truck includes a housing, sealingly mounted in the top of the tank and having a central passage opening at its lower end into the headspace of the tank and opening at its upper end, at the anterior of the tank into a hood. A pneumatic motor cylinder defining a piston chamber closed at its upper end is integrally formed with the housing coaxial to the central passage and a piston rod projecting downwardly from the piston chamber carries a valve head at its lower end disposed below the lower end of the housing. The valve head is normally biased upwardly into sealed engagement with a valve seal at the lower end of the central passage by three (or more) springs biased guide rods symmetrically disposed about the central passage wall. The valve is opened by supplying air under pressure to the upper end of the piston chamber via a flow passage through a web integrally joining the motor cylinder to the housing.

Apparatus for forming a tubular metal member of a shape and length having an opened end and a closed end into an element which is formed of a different shape and length by forcing and thereby flowing the metal of the tubular member from one mold cavity to another. The apparatus comprises a form mold having an entrance cavity of a shape and length generally corresponding to the tubular member and in which the entire tubular member is initially located and an exit cavity of a different shape and length in which the flowing metal of the tubular metal member is forced to form the element having the shape and length of the exit cavity. The form mold has an entrance opening in a side wall thereof which is connected to the entrance cavity. The tubular metal is initially located entirely within the entrance cavity of the form mold, with the closed end thereof located adjacent the exit cavity and the opened end of the tubular metal member being located at the entrance opening to the entrance cavity. Means are provided for simultaneously applying a mechanical force and a hydraulic force in a first direction to the tubular metal member to thereby flow the metal of the tubular member from the entrance cavity into the exit cavity to form the formed element. The form mold has a passage leading from the exit cavity to a source of hydraulic fluid which reacts against the closed end of the tubular metal member in a second direction in opposition to the hydraulic and mechanical forces applied in the first direction to the tubular metal member in order to control the speed of the formation of the formed element.

Apparatus for making an irregularly shaped drawn tube

A shut off valve assembly for preventing overfilling of an underground fuel storage tank or other storage tanks where the incoming flow is not metered, utilizes a two stage valve closure, the first stage closure signaling the tank is nearly filled to capacity and the second stage closure subsequently completely stopping flow into the tank.

The brake shoe rivet press is for removing in a single operation rivets which are arranged in rows to hold a fibrous liner to the base of a brake shoe to thereby permit removal and later replacement of the liner. The press has a frame and a punch holder fixedly carried by the frame. The punch holder has a plurality of movable punches also arranged in rows and corresponding in number to the number of rivets in the brake shoe. The press includes upper and lower rams movably carried by the frame on opposite sides of the punch holder. The lower ram is provided with a support surface for positioning and supporting the brake shoe and also includes a plurality of openings arranged in rows for receiving the spent rivets. The upper ram has an operating surface, which, when the upper ram is actuated, engages the punches so as to urge them against the rivets to remove them from the brake shoe in a single operation. A hydraulic circuit is provided for controlling the movements of the upper and lower rams.

A self contained fuel heating apparatus for the heating of fuel for an internal combustion engine to raise the temperature thereof prior to the passage of the fuel into the engine for combustion. The fuel heating apparatus includes a tank defining a chamber having cooling medium inlet and outlet means to allow circulation of heated cooling medium in the chamber. A portion of the fuel line passes through the chamber where heat is exchanged from the cooling medium to the fuel prior to combustion. An auxiliary heater unit maintains the fuel and cooling medium heated in the chamber when the engine is not in operation to facilitate starting of a cold engine once again.

Growing community of inventors

Muskegon, MI, United States of America

Bruce R Johnson