Caterpillar Inc.

David R Meinhold

Michael L Knussman

Joseph Jeffery Every

Hans P Dietz

Mark R Hawkins

John M Hadank

Brad L Holsapple

Kenneth J McGuire

Stephen T Tady

Gregory J Parsons

William C Evans

Dwayne E Tharp

Lee R DenBraber

Steven J Zmuda

Gene A Townsend

Brian W Mann

Ron J Penick

Jim B Maddock

A monitoring device and system for monitoring the conditions inside a pneumatic tire are disclosed. The monitoring device includes a sensor unit, a shell, and an encapsulant. The monitoring device is designed to roll on the inside of a tire or to float on a liquid inside of a tire.

Spherical monitoring device for pneumatic tires

A centrifugal oil filter includes a housing having a rotatable bowl disposed in a first fluid chamber and rotatably disposed about a shaft extending through the first fluid chamber. The rotatable bowl has a partition dividing the rotatable bowl into upper and lower portions. A port is formed in the partition so that the fluid flow within the rotatable bowl is directed to a pair of nozzles which act to rotate the rotatable bowl responsive to fluid flow therethrough. The port draws fluid from near the top of the rotatable bowl. Foreign particles are held along the inner wall of the bowl and the top of the partition protecting the particles from the fluid flow within the rotatable bowl.

Centrifugal oil filter with particle retention

A track belt tensioning management system is provided for actively adjusting the tension on a track belt in response to the difference in linear output speed between a drive wheel and the track belt. This is accomplished by sensing the speeds of the drive wheel and the track belt and delivering the sensed signals to a controller which processes the signals and determines the difference in their respective linear output speeds. If the difference varies from a predetermined value, the controller directs appropriate signals to a hydraulic valve arrangement which controllably directs pressurized fluid to and from a hydraulic actuator arrangement to adjust the tension between the drive wheel and the track belt. The subject arrangement maintains sufficient frictional force between the drive wheel and the belt to control the slip therebetween as required while at the same time limiting the forces in order to reduce premature failures and/or wear on the track belt and other associated components.

Track belt tension management system

A calibration apparatus and method for calibrating a hydraulic control valve connected to an electronic controller. The electronic controller selects control signals and reads corresponding hydraulic pressure outputs of the hydraulic control valve and selectively records values corresponding to control signals that produce desired calibration pressures.

Automatic solenoid control valve calibration

A cold fluid protection circuit is provided for controlling the rate of fluid flow in a hydraulic system in response to the temperature of the oil in a reservoir. The subject invention includes a temperature sensor operative to sense the temperature of the fluid in the reservoir and deliver an electrical signal representative thereof to a controller. The controller processes the sensed temperature with respect to the rate of flow in the hydraulic system that is returning to the reservoir from an actuator through a fluid conditioning mechanism and proportionally reduces the rate of flow therethrough by controllably reducing the displacement of a directional valve mechanism in response to the sensed temperature.

Cold oil protection circuit for a hydraulic system

Large work machines typically include an automatic lubrication system for lubricating critical areas during operation. In such systems it is advantageous to provide an efficient and flexible controller having substantial diagnostic capabilities. The subject inventions provides a sensor for determining the level of an operational parameter, a device for calculating a time interval being dependent on a previous lubrication event and the operational parameter, a device for producing a lubrication signal in response to the time interval reaching a predetermined interval constant, and a lubrication control for activating a lubrication system.

Automatic lubrication control

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Metamora, IL, United States of America

David R Meinhold