The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 15, 2004
Filed:
Mar. 21, 2002
Gerald Patrick Smiltneek, Sussex, WI (US);
Uniplex Corporation, Pewaukee, WI (US);
Abstract
Couplers for joining actuators to valves are configured to allow their affixment to different makes and models of actuators and valves, thereby allowing an off-the-shelf S coupling solution and avoiding the need to specially construct a coupler which is only adapted to connect whatever valve and actuator that are desired for coupling. The couplers include a shaft/stem bore which accommodates the torque-transmitting components of the valve and actuator to be coupled, and sets of affixment holes surround the shaft/stem bore, with these affixment holes being arrayed in patterns matching those of different common valves and actuators. Thus, a coupler may affix to different valves or actuators provided the appropriate affixment holes are chosen. The couplers may be formed as single-piece or multi-piece units. For example, rather than using a single-piece coupler, the coupler may be formed as a pair of coupler sections wherein each coupler section is configured to attach to one or more valves or actuators, and the coupler sections may then be affixed to each other. By providing a user with a variety of differently-configured coupler sections, the user may simply choose coupler sections which are appropriate for attachment to the valve or actuator in question, and may then affix the coupler sections together to complete the coupler and thereby affix the valve to the actuator.