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:
Mar. 10, 2009
Filed:
Aug. 04, 2006
Larry Eugene Unger, Southside, AL (US);
Mike Nick Glavaris, Jr., Grand Rapids, MI (US);
Larry Eugene Unger, Southside, AL (US);
Mike Nick Glavaris, Jr., Grand Rapids, MI (US);
Mid-South Products Engineering, Inc., Gadsden, AL (US);
Abstract
The invention consists of a unitincluding a two-piece, snap together housing made of elementsandwhich forms the orifice seat and the transitions which direct moisture away from the seat area and prevents the accumulation of moisture in the seat area. Left-Hand (LH) housingcontains a blind journal and right-hand (RH) housing portioncontains a through journal for support and location of the gate. Also integral to the RH housing portionare bosses for attaching the snap action switches, which determine gate orientation and mounting a gear motor, and can generally be referenced as 'gate position sensors'. Such switches could also be replaced with other gate position sensors such as know in the art such as hall effect switches, magnetic switches, optical devices, etc. The gear motor provides the driving torque to the gatethrough a cam-coupling, which has four switch detents, oriented to an internal shaft indexing means. Insulation membersminimize condensation in the housing portionsby separating the cold air flowing through housing from the warmer air which surrounds the damper assembly. In operation, a temperature sensing device/system senses the compartment temperature and energizes the gear motor, rotating the gateinto the open or closed position. The position of the gateis determined by the combination of the states of the two switches. When used with mechanical controls the gate will rotate 90 degrees per cycle. When used with an electronic control system, the gatecan be rotated to any desired position and then stopped.