STEPHEN ROBERT LEWIS
Pilots at Wildflower Rd, Vonachen Knolls, IL

7886718, Feb 15, 2011

Sep 26, 2008

12/286023

Avinash R. Manubolu - Edwards IL, US
Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Shriprasad G. Lakhapati - Peoria IL, US
Zhenlong Xu - Peoria IL, US

Caterpillar Inc. - Peoria IL

F02M 51/06

123472, 239584, 2395855

A fuel injector includes a body piece that defines a nozzle supply passage and a chamber in fluid communication therewith and configured to contain a fluid pressure within the fuel injector. The body piece has a threaded segment and a second, unthreaded segment that includes an outer surface of the fuel injector. A tip piece is clamped via a clamping piece to the body piece to form a fluid seal therewith, and a needle check extends within the body piece and the tip piece. The body piece is configured to contain fluid pressures, for example up to and exceeding 200 MPa, and has a wall thickness between the chamber and the unthreaded segment that is linked to a fluid pressure of fuel passing through the chamber. The fuel injector is configured via integrating portions of a nozzle case and a body guide to contain the extremely high fuel pressures.

2012006, Mar 22, 2012

Nov 29, 2011

13/306264

Avinash R. Manubolu - Edwards IL, US
Shriprasad G. Lakhapati - Peoria IL, US
Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Daniel R. Ibrahim - Metamora IL, US

CATERPILLAR INC. - Peoria IL

F02M 51/06

2395851

A solenoid actuator includes a hard guide piece and a soft flux piece. The hard guide piece has a stop surface ground to create a final air gap distance between the soft flux piece and a stator assembly when the stop surface on the guide piece is in contact with the stator assembly. The final air gap is set by grinding the stop surface on the guide piece so that the distance between the stop surface on the guide piece and a top surface on the soft flux piece along an axis of the guide bore is equal to the final air gap. The step of grinding the armature assembly may be done after attaching the guide piece and the flux piece together. In an exemplary embodiment, the step of grinding the stop surface and associated guide surface(s) are performed in a single chucking.

6976474, Dec 20, 2005

Jul 19, 2004

10/894109

Dana R. Coldren - Fairbury IL, US
Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Michael R. Huffman - Dunlap IL, US

Caterpillar Inc. - Peoria IL

F02M037/04

123446, 123458, 123496, 2395851

A fuel injection system includes a fuel pressurizer that may be cam actuated. The fuel injection system also includes an electronically controlled spill valve and an electronically controlled needle control valve. The energization of the electronically controlled spill valve closes a fuel pressurization chamber to a drain passage to allow fuel pressure in the fuel injector to build to injection levels. The electronically controlled needle control valve controls whether high or low fuel pressure is applied to a closing hydraulic surface associated with a direct control needle valve. The fuel injection system includes a hydraulic circuitry that allows for fuel injection to occur by either maintaining the electronically controlled needle control valve in a de-energized state, or by de-energizing the same, after fuel pressure within the fuel injector has built to injection levels. With a de-energize to inject hydraulic circuitry associated with the direct control needle valve, the fuel injection system can prevent overpressurization in the event of electrical failure in the needle control electronic circuitry. This also provides a fuel engine with a limp home capability in the case of such an electronic problem.

8333336, Dec 18, 2012

Mar 6, 2007

11/714697

Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Dana R. Coldren - Secor IL, US
Jeffrey J. Mueller - Bloomington IL, US
Victor Yacoub - Washington IL, US

Caterpillar Inc. - Peoria IL

B05B 1/30

2395851, 2395855

A mechanically actuated electronically controlled unit injector includes an electronically controlled spill valve to precisely control timing of fuel pressurization within a fuel pressurization chamber. Cavitation bubbles may be generated in the region of the valve seat when the spill valve member is closed to raise fuel pressure in the fuel injector. This cavitation can cause erosion on the spill valve member and the surrounding injector body. In order to preempt cavitation damage, the valve member may be modified to include a compound annulus that includes a small annulus that corresponds to an identified cavitation damage pattern. Although the generation of cavitation bubbles may continue after such a strategy, cavitation erosion, and the associated liberation of metallic particles into the fuel system can be reduced, and maybe eliminated, by the preemptive cavitation reduction strategy.

7765877, Aug 3, 2010

Nov 30, 2007

11/998531

Jayaraman Venkataraghavan - Dunlap IL, US
Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
William Love - Dunlap IL, US
Zhenlong Xu - Peoria IL, US

Caterpillar Inc - Peoria IL

G01B 7/16

73777, 73760

A system for preloading piezoelectric actuators includes a fixture, a preloading mechanism configured to apply a mechanical force to a piezoelectric element supported by the fixture, and a sensor configured to sense an electrical property induced by the mechanical force in an electrical circuit having the piezoelectric element therein. A control device is coupled with the sensor and configured to generate a signal based on the sensed electrical property. A method of setting or testing preload includes applying a mechanical force to a piezoelectric element, and correlating an electrical property induced by the mechanical force with a magnitude of the mechanical force. Closed loop control allows preload to be set highly accurately.

7900886, Mar 8, 2011

Apr 18, 2008

12/081644

Avinash Reddy Manubolu - Edwards IL, US
Stephen Robert Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Daniel Richard Ibrahim - Metamora IL, US

Caterpillar Inc. - Peoria IL

F16K 31/02

25112916

A valve assembly is disclosed. The valve assembly has a housing having a first recess disposed on an interior surface of the housing and at least one valve-supporting element disposed within the housing. The valve assembly also has a washer disposed within the housing, the washer having a first washer surface and a projection for transferring torque. The first washer surface abuts against a first valve-supporting element surface of the at least one valve-supporting element and the projection is received in the first recess. The valve assembly also has a first fastener disposed within the housing and having a first fastener surface abutting against a second washer surface of the washer.

2006028, Dec 21, 2006

Jun 17, 2005

11/155839

Harish Krishnaswamy - Normal IL, US
Nadeem Bunni - Cranberry TWP PA, US
Stephen Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Dana Coldren - Fairbury IL, US

H02K 41/00, F16K 31/02, F02N 3/00

251129150, 251129010, 123188100, 310014000, 335220000, 239585500

An apparatus and method for controlling fluid flow is disclosed. An electromagnetic actuator may include a stator having an inner pole member and an outer pole member. The outer pole member may have a fluid passageway therein for transmitting fluid through the outer pole member. The actuator may further include a coil disposed around the inner pole member and arranged between the inner pole member and the outer pole member. The actuator may also include an armature moveable under the influence of a magnetic field generated by the stator and coil and operable to affect transmission of the fluid through the fluid passageway.

2013034, Dec 26, 2013

Jun 20, 2012

13/528039

Senthilkumar Rajagopalan - Edwards IL, US
Prashanth Sastry - Indianapolis IN, US
Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Tejas Vijaykamar Mayavanshi - Normal IL, US

Caterpillar Inc - Peoria IL

F16K 21/04

137511, 13756501

A spring guide configured to axially align a spring within a bore provided by a body of a check valve is provided. The spring guide comprises a base portion, a guide portion, and a stud. The base portion is configured to abut a closed end of the bore. The guide portion extends from the base portion. The guide portion is configured to abut an internal wall of the bore. The stud protrudes from the guide portion. The stud is configured to contact an inner spiral surface of the spring.

8322004, Dec 4, 2012

Apr 29, 2009

12/432072

Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Alan R. Stockner - Metamora IL, US
Dennis H. Gibson - Chillicothe IL, US
Avinash R. Manubolu - Edwards IL, US

Caterpilar Inc. - Peoria IL

B21C 37/30, B21D 51/16, B21D 53/76

29 907, 2989014, 298901, 2395332

A metallic fuel system component includes an internal surface and an external surface. The metallic fuel system component is made by inducing compressive residual stress in only a portion of the internal surface of the metallic fuel system component by transmitting a laser shock wave through the metallic fuel system component from the external surface to the internal surface.

7997145, Aug 16, 2011

May 25, 2010

12/786575

Jayaraman Venkataraghavan - Dunlap IL, US
William Love - Dunlap IL, US
Stephen R. Lewis - Chillicothe IL, US
Zhenlong Xu - Peoria IL, US

Caterpillar Inc. - Peoria IL

G01B 7/16

73777, 73760

A system for preloading piezoelectric actuators includes a fixture, a preloading mechanism configured to apply a mechanical force to a piezoelectric element supported by the fixture, and a sensor configured to sense an electrical property induced by the mechanical force in an electrical circuit having the piezoelectric element therein. A control device is coupled with the sensor and configured to generate a signal based on the sensed electrical property. A method of setting or testing preload includes applying a mechanical force to a piezoelectric element, and correlating an electrical property induced by the mechanical force with a magnitude of the mechanical force. Closed loop control allows preload to be set highly accurately.