US Patent Issued to Illinois Tool Works on July 21 for "Proportional control drive mechanism" (Ohio Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,687,236, issued on July 21, was assigned to Illinois Tool Works Inc. (Glenview, Ill.).

"Proportional control drive mechanism" was invented by Christopher A. Carns (Hicksville, Ohio), Joseph D. Davis (Archbold, Ohio) and Nathan C. Osmun (Edgerton, Ohio).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A thermostatic valve assembly having a valve body with a chamber, an inlet port, a first output port, and a second output port. The thermostatic assembly includes a wax element, a ball valve component with a drive pin, and a plunger with a drive opening to receive the drive pin. The drive opening has a partially flattened oval profile with a first flat section...