ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,416,371, issued on Sept. 16, was assigned to Illinois Tool Works Inc. (Glenview, Ill.).
"Valve module stroke detection" was invented by Kevin R. Gutknecht (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and Edward W. Bolyard Jr. (Old Hickory, Tenn.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A valve module stroke detection system includes an adhesive valve module having a reciprocating valve pin. The pin reciprocates in a first direction by application of a compressed gas on one side of a piston and reciprocates in a second opposite direction. The reciprocating pin has a portion in an adhesive flowpath. A sensed element is positioned on the valve pin outside of the adhesiv...