ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,305,712, issued on May 20, was assigned to Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG (Herzogenaurach, Germany).
"Bearing shunt" was invented by Guihui Zhong (Charlotte, N.C.), Venkata Kottapalli (Fort Mill, S.C.), James Brown (Rock Hill, S.C.), Joseph T. Griffin (Monroe, N.C.) and John Tate (Cornelius, N.C.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A bearing shunt includes a metal washer, a conductive washer made from a carbon fiber mesh, and a metal cover. The metal washer includes a first annular surface, a lip protruding axially from the first annular surface, and a first plurality of lubricant flow holes. The conductive washer includes a second annul...