Patent ID: 8596417

Claim:
A lubrication system for delivering a lubricant to a plurality of nozzles, comprising: a reservoir for the lubricant; a pump fluidly coupled to the reservoir and configured to remove a flow of the lubricant from the reservoir; a lubrication sensor positioned between the pump and the plurality of nozzles and configured to detect a blockage in the plurality of nozzles and to generate a blockage signal when the blockage is detected; an indicator coupled to the lubrication sensor and configured to generate a warning based on the blockage signal from the lubrication sensor; and a shuttle valve coupled to the pump for receiving the flow of the lubricant from the pump, the shuttle valve comprising a housing defining a cavity; a shuttle positioned within the cavity to divide the cavity into a first cavity section, a second cavity section, and a third cavity section, the shuttle defining a flow passage therethrough extending between the first cavity section to the third cavity section, the shuttle further having a first position and a second position and translating from the first position to the second position when a pressure in the third cavity section exceeds a predetermined threshold; an inlet fluidly coupled to the first cavity section; and an outlet fluidly coupled to the third cavity section such that a flow of fluid is directed through the inlet, through the first cavity section, through the flow passage in the shuttle, through the third cavity section, and through the outlet, the outlet configured to be fluidly coupled to the plurality of nozzles; and wherein the lubrication sensor is configured to determine when the shuttle is in the first position or the second position and to generate the blockage signal when the shuttle is in the second position.