Patents Assigned to Universal Vortex, INC
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Patent number: 11493239Abstract: A method for efficiently reducing the energy required to convert natural gas from a natural gas pressure letdown facility at high pressure and pipeline/wellhead temperature to liquid natural gas in close proximity to/collocation with a natural gas pressure letdown/regulation facility using Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,231) in arrangement with indirect contact heat exchangers. The Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes separate the inlet natural gas into hot flow and cold flow outlet natural gas flows. One portion of the natural gas flow from the high-pressure transmission line/gas wellhead is directed through the Non-Freezing Vortex Tube and the cold outlet flow of the natural gas is directed to the indirect contact heat exchanger(s) to act as the cooling medium. The liquid natural gas plant's required natural gas flow is directed at the existing pipeline/wellhead gas pressure through the heat exchanger and cooled.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2019Date of Patent: November 8, 2022Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Ross Gale
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Publication number: 20200103146Abstract: A method for efficiently reducing the energy required to convert natural gas from a natural gas pressure letdown facility at high pressure and pipeline/wellhead temperature to liquid natural gas in close proximity to/collocation with a natural gas pressure letdown/regulation facility using Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,231) in arrangement with indirect contact heat exchangers. The Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes separate the inlet natural gas into hot flow and cold flow outlet natural gas flows. One portion of the natural gas flow from the high-pressure transmission line/gas wellhead is directed through the Non-Freezing Vortex Tube and the cold outlet flow of the natural gas is directed to the indirect contact heat exchanger(s) to act as the cooling medium. The liquid natural gas plant's required natural gas flow is directed at the existing pipeline/wellhead gas pressure through the heat exchanger and cooled.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2019Publication date: April 2, 2020Applicant: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Ross Gale
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Patent number: 6289679Abstract: This invention is concerned with a method for a non-freeze enhancement in a vortex tube assembly which includes a heat exchanger having an uncontrolled opening in its inner passage and a vortex tube comprising a slender tube, a diaphragm having a hole in the center thereof and closing one end of the vortex tube, one or more tangential nozzles piercing the slender tube just inside the diaphragm and an outlet opening on the other end of the vortex tube, the method comprises ways of connecting the non-freeze enhanced vortex tube as follows: attaching a heat exchanger to an outward side of a vortex tube's diaphragm; connecting a vortex tube's diaphragm hole for discharging a cold fraction flow with a heat exchanger's inlet opening and then connecting the inlet opening through a heat exchanger's inner passage with a heat exchanger's outlet opening to discharge gas flow from the non-freeze enhanced vortex tube assembly; and connecting a vortex tube outlet opening at the far end of the vorteType: GrantFiled: July 12, 2000Date of Patent: September 18, 2001Assignee: Universal Vortex, INCInventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Khasqvitski
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Patent number: 6082116Abstract: A vortex heater to transfer a vortex flow's heat flux to a separate gas flow in a system including a vortex tube having a slender tube plugged at the far end, fins attached to the slender tube's outer side and a shell which includes enclosing the finned vortex slender tube with the shell, thus forming an outer wall of the heat exchanger, connecting a vortex tube's inlet with a source of compressed gas and then discharging the gas flow through vortex tube's diaphragm to provide for the gas flow to undergo an energy separation in the vortex tube, connecting a separate gas flow with the heat exchanger inlet, and discharging this flow from the heat exchanger outlet, to provide for the vortex flow to cool down and for the heat exchanger's flow to heat up.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 1998Date of Patent: July 4, 2000Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski
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Patent number: 5950436Abstract: A method for the design and production of a vacuum vortex tube's based beverage cooling/heating system to be installed on a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, with a vacuum vortex tube's feed appearing as an outcome of the vehicle performance. The system according to the invention comprises a vacuum vortex tube with its inlet connected with the atmosphere, with a vortex cold/hot fraction outlet connected through cut out cocks to provide cooling, heating or cooling and heating mode of operation with beverage can holder inlet; and with beverage can holder outlet connected with the suction section of the combustion engine.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 1998Date of Patent: September 14, 1999Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski, Robert L. Foster
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Patent number: 5937654Abstract: A snow making machine uses a vortex tube to mix the water with the chilled air to make snow. The vortex tube is equipped with fins on is external surface in order to create an extra chilled air jet to be mixed outside of the vortex tube with a water jet.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 1997Date of Patent: August 17, 1999Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski, Robert L. Foster
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Patent number: 5911740Abstract: A method of heat transfer enhancement in the vortex tube harnessed in a system including a vortex tube with its slender tube plugged at the far end, fins attached to the slender tube's outer side and a shell and comprising the steps of: enclosing the finned vortex slender tube with the shell, thus forming an outer wall of the heat exchanger; connecting a vortex tube's inlet with the source of compressed gas and then discharging the gas flow through vortex tube's diaphragm, thus providing for the gas flow to undergo an energy separation in the vortex tube; and connecting a separate gas flow with the heat exchanger inlet and then discharging this flow from the heat exchanger outlet, thus providing for the vortex flow to cool down and for the heat exchanger's flow to heat up.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 1997Date of Patent: June 15, 1999Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski
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Patent number: 5819541Abstract: Portable heating/cooling systems for effecting a temperature change of beverages to be installed on vehicles with an abundance of compressed air and/or with an internal combustion engine, which include connecting a vortex tube inlet tube through an inlet cut out cock with a vehicle's compressed air receiver which is connected to the compressor, connecting the vortex tube cold fraction discharge line through the cold fraction cut out cock with the beverage can holder and further with atmosphere, while maintaining the cold fraction cut out relieve cock closed, and connecting the vortex tube hot fraction discharge line through the hot fraction cut out relieve cock with the atmosphere, while maintaining a hot fraction cut out cock closed.Type: GrantFiled: April 1, 1997Date of Patent: October 13, 1998Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski, Robert L. Foster
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Patent number: 5749231Abstract: A design of a non-freezing vortex tube to operate with non-dried even wet inlet gas flow in a broad range of a vortex tube's cold fraction value, the non-freezing vortex tube includes a heat exchanger and a vortex tube comprising a slender tube, a diaphragm having a hole in the center thereof and closing one end of the slender tube, one or more tangential nozzles piercing the slender tube just inside the diaphragm and a throttle valve on the other end of the slender tube, the design comprising ways of connecting the non-freezing vortex tube to keep all diaphragm's surfaces above the point of freezing.Type: GrantFiled: August 13, 1996Date of Patent: May 12, 1998Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski, Rorbert L. Foster
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Patent number: 5582012Abstract: A method of natural gas pressure reduction at a City Gate station providing an elimination of the station's energy consumption for gas flow heating together with the creation of a cooling duty for further utilization which comprises connecting a vortex tube inlet with a gas flow line for applying the whole gas flow entering the City Gate, connecting a cold fraction gas flow outlet from the vortex tube with a heat exchanger for warming the cold fraction gas, and outletting the warmed cold fraction gas, connecting a vortex tube's hot fraction outlet with the warmed cold fraction outlet from the heat exchanger, to combine the hot fraction outlet with the warmed cold fraction outlet; and connecting the combined hot fraction and warmed cold fraction to the pipeline leaving the station, the method of the invention is also useful in connection with natural gas pressure reduction at a City Gate station equipped with a heater and a JT valve providing a reduction of energy consumption for gas flow heating, together witType: GrantFiled: May 15, 1995Date of Patent: December 10, 1996Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski, Robert L. Foster
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Patent number: 5561982Abstract: A method of the energy separation and utilization in the Vortex Tube which operates with a pressure not exceeding the atmospheric, the system harnessing this method comprises a Vortex Tube and a vacuum pump with the Vortex Tube's nozzles connected with the inlet gas flow with the pressure not exceeding the atmospheric and the Vortex Tube's diaphragm with the hole for discharging the cold stream connected through the heat exchanger provided to utilize a cool duty with the suction section of the vacuum pump and, accordingly, the Vortex Tube's throttle valve or any other restrictive body for discharging of the hot stream at the far end of the slender tube connected through the heat exchanger provided to utilize a hot duty with the suction section of the vacuum pump.Type: GrantFiled: May 2, 1995Date of Patent: October 8, 1996Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventors: Lev Tunkel, Boris Krasovitski
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Patent number: 5327728Abstract: A method for the design of a vortex tube for energy separation, the vortex tube having a long tube with a diameter Do, a diaphragm closing one end of the tube having a hole with diameter d.sub.1 in the center, one or more tangential nozzles with a total area F piercing the tube just inside the diaphragm, and a throttling valve at the far end of the tube, wherein conventionally describing in terms of the relative parameters are as follows:P=pressure ratio=gas pressure ahead of the vortex tube nozzles divided to gas pressure downstream the diaphragm.mu.=cold fraction=mass flow of cold gas divided by mass flow of the inlet gass=relative area of the nozzles ##EQU1## d=relative diameter of diaphragm: d.sub.1 /Do and wherein P is between 5.0 or less and more than 1.0 and d is between approximately 0.4 and approximately 0.55 and .mu. is between 0.4 and approximately 0.65, then s is selected to be between 0.08 and approximately 0.12; and wherein P is between 5.0 and approximately 10.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 1993Date of Patent: July 12, 1994Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventor: Lev E. Tunkel
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Patent number: 4735094Abstract: A dual bluff body vortex flowmeter includes a flow passage having first and second ends and a vortex-responsive sensor disposed in the passageway between its ends. A parallel pair of circularly cylindrical bluff bodies are disposed one each between the sensor and the two ends of the passage. The downstream portion of each bluff body faces towards the sensor, so that the sensor is responsive to vortices shed from either the first or second bluff body, when fluid flows in the passage from the first to second end, or from the second to the first, respectively. The sensor is preferably a piezoelectric device mounted in a cantilever beam disposed between the first and second bluff bodies and connected to the interior wall of the flow passage.Type: GrantFiled: January 28, 1987Date of Patent: April 5, 1988Assignee: Universal Vortex, Inc.Inventor: David Marsh