Patents Examined by Brady C Pilsbury
  • Patent number: 11950612
    Abstract: System for protecting and securing bags for bulk high pressure processing equipment including at least one tube provided with holes, covers for evacuating and connecting the ends of the tube or tubes, the tube or tubes being anchored to the covers, a protector for the bag adapted to lengthen the outlet path of the processed product once the depressurization of the equipment is produced, and a fitting for the protector for connecting the protector to the cover on the side from which the product in the bag comes out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: HIPERBARIC, S.A.
    Inventors: Raúl Lopez Ondevilla, Rubén Garcia Reizabal, Santiago Tarrago Mingo, Andrés Felipe Hernando Saiz
  • Patent number: 11944711
    Abstract: A sanitizing system for a vehicle includes an ultraviolet light source mounted on the vehicle and configured to irradiate an irradiation target with an ultraviolet ray so as to sanitize the irradiation target and a control unit configured to control the ultraviolet light source to be turned on and off. The sanitizing system may further include an illumination light source configured to illuminate the irradiation target of the ultraviolet light source. The control unit may turn on the illumination light source when the ultraviolet light source is turned on. The control unit may be configured to carry out a first detection that an occupant outside the vehicle approaches the vehicle and turn on the ultraviolet light source in response to the first detection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
    Inventor: Kazuya Satou
  • Patent number: 11925715
    Abstract: A sterilization system and method for sterilizing an oral appliance is disclosed. As part of the system, a sterilization case is provided, which includes a case body, a rechargeable battery, and at least one ultraviolet light. The case body includes a top portion and a bottom portion movably connected to one another, and the case body is sized and shaped to house the oral appliance. The at least one ultraviolet light is mounted in the case body, is powered by the rechargeable battery, and, in use, sterilizes the oral appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Clean Case LLC
    Inventors: Jean Seibold McGill, James Noah McNeely
  • Patent number: 11896041
    Abstract: A device(s) and method for pasteurizing and/or sterilizing particulate material using an electron beam. The device (10) includes at least one electron source (20) for generating an electron beam, a treatment zone (19) in which the material, particularly a freely falling material, can be pasteurized and/or sterilized by the electron beam, and a material channel (21) arranged in the region of the treatment zone (19) in which the material can be pasteurized and/or sterilized by the electron beam. A planar protective element (23), which is at least partially permeable by the electron beam, is arranged between the electron source (20) and the material channel (21). The device (10) includes a holding frame (120) which holds the protective element (23) and which has a cavity (121) through which a cooling fluid can flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: BÜHLER AG
    Inventor: Alasdair Currie
  • Patent number: 11857690
    Abstract: In the COP treatment and the SOP treatment of the interior of a chamber of an aseptic filler, any cleaning liquid or aseptic water remaining in the chamber is quickly removed before spray of a sterilizer containing peracetic acid or hydrogen peroxide. A transfer device for transferring a container in the chamber of the aseptic filler is driven to remove the cleaning liquid sued for the COP treatment or the aseptic water used for the SOP treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Atsushi Hayakawa
  • Patent number: 11850320
    Abstract: A sterilization system includes a vial, a carrier of microorganisms disposed in the vial, and a fluid management system having an output connectable to the vial for delivering a liquid chemical sterilant and a neutralizer thereto. Additionally, a growth medium may be delivered to the vial such that the vial and growth medium may assessed for a change to a visual characteristic indicative of sterilization inefficacy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Inventors: Yan Fang, Prabhakaran Jayabalan, Benjamin M. Fryer
  • Patent number: 11834172
    Abstract: A method of sterilizing a vehicle interior using a drone includes: receiving information on whether a passenger is boarding or the passenger has initiated a sterilization request; and when the passenger does not ride in a vehicle or the sterilization request is received from the passenger, performing, with a drone, a set of instructions to implement a sterilization logic. In particular, the sterilization logic includes determining an infected area using a sensor part, and allowing the drone to fly and performing intensive sterilization in the infected area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Jae Seung Lee
  • Patent number: 11813374
    Abstract: A sterilization system includes a vial, a carrier of microorganisms disposed in the vial, and a fluid management system having an output connectable to the vial for delivering a liquid chemical sterilant and a neutralizer thereto. Additionally, a growth medium may be delivered to the vial such that the vial and growth medium may assessed for a change to a visual characteristic indicative of sterilization inefficacy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Inventors: Yan Fang, Prabhakaran Jayabalan, Benjamin M. Fryer
  • Patent number: 11806450
    Abstract: An air sterilizing device, comprising: a housing (100), forming an air flow path thereon; an ozone generating unit (200), generating ozone particles to be supplied to the air flow path; a filter cartridge (300), receiving ozone generated by the ozone generating unit (200) to discharge bubbles comprising ozone and hydroxyl radicals; an ultrasonic generating unit (400), connected to the filter cartridge (300) to generate ultrasonic waves; an air supply fan (500), configured to supply air to the air flow path of the housing (100); and a power supply unit, configured to supply power for driving the ozone generating unit (200), the ultrasonic generating unit (400), and the air supply fan (500).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Inventors: Guodong Du, Monagas Asensio Pedro
  • Patent number: 11786627
    Abstract: A respiratory droplet suction device includes an air inlet end and an exhaust end. A plurality of filtering devices are arranged between the air inlet end and the exhaust end. The filtering device is provided with a bacteria filtering screen for adsorbing bacteria and an ultraviolet sterilization lamp for inactivating the bacteria. The filtering device includes a first side wall and a second side wall. The first side wall is connected to the air inlet end, and the second side wall is connected to the exhaust end. The air entering from the first side wall is filtered by the bacteria filtering screen and discharged through the second side wall. The ultraviolet sterilization lamp is arranged corresponding to the bacteria filtering screen. A respiratory droplet filtering apparatus includes the respiratory droplet suction device, and a respiratory droplet electric suction system includes the respiratory droplet filtering apparatus are further provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Guangzhou Ajax Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Bing Lyu, Yuansheng Zhou, Xuehua Huang, Qing Xiang, Zhijie Li
  • Patent number: 11780590
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a method for disinfecting an aircraft cabin that includes injecting a non-peroxide disinfectant into an environmental control system of an aircraft and discharging cabin supply air through the environmental control system to discharge the non-peroxide disinfectant into the aircraft cabin. In some instances, the method includes aerosolizing the disinfectant into a plurality of liquid droplets while injecting the disinfectant into the environmental control system. In some instances, the injected disinfectant includes a non-corrosive, non-toxic disinfectant, such that the disinfectant may be discharged into the aircraft cabin in the presence of personnel in the aircraft cabin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Peter M. Michalakos, Amanda Childers, Giorgio C. Isella, Tim Lippold, Sean Skomurski
  • Patent number: 11771788
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a bill feeder, a housing for holding a bill that is received from the bill feeder, sensors coupled to the housing, an ultraviolet (UV) lamp that emits ultraviolet light to illuminate a portion of the bill, a UV shutter to control a power of the ultraviolet light on the bill, a memory and a processor. The processor configured to determine at a property of the bill from a first output of a first sensor, to determine a bill contaminant on the bill from a second output from a second sensor, to retrieve a UV dose rate to be applied by the ultraviolet light needed to sterilize the bill based on the type of bill contaminant on the bill, the property of the bill, an illumination area or any combination thereof, and to apply the UV dose rate to the bill.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: Capital One Services, LLC
    Inventors: David Kelly Wurmfeld, Kevin Osborn
  • Patent number: 11771783
    Abstract: A sterilizer for a vehicle includes: a module bracket fixed to an interior component of a vehicle; a slider slidably mounted on the module bracket; a module case connected to the slider; a sterilization module disposed within the module case and configured to radiate ultraviolet rays to an outside; and a motor fixed to the module bracket to drive the slider by a passenger's request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jae Seung Lee, Young Hoon Ji
  • Patent number: 11759537
    Abstract: A sterilizing method for sterilizing a sterilization object housed in a chamber (11) includes a first vapor injection step (S104) of injecting vapor produced from a first aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide to the inside of the chamber (11), an ozone injection step (S107) of injecting ozone gas to the inside of the chamber (11) after the first vapor injection step (S104), and a second vapor injection step (S109) of injecting vapor produced from pure water or vapor produced from a second aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide to the inside of the chamber (11) after the ozone injection step (S107).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: MIURA CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenichi Matsuo, Junji Yamamura, Yasuo Nakamura
  • Patent number: 11752224
    Abstract: A refrigerator appliance or sanitizer assembly may include a heating plate and a storage container. The heating plate may be mounted on a door of the refrigerator appliance. The storage container may be disposed on the heating plate and extend between a bottom end and a top end. The storage container may define a sanitization chamber above the heating plate and a container opening at the top end to permit access to the sanitization chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Mirza Yaseen Baig, Roobanprasath P.
  • Patent number: 11744910
    Abstract: A disinfection apparatus disclosed herein includes a chamber and a conveyor belt adapted to convey an object through the chamber, in various aspects. A nozzle array comprising at least one nozzle is positioned beneath the conveyor belt to spray a disinfectant through apertures formed in the conveyor belt onto a surface of the object oriented toward the conveyor belt, the spray communicated upward through apertures formed in the conveyor belt, in various aspects. A blower array comprising at least one blower nozzle is positioned beneath the conveyor belt to blow an air jet through apertures formed in the conveyor belt onto the surface of the object to dry the disinfectant from the object, the air jet communicated upward through apertures formed in the conveyor belt. Related methods of disinfecting objects are also disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Inventor: Todd T. Buckner
  • Patent number: 11730844
    Abstract: Methods and system for disinfecting an autonomous vehicle includes one or more LEDs coupled to the autonomous vehicle to emit UVC light into a passenger compartment of the autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle can include sensors to confirm that the passenger compartment is empty and can be configured to prevent ingress of passengers into the passenger compartment while the UVC light is being emitted. Moreover, visible light indicators in the vehicle can be controlled to provide different visual indicators during the disinfecting cycle and when the vehicle is available to a passenger. In examples, the disinfecting cycle can be performed while the autonomous vehicle is in use, e.g., while the autonomous vehicle is traversing to a location to retrieve a passenger. The methods and systems can provide improved cleaning and disinfection of autonomous vehicles without the need to take the vehicles out of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Chang Gi Samuel Hong, James Michael Eccleston, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Andrew Mark Stieber, Goutham Shanmuga Sundaram
  • Patent number: 11701681
    Abstract: A device and method for applying a material to a hard surface. The device has a sensor and one or more applicator nozzles. The device further includes a reservoir for containing a material to be deposited, and a CPU. The method includes providing information from the sensor about the surface to the CPU, which uses the information to identify where the material is to be deposited and/or how much to deposit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Stephan Gary Bush, Ted De Castro, Gayle Marie Frankenbach, Dana Paul Gruenbacher, Kenneth Lee Morand, Thomas Elliot Rabe, Faiz Feisal Sherman, Nicola John Policicchio, Philip Andrew Sawin, Jeremy Michael Carter
  • Patent number: 11672881
    Abstract: A purifying method includes: illuminating a measurement area with excitation light; detecting fluorescence from the measurement area; measuring an amount of amino acids included in the measurement area, based on an intensity of the fluorescence; and discharging a chemical agent to the measurement area, when the amount of amino acids exceeds a first threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, Hiroko Ikeshima
  • Patent number: 11638766
    Abstract: A headlamp for killing microorganisms on a surface is disclosed. The headlamp includes a head strap for donning the headlamp onto a head, a light source emitting ultraviolet light that sanitizes surfaces in which the ultraviolet light contacts, and an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the light source with respect to the head strap in a direction the user is looking such that the light emitted from the light source contacts said surface. A proximity sensor powers on the light source when the user is within a predetermined distance away from the surface. A timer powers off the light source when the light source has contacted the surface for predetermined amount of time. An indicator provides a que that the surface is safe to touch. A motion detector powers the light source on when motion is detected proximate thereto and powers off the light source absent motion proximate thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Inventor: Gordon S Roeder, Jr.