Patents Examined by Erin E McGrath
  • Patent number: 11259556
    Abstract: A machine for the integral processing of hard or soft shelled nuts herein proposed comprises a feeding hopper and at least one receptacle having a first end for connection to said hopper and a second opposite end, where said receptacle is located in a horizontal position according to the longitudinal direction of the machine and comprises therein a central shaft located according to the longitudinal direction thereof and connected at one end to a rotating element, where said central shaft has finger-like elements projecting radially outwards from various longitudinal positions thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Inventor: Jose Vicente Roig Borrell
  • Patent number: 11253097
    Abstract: A food heating device includes a plurality of chambers capable of receiving respective food items. The device further includes a steam generator and a plurality of valves for controlling admittance of steam from said steam generator into said chambers. The device is arranged to operate in at least one mode in which during a first period a first one of said valves is open and at least one of said valves remains closed and wherein said steam generator is operated to produce steam for a time less than said first period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Strix Limited
    Inventor: James Robert Howitt
  • Patent number: 11241034
    Abstract: A micro-vaporizer has an annular main body, a vaporization chamber, and a liquid delivery arrangement. The liquid delivery arrangement is configured for sequential delivery of a plurality of vaporizable liquids to the vaporization chamber. The liquid delivery arrangement has an annular wick having an internal wick surface defining at least a portion of the vaporization chamber. The liquid delivery arrangement also comprises a liquid reservoir surrounding the wick. The liquid reservoir is configured for storage of at least one vaporizable liquid therein and is in fluid communication with the wick. A heating element is positioned within the vaporization chamber for heating and vaporizing vaporizable liquid at or near the internal wick surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Blackship Technologies Development LLC
    Inventors: Yongjie Xu, Donovan Phillips
  • Patent number: 11234299
    Abstract: A system for warming up and/or cooking food is provided herein and includes: a frame; operating means for heating an active zone defined within the volume delimited by said frame; an emitter device for irradiating said active zone with incident microwaves; a detector device for detecting corresponding radiations coming from said active zone; a first transmission unit associated with at least said detector device and configured for sending first data, representative of said corresponding radiations, to a processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Carlo Filippo Ratti, Marco Maria Pedrazzo
  • Patent number: 11229975
    Abstract: Provided is a butt laser-welding method for a metallic member in which a laser beam is scanned so as to repeatedly cross butting surfaces of metallic members to weld the metallic members to each other. When the laser beam is scanned so as to cross the butting surfaces, the closer the laser beam comes to the butting surfaces, the more an irradiation energy density of the laser beam is increased. The bottom surfaces of the molten pools formed on the metallic members are inclined so as to descend toward the butting surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masanori Kokume, Shinichi Washizu, Yosuke Tateya, Daisuke Noritake, Yuki Kawashita, Jun Ikarashi
  • Patent number: 11219724
    Abstract: A heating element including a ceramic body and a heating wire. The ceramic main body includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion and the lower portion are integrally formed. A plurality of micro-pores for oil penetration are distributed in the upper portion and the lower portion. A shape of a periphery of the upper portion is matched with a shape of an interior of an atomizer for mounting the upper portion. A side of the upper portion is provided with a notch. The shape of the notch is matched with the shape of an air flowing tube of the atomizer. The lower portion extends downward from the side of the upper portion opposite to the notch. The heating wire is mounted to the ceramic main body, and the heating wire extends outward from the bottom of the lower portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: SHENZHEN BUDDY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Xiang Liu
  • Patent number: 11219332
    Abstract: A beverage extraction device includes: a cylinder, having a bottomed cylindrical shape, having a lower-surface opening which is closed with a bottom portion; a mesh member, having a disk shape, having a plurality of through holes, moving close to and away from the bottom portion to extract beverage from beverage raw material and hot water, fed through an upper-surface opening of the cylinder, so that the extracted beverage is discharged through an extraction passage connected to the bottom portion; an ultrasonic vibrator provided on the bottom portion; and a control unit, when a cleaning instruction is given, driving the ultrasonic vibrator in a state where the hot water is stored in the cylinder to apply ultrasonic waves to the hot water, and causing the mesh member to move close to and away from the bottom portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yohei Nishikawa, Hajime Erikawa
  • Patent number: 11219098
    Abstract: A power supply section for an e-vapor device includes a power supply section housing including a power supply portion and a heater assembly portion. The power supply portion includes a power supply, and the heater assembly portion includes a heating element and a support. The power supply is configured to selectively supply power to the heating element. The heating element includes a planar portion and first and second lead portions. The planar portion includes at least one filament. The first and second lead portions extend away from the planar portion. The support may support the heating element in the power supply section housing. The support includes a first slot and a second slot, and the first lead portion extends through the first slot, and the second lead portion extends through the second slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Arie Holtz
  • Patent number: 11213908
    Abstract: The wire feeding device that feeds welding wire W from the wire source to the welding torch is disposed between the wire source and the welding torch and is configured to temporarily accommodate the welding wire W fed from the wire source and to feed the accommodated welding wire W to the welding torch. In the case where feeding of welding wire W is abnormally stopped, if the acceptance unit accepts instructions for increasing or decreasing, the wire feeding device controls the speed of feeding welding wire W fed by the first feeding part or the second feeding part so that a difference is generated in the feeding speed of the first feeding part and the second feeding part and the accommodated amount of welding wire W is in a range from the lower limit of normal to an upper limit of normal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: DAIHEN Corporation
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawai, Futoshi Nishisaka, Haruhiko Manabe, Kazutoshi Nagami, Masahiro Inoue, Hisao Miyahara, Akio Yoshinaga
  • Patent number: 11207438
    Abstract: A wax warmer assembly includes a housing having an outermost edge defining an opening and an annular ridge below the outermost edge. The wax warmer assembly further includes a dish with a peripheral edge, a heater affixed to the dish, and a power cord in electrical communication with the heater. The heater is operable to only draw 10 Watts of power or less from a power source. Further, the dish is disposed in the opening of the housing and the peripheral edge of the dish engages with the annular ridge of the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas P. Gasper
  • Patent number: 11197577
    Abstract: The device for cleaning a filter holder of a coffee machine comprises a support body for supporting the filter holder, a motor on whose shaft scraping elements are assembled for removing the used coffee grounds contained in the internal chamber of the filter holder and at least one brush with a plurality of bristles to collect the residual of the used coffee grounds. The device comprises activation elements for activating the motor and controlled by the correct positioning of the filter holder adapted to receive the scraping elements and the brush, a collection member for collecting the used coffee grounds extracted from the filter holder by the scraping elements. The support body has a housing in which the filter holder is positioned and the scraping elements have at least one plough blade to remove the used coffee grounds from the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: CMA MACCHINE PER CAFFE' S.R.L.
    Inventors: Beppino Ceotto, Rossetto Giovanni
  • Patent number: 11197349
    Abstract: Disclosed is a heating rod comprising a ceramic heating element, a strip shaped contact sheet, and a housing in which the heating element and the contact sheet are arranged. The contact sheet is coated with nickel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: BorgWarner Ludwigsburg GmbH
    Inventors: Anthony Maher, Thomas O'Carroll, Kevin Dukes
  • Patent number: 11185940
    Abstract: A method for controlling an output current of a welding power supply includes detecting, using control circuitry of the welding power supply, a root mean square (RMS) current setting. The method also includes calculating, using the control circuitry, an average current command based on the RMS current setting. The method also includes controlling, using the control circuitry, the output current using the average current command to produce an output substantially the same as the RMS current setting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: James F. Ulrich, Jeremy D. Overesch, Edward G. Beistle
  • Patent number: 11179527
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods may control total particulate matter (TPM) production based on air flow rate and TPM density. TPM density is a TPM production rate per flow rate of gas through an aerosol-generating device. The systems, devices, and methods may measure, or sample, air flow during a puff or draw on an aerosol-generating device. The aerosol-generating device may, in turn, adjust the production of the TPM based on the measured air flow rate and a selected, or desired, TPM density, which may be pre-set in the device and/or subsequently set as desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Stephane Bilat
  • Patent number: 11172887
    Abstract: An occupant information sensing device 100 includes a plurality of heater electrodes that are provided at a vehicle steering wheel 104 and insulated and separated from one another and that generate heat by conduction. Power sources provide electrical current for heater electrodes. Electrical circuit elements enable the system to provide occupant biological condition monitoring, gripping detection, and electrical stimulation. The circuits enable common electrical connecting to the heater electrodes to provide multiple functions through the use of filtering and time division multiplexing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: AUTOLIV DEVELOPMENT AB
    Inventors: Yuki Yamazaki, Tatsuya Harada, Yukinori Midorikawa
  • Patent number: 11158526
    Abstract: Implementations described herein provide a substrate support assembly which enables both lateral and azimuthal tuning of the heat transfer between an electrostatic chuck and a heater assembly. The substrate support assembly comprises an upper surface and a lower surface; one or more main resistive heaters disposed in the substrate support; and a plurality of heaters in column with the main resistive heaters and disposed in the substrate support. A quantity of the heaters is an order of magnitude greater than a quantity of the main resistive heaters and the heaters are independently controllable relative to each other as well as the main resistive heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Vijay D. Parkhe, Konstantin Makhratchev, Masanori Ono, Zhiqiang Guo
  • Patent number: 11147315
    Abstract: In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for controlling an operation of an electronic cigarette. The method can include determining a total amount of vaporization energy required to vaporize an amount of liquid stored in a reservoir of an electronic cigarette. The method can include determining a total amount of atomizer power that is delivered to an atomizer associated with the electronic cigarette over a period of time. The method can include determining an amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir of the electronic cigarette, based on a comparison between the total amount of vaporization energy and the total amount of atomizer power delivered to the atomizer over the period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Fontem Holdings 1 B.V.
    Inventors: Ramon Alarcon, Adam Hoffman, James R. Conrey
  • Patent number: 11152721
    Abstract: A plastic window includes a plastic window body, a conductive portion, a first bus bar, and a second bus bar. The window body is formed in a plate shape and has a first surface and a second surface on both sides thereof. The conductive portion and the first bus bar are made of a conductive material and disposed on the second surface of the window body. The first bus bar is electrically connected to the conductive portion. The second bus bar is made of a conductive metal strip and disposed to be electrically connected to the first bus bar. The second bus bar has a main body, first fixing portions, and second fixing portions. The first fixing portions fix the main body to the second surface. The second fixing portions extend from the main body along the second surface and are attached to the first bus bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA JIDOSHOKKI
    Inventors: Kenji Takemura, Toshihiro Goto
  • Patent number: 11141815
    Abstract: Laser processing systems and methods are capable of moving a laser beam while maintaining consistent laser beam characteristics at processing locations. The laser processing systems generate a collimated laser beam having a consistent Z axis power density along at least a portion of a length of the laser beam and dither the collimated laser beam along one of the X and Y axes. The dithering of the collimated laser beam facilitates consistent laser processing on a three-dimensional surface, for example, to provide consistent deposition of a coating in a laser cladding process. A laser processing system may include a beam delivery system that provides both the collimation and the dithering of the collimated laser as well as an adjustment of the beam diameter of the collimated beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: IPG PHOTONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Joseph Leo Dallarosa, Ben Amar, David Squires
  • Patent number: 11147127
    Abstract: A device (100, 200, 1100, 2100) converts electricity into heat. A first flat winding support (110, 130, 210a, 210b, 230a, 230b, 310a, 310b, 330a, 330b, 510, 610, 630, 710, 1110, 1130, 2110, 2130) including electrically insulating material, has a first electric heating element (140, 150, 240a, 240b, 250a, 250b, 340a, 340b, 350a, 350b, 540, 640, 650, 740, 750) wound thereon. The first flat winding support with wound first electric heating element is inserted into a housing (190, 290, 1190, 2190) electrically insulated against the housing. A second flat winding support, including electrically insulating material, has a second electric heating element (140, 150, 240a, 240b, 250a, 250b, 340a, 340b, 350a, 350b, 540, 640, 650, 740, 750), which is galvanically separated from the first electric heating element, wound thereon. The second flat winding support with wound second electric heating element is inserted into the housing electrically insulated against the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: TÜRK & HILLINGER GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas Schlipf