Patents Examined by Leonid Fastovsky
  • Patent number: 6604914
    Abstract: This pump has two end chambers (2, 3) in which are housed two pistons (4, 5) which pump sea water towards an reverse osmosis membrane (7), and a central chamber (8) in which a sliding block is housed, activated by displacement of the pistons (4 and 5) performing the piloting of a directional valve (9). This pump alternatively provokes the inversion of the external pressure intake towards the front areas of the end chambers (2, 3) and the inversion of the pressure intake of the water rejected by the membrane towards the rear areas of said chambers (2, 3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2003
    Assignee: Bolsaplast, S.A.
    Inventor: Antonio Pares Criville
  • Patent number: 6600141
    Abstract: A heater assembly includes a mounting assembly, a conducting structure, a thermostat structure, a first terminal structure and a second terminal structure, and an insulator support structure including a terminal receiving opening formed therethrough. The conducting structure and the insulator support structure are releasably and fixedly secured to the mounting assembly. The terminal receiving opening of the insulator support structure cooperates with the first terminal structure to secure the first terminal structure to the mounting assembly. The second terminal structure is releasably and fixedly secured to the mounting assembly. The thermostat structure is connected to the first terminal structure and to the second terminal structure. The first terminal structure is then connected to a power delivering structure to receive power to be used by the heater assembly, and to deliver power, through the thermostat structure, to the conducting structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: Tutco, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Danko, Jimmy L. Sherrill, Ike D. Walker
  • Patent number: 6596974
    Abstract: A heater having a frame rail and clips, attached to the rail, for securing insulators for supporting a heater coil. Each clip has a main body having a structural member for securing to the rail, and having a pair of flanges symmetrical about a central axis. Each flange has a cut-out for supporting an insulator, the cut-out having an open end, a back abutment edge and a pair of side abutment edges. A bendable tab is located at either side of the open end, each having a first and a second position. In the first position an insulator is insertable into the cut-out, and the insulator is secured by bending the tabs to their second position. Optionally the main body has a cross-section that accommodates the cross section of the rail and the rail is welded to the channel. Alternatively, a plurality of clinching flaps extend from the main body, the flaps shaped and dimensioned for bending around and clinching the rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Tutco, Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Howard, Jimmy L. Sherrill, Ike Walker
  • Patent number: 6589021
    Abstract: A single-headed piston type swash plate compressor, realizing a lighter weight, provided with a housing internally defining and forming cylinder bores, a crank chamber, a suction chamber, and a discharge chamber; single-headed pistons accommodated in the cylinder bores to be able to reciprocate therein; a drive shaft driven by an external drive source and supported rotatably by the housing; a swash plate supported by the drive shaft to be rotated synchronously with the drive shaft; and a pair of shoes provided at the front and rear of the swash plate for driving the pistons; wherein the shoes are mainly comprised of a resin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2003
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho
    Inventors: Takayuki Kato, Takahiro Sugioka, Toshihisa Shimo
  • Patent number: 6585492
    Abstract: A pumping system is disclosed that includes a vacuum source. The pumping system includes a motor coupled to a centrifugal pump and a separator defining a reservoir in fluid communication with an inlet of the centrifugal pump. A water liquid ring vacuum pump having an inlet is provided in fluid communication with the reservoir of the separator. Accordingly, the vacuum pump may provide the required vacuum to prime the pump. To backflush that pumping system, the pumping system may include a first valve provided between the discharge port of the vacuum pump and the reservoir of the separator. A second valve may be provided between the reservoir of the separator and the inlet of the water liquid ring vacuum pump. During normal operation, the first valve fluidly connects the discharge of the vacuum pump to the atmosphere and the second valve fluidly connects the inlet of the vacuum pump to the reservoir of the separator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Inventors: David Muhs, Gianfranco Parma
  • Patent number: 6583388
    Abstract: An optical component package, having an insulative buffer placed against the component, enclosing a first insulative cavity against a temperature-sensitive portion of the component. An outer package provides additional insulation for the component. The buffer may be formed of a soft insulative material, and pressed against the component by an inner surface of the outer package. For the PLC embodiments disclosed, the buffer is planar and includes a frame projecting from its perimeter toward the component to form the cavity. A heater may be positioned proximate the optical component to control its temperature, in which case a second buffer may be placed against the heater, enclosing a second insulative cavity against the heater, aligned with the temperature-sensitive portion of the component. The buffers and insulative cavities of the present invention provide important insulation for optical areas requiring precise temperature control for proper operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2003
    Assignee: JDS Uniphase Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas E. Crafts, David J. Chapman, Steven M. Swain
  • Patent number: 6579300
    Abstract: A methodology of and apparatus for accurately positioning devices for performing endoscopic cannulation, papillotomy and sphincterotomy and similar procedures. The sphincterotome with a steerable or adjustable distal segment of the present invention allows the physician to control the position of the distal tip of the device independently of the endoscope and adjust for inconsistencies in the device and the anatomy. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a threaded portion of a cable assembly cooperates with a torque transmission element and a cog to enable the operator to rotate a cutting wire into a desired position relative to the catheter. Alternate embodiments allow the operator to fix the depth of a needle knife while allowing, if desired, accurate rotational positioning of the associated catheter. Threaded stabilizing elements, pivot elements and a steering wire may be used together or individually to accomplish these features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2003
    Assignee: SciMed Life Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: John A. Griego, Yem Chin
  • Patent number: 6572346
    Abstract: A cooling fan has a housing. A stator is securely mounted in the housing and has a coil, an upper pole sheet and a lower pole sheet coaxially provided at a top and a bottom of the coil respectively. A circuit board is provided beneath the lower pole sheet. An oil-retaining bearing is mounted in the stator. A rotator is received in the housing and has a cap covering the stator. A spindle is formed at the center of the cap and inserted through the oil-retaining bearing. A dustproof disk is provided between the circuit board and the lower pole sheet and is received in the cap of the rotator. A gap between the circuit board and the cap is sealed by the dustproof disk, and dust will not enter into the rotator to block the oil-retaining bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Inventor: Hsin-Mao Hsieh
  • Patent number: 6573484
    Abstract: An electrical heating wire assembly includes a heating wire with a bundle of electrical heating filaments, a conductive wire, and a connector interconnecting the heating wire and the conductive wire. The connector includes a conductive body that has a block portion formed with a recess which receives and which is electrically connected to the conductive wire, and a pin portion that projects from the block portion into the heating wire to contact the heating filaments. An insulator watertight sleeve is sleeved on the conductive body and ends of the heating wire and the conductive wire, with the pin portion extending outwardly through a terminating end of the sleeve. With the construction as such, heat at ends of the heating filaments, which are surrounded by the sleeve, is negligible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Inventor: Steven Yue
  • Patent number: 6568914
    Abstract: A swash plate type compressor used for the air conditioner of an automobile is presented. The compressor has a structure where pulsation pressure caused when refrigerants are compressed and discharged is reduced, thereby permitting noise at the time of driving to be substantially reduced. The compressor can embody the structure by distributing and discharging refrigerant that has been compressed by a plurality of pistons and discharged from a plurality of bores into at least two discharge holes, wherein a frequency of the pulsation pressure is increased in proportion to the number of the discharge holes, but the strength of the pulsation pressure is decreased in inverse proportion to the number of discharge holes. Therefore, the driving noise of the compressor that is formed in proportion to the strength of the pulsation pressure is considerably decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Halla Climate Control Corp.
    Inventor: Hew Nam Ahn
  • Patent number: 6568920
    Abstract: A manifold assembly for use in a compressor having a compression chamber for compressing a refrigerant is disclosed. The manifold assembly includes a housing coupled to an intake port and an exhaust port. The housing includes an outer wall and at least one inner wall to define a suction chamber for guiding the refrigerant from the intake port to the compression chamber and to define a discharge chamber for guiding the refrigerant from the compression chamber to the exhaust port. A baffle is connected to the housing. The baffle defines a first fluid cavity and an exit cavity that are in operative communication with each other and the compression chamber. The baffle eliminates acoustic resonance of the refrigerant in the discharge chamber. Other embodiments of the subject invention are disclosed that include a first and second piston for compressing the refrigerant and an air-conditioning system for circulating the refrigerant to remove heat from an interior of a vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher O. Yttri, Joseph P. Lackie, Michael F. Wieland
  • Patent number: 6565335
    Abstract: A vertical pump which has a rotating body having an impeller arranged with its axial center being vertical, and a cylindrical rotor fixed to an upper portion of the impeller with their axial center being, aligned with each other. A main portion of the cylindrical rotor is composed of a good conductor. A casing for housing the rotating body with a gap rotatively and a rotary magnetic field generator facing the cylindrical rotor for applying a rotational force, to the cylindrical rotor are provided. As a result, the rotating body including the impeller and the cylindrical rotor is rotated without contacting with the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignees: Kurosaki Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshio Yano, Isamu Aotani, Yoshikazu Yasuda
  • Patent number: 6562009
    Abstract: A plastic pump piston is provided for a disposable syringe, wherein the disposable syringe has a syringe cylinder which is constructed with a needle cone on one end thereof and at least one gripping plate on the other end thereof, and having a sealing element on the front end of a shaft of the pump piston. The sealing element is made of a material having a higher elasticity than the pump piston material and is molded onto the pump piston in the same mold after the pump piston is injection molded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: Schöttli AG
    Inventor: Martin Schöttli
  • Patent number: 6561775
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electric submersible pump assembly with a latch device permitting downhole connecting and disconnecting of the pump and motor. The latch device includes a pump latch connector and a motor latch connector that allows a pump and an electric submersible motor to be disposed in a wellbore independently and then connected. The pump latch connector attaches to the pump and includes a rotor connector box and a stator connector pin. The motor latch connector attaches to the motor and includes a rotor connector pin and a stator connector box. The rotor connector pin is disposable in the rotor connector box and the stator connector pin is disposable in the stator connector box thus connecting the previously suspended motor and motor latch connector to a retrievable pump, with the pump latch connector attached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: Wood Group ESP, Inc.
    Inventor: Hans Wefers
  • Patent number: 6554584
    Abstract: An inline type pump in which a rotor having an axial flow vane is arranged inside the cylindrical stator. The fluid is discharged from the discharging port after a rotating kinetic energy of the fluid transferred by the axial flow vane toward the discharging port is changed into a static pressure energy at the pressure chamber. With such an arrangement as above, it is possible to increase a fluid supplying efficiency after satisfying a small-sized structure and further it is possible to increase an output of the pump as well as its efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Toshiba TEC Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiyasu Takura, Yoshifumi Tanabe
  • Patent number: 6551067
    Abstract: A two-piece connecting rod for a reciprocating compressor and method for assembling a two-piece connecting rod, said connecting rod comprising an engaging portion (21), which is provided in one of the parts defined by a first connecting rod portion (10), to be mounted to the eccentric (6) of a crankshaft (4) of the compressor, and by a second connecting rod portion (20), to be articulated to a piston (8) reciprocating inside a cylinder (7), which is closed by a cylinder head (9); and a guide portion (11) provided in the other of said parts, to be slidingly coupled with the engaging portion (21); and a fixation means, applied to the coupling region between the engaging portion (21) and the guide portion (11), with the first connecting rod portion (10) being mounted to the eccentric (6) and with the second connecting rod portion (20) being mounted to the piston (8) lodged in the cylinder (7), in order to lock said portions against relative displacements in a position which results in a predetermined axial dista
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Empresa Brasileira de Compressores S.A. -Embraco
    Inventors: Ingwald Vollrath, Sérgio Luiz Maganhoto, Rivio Arturo Ramirez
  • Patent number: 6551070
    Abstract: Gear pumps are disclosed having a gear-assembly section, a drive-assembly section, and at least one passage fluidly connecting the gear-assembly and drive-assembly sections, wherein the passage includes substantially non-movable walls defining a non-linear fluid-flow path. A particular example is a magnetic gear pump having a gear-assembly section; a section that includes a magnet assembly received in a cup cavity; and a third section located between the gear-assembly and magnet-assembly sections, wherein the third section includes a fluid-input port, a fluid-output port, and at least one conduit for fluidly interconnecting the gear-assembly and magnet-assembly sections; and a member defining at least one non-linear passage in fluid connection with the third section conduit and the cup cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Micropump, Inc., a unit of IDEX Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Michael Burns, Charles F. Carr
  • Patent number: 6551300
    Abstract: A device for delivering a topically applied anesthetic agent gel to a wall forming a passage in tissue comprising a flexible elongate cylindrical member having proximal and distal extremities. The member is sized so that it can be inserted into the passage. An anesthetic agent is carried by the member for supplying the anesthetic agent along at least the distal extremity of the member for a sufficient period of time to anesthesize the wall and the tissue surrounding the wall whereby other medical devices can be inserted into the passage without substantial pain to the patient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Vidamed, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas H. McGaffigan
  • Patent number: 6551280
    Abstract: Therapeutic devices that provide support or pressure to tissue. Devices contain a material that is capable of being contracted from its relaxed state to an evacuated state. The material applies pressure to the tissue of a patient when the material is in its relaxed state. Reduction of pressure by application of a vacuum results in a contracted state of the device, so that the device can be applied or delivered to a patient. Release of vacuum results in a return to the relaxed state, thus providing a maximum desirable pressure to tissue and avoiding the possibility of over-pressure which can result in tissue damage or necrosis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Embro Corporation
    Inventors: David R. Knighton, Vance D. Fiegel
  • Patent number: 6547767
    Abstract: A substance delivery apparatus for a catheter assembly is provided. The delivery apparatus includes a base and a needle connected to the base. The needle is capable of pivotally moving with respect to the base for penetrating into tissues of a passageway for administering a therapeutic or bioactive substance to the subject. The needle can pivot in response to inflation of a balloon incorporated with the catheter assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Mohammed E. Moein