Patents Examined by Raheena Rehman
  • Patent number: 9425124
    Abstract: A heat sink includes a plurality of layers being disposed substantially parallel with a surface of a heat source. The layers include a plurality of pin portions spaced apart from each other in a planar arrangement wherein the pin portions of the layers are stacked and bonded to form pin fins extending in a transverse direction relative to the heat source to sink heat. A compliant layer is disposed between the pin fins and a mechanical load. The compliant layer provides compliance such that the pin fins accommodate dimensional differences when interfacing with the heat source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: John P. Karidis, Mark D. Schultz
  • Patent number: 9395123
    Abstract: A portable thermal-control system adapted to support space-related research and exploration. Embodiments of the present invention assist in preventing overheating of small payloads being transported from an orbiting space vehicle to a planetary surface by small atmospheric-entry vehicles. Other embodiments of the present invention provide thermal control within an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suit. Each embodiment utilizes at least one phase-change material, cooled significantly below the freezing temperature, to absorb heat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Assignee: Paragon Space Development Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Orville Leimkuehler, Thomas William Morin, Grant A. Anderson
  • Patent number: 9395126
    Abstract: Superalloy components, such as steam and gas turbine blades or vanes, are cooled during welding fabrication or repair, so as to reduce likelihood of weld metal and weld heat affected zone cracking during weld solidification and during post weld heat treatment. More particularly the invention relates to cooling superalloy steam and gas turbine components, such as turbine blades or vanes during weld repair. A heat sink apparatus includes a heat sink having a first surface adapted for abutting orientation with a turbine component second surface; and a non-gaseous, conformable, heat conductive material adapted for conforming contact with both surfaces. The heat conductive material fills gaps between the heat sink and turbine component abutting surfaces, and facilitates enhanced conductive heat transfer, in order to minimize negative heat effects from welding. The apparatus may be incorporated in a cooling system that varies heat sink cooling capacity in response to sensed component temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Assignee: Siemens Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Gerald J. Bruck, Ahmed Kamel
  • Patent number: 9383787
    Abstract: A heat dissipating module disposed at a motherboard includes a fan, a air guiding cover, a first fin set and a second fin set. The fan provides cool air and is disposed in the air guiding cover. The air guiding cover includes a first air outlet, a second air outlet and an air guiding part connected between the first air outlet and the second air outlet. The first fin set is disposed at an upper surface of the motherboard and includes a plurality of first fins. The first air outlet covers at least a part of the first fins. The second fin set is disposed at a bottom surface opposite to the upper surface and extends to a side edge of the motherboard. The second fin set includes a plurality of second fins located beside the side edge, and the second air outlet covers the second fins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
    Inventors: Ming-Fang Tsai, Ming-Hsiu Wu, Ching Ho, Yen-Chao Huang
  • Patent number: 9372024
    Abstract: An ice machine includes an insulated compartment to store ice, a dispenser having access to the insulated compartment to dispense ice from the insulated compartment, a card reader, and a controller in communication with the card reader and the dispenser. The controller stores permission settings including a public setting and a private setting. The controller is to receive a card number from the card reader. The controller is to determine whether to initiate ice dispensing using the dispenser based on the card number, the public setting and the private setting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2016
    Inventor: David W. Tenberg, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9365406
    Abstract: A refrigerator includes a cabinet, a first compartment, a second compartment, a first door providing access to the first compartment, a second door providing access to the second compartment, and a beverage dispensing system operatively connected the cabinet. The refrigerator further includes a user interface operatively connected to the cabinet, the user interface having a display and being configured to identify a user of the beverage dispensing system and customize beverage settings and preferences associated with the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventor: Gregory Gene Hortin
  • Patent number: 9328938
    Abstract: Of four corner covers (40) in an indoor unit(10), a horizontal length of an outer surface in a second corner cover (41) is the same as a horizontal length of an outer surface in a first corner cover(41), a horizontal length of an outer surface in a third corner cover (43) and a horizontal length of an outer surface in a fourth corner cover (44) are the same and are smaller than the horizontal length of the outer surface of the first corner cover(41). Opening dimensions (LA, LB, LC, LD) of four air outlet ports (14) in a horizontal direction are the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Michitsuji, Yoshiteru Nouchi, Tsuyoshi Yokomizo, Takashi Gotou, Yuuki Obata
  • Patent number: 9157669
    Abstract: Technologies are generally described herein for electrocaloric effect heat transfer devices and methods effective to facilitate heat transfer over a wide operating temperature range of a corresponding heat source. Some example heat transfer devices may include multiple heat transfer stacks with at least two heat transfer stacks having electrocaloric effect materials with varying effective temperature ranges. The combined effective temperature ranges of the multiple heat transfer stacks encompass the operating temperature range of the heat source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: EMPIRE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LLC
    Inventor: Ezekiel Kruglick
  • Patent number: 9127881
    Abstract: A machine for dispensing blended iced beverages is characterized by a cabinet for storing a plurality of supplies of beverage ingredients and a refrigeration system for chilling an interior of the cabinet to chill the beverage ingredient supplies. A duct extends between the cabinet interior and a remote point of delivery of the beverage ingredients and a tubing bundle extends from the supplies and through the duct to the delivery point to deliver beverage ingredients from the supplies to the delivery point. The interior of the duct is chilled to chill the tubing bundle and beverage ingredients in the tubing bundle, so that chilled beverage ingredients are always provided to the point of delivery, even when the machine is idle for an extended period of time. Various techniques are provided for chilling the interior of the duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: Comehus, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas Anderson, Nikolay Popov, Shaji Kulangara Veettil, Neravati Sudhir Kumar, James E. Gooding, III, Santhosh Kumar
  • Patent number: 9115937
    Abstract: A thermal energy storage and delivery system is disclosed. A core includes a thermal storage medium and a thermal transfer medium transports thermal energy to and from the core. The core may be surrounded by multiple layers, where each layer is less dense the closer the layer is to the outside of the thermal storage and delivery system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Inventor: Virgil Dewitt Perryman
  • Patent number: 9080818
    Abstract: Heat exchangers are described that employ fins made of a heat conducting foam material to enhance heat transfer. The foam fins can be used in any type of heat exchanger including, but not limited to, a plate-fin heat exchanger, a plate-frame heat exchanger or a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The heat exchangers employing foam fins described herein are highly efficient, inexpensive to build, and corrosion resistant. The described heat exchangers can be used in a variety of applications, including but not limited to, low thermal driving force applications, power generation applications, and non-power generation applications such as refrigeration and cryogenics. The fins can be made from any thermally conductive foam material including, but not limited to, graphite foam or metal foam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Scott M. Maurer, Nicholas J. Nagurny, Michael R. Eller, James W. Klett
  • Patent number: 9074813
    Abstract: An automated plate freezer assembly apparatus includes a hopper mounted above at least one freezer plate unit with the hopper able to pass food material from the hopper to the freezer plate unit. The freezer plate unit has a cooling device for freezing the food material and a heating device so that, upon the completion of freezing, frozen blocks of material are able to be gravitationally removed from the plate freezer assembly apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Inventor: Simon Staughton
  • Patent number: 9074824
    Abstract: A low-profile heat transfer device includes a main body and at least one wick structure. The main body extends from a first end to a second end and defines an inner space, in which the wick structure is provided. The wick structure also extends from the first end toward the second end, such that at least one channel is defined in the inner space by the main body and the wick structure. The low-profile heat transfer device can be flexibly designed into any desired shape according to actual need, and is able to absorb heat from a heat-producing element and quickly transfer the absorbed heat to a distant location for dissipation, and therefore enables highly efficient vapor-liquid circulation therein and allows an electronic device to have excellent heat dissipation efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Asia Vital Components Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Chun-Ming Wu
  • Patent number: 9072201
    Abstract: A modular cooling system configured to treat IT air generated by a data center includes a frame and a plurality of cooling sub-system modules supported by the frame. The plurality of cooling sub-system modules are configured to operate in parallel to achieve total cooling effect or a lesser cooling effect with some level of redundancy within the data center. Each cooling sub-system module includes a housing configured to support cooling equipment, an air-to-air heat exchanger supported by the housing to cool IT air generated by the data center, the air-to-air heat exchanger having at least one tube configured to direct IT from one end of the air-to-air heat exchanger to an opposite end of the air-to-air heat exchanger and configured so that outdoor air circulates around the at least one tube, and a mechanical cooling system supported by the housing. The mechanical cooling system is configured to receive IT air treated by the air-to-air heat exchanger and to provide further cooling to the treated IT air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC IT CORPORATION
    Inventor: John H. Bean, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9068783
    Abstract: Tube heat exchanger for exchanging heat between first and second fluids includes a housing wherein one or more tubes extend between an inlet part and an outlet part for the first fluid. The tubes extend through passages through baffle plates which are secured at a distance from one another by means of one or more fastening devices that include a profile that is snapped in place in one or more recesses in the respective baffle plates. The profile is a V-profile and the recess is a V-shaped recess having protrusions on its two opposite edges behind which the V-profile is snapped in place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: ATLAS COPCO AIRPOWER N.V.
    Inventor: Guido Jan Bal
  • Patent number: 9062890
    Abstract: An energy recovery heat exchanger (100) includes a housing (102). The housing has a first flowpath (144) from a first inlet (104) to a first outlet (106). The housing has a second flowpath (146) from a second inlet (108) to a second outlet (110). Either of two cores may be in an operative position in the housing. Each core has a number of first passageways having open first and second ends and closed first and second sides. Each core has a number of second such passageways interspersed with the first passageways. The ends of the second passageways are aligned with the sides of the first passageways and vice versa. A number of heat transfer member sections separate adjacent ones of the first and second passageways. An actuator is coupled to the carrier to shift the cores between first and second conditions. In the first condition, the first core (20) is in the operative position and the second core (220) is not. In the second condition, the second core is in the operative position and the first core is not.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jeffrey T. Benoit, Gregory M. Dobbs, Norberto O. Lemcoff
  • Patent number: 9046310
    Abstract: The invention relates to a plate heat exchanger for treatment of a medium, comprising a number of compression-molded heat exchanger plates, which are successively provided in a plate package and which form first plate interspaces and second plate interspaces, wherein the first plate interspaces and the second plate interspaces are provided in an alternating order in the plate package, where the inlet and outlets of the heat exchanger plate located in a center portion of the plate heat exchanger, and where the plate package is arranged between end plates on each side of the plate package, where at least one of the end plates are provided with connections in a center portion of the at least one end plate and that the location of the connections on the at least one end plate correspond to the location of the inlet and outlets of the heat exchanger plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: ALFA LAVAL CORPORATE AB
    Inventors: Hjalmar Joensen, Göran Paulsson
  • Patent number: 9032754
    Abstract: A refrigeration system that induces lubricant-liquid refrigerant mixture flow from a flooded or falling film evaporator by means of the lubricant-liquid refrigerant mixture flow adsorbing heat from an electronic component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: TRANE INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Todd J. Love, Michael Boehde, Benjamin E. Dingel
  • Patent number: 9033029
    Abstract: A heat exchanger is provided. The heat exchanger may include a plurality of refrigerant tubes extending in a horizontal direction, at least one fin coupled to the plurality of refrigerant tubes, a vertically oriented header coupled to corresponding ends of the plurality of refrigerant tubes, the header distributing refrigerant into the plurality of refrigerant tubes, and a partition device that partitions an inner space of the header, the partition device including at least two through holes that guide refrigerant into the plurality of refrigerant tubes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Taegyun Park, Sehyeon Kim, Seungmo Jung, Eungyul Lee, Sanghoon Yoo, Naehyun Park
  • Patent number: 9032757
    Abstract: A cold storage heat exchanger includes multiple refrigerant tubes, a cold storage container, an inner fin, a cooling air passage and an air-side fin. The inner fin is arranged inside of the cold storage container. The cooling air passage, in which air flows to cool a space, is provided to contact a surface of the refrigerant tube on a side opposite to the cold storage container. The air-side fin is arranged in the cooling air passage and thermally connected to the refrigerant tube. The cold storage container includes multiple recess portions bonded to the inner fin, and multiple protrusion portions located on an outer side of the recess portions. The protrusion portions of the cold storage container are bonded to an outer surface of the refrigerant tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Yamada, Seiji Inoue, Yoshio Miyata, Naoki Yokoyama, Etsuo Hasegawa, Jun Abei, Hiroshi Ishikawa, Aun Ota, Kouta Hagihara