Patents Examined by Sharla Magana
  • Patent number: 8857072
    Abstract: The mitten and boot dryer for use with a residential furnace includes a vent plate made of a ferrous material, which is mounted either one a forced air residential furnace or down line therefrom. The vent plate features a plurality of holes upon which a vent may be attached via an angled base support. The angled base support features a magnet embedded therein, which attaches itself onto the hole of the vent plate, and can rotate there about. Alternatively, the angled base support may feature a winged end that slides into a winged hole on the vent plate, and is rotated therein so as to lock into the vent plate. The vent has a cap on a farthest distal end and features a plurality of holes along the length. The angled base support includes a friction hinge to enable rotation of the vent with respect to the vent plate. The vents are ideally oriented at angles to enable a boot or mitten to rest thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Inventors: Mark Cocker, Cathy Cocker
  • Patent number: 8844513
    Abstract: A device, system and method for heating fluid (air) in a flue to create a draw prior to combusting a fuel in a combustion device. The device, system and method includes a housing that may be integrated about the flue. The housing may include a heat exchanger that itself may include a heating source that may be in thermal communication with the flue and a temperature differentiation driver. The heat exchanger may operate to transfer heat energy from the heating source to a fluid constrained to a path created by the flue. The result is a pressure differential created within the flue to help draw the fluid out of the combustion device. The heat exchanger may be configured such that it may cause heat transfer to the heavier, more dense fluid contained within the ventilation system prior to combusting fuel in a combustion device, thereby causing the fluid to be relatively less dense thus creating a draw.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Inventor: John Stock LaMunyon, III
  • Patent number: 8845326
    Abstract: An gas burner assembly for a cooking appliance includes a main burner assembly, a simmer burner assembly positioned in a stacked relationship with and located below the main burner assembly, a venturi assembly for delivering a gas flow to the main burner assembly, a gas boost pump configured to control a pressurization of the gas flow, a gas valve assembly for controlling a rate of the gas flow, and an encoder coupled to the gas valve assembly, the encoder configured to track a position of the gas valve assembly and provide a signal to the gas boost pump for pressurization of the gas flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Timothy Scott Shaffer, Eric K. Watson, Brian Michael Schork, Paul Bryan Cadima, Paul E. McCrorey
  • Patent number: 8820312
    Abstract: The oxygen transport reactor-based oven is an oven for heating articles, such as bread, using oxygen transport reactor-based combustion in order to recycle carbon dioxide, rather than releasing the carbon dioxide into the environment. The oven includes an upper furnace chamber having a plurality of oxygen transport reactors disposed therein. A mixture of fuel and gaseous carbon dioxide is delivered to the interior of each oxygen transport reactor. Pressurized air is then delivered to the upper furnace chamber, so that oxygen from the pressurized air is driven through an ion transport membrane of each oxygen transport reactor to combust with the fuel. This combustion produces carbon dioxide, water vapor and heat. The generated heat is used to heat the articles to be heated, which are received within a heating chamber positioned beneath the upper furnace chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
    Inventors: Mohamed Abdel-Aziz Habib, Esmail M. A. Mokheimer
  • Patent number: 8800542
    Abstract: An automatic temperature control device for solid fuel fired food cooker fueled by wood, charcoal, or other solid fuels which is capable of operation with any type of cooker without utilization of different sized blowers and conserves solid fuel usage. The present invention serves to regulate cooking temperature by controlling or optimizing the amount of combustion air reaching the fuel. The present invention also allows an outdoor barbecue grill or smoker of any reasonable size to be retrofitted with the invention in order to allow a chef to cook foods at stable and precise temperatures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Inventor: John Matthew Kennington
  • Patent number: 8794131
    Abstract: A grill with improved-configuration grease collecting box comprising feet, a pan mounted on the feet and a heating device on the backside of the pan, the feet form an opening to contain the grease collecting box, both sides of the opening have supports, the opening mounted a grease collecting box inside, and the grease collecting box mounted on the supports, said pan has grease outlet orifices on the top of grease collecting box. The grease collecting box of the present invention located below the pan, it does not occupy the additional space and uneasy to be turn overed by incaution, which add the security; Mounting the grease collecting box on the feet does not need any additional fitting device, and the simple configuration is advantageous to be carried; The grease collecting box being hidden in the feet make the appearance of the grill to be more aesthetic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Qisheng Lai, Youming Yang
  • Patent number: 8783242
    Abstract: A charcoal grill includes a base for holding charcoal, support legs, and a lid mounted to the base. A metal band, having an opening formed therein, encircles the base. A box is secured to the metal band in registration with the metal band opening. The box includes a top wall and an opening formed in the top wall. The box has an open, ram-receiving back end and an open front end in open communication with the metal band opening. A chimney holds charcoal until it is ready to be used. A user inverts the chimney to charge charcoal into the box through the top wall opening. A ram inserted through the back end of the box slides the charcoal into the base through the metal band opening. In this way, charcoal is added to the apparatus when the lid is closed and before a prior charge of charcoal is consumed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: University of South Florida
    Inventors: Matthew Ronald Banas, Paul A. Witiak
  • Patent number: 8776782
    Abstract: A solar collector comprises an evacuated glass tube (8), an absorbing section (9) comprising a radiation absorbing plate (10), an elongate tube (11, 15) for a working fluid in contact with the radiation absorbing plate (10) and a wire clip (25) for retaining the absorbing section (9) in position in the solar absorbing glass tube (8). The wire clip (25) consists of a single piece wire having a clamping portion (26) for clamping onto the outer surface of the working fluid tube (11, 15) and a pair of resilient side support sections (27) flanking the clamping portion (26). The side support sections (27) extend so that portions thereof engage against the inner surface of the solar absorbing tube (8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Kingspan Holdings (IRL) Limited
    Inventors: Paul Thomas McEntee, Richard Pelan, Stuart McSheehy, Patrick Robert Davis
  • Patent number: 8757142
    Abstract: A solar collector, comprising: (a) a plurality of thermosiphon tubes in which water flows, each tube having a top opening and a bottom opening; (b) a top manifold having a water inlet and water outlet and disposed at the top opening of the tubes, providing both a water feed into at least one of the plurality of tubes and a water exit from the rest of the tubes; and (c) a bottom basin connecting the bottom openings of the tubes. In some embodiments the plurality of tubes are divided into at least one inlet tube and the rest as outlet tubes by a stopper disposed in the top manifold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Inventors: Shlomo Gabbay, Abad Luis
  • Patent number: 8753111
    Abstract: A torch is provided having a tube having an inside diameter, a body and an orifice tip having a bore, where the diameter of the bore of the orifice tip and the inside diameter of the tube have a particular ratio based upon the type of fuel used for the operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Lincoln Global, Inc.
    Inventor: Todd R Nolan
  • Patent number: 8752541
    Abstract: A heating system can include certain pressure sensitive features. These features can be configured to change from a first position to a second position based on a pressure of a fuel flowing into the feature. These features can include, fuel selector valves, pressure regulators, burner nozzles, and oxygen depletion sensor nozzles, among other features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Inventor: David Deng
  • Patent number: 8739431
    Abstract: A light solidifying device includes a body, a magnetic slide cover unit connected to the body, a control unit connected to the body, and a light solidifying unit disposed in the body. An inner case of the body is a polygonal case, and an inclined sidewall of the inner case is arranged to face to a user's finger nails in a direction perpendicular to the inclined sidewall. The magnetic slide cover unit can be movable to adjust the opened area of a first opening and a second opening of the body for shielding the light rays emitted from the light emitting diode to prevent from irradiation of the light on the user's eyes and skin during use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Nail Alliance LLC
    Inventor: Kuo-Chang Cheng
  • Patent number: 8733255
    Abstract: A conveying means for hot material, including at least one conveyor belt and at least one housing at least partially surrounding the at least one conveyor belt, wherein at least one deflecting means for deflecting a gas flow flowing longitudinally with respect to the at least one conveyor belt towards the at least one conveyor belt is arranged in or on the housing, and wherein the gas flow can be deflected by the at least one deflecting means over at least 25% of a length of the at least one conveyor belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Clyde Bergemann Drycon GmbH
    Inventors: Rafael Moreno Rueda, Jeremy Phillip Kirsch
  • Patent number: 8627578
    Abstract: A hooded dryer accessory system having a panel with a first end and a second end, the panel is generally flexible, the panel is arc shaped wherein a top edge has an arc length greater than that of a bottom edge, a first half connecting means on the first end of the panel and a second half connecting means on the second end of the panel, wherein the first half connecting means temporarily engages the second half connecting means, and a padding component on a back surface of the panel along all or a portion of the bottom edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Inventor: Amie L. Gibson
  • Patent number: 8573141
    Abstract: A reversible jamb block for a furnace, oven or kiln, having an attachment side adapted to removably attach to the first side of a doorway for the furnace, oven or kiln, and adapted to removably attach to the second side of the doorway, such that one face of the jamb block is directed away from the furnace when the attachment side of the jamb block is attached to the first side of the doorway, and a second face opposite the first face, is directed away from the furnace when the attachment side of the jamb block is attached to the second side of the doorway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Gillespie + Powers, Inc.
    Inventor: John M. Peterman
  • Patent number: 8550018
    Abstract: A stirring control method is adapted for a combustion apparatus which includes a furnace for burning fuel material, and a stirring member rotatably disposed in the furnace for stirring the fuel material and ash resulting from burning of the fuel material. The stirring control method includes: controlling rotation of the stirring member at an initial rotational speed; determining whether a height of the fuel material reaches an upper detection range; generating an indication when the height of the fuel material reaches the upper detection range; determining whether the height of the fuel material reaches a lower detection range when the height of the fuel material does not reach the upper detection range; and controlling rotation of the stirring member at a rotational speed higher than the initial rotational speed when the height of the fuel material reaches the lower detection range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Suncue Company Ltd.
    Inventor: Jung-Lang Lin
  • Patent number: 8505471
    Abstract: A burning equipment for improving burning efficiency with a simple structure. The burning equipment includes a burning chamber having a top plate section and a bottom plate section; a first burn-promoting plate extending downward from the top plate section until the lower end reaches a prescribed height from the bottom plate section, dividing the burning chamber into a primary burning chamber and a secondary burning chamber, and having a plurality of through-holes; and an air outlet being provided to the secondary burning chamber. The air outlet is provided to the top plate section. A second burn-promoting plate extends downward from the top plate section, in the secondary burning chamber, until the lower end reaches a prescribed height from the bottom plate section. It divides an opening of the air outlet and also has a plurality of through-holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Moki Seisakusho Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kunitoyo Mogi