Patents by Inventor Carlos E. Rodriguez

Carlos E. Rodriguez has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7984709
    Abstract: A vent control for a grill. The vent control includes a panel and an actuator that is operatively connected to and which is able to move the panel so that it can control the draft of the grill. The operative connection between the panel and the apparatus includes interengagable teeth. The vent control is attached to a grill so that the panel is located adjacent a surface of the grill and the actuator protrudes through a hole in the grill and is manipulable by way of a control knob. In use, the panel is moved by the actuator so that it is able to regulate the draft of the grill. Preferably, the actuator includes a shaft that is provided with a drive member in the form of a toothed gear, while the panel includes a toothed rail or rack that is engagable with the drive member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: Vendor Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Terrence P. Byrnes, Carlos E. Rodriguez, Han Yong Tang
  • Publication number: 20090025574
    Abstract: Outdoor cooking apparatus including a basin, a grate within the basin, a pedestal including a housing having a chamber and a container for a heat generating source. The container is preferably an insertable starter unit that is removably secured within the chamber and remains in place during cooking. The outdoor cooking apparatus is particularly useful for wok cooking as a wok may be placed on the grate such that a small diameter of very hot air is delivered from the insertable starter unit to the wok. The outdoor cooking apparatus may further be modified for other cooking purposes requiring a broader diameter of lower heat. This embodiment further includes a diffuser, preferably including a plate having apertures therein and a second larger planar grate placed within the basin above the diffuser.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2007
    Publication date: January 29, 2009
    Inventors: Terrence P. Byrnes, Raymond T. Gunderson, Carlos E. Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 5481193
    Abstract: An engine analyzer for an internal combustion engine converts an engine waveform into a digital waveform which is displayed on a monitor. The waveform is converted using two analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion channels. A dedicated A/D control microprocessor is used to control the flow of the digital waveform data between the analog-to-digital conversion channels and a main computer. Waveform data transfer to the main computer is over a dedicated, high speed data bus. A peripheral control microprocessor is used to monitor other engine parameters and shares memory with the A/D control microprocessor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1996
    Assignee: SPX Corporation
    Inventors: Steve Mueller, Scott Meyers, Chris Lambach, Glenn Stern, Joseph Cochenet, John T. Werth, III, Carlos E. Rodriguez, John N. Wozniak, John Hintz, Richard W. Hansen, Steve Trottier
  • Patent number: 4981408
    Abstract: A dual track substrate handling and processing system includes an entrance load lock station, an exit load lock station and a plurality of substrate processing stations, all positioned above a transfer vacuum chamber. The load lock station and each processing station are configured to hold two vertically oriented workpieces. A transport system conveys workpieces two at a time from parallel input cassettes to the entrance load lock station. The transport system includes a transport assembly that simultaneously advances two workpieces from each station to the next station; thus workpieces are processed two at a time in the same environment in each processing station and system throughput is correspondingly increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 1, 1991
    Assignee: Varian Associates, Inc.
    Inventors: John L. Hughes, Thomas E. Shula, Carlos E. Rodriguez