Patents by Inventor Helge Frank

Helge Frank 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: 5655732
    Abstract: A waste water drain apparatus (1) is to be attached to the fuselage belly (2) of an aircraft. The apparatus (1) essentially includes a drain pipe (3), an aerodynamically shaped fairing (7) enclosing the drain pipe (3), an attachment flange (6) for connecting the apparatus to the aircraft, at least one temperature sensor (9), and either at least one heating element (8) or hot air inlet (13) for heating the drain pipe (3). An inlet end (4) of the drain pipe (3) is to be connected to a waste water system of the aircraft. An outlet end (5) of the drain pipe (3) exits rearward at the trailing edge of the fairing so that the lengthwise axis of the drain pipe outlet is substantially parallel with the air flow during flight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Daimler-Benz Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventor: Helge Frank
  • Patent number: 5622207
    Abstract: Freeze-up is prevented in a tap pipe connectable to a main liquid supply line, by a liquid circulator directly inside the tap pipe. The liquid circulator is either a Pitot tube that takes advantage of the liquid flow in the main line to establish a circulation in the tap line, or the liquid circulator is a driven pump directly in the tap line. The pump is driven by an electric motor or by a turbine rotor. The turbine rotor may be an axial flow wheel, or a paddle wheel driven by the liquid flow in the main line for driving the pump. The pump itself may be a paddle wheel. The Pitot tube, the turbine rotor, and the paddle wheel are very energy efficient by using the flow or dynamic head in the main line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 22, 1997
    Assignee: Daimler-Benz Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventor: Helge Frank
  • Patent number: 5372710
    Abstract: A system for producing reduced pressure on board of an aircraft cooperates with at least one vacuum toilet for flushing the toilet. A reduced pressure is generated by a pump for transporting of refuse including water waste into a collection tank without using any pressure difference between the pressure in the aircraft cabin and the pressure outside the cabin. The suction inlet of the pump is connected through a filter to the collection tank and the pressure side of the pump is connected to a nozzle in an ejector, the suction inlet of which is connected to the toilet. A funnel-shaped ejector discharge port is connected through a return conduit to the collection tank, preferably through a water separator. A closed water circulating circuit is formed by the pump, the tank, the filter, and the ejector so that refuse and waste water pass directly through the ejector into the tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 13, 1994
    Assignee: Deutsche Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventor: Helge Frank
  • Patent number: 5317763
    Abstract: The noise developed in a suction toilet system, for example in an aircraft, by the activation of a suction valve is substantially reduced by generating the required suction with the aid of two valves, one of which is a by-pass flow valve that can be arranged away from the toilet bowl itself. The air supply for the by-pass flow valve is provided through a noise damper, whereby a substantial reduction in the noise is achieved. The by-pass flow valve is connected to the conduit that connects the bowl to the collecting container with a T-coupling near the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 7, 1994
    Assignee: Deutsche Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventors: Helge Frank, Christian Sparr
  • Patent number: 5309938
    Abstract: Fresh water is distributed in an aircraft from at least one supply tank connected through a conduit to at least one water using device, such as a tap, faucet, or the like. The conduit is constructed as a ring conduit, which is provided with or connected to a water conveying device, such as a pump, suction, or pressurizing device. One or more water using devices are connected to the ring conduit by respective branch lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 10, 1994
    Assignee: Deutsche Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventors: Hubert Ellgoth, Helge Frank, Gerd Grunwald, Georg Mai, Karolin Mau, Ralf Schliwa
  • Patent number: 5305792
    Abstract: A used or waste water collection system for an aircraft has a waste water collection pipe that connects a kitchen sink with a collecting tank through a controllable valve. The waste water is transported by reduced pressure. For this purpose, the collecting pipe is connected to the suction system present in the aircraft, especially for removing sewage from the flushing of a toilet basin in the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 26, 1994
    Assignee: Deutsche Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventors: Hubert Ellgoth, Helge Frank, Gerd Grunwald, Georg Mai, Karolin Mau, Ralf Schliwa
  • Patent number: 5303739
    Abstract: A fresh water supply system for an aircraft has at least one supply tank connected to one or more water taps or faucets through a main line, including a device for conveying the water, for example by a pump, by suction, by pressure, or even by gravity. An auxiliary tank or reservoir is arranged near a tap or faucet, and the auxiliary tank is connected to the main line by a controllable valve. The conveying device is connected with a control, which operates in such a way that the main line is filled with water only during first time durations while it is filled with air during second time durations. A venting valve is connected to the main line to permit the venting of the main line when water is removed from the main line. Air also escapes through the venting valve when the main line is being refilled with water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1994
    Assignee: Deutsche Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventors: Hubert Ellgoth, Helge Frank, Gerd Grunwald, Georg Mai, Karolin Mau, Ralf Schliwa
  • Patent number: 5261440
    Abstract: A water supply system for an aircraft is constructed to prevent freeze-up by causing the water to repeatedly flow back and forth between a water supply tank and one or more water displacement tanks. For this purpose, the displacement tank or tanks are connected through a pressurized pipe and through a switch-over valve to a junction between two series connected pressure controllers, preferably closed loop pressure controllers, that connect a source of gas pressure, such as air pressure, to a water tank, which in turn is connected through a water supply pipe to the water displacement containers and to respective faucets. A filling and draining valve is connected to the tank, to the water supply pipe, and to a venting and overflow pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1993
    Assignee: Deutsche Aerospace Airbus GmbH
    Inventor: Helge Frank
  • Patent number: 5063925
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a controllable expiration valve having a control valve for generating an end expiratory overpressure with the control valve providing the changeable control pressure. The expiration valve is improved so that it is made controllable for compensating dynamic end expiratory overpressure. For this purpose, the membrane chamber of the expiration valve as well as the outflow chamber of the control valve are connected with a device for generating an underpressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 12, 1991
    Assignee: Dragerwerk Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Helge Frank, Eric Hecker, Reinhard Eifrig, Dieter Weismann, Peter Gebhardt
  • Patent number: 4985165
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a material having predeterminable magnetic suceptibility and this material is suitable for producing displacing bodies for oxygen measuring devices. The material is composed of a plastic mass as primary substance and binding agent and, in any desired mixing ratio, at least one of the following additive substances: small hollow bodies, a paramagnetic material and a light ferromagnetic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 15, 1991
    Assignee: Dragerwerk Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Scato Albarda, Helge Frank, Joachim Marcoll