Patents by Inventor Thomas Stein

Thomas Stein 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).

  • Publication number: 20150313427
    Abstract: In a vacuum cleaner it is provided that a brush set can be connected via a pivotable connecting element in the form of a connecting piece for an attachable filter housing to a handle in the form of a hand grip. Here the brush set has an electric motor for a suction fan and for the drive of the brush roller. The pivotable connecting element of the brush set has an external connector plug for an electrical connection to an appliance coupling of a power line connection lead for connection to a power supply, for example, for connection to a wall socket and the like. As a result, the brush set with the integrated motor and a switch for operating control forms a functional electrical unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2015
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Inventor: Thomas Stein
  • Publication number: 20150313428
    Abstract: A brush vacuum cleaner having a brush set facing the floor with a driven brush roller, wherein the brush set can be connected via a pivotable connecting element in the form of a connecting piece for a filter housing attachable to a handle having a hand grip. The brush set accommodates an electric motor for a suction fan and for the drive of the brush roller. An electrical switch is provided for switching the electric motor on and off which is disposed on the side wall as a lateral flank of the brush set in the form of a foot operated switch. The switch with its external control surface projects outwards with respect to the side wall in the switched-off position whereas in the switched-on position the control surface ends with neighbouring or adjacent surface sections of the side wall without overhang.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2015
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Inventor: Thomas Stein
  • Patent number: 9089250
    Abstract: A vacuum cleaner includes a variable speed suction motor and an illuminatable motor speed indicator having plural lights arranged in a circular pattern or annular ring pattern, for example around a motor speed control switch. A control unit includes an indicator controller and a motor controller that respectively control the illuminatable indicator and the motor, based on inputs from the motor speed control switch and optionally at least one sensor that senses operating conditions of the vacuum cleaner. The lights are successively activated and deactivated to create a visible light spot that appears to rotate around the circular or annular ring pattern at a light rotation rate related to and indicative of the motor rotation speed. Thereby the indicator allows the vacuum suction power to be visually monitored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: Stein & Co. GmbH
    Inventor: Thomas Stein
  • Publication number: 20150207473
    Abstract: An amplifier arrangement with a Class D design is proposed which has a low-pass filter device comprising a first inductor and a second inductor The first inductor is arranged between a first load output and a load and the second inductor is arranged between a second load output and the load. The first and second inductors are coupled to one another so that the total inductance of the two inductors is greater than the sum of the individual inductances of the two inductors and also less than or equal to 1.95 times the sum of the individual inductances of the two inductors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Publication date: July 23, 2015
    Inventors: Josef Plager, Patrick Engl, Thomas Stein
  • Publication number: 20150207471
    Abstract: An amplifier arrangement for amplifying an audio input signal AES into an audio output signal AAS, having a conditioning apparatus for converting the audio input signal AES into a conditioned intermediate signal ZS. The conditioning apparatus includes an audio input interface for accepting the audio input signal and a digital data processing device. The amplifier arrangement also includes an amplifier apparatus for amplifying the intermediate signal ZS into the audio output signal AAS and the amplifier apparatus has at least one operating voltage BS. The amplifier arrangement also includes a limiting module for limiting the audio output signal AAS by changing a gain parameter VK.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Publication date: July 23, 2015
    Inventors: Josef Plager, Patrick Engl, Thomas Stein
  • Publication number: 20150207472
    Abstract: An amplifier arrangement for amplifying at least one first and one second audio input signal. In one embodiment, the arrangement includes a master amplifier designed as a class D amplifier. The first audio input signal is applied to the master audio input and a master audio output signal is applied to the master audio output. The arrangement also includes a master feedback loop; thus enabling the master amplifier to be designed as a self-oscillating class D amplifier having a master oscillation frequency, at least one slave amplifier, a slave feedback loop, wherein a slave audio output signal or signal portions thereof are fed back into a slave audio input, and a master-slave coupling loop, wherein the master audio output signal or signal portions thereof is coupled into the slave audio input, so that the slave amplifier has the master oscillation frequency as its oscillation frequency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Publication date: July 23, 2015
    Inventors: Josef Plager, Patrick Engl, Thomas Stein
  • Patent number: 8980009
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a method for at least partially removing a contamination layer (15) from an optical surface (14a) of an EUV-reflective optical element (14) by bringing a cleaning gas into contact with the contamination layer. In the method, a jet (20) of cleaning gas is directed to the contamination layer (15) for removing material from the contamination layer (15). The contamination layer (15) is monitored for generating a signal indicative of the thickness of the contamination layer (15) and the jet (20) of cleaning gas is controlled by moving the jet (20) of cleaning gas relative to the optical surface (14a) using this signal as a feedback signal. A cleaning arrangement (19 to 24) for carrying out the method is also disclosed. The invention also relates to a method for generating a jet (20) of cleaning gas and to a corresponding cleaning gas generation arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignees: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, ASML Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Dirk Heinrich Ehm, Arnold Storm, Johannes Hubertus Josephina Moors, Bastiaan Theodoor Wolschrijn, Thomas Stein, Edwin te Sligte
  • Patent number: 8807571
    Abstract: A seal assembly for a reciprocating piston system is provided that compensates for uneven wear rates between the ring components of the seal assembly by initially sizing a portion of the width of the sealing ring larger than the width of the annular recess in the cover ring, this portion at least partially overlapping the gap in the cover ring but not the gap in the sealing ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: David Jonathan Chalk, Larry Thomas Stein
  • Patent number: 8745817
    Abstract: A vacuum cleaner has a lid that selectively opens or closes a filter bag compartment. A secondary motor protection filter is removably mounted in the lid by a frame of an elastic material that simultaneously seals the secondary filter element to the lid and seals the lid onto the bag compartment. An air passage flows between the secondary filter and the lid through a duct to the suction motor compartment. A perimeter groove in the lid receives a spline of the elastic frame of the filter element in a removable manner, while the opposite surface of the frame forms the seal surface relative to a housing rim around the bag compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Stein & Co. GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Stein, Bernd Falkenstein
  • Publication number: 20140090554
    Abstract: A seal assembly for a reciprocating piston system is provided that compensates for uneven wear rates between the ring components of the seal assembly by initially sizing a portion of the width of the sealing ring larger than the width of the annular recess in the cover ring, this portion at least partially overlapping the gap in the cover ring but not the gap in the sealing ring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Publication date: April 3, 2014
    Applicant: Air Products and chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: David Jonathan Chalk, Larry Thomas Stein
  • Publication number: 20140066278
    Abstract: In a bearing arrangement (A) of a rotating brush roller (1), wherein the brush roller (1) is arranged by outwardly located end pieces via a bearing (10) in a support arrangement (9) of a brush housing (15), and the brush roller (1) (comprises) a spiral-shaped receiving shaft with an outwardly located through passage area for receiving and retaining a continuous brush strip (2) as well as an end face opening for provision and removal, it is provided that the outer area is covered by a closure part. In this regard, the closure part has a releasable sub-element (5) as a continuation part of the support arrangement (9), which uncovers an end face opening to the receiving shaft to the brush strip (2). The sub-element (5) is releasably fixable by a catch element (4) for a corresponding unlockable counter support (13) in the brush housing (15), and for forming a thread deflector has a deflector element (7) of metal in continuation of a stationary deflector element (11) of the closure part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2012
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: Stein & Co. GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Stein, Achim Liffers
  • Patent number: 8585224
    Abstract: An optical arrangement, e.g. a projection exposure apparatus (1) for EUV lithography, includes: a housing (2) enclosing an interior space (15); at least one, preferably reflective optical element (4-10, 12, 14.1-14.6) arranged in the housing (2); at least one vacuum generating unit (3) for the interior space (15) of the housing (2); and at least one vacuum housing (18, 18.1-18.10) arranged in the interior space (15) and enclosing at least the optical surface (17, 17.1, 17.2) of the optical element (4-10, 12, 14.1-14.5). A contamination reduction unit is associated with the vacuum housing (18.1-18.10) and reduces the partial pressure of contaminating substances, in particular of water and/or hydrocarbons, at least in close proximity to the optical surface (17, 17.1, 17.2) in relation to the partial pressure of the contaminating substances in the interior space (15).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignees: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, ASML Netherlands b.V.
    Inventors: Dirk Heinrich Ehm, Stephan Muellender, Thomas Stein, Johannes Hubertus Josephina Moors, Bastiaan Theodoor Wolschrijn, Dieter Kraus, Richard Versluis, Marcus Gerhardus Hendrikus Meijerink
  • Patent number: 8536489
    Abstract: A hob includes a cooking surface with a glass ceramic defining a cutout in an outside edge of the glass ceramic, and an insert in the cutout including a material that is different from the glass ceramic and which is permeable to light in a blue spectral range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Bernd Martin, Markus Schlegel, Thomas Stein
  • Patent number: 8524083
    Abstract: A filter device and a method for the filtration of beer, where, for an improved and simplified filtration, the filter includes a nonfiltrate chamber having a nonfiltrate inlet and a nonfiltrate outlet, wherein the nonfiltrate flows into the nonfiltrate chamber substantially tangentially to the walls thereof, and the bottom of the nonfiltrate chamber is constructed at least partially as a filter. The filter also includes a filtrate chamber underneath the bottom, and a filtrate outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Inventors: Klaus-Karl Wasmuht, Cornelia Folz, Kurt Stippler, Thomas Albrecht, Heinz Humele, Michael Thomas Stein
  • Patent number: 8452422
    Abstract: The invention concerns a flexible application device (1) for the high-frequency therapy of biological tissue or hollow organs, including a tubular high-frequency catheter (5) with a flexible shaft tube (6) having at least one lumen passing therethrough, a head electrode (2) arranged at the distal end of the high-frequency catheter (5), an electric line (9) with a connection (20) for a high-frequency generator (11), and a connecting element (8) arranged at the proximal end of the shaft tube (6) between the shaft tube and the line (9).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Celon AG
    Inventors: Kai Desinger, Thomas Stein, André Roggan, Markus Fay
  • Patent number: 8419862
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a method for at least partially removing a contamination layer (15) from an optical surface (14a) of an EUV-reflective optical element (14) by bringing a cleaning gas into contact with the contamination layer. In the method, a jet (20) of cleaning gas is directed to the contamination layer (15) for removing material from the contamination layer (15). The contamination layer (15) is monitored for generating a signal indicative of the thickness of the contamination layer (15) and the jet (20) of cleaning gas is controlled by moving the jet (20) of cleaning gas relative to the optical surface (14a) using this signal as a feedback signal. A cleaning arrangement (19 to 24) for carrying out the method is also disclosed. The invention also relates to a method for generating a jet (20) of cleaning gas and to a corresponding cleaning gas generation arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignees: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, ASML Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Dirk Heinrich Ehm, Arnold Storm, Johannes Hubertus Josephina Moors, Bastiaan Theodoor Wolschrijn, Thomas Stein, Edwin te Sligte
  • Patent number: 8382301
    Abstract: An optical arrangement, e.g. a projection exposure apparatus (1) for EUV lithography, includes: a housing (2) enclosing an interior space (15); at least one, preferably reflective optical element (4-10, 12, 14.1-14.6) arranged in the housing (2); at least one vacuum generating unit (3) for the interior space (15) of the housing (2); and at least one vacuum housing (18, 18.1-18.10) arranged in the interior space (15) and enclosing at least the optical surface (17, 17.1, 17.2) of the optical element (4-10, 12, 14.1-14.5). A contamination reduction unit is associated with the vacuum housing (18.1-18.10) and reduces the partial pressure of contaminating substances, in particular of water and/or hydrocarbons, at least in close proximity to the optical surface (17, 17.1, 17.2) in relation to the partial pressure of the contaminating substances in the interior space (15).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignees: Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH, ASML Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Dirk Heinrich Ehm, Stephan Muellender, Thomas Stein, Johannes Hubertus Josephina Moors, Bastiaan Theodoor Wolschrijn, Dieter Kraus, Richard Versluis, Marcus Gerhardus Hendrikus Meijerink
  • Patent number: 8378270
    Abstract: A ceramic hob includes a cooking surface for positioning a cooking pot, a housing, an electronic circuit carrier mounted in the housing beneath the cooking surface, and a positioning element on a lower side of the cooking element engaging a recess of the electronic circuit carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Bernd Martin, Markus Schlegel, Thomas Stein
  • Publication number: 20130012940
    Abstract: The invention concerns a flexible application device including a tubular high-frequency catheter with a flexible shaft tube having at least one lumen passing therethrough, a head electrode arranged at the distal end of the catheter, an electric line with a connection for a generator ,and a connecting element arranged at the proximal end of the shaft tube between the shaft tube and the line. An electrically conducting traction element extends in the lumen between the head electrode and the connecting element and is fixedly connected to the head electrode on the one hand and the connecting element on the other hand in such a way and which is of such a tensile strength that all external forces which occur during a treatment and which act on the catheter can be transmitted to the connecting element by way of the head electrode and the traction element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 10, 2013
    Inventors: Kai DESINGER, Thomas STEIN, André ROGGAN, Markus FAY
  • Patent number: 8287655
    Abstract: A method of cleaning dirt and debris from surfaces using a cleaning device, such as a vacuum cleaner. The cleaning device has a handle unit which is attached to the body of the cleaning device adjacent a filter compartment. The handle unit has a handle portion that is spaced from the filter compartment to allow a user to place his or her hand through the space and grasp the handle portion and thereby carry the cleaning device using only the handle unit. The handle unit can also be detached from the body of the cleaning device, and then later re-attached, via lockable mating connecting elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Stein & Co. GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Stein, Achim Liffers