Patents by Inventor Trent E. Thompson

Trent E. Thompson 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: 9772119
    Abstract: A burner assembly for a fuel-fired heating appliance that defines a direction of flow of a fuel and air mixture in a flow path. The burner assembly comprises a plurality burners defined in a unitary mesh structure. Each burner defines at least one peak at a distal end thereof in a direction of flow of a fuel and air mixture. The burner assembly also comprises a diffuser plate having a plurality of perforated areas defined therein and one or more imperforate areas between respective perforated areas of the plurality of perforated areas. The perforated areas respectively correspond to the plurality of burners. The diffuser plate is disposed in a fixed position upstream of the mesh structure so that, when the burner assembly is disposed in the flow path, a respective flow of the fuel and air mixture is directed from each of the plurality of perforated areas to its corresponding burner of the plurality of burners.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: RHEEM MANUFACTURING COMPANY
    Inventors: Timothy J. Shellenberger, Amin Akbarimonfared, Trent E. Thompson, Darryl J. Farley, Nathan T. Whalen
  • Publication number: 20160040905
    Abstract: A burner assembly for a fuel-fired heating appliance that defines a direction of flow of a fuel and air mixture in a flow path. The burner assembly comprises a plurality burners defined in a unitary mesh structure. Each burner defines at least one peak at a distal end thereof in a direction of flow of a fuel and air mixture. The burner assembly also comprises a diffuser plate having a plurality of perforated areas defined therein and one or more imperforate areas between respective perforated areas of the plurality of perforated areas. The perforated areas respectively correspond to the plurality of burners. The diffuser plate is disposed in a fixed position upstream of the mesh structure so that, when the burner assembly is disposed in the flow path, a respective flow of the fuel and air mixture is directed from each of the plurality of perforated areas to its corresponding burner of the plurality of burners.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2014
    Publication date: February 11, 2016
    Inventors: Timothy J. Shellenberger, Amin Akbarimonfared, Trent E. Thompson, Darryl J. Farley, Nathan T. Whalen
  • Publication number: 20150192291
    Abstract: Installed in a fuel-fired heating appliance is a specially designed burner assembly operative to receive and combust a pre-mixed flow of fuel and air to create therefrom a spaced apart plurality of flames which are aligned with and flow directly into the inlets of a corresponding spaced plurality of heat exchanger tubes. The flames create within the tubes hot combustion gases that transfer combustion heat to a supply fluid flowed externally across the tubes. The burners are of a hollow perforate metal construction, are mounted on and forwardly project from a support structure toward the tube inlets, and have rearwardly facing open inlet ends that receive the pre-mixed flow of fuel and air. In one illustrated embodiment thereof, the burners have conical configurations, and in another illustrated embodiment have generally dome-shaped configurations. Via a flame carryover structure, a single igniter is utilized to ignite all of the burners.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Rheem Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Amin Akbarimonfared, Timothy J. Shellenberger, Darryl J. Farley, Nathan T. Whalen, Trent E. Thompson