Gas Withdrawal Patents (Class 204/266)
  • Patent number: 11906010
    Abstract: A method of forming a composite component is provided. The method includes locating a fibrous preform, providing a slurry, mixing the slurry with sacrificial fibers, injecting the slurry into the fibrous preform, heating the fibrous preform, forming channels in the fibrous preform, and densifying the fibrous preform. The sacrificial fibers are suspended in the fibrous preform along an injection pathway such that heating the sacrificial fibers forms the channels along the injection pathway as the sacrificial fibers are burned away.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: GOODRICH CORPORATION
    Inventors: John S. Linck, Thomas Perea
  • Patent number: 11885033
    Abstract: Disclosed are an electrode structure including: an electrode plate; and a flow path guide disposed on one side of the electrode plate along the circumference of the electrode plate, and an electrolyzer including the electrode structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: TECHWIN CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Boong Ik Jung, Jung Sik Kim, Tae Shin Cho, Dong Hyuck Choi, Tae Woo Kim
  • Patent number: 11866182
    Abstract: A fuel oxygen reduction unit assembly for a fuel system is provided. The fuel oxygen reduction unit assembly includes: a fuel oxygen reduction unit located downstream from the fuel source and defining a stripping gas flowpath and a liquid fuel flowpath, the fuel oxygen reduction unit comprising a means for transferring an amount of oxygen from a liquid fuel flow through the liquid fuel flowpath to a gas flow through the stripping gas flowpath; and an oxygen conversion unit in flow communication with the stripping gas flowpath configured to extract a flow of oxygen from a gas flow through the stripping gas flowpath, the oxygen conversion unit defining an oxygen outlet configured to provide the extracted flow of oxygen to an external system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Daniel Alan Niergarth, Brandon Wayne Miller, John Michael Pyles, Ethan Patrick O'Connor, Justin Paul Smith, William James Mailander
  • Patent number: 11867159
    Abstract: Osmotic energy transfer systems utilize cyclic electro-chemical stimuli to induce an osmotic gradient and corresponding fluid flows across a semi-permeable membrane. The fluid transfers and osmotic flows are converted into mechanical displacements. By cycling or pulsing the electro-chemical stimuli, fluid transfers across the semi-permeable membrane repeatedly alternatingly change direction over time and correspondingly realizing a cycle of reciprocating mechanical displacements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Inventor: Larry D. Howlett
  • Patent number: 11851779
    Abstract: Electrolytic cells for electrolysis of water, the electrolytic cells including two sub-cells, one containing the anode, the other the cathode. The electrolytic cells are configured so that at least the hydrogen formed due to electrolysis is passed through a deflection tube and into an electrolyte outside of the electrolytic sub-cell. This configuration serves as a security measure to prevent a flashback of a combustion reaction, and makes the presence of a separate bubbler superfluous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: GLOCK ÖKOENERGIE GMBH
    Inventor: Gaston Glock
  • Patent number: 11823904
    Abstract: The technology relates to a semiconductor device including a hard mask easy to strip and capable of implementing a fine pattern with a high etch selectivity. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device comprises forming an etching target layer, forming a hard mask layer on the etching target layer, the hard mask layer including a first boron-doped silicon layer and a second boron-doped silicon layer on the first boron-doped silicon layer, and etching the etching target layer using the hard mask layer as an etching barrier, wherein the second boron-doped silicon layer has a larger boron concentration than the first boron-doped silicon layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventors: Bo Young Cho, Jin Hee Park, Soo Min Jo
  • Patent number: 11821093
    Abstract: A photovoltaic module has at least one solar cell, wherein the solar cell is enclosed by an encapsulation apparatus, and an electrolysis unit for dehumidifying the interior of the encapsulation apparatus. The electrolysis unit has a cathode, an anode, and an ion conductor connecting the cathode and the anode. The electrolysis unit is designed to cleave water in hydrogen and oxygen. A method for dehumidifying a photovoltaic module is accomplished by the electrolysis unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Maximilian Fleischer, Roland Pohle, Elfriede Simon, Oliver von Sicard
  • Patent number: 11796173
    Abstract: A reactor safety device includes a leg and a well. The leg includes an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is in fluid communication with an outlet of a reactor configured to operate at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure at a location of the reactor safety device. The well includes an inlet in fluid communication with the outlet of the leg. There is a first level in the leg and a second level in the well. The outlet of the leg is vertically lower than the second level. A level sensor is configured to monitor the first level and a controller in communication with the level sensor, a fuel inlet into the reactor, and an oxidant inlet into the reactor. The controller is configured to close the fuel inlet and the oxidant inlet when the first level changes by a predetermined amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Hydrogen Technologies LLC
    Inventor: Edward Joseph Stockton
  • Patent number: 11795072
    Abstract: An electrolyzed water generator includes anode, cathode, and cation exchange membrane provided between anode and cathode so as to be in contact with at least one of anode and cathode. Gaps in which a flow of water occurs are present between cation exchange membrane and at least one of anode and cathode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenichiro Inagaki, Shunsuke Mori, Minoru Nagata, Mami Kuroda, Tetsuya Maekawa
  • Patent number: 11787717
    Abstract: The present invention discloses an electrocatalytic Fenton oxidation-electrochemical oxidation coupling process and apparatus for efficient treatment of chemical wastewater, and belongs to the field of sewage treatment. The process includes an electrocatalytic Fenton oxidation step, an electrochemical oxidation step, and a pH adjustment step. A spacing between a cathode and an anode in the electrocatalytic Fenton oxidation step is controlled, so that oxygen produced at the anode reacts at the cathode to produce H2O2. The treatment requirements can be met without external aeration or external addition of H2O2, and meanwhile, the efficiency of COD removal by electro-Fenton oxidation is effectively improved. Further, by connecting a pH adjusting tank with the electrocatalytic Fenton oxidation-electrochemical oxidation coupling apparatus in series, a coupling treatment process with near-zero production of iron sludge is realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: NANJING UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Weiqing Han, Tao Cui, Kajia Wei, Wei Li, Lianjun Wang, Xiaodong Liu, Xiuyun Sun, Jiansheng Li, Jinyou Shen
  • Patent number: 11773209
    Abstract: A quinone-containing poly(arylene) includes repeating units of formula (I), (II), (III), (IV), (V), or (VI) as defined herein. The quinone-containing poly(arylene) can be useful in composites, electrode assemblies, electrochemical cells, gas separation systems, energy storage devices, and electrochromic devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: VERDOX, INC
    Inventors: Cameron Rogers, Sahag Voskian
  • Patent number: 11761096
    Abstract: A method of producing hydrogen includes providing a device, introducing a first stream including a fuel to the device, introducing a second stream comprising water to the device, reducing the water in the second stream to hydrogen, and extracting hydrogen from the device. The first stream and the second stream do not come in contact with each other in the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Utility Global, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Dawson, Nicholas Farandos, Jin Dawson
  • Patent number: 11761100
    Abstract: A device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and an electrolyte between the electrodes. The first electrode and the second electrode may comprise a metallic phase that does not contain a platinum group metal when the device is in use, and where the electrolyte is solid state and is oxide ion conducting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Utility Global, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Dawson, Nicholas Farandos, Jin Dawson
  • Patent number: 11753316
    Abstract: An electrolyzed water generator includes anode, cathode, and cation exchange membrane provided between anode and cathode so as to be in contact with at least one of anode and cathode. Gaps in which a flow of water occurs are present between cation exchange membrane and at least one of anode and cathode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenichiro Inagaki, Shunsuke Mori, Minoru Nagata, Mami Kuroda, Tetsuya Maekawa
  • Patent number: 11718921
    Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of generating gaseous hydrogen at high pressures and with high purity via electrolysis of water by means of an electrolyzer unit (100) with a novel structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: THALESNANO ZRT
    Inventors: Csaba Janáky, Egon Kecsenovity, Antal Danyi, Balázs Endrödi, Viktor Török, Ferenc Darvas, Richard Jones
  • Patent number: 11668014
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an electrolyzer reactor suitable for the reduction of organic compounds. The reactor includes a membrane electrode assembly with freestanding metallic meshes which serve both as metallic electrode structures for electron transport as well as catalytic surfaces for electron generation and organic compound reduction. Suitable organic compounds for reduction include oxygenated and/or unsaturated hydrocarbon compounds, in particular those characteristic of bio-oil (e.g., alone or a multicomponent mixtures). The reactor and related methods provide a resource- and energy-efficient approach to organic compound reduction, in particular for bio-oil mixtures which can be conveniently upgraded at or near their point of production with minimal or no transportation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: James E. Jackson, Chun Ho Lam, Christopher M. Saffron, Dennis J. Miller
  • Patent number: 11655164
    Abstract: An electrolysis cell and housing provides for simple, toolless cell installation and removal of the electrolysis cell. The electrolysis cell includes an anode and a cathode and requires periodic removal of the electrolysis cell from the housing for cleaning or replacement due to accumulation of deposits on the anode and the cathode. The electrolysis cell includes three push-in fluid connectors and two push-in electrical connections. A filter may be included serially between a water inlet and the electrolysis cell and may include two push-in fluid connectors. A housing rear cover may hold the electrolysis cell and filter in place in the housing and may be removed and reattached to access the electrolysis cell without tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: AYRO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Anthony Tseng
  • Patent number: 11643737
    Abstract: Provided is a photocathode structure including: a photocathode including silicon (Si); an intermediate layer formed on the photocathode, and including a silicon oxide (SiOx); and a protective layer foiled on the intermediate layer, and including a metal oxide, wherein the intermediate layer is a tunneling barrier configured to transfer charges from the photocathode to the protective layer by an electric field applied from an outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOUNDATION HANYANG UNIVERSITY ERICA CAMPUS
    Inventors: Jung-Ho Lee, Jin-Young Jung, Dong-Hyung Kim, Sung-Hae Kim
  • Patent number: 11629075
    Abstract: A water electrolysis system includes: a water electrolyzer configured to electrolyze water to generate gas including oxygen and hydrogen; a gas-liquid separator configured to separate gas phase including hydrogen from liquid phase of the gas generated by the water electrolyzer; a water level detector configured to detect a water level in the gas-liquid separator; a pressure detector configured to detect a pressure of the gas phase in the gas-liquid separator; and a CPU and a memory coupled to the CPU. The CPU is configured to perform: calculating an error of the water level in the gas-liquid separator detected by the water level detector based on the pressure of the gas phase in the gas-liquid separator detected by the pressure detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Asano, Jun Takeuchi, Kazuya Aoki
  • Patent number: 11621001
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and related products that provide emotion-sensitive responses to user's commands and other utterances received at an utterance-based user interface. Acknowledgements of user's utterances are adapted to the user and/or the user device, and emotions detected in the user's utterance that have been mapped from one or more emotion features extracted from the utterance. In some examples, extraction of a user's changing emotion during a sequence of interactions is used to generate a response to a user's uttered command. In some examples, emotion processing and command processing of natural utterances are performed asynchronously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: Spotify AB
    Inventors: Daniel Bromand, David Gustafsson, Richard Mitic, Sarah Mennicken
  • Patent number: 11618958
    Abstract: A hydrogen-oxygen generation system includes an electrolytic cell configured to generate hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing water, and discharge the hydrogen and the oxygen as separate generated gasses. An accumulator includes a water storage chamber configured to store the water, and a gas chamber configured to receive a pressurized gas, and the water storage chamber and the gas chamber are separated from each other by an elastic body membrane. The accumulator is configured to transfer the water stored in the water storage chamber toward the electrolytic cell at a transfer pressure in accordance with a pressure of the pressurized gas in the gas chamber. A water supply unit is configured to supply the water to the water storage chamber, and a gas supply unit is configured to supply the pressurized gas to the gas chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignees: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD., JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY, KYUSHU UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsuko Homma, Kenichi Nagamoto, Naoki Ogawa, Yuta Nakatsuchi, Hidehiko Tajima, Yusaku Nasu, Yoshitsugu Sone, Hiroshige Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 11613818
    Abstract: An electrolyzer has an electrolytic cell with a membrane that surrounds an interior channel. The electrolytic cell also has a first electrode positioned in the interior channel such that the membrane surrounds the first electrode. The electrolytic cell also includes a second electrode positioned such that the membrane is located between the first electrode and the second electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: H2U Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Nathan Saul Lewis
  • Patent number: 11519084
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a membrane-less reactor design for microbial electrosynthesis of alcohols from carbon dioxide (CO2). The membrane-less reactor design thus facilitates higher and efficient CO2 transformation to alcohols via single pot microbial electrosynthesis. The reactor design operates efficiently avoiding oxygen contact at working electrode without using membrane, in turn there is an increase in CO2 solubility and its bioavailability for subsequent CO2 conversion to alcohols at faster rate. The present invention further provides a process of operation of the reactor for biotransformation of the carbon dioxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignees: Indian Oil Corporation Limited
    Inventors: Manoj Kumar, Srikanth Sandipam, Suresh Kumar Puri, Sankara Sri Venkata Ramakumar, Ludovicus Diels, Lambertus Bouwman, Karolien Vanbroekhoven, Deepak Pant
  • Patent number: 11505872
    Abstract: A gas production apparatus including: an electrolysis vessel; first and second electrolyte circulation systems; and an electrolyte exchanger, the first/second electrolyte circulation system including: a first/second circulation tank receiving and storing a first/second electrolyte flowing out from an anode chamber/a cathode chamber; and a first/second circulation pump supplying the first/second electrolyte to the anode chamber/the cathode chamber, the electrolyte exchanger transferring part of the first electrolyte existing in the first electrolyte circulation system into the second electrolyte circulation system on one hand, and transferring part of the second electrolyte existing in the second electrolyte circulation system into the first electrolyte circulation system on the other hand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: TOKUYAMA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Tanaka, Yoshikazu Kodama, Daisuke Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 11457609
    Abstract: Illustrative configurations of a pet hydration system and methods are disclosed. The pet hydration system includes a bowl section configured to temporarily store water therein. In one configuration, a hydrogen-generation assembly is positioned in the bowl section. The hydrogen-generation assembly generates and introduces hydrogen into the water temporarily stored in the bowl section. In other configurations, methods related to pet hydration are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: GREEN LIFE LLC
    Inventor: Richard A. Mayer
  • Patent number: 11408081
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for producing hydrogen in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyser cell. A direct electric current is applied to the water electrolyser cell. Water molecules are allowed to diffuse from a cathode compartment through a polymer electrolyte membrane into an anode compartment, to oxidize water molecules at an anode catalyst layer into protons, oxygen and electrons. The protons are allowed to migrate through a polymer electrolyte membrane into the cathode compartment and the protons are reduced at a cathode catalyst layer to produce hydrogen. The cell is supplied with water to the cathode compartment, and humidified air is supplied to the anode compartment. The invention also relates to a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyser cell, a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyser stack and a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyser system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: HYSTAR AS
    Inventors: Magnus S. Thomassen, Alejandro Oyarce Barnett
  • Patent number: 11322767
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes at least one of plural electrochemical pump separators to separate carbon dioxide from a fuel exhaust stream or a combination of a gas separator and a fuel exhaust cooler located outside a hotbox.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: BLOOM ENERGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: David Weingaertner, Matthias Gottmann, Jayakumar Krishnadass, Chockkalingam Karuppaiah, Arne Ballantine, Swaminathan Venkataraman, Martin Perry, John Fisher, Greg Young
  • Patent number: 11306402
    Abstract: Device for obtaining electrolysis products from an alkali metal chloride solution where a cathode circuit contains a circulation pump with an overflow device for the return flow of pump liquid, which continuously secures the forced circulation of the catholyte via a heat exchanger, a cathode compartment and a capacitive separator for separating the hydrogen from the catholyte. In the discharge of the hydrogen from the capacitive separator for separation of the hydrogen from the catholyte, a cooled humidity separator is installed, the condensate collection container of which is connected via a dosage pump with the freshwater feed to the mixing device of the freshwater flow with the gaseous oxidant mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: BLUE SAFETY GMBH
    Inventor: Vitold Bakhir
  • Patent number: 11228039
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode materials that comprise various compositions of chromate based oxide materials. These materials offer high conductivity achievable at intermediate and low temperatures and can be used to prepare the anode layer of a SOFC. A method of making a low- or intermediate-temperature SOFC having an anode layer comprising a chromate based oxide material is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: University of Maryland, College Park
    Inventors: Mohammed Hussain Abdul Jabbar, Eric D. Wachsman, Ke-Ji Pan
  • Patent number: 11114085
    Abstract: A text-to-speech engine creates audio output that includes synthesized speech and one or more media content item snippets. The input text is obtained and partitioned into text sets. A track having lyrics that match a part of one of the text sets is identified. The location of the track's audio that contains the lyric is extracted based on forced alignment data. The extracted audio is combined with synthesized speech corresponding to the remainder of the input text to form audio output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Spotify AB
    Inventors: Rohit Kumar, Henrik Lindström, Henriette Cramer, Sarah Mennicken, Sravana Reddy, Jennifer Thom-Santelli
  • Patent number: 10777267
    Abstract: A battery article of manufacture comprises a plurality of components operatively associated with one another, the plurality of components comprising an electrode comprised of a material that can take up ions and discharge ions in a charging and discharging process, an electrolyte comprised of the ions, the article of manufacture also including a component comprising at least one barrier positioned between the electrolyte and the electrode, the barrier comprised of a material that substantially prevents the ions from combining with the electrode and having a structure that substantially prevents the ions from combining with the electrode, but allows the ions to travel toward or away from the electrode in the charging or discharging process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ning Li, Devendra Sadana
  • Patent number: 10777201
    Abstract: A server is provided, including a processor configured to execute a bot server program. The bot server program may receive from a computing device an input with an input type that includes one or more of speech and text. The bot server program may programmatically generate an output, wherein the output is generated based on the input. The bot server program may detect one or more output types capable of being output by the computing device and select an output type from a plurality of output types that may include speech and text. The selected output type may be an output type capable of being output by the computing device. The bot server program may modify the programmatically generated output to produce a modified output with the selected output type, and may convey the modified output to the computing device for output on a display and/or speaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Adina Magdalena Trufinescu, Khuram Shahid, Daniel J. Driscoll, Adarsh Sridhar
  • Patent number: 10708423
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for processing voice information are provided by the present application. The method comprises: obtaining the voice data of a user; performing an emotion analysis on the voice data which comprises multiplying volume and pacing of the voice data to help determine the priority of the voice data; and connecting the user to a corresponding service channel according to the priority of the voice data. The present application can improve the service quality of IVR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Limited
    Inventor: Qing Ling
  • Patent number: 10622007
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and related products that provide emotion-sensitive responses to user's commands and other utterances received at an utterance-based user interface. Acknowledgements of user's utterances are adapted to the user and/or the user device, and emotions detected in the user's utterance that have been mapped from one or more emotion features extracted from the utterance. In some examples, extraction of a user's changing emotion during a sequence of interactions is used to generate a response to a user's uttered command. In some examples, emotion processing and command processing of natural utterances are performed asynchronously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: SPOTIFY AB
    Inventors: Daniel Bromand, David Gustafsson, Richard Mitic, Sarah Mennicken
  • Patent number: 10621983
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and related products that provide emotion-sensitive responses to user's commands and other utterances received at an utterance-based user interface. Acknowledgements of user's utterances are adapted to the user and/or the user device, and emotions detected in the user's utterance that have been mapped from one or more emotion features extracted from the utterance. In some examples, extraction of a user's changing emotion during a sequence of interactions is used to generate a response to a user's uttered command. In some examples, emotion processing and command processing of natural utterances are performed asynchronously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: SPOTIFY AB
    Inventors: Daniel Bromand, David Gustafsson, Richard Mitic, Sarah Mennicken
  • Patent number: 10535335
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a voice synthesizing device includes a first operation receiving unit, a score transforming unit, and a voice synthesizing unit. The first operation receiving unit configured to receive a first operation specifying voice quality of a desired voice based on one or more upper level expressions indicating the voice quality. The score transforming unit configured to transform, based on a score transformation model that transforms a score of the upper level expression into a score of a lower level expression which is less abstract than the upper level expression, the score of the upper level expression corresponding to the first operation into a score of one or more lower level expressions. The voice synthesizing unit configured to generate a synthetic sound corresponding to a certain text based on the score of the lower level expression.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation
    Inventors: Kouichirou Mori, Yamato Ohtani
  • Patent number: 10525224
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to systems and methods for therapeutic gas delivery for personal medical consumption. A hydrogen delivery system herein can include one or more electrolytic cores which use source water to carry out electrolysis-based reactions, and obtain free hydrogen (H2) gas which can be separated using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) or other filter for collection and delivery to a user. In aspects, the electrolytic core or cores can be constructed or scaled to produce a sufficient amount of hydrogen (H2) gas so that the user can ingest that gas directly, immediately, and/or in real-time or near real-time, without a need for storage of the gas. In aspects, the system can be portable, and configured with a vent port to eliminate oxygen (O2) gas that may accumulate during electrolytic reactions, and also a coalescer unit to reduce or eliminate water or water vapor from the output hydrogen (H2) gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Inventor: Philip Hsueh
  • Patent number: 10424288
    Abstract: This disclosure relates generally to the text-to-speech synthesis and more particularly to a system and method for rendering textual messages using customized natural voice. In one embodiment, a system for rendering textual messages using customized natural voice, is disclosed, comprising a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory stores processor instructions, which, on execution, causes the processor to receive present textual messages and at least one of previous textual messages, response to the previous textual messages or receiver's context. The processor further predicts final emotional state of sender's customized natural voice based on an intermediate emotional state and the receiver's context. The processor further synthesizes the sender's customized natural voice based on the predicted final emotional state of the sender's customized natural voice, voice samples and voice parameters associated with the at least one sender.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: Wipro Limited
    Inventors: Adrita Barari, Ghulam Mohiuddin Khan, Manjunath Ramachandra Iyer
  • Patent number: 10399872
    Abstract: An apparatus to remove ions including a plurality of capacitive electrode stacks. Each capacitive electrode stack may have: a plurality of first electrodes including a plurality of first current collectors; a plurality of second electrodes including a plurality of second current collectors; and a spacer between the first and second electrodes to allow water to flow in between the electrodes. The second current collectors of a first of the plurality of capacitive electrode stacks may be connected to the first current collectors of a second of the plurality of capacitive electrode stacks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: VOLTEA B.V.
    Inventors: Albert Van Der Wal, Hank Robert Reinhoudt, Bart Van Limpt, Thomas Richard Bednar, George Shoemaker Ellis, David Jeffrey Averbeck
  • Patent number: 10297848
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of controlling a rate of hydrogen release from a decomposition reaction of a hydrogen carrier includes: relating the rate to a temperature and a composition of the metastable hydrogen carrier; determining the composition of the metastable hydrogen carrier; and adjusting the temperature according to the relating of the rate and the determining of the composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: HRL Laboratories, LLC
    Inventors: Jason A. Graetz, John J. Vajo
  • Patent number: 10162594
    Abstract: There is provided an information processing device technology that enables the user to know intuitively the situation in which the speech recognition processing is performed, the information processing device including: an information acquisition unit configured to acquire a parameter related to speech recognition processing on sound information based on sound collection; and an output unit configured to output display information used to display a speech recognition processing result for the sound information on the basis of a display mode specified depending on the parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuhei Taki, Shinichi Kawano, Kunihito Sawai
  • Patent number: 10131554
    Abstract: Water supply vehicle comprising a water reservoir, a flow through descaling device having a water inlet, a water outlet, a detecting device for detecting a water characteristic in a water flow from the water inlet to the water outlet, a controllable water descaling device, and a controlling device being designed for controlling the water descaling device based on a water characteristic detected by the detection device, wherein the water reservoir is connected to the water inlet, wherein the water outlet is connectable to a water hose for supplying water to a water consumer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH
    Inventors: Matthias Reiss, Sebastian Flashaar, Ole Becker
  • Patent number: 10053786
    Abstract: A differential pressure water electrolysis system includes high-pressure water electrolysis cells, first and second end plates, and a high pressure hydrogen manifold. The high pressure hydrogen manifold is provided to distribute hydrogen in a stacking direction. Each of the high-pressure water electrolysis cells includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode current collector, a cathode current collector, an anode separator, a cathode separator, an elastic member, a manifold member, and a cylindrical porous member. The manifold member is disposed between the anode separator and the electrolyte membrane to surround the high pressure hydrogen manifold and includes a seal chamber in which a sealing member is disposed to encircle and seal the high pressure hydrogen manifold. The cylindrical porous member is disposed in the manifold member between the seal chamber and the high pressure hydrogen manifold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ishikawa, Eiji Haryu, Hayato Daimon
  • Patent number: 10011912
    Abstract: Provided is a hydrogen refining pressure-boosting device which is durable even in a high-pressure environment. This hydrogen refining pressure-boosting device produces, from a hydrogen-containing gas, a refined hydrogen gas having higher pressure and higher purity than the hydrogen-containing gas. The hydrogen refining pressure-boosting device is equipped with multiple stacked cell structures, and a pressing structure that applies tightening stress in the direction in which the cell structures are stacked. In this hydrogen refining pressure-boosting device the flow path surface of a cathode-side separator is sized so as to be contained on the inside of the flow path surface of an anode-side separator, in the direction of a plane parallel to a solid polymer electrolyte membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF YAMANASHI
    Inventor: Masahiro Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9847439
    Abstract: Titania is a semiconductor and photocatalyst that is also chemically inert. With its bandgap of 3.0, to activate the photocatalytic property of titania requires light of about 390 nm wavelength, which is in the ultra-violet, where sunlight is very low in intensity. A method and devices are disclosed wherein stress is induced and managed in a thin film of titania in order to shift and lower the bandgap energy into the longer wavelengths that are more abundant in sunlight. Applications of this stress-induced bandgap-shifted titania photocatalytic surface include photoelectrolysis for production of hydrogen gas from water, photovoltaics for production of electricity, and photocatalysis for detoxification and disinfection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Inventor: John M. Guerra
  • Patent number: 9828684
    Abstract: Provided is a cell for ion exchange membrane electrolysis obtained by improving the performance in electrolysis of an existing bipolar cell for ion exchange membrane electrolysis, in which a cathode partition wall and a rigid cathode being connected together by a plurality of intermediating V-shaped springs, by a simple method. It is a cell for ion exchange membrane electrolysis which is separated by an ion exchange membrane (7) into an anode chamber (1) having a rigid anode (1a) and an anode partition wall (1b) and a cathode chamber (2) having a rigid cathode (2a) and a cathode partition wall (2b), the rigid cathode (2a) and the cathode partition wall (2b) being connected together by a plurality of intermediating V-shaped springs (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers (Japan) Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyohito Asaumi, Koichi Hirashima, Zhengkan Huang, Mitsumasa Okamoto, Koji Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 9806365
    Abstract: Methods for purifying a hydrogen gas stream are provided that can include: introducing the hydrogen gas stream into the hydrogen pumping cell, and collecting a purified hydrogen gas from the hydrogen pumping cell. The hydrogen gas stream can include hydrogen sulfide in an amount of about 10 ppm to about 1,000 ppm, and can have a relative humidity of about 0.1% or more at the operational temperature and pressure of the hydrogen pumping cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: University of South Carolina
    Inventors: Brian Benicewicz, Guoqing Qian
  • Patent number: 9546428
    Abstract: An electrolyzer device comprises a container configured to receive liquid to be electrolyzed; a separator arranged in the container so as to define a first chamber and a second chamber positioned lower in a vertical direction than the first chamber; a cathode arranged in the first chamber and operatively connected to a power supply; and an anode arranged in the second chamber and operatively connected to the power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: OSAKA ELECTRO-COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Koichi Umimoto, Shunji Nagata
  • Patent number: 9546786
    Abstract: A system for operating a damper comprises a flue pipe assembly, and a damper movable between an open position and a closed position within the flue pipe assembly. At least one thermoelectric generator is coupled to a surface of the flue pipe assembly. Operation of the damper is achieved by the thermoelectric generator harvesting thermal energy from the flue pipe assembly and converting it into usable electrical energy for actuation of the damper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: FIELD CONTROLS, LLC
    Inventor: Eric A. Hokanson
  • Patent number: 9518077
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods for producing chitosan derivatives and the derivatives formed by these methods. The processes of the present disclosure utilize electrochemical methods to functionalize and/or modify amine and/or hydroxyl groups present on chitosan, to form new derivatives. In embodiments, a chloro-chitosan derivative may be prepared. The altered cationic affinity of these derivatives make them excellent candidates for biomedical applications, including pharmaceuticals, as well as food applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: The Research Foundation for the State University of New York
    Inventors: Gary P. Halada, Prashant Kumar Jha