Patents Represented by Attorney Michaud-Duffy Group LLP
  • Patent number: 7631780
    Abstract: The invention relates to a compressed gas container (10?) comprising a block flange (14) that is provided on an upper opening in its wall (12), a flange cover (15) that is equipped with two extraction valves (22) being screwed onto said flange. The block flange (14) is extended radially beyond the region covered by the flange cover (15) by a solid annular flange (40), whose outer periphery is welded to the wall (12) of the container (10?) and whose inner section lying adjacent to the region covered by the flange cover comprises a peripheral groove (44) in an upper front face (42), for holding the sealing rib (46) of an emergency cap. If required, said cap can be screwed onto the annular flange (40) if a leak occurs in the flange region of the container (10?).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2009
    Assignee: C + S Chlorgas GmbH
    Inventor: Bernhard Plattner
  • Patent number: 7605864
    Abstract: There is provided an image pickup apparatus having an image pickup unit having an image pickup element, an optical unit having lenses, a sector drive unit having sectors arranged in a space for arranging the sectors, and supporting members being fixed in the space for arranging the sectors and having lengths equal to at least a width of the space for arranging the sectors in a light axis direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Precision Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Takahashi, Yoichi Nakano, Kenichi Kudou, Masao Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 7572075
    Abstract: There is provided a shutter apparatus including a substrate having a shutter opening and at lease two sectors that are supported by spindles swingably and that open and close the shutter opening, and a spindle of one sector of the at lease two sectors is located in a swinging range of another sector of the at lease two sectors, and is a pin of a rod-shaped member formed on the substrate to be lower in an overall height than a height in which the another sector swings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Precision Inc.
    Inventors: Hisashi Kawamoto, Kazuya Shioda
  • Patent number: 7569976
    Abstract: A piezo-electric substrate is mainly comprised of a base material and a film formed on one main surface of the base material. In the base material, the main surface on which the film is formed is a roughed main surface. The piezo-electric substrate is obtained by forming the film comprised of a material with a coefficient of linear expansion smaller than a coefficient of linear expansion of the base material on the roughened main surface using a thermal spraying method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignees: Koike Co., Ltd., Tocalo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Noboru Tamura, Nakaba Ichikawa, Takeshi Takabatake, Kaname Yasuda
  • Patent number: 7568414
    Abstract: A melon wedger is provided having a base upon which is removably attached a blade assembly having a plurality of blades arranged in a variety of orientations. A movable press mechanism including a removable contoured press element corresponding in size and shape to the orientation and disposition of the blades in the blade assembly is slidably attached to the base and is operated by means of a lever handle such that the contoured press element is forced against the blade assembly. Punch elements disposed on the surface of the contoured press element are forced within the voids created by the blades to ensure that the sectioned or cut food or non-food pieces are forced completely through the blade assembly. A spring is also provided on the lever handle to force the handle up after the food or non-food items have been sliced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: Edible Arrangements, LLC
    Inventors: Tariq Farid, Kamran Farid
  • Patent number: 7570728
    Abstract: In a nuclear fuel rod a cladding tube is provided having a closed inner space and manufactured from at least one of the materials in the group zirconium and a zirconium-based alloy, and a pile of nuclear fuel pellets arranged in the inner space in the cladding tube. The nuclear fuel pellets fill part of the inner space. A fill gas is arranged in the closed inner space to fill the rest of the inner space. The internal pressure of the fill gas in the nuclear fuel rod amounts to at least 2 bar (abs) or at least 10 bar (abs). The fill gas contains a proportion of inert gas a proportion of carbon monoxide that is greater than 3 volume percent of the fill gas or greater than 2 volume percent of the fill gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB
    Inventors: Gunnar Hultquist, Magnus Limbäck, Per Tägtström, Eric Hörnlund
  • Patent number: 7569142
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for treating dirty water or other liquids containing particles of varying size includes a magnetic treatment unit and a centrifugal separator through which the liquid flows as a stream in sequence. The magnetic treatment unit causes very small sized particles to agglomerate, nucleate or otherwise to be amassed into larger particles which are then more easily separated by the centrifugal separator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: Clearwater Systems Corporation
    Inventor: John W. Lane
  • Patent number: 7559212
    Abstract: A refrigerant pressurization system including an ejector having a first conduit for flowing a liquid refrigerant therethrough and a nozzle for accelerating a vapor refrigerant therethrough. The first conduit is positioned such that the liquid refrigerant is discharged from the first conduit into the nozzle. The ejector includes a mixing chamber for condensing the vapor refrigerant. The mixing chamber comprises at least a portion of the nozzle and transitions into a second conduit having a substantially constant cross sectional area. The condensation of the vapor refrigerant in the mixing chamber causes the refrigerant mixture in at least a portion of the mixing chamber to be at a pressure greater than that of the refrigerant entering the nozzle and greater than that entering the first conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2009
    Inventor: Mark Bergander
  • Patent number: 7524413
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for treating a fluid to destroy, remove, or reduce undesirable agents, such as microorganisms, particles or ions, contained in the fluid and/or to inhibit the formation of scale are disclosed. The invention includes an apparatus for treating a fluid to destroy, remove, or reduce undesirable agents, such as microorganisms, particles, or ions, contained in the fluid and/or to inhibit the formation of scale. The apparatus can include an open fluid directional means or conduit. The preferred open fluid directional means is a conduit manufactured of resilient, corrosion-resistant material. The apparatus is attached to a power source and has a controller means. The controller means is desirably a microprocessor and can include a switching means for regulating the current to the apparatus. However, simpler circuits and components can be used for the controller means. The apparatus includes a field generating means. The field generating means forms a treatment field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: Clearwater Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth E. Wittmer, Walter F. J. Crewson, John W. Lane
  • Patent number: 7524424
    Abstract: A fluid is treated by coil assembly close to the fluid. An AC power is provided to the coil assembly. Current is conducted from the AC source in a first loop including a first switch during at least a portion of a first half-cycle of the AC power source. The first switch is opened during a second half-cycle and a subroutine of producing a first ringing pulse in the coil assembly and a second and subsequent ringing pulse is performed. The second pulse may be produced after or before the preceding pulse substantially decays. An apparatus for the method includes a controller configured to close the first switch and open the second switch during the first half-cycle and to perform the subroutine of closing and then opening the second switch during the second half-cycle to produce at least one ringing pulse of current in the coil assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: Clearwater Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth E. Wittmer, Walter F. J. Crewson
  • Patent number: 7524423
    Abstract: A method and system of generating a ringing magnetic pulse for the treatment of flowing liquids include's a coil and an SCR coupled in series with the coil to form a first loop. An electronic switch is coupled in series with the coil to form a second loop. An AC voltage signal is applied to the coil having first and second half-cycles. Current is conducted through the first loop during the first half-cycle when the SCR is forward biased while preventing current from conducting through the second loop. Current is conducted through the second loop during a portion of the second half-cycle while current is prevented from conducting through the first loop. Current is interrupted through the second loop during another portion of the second half-cycle upon the coil current reaching a predetermined value to interrupt current flowing through the coil, thereby generating a ringing magnetic pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: Clearwater Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth E. Wittmer, Walter F. J. Crewson
  • Patent number: 7524376
    Abstract: A crystal growth setup within a physical vapor transport growth furnace system for producing AlN monocrystal boules at high temperatures includes a crucible effective to contain an AlN source material and a growing AlN crystal boule. This crucible has a thin wall thickness in at least that portion housing the growing AlN crystal boule. Other components include a susceptor, in case of an inductive heating, or a heater, in case of a resistive heating, a thermal insulation enclosing the susceptor or heater effective to provide a thermal gradient inside the crucible in the range of 5-100° C./cm and a furnace chamber capable of being operated from a vacuum (<0.1 torr) to a gas pressure of at least 4000 torr through filling or flowing a nitrogen gas or a mixture of nitrogen gas and argon gas. The high temperatures contribute to a high boule growth rate and the thin wall thickness contributes to reduced imparted stress during boule removal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: Fairfield Crystal Technology, LLC
    Inventor: Shaoping Wang
  • Patent number: 7513437
    Abstract: The application discloses a security mark consisting of a plurality of layers, of which the cover layers are highly conductive films and the layers of the card core are films of varying transparency. One layer carries information, which can be read directly, if desired, above a security print, while the transparent conductive layer has an additional security markings, such as biometric or product identifiers marking which can be read conductively only with the aid of a special reader. All the layers consist of polymers, papers or mixtures which can be fused together to form a laminate which is fused together. The conductive layers form conductive traces which may be formed with single-walled or multi walled nano tubes or they can be formed from multiple layers or dispersions containing, carbon nano tubes, carbon nano tubes/antimony tin oxide, carbon nano tubes/platinum, or carbon nano tubes/silver, carbon, silver or carbon nano tubes/silver-cloride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2009
    Inventor: Joel S. Douglas
  • Patent number: 7511391
    Abstract: An electromagnetic actuator has a rotor and a stator around which coils are wound to face portions of an outer surface of the rotor. The stator is C-shaped, the rotor is arranged so that a rotation axis thereof is existent in a space surrounded by the stator, and both ends of the stator are respectively formed within a range from 15 to 90 degrees from a virtual base line with respect to the rotation axis serving as a center, when the virtual base line is set to run a center of the rotation axis and separate the stator into left and right.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2009
    Assignee: Seiko Precision Inc.
    Inventors: Hisashi Kawamoto, Satoru Tada, Takashi Nakano
  • Patent number: 7510177
    Abstract: In one embodiment of the present invention, a sheet post-processing apparatus includes an ejection path that successively feed sheets each with an image found thereon from an ejection outlet. A processing tray is disposed under the ejection outlet to temporarily store sheets fed from the ejection path. A port processing unit performs post processing such as binding and punching. The post processing unit is located under the ejection path and is provided with a cooling fan that sends air toward the post processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2009
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Jinichi Nagata, Hidetoshi Kaneko, Hideo Yoshikawa, Sei Takahashi, Mamoru Akiyama, Tomohisa Shimizu, Shin Tsugane
  • Patent number: 7503750
    Abstract: A propulsive thrust device for an engine includes a rotor blade and a hub assembly on which the rotor blade is mounted. The rotor blade comprises an airfoil and at least two support members. A propeller thrust device includes a rotor blade, a central hub at which the rotor blade centrifugal load is supported, and an outer hub supporting a control mechanism mechanically connected to the rotor blade and controllable to vary the pitch of the rotor blade on the central hub. A rotor blade for an aircraft engine or in a separate ducted fan housing driven by a powered shaft or gearbox output shaft includes an airfoil and first and second support members attached to the airfoil. An extended arm or portion of the structure at the root of the airfoil of each blade is attached to a controllable mechanism that can vary the pitch of all blades simultaneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2009
    Assignee: Rotating Composite Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: John A. Violette
  • Patent number: 7487968
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for depositing notes, which comprises a plurality of storage compartments for depositing the notes, means for transporting the notes to the storage compartments and for the organized deposit of the same on stacks disposed in the storage compartments. The inventive device comprises one or more parallel revolving belts on which fingers are successively disposed in the longitudinal direction which cooperate with the belts to give receiving pockets for the notes. Every storage compartment is associated with a respective stripping element interposed between the storage compartment and the belts. For depositing a note in the storage compartment the belts and/or the corresponding stripping element can be adjusted relative each other in such a manner that the stripping element projects into the path of a note that is displaced by means of the belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Assignee: Wincor Nixdorf International GmbH
    Inventor: Martin Landwehr
  • Patent number: D591144
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: The Music People, Inc.
    Inventors: James R. Hennessey, Joshua D. Berger
  • Patent number: D598715
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2009
    Inventor: Aaron Foss
  • Patent number: D600553
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: The Kind Group
    Inventors: Craig Dubitsky, Jeremy Dawkins