Patents Assigned to The BOC Group, Inc.
  • Publication number: 20020144518
    Abstract: In an industrial glass furnace which contains recuperators, regenerators, electric boost or other devices for providing heat to glass batch material an oxy-fuel burner mounted in the roof of the furnace provides additional heat to melt the batch material. A method of mounting and using such a roof-mounted oxy-fuel burner including the operating parameters to maximize heat transfer while minimizing the disturbance of the batch material is disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2002
    Publication date: October 10, 2002
    Applicant: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Neil George Simpson, Greg Floyd Prusia, Stephen McDonald Carney, Thomas G. Clayton, Andrew Peter Richardson, John R. LeBlanc
  • Patent number: 6461412
    Abstract: An improved method for preparing an adsorbent containing sheet is disclosed. Deionized water is employed in a slurry during preparation of the adsorbent containing sheet. The treated adsorbent monoliths provide improved sorption capacity and N2/O2 selectivity when employed in gas separation processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Sudhakar R. Jale, Frank R. Fitch, Dongmin Shen
  • Patent number: 6458334
    Abstract: A process for the partial oxidation of hydrocarbons, such as methane, to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide is provided. The process is conducted by contacting a mixture of a hydrocarbon-containing gas and an oxygen-containing gas in the presence of a metal catalyst at high gas velocities and low reaction initiation temperatures. The metal catalyst is a transition metal selected from the group of nickel, cobalt, iron, platinum, palladium, iridium, rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium and combinations thereof supported on a ceria monolith. Less than 3% by volume of carbon dioxide is present in the product gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Satish S. Tamhankar, Narayanan Ramprasad, YuDong Chen, Mark S. Tomczak
  • Patent number: 6459036
    Abstract: The present invention is a system for protecting electronic, mechanical, or other components from contamination which includes a distribution manifold, a pressurized gas in fluid communication with the manifold; and a plurality of apparatuses which are capable of enclosing at least one electronic device, wherein the apparatuses are individually connected to the manifold by a conduit; the conduit having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to the manifold and the second end is connected to the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventor: Paul J. Celauro
  • Patent number: 6449983
    Abstract: Liquefied natural gas is stored in an insulated tank, typically forming part of an ocean going tanker. Boiled off vapour is compressed in a compressor and at least partially condensed in a condenser. The resulting condensate is returned to the tank. The vapour is mixed with liquefied natural gas in a mixing chamber upstream of the compressor. The liquefied natural gas so mixed with the vapour in the mixing chamber is taken from the condensate or from the storage tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventor: Josef Pozivil
  • Patent number: 6444013
    Abstract: A process for purifying methylsilane is described. Methylsilane containing impurities such as carbon dioxide, chlorosilane and atmospheric gases is fed from a source container unit to an adsorption unit at −40° C. The adsorption unit is connected to a collection unit at −190° C. where the purified methylsilane is transported and can be stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: The Boc Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Patrick J. Helly, Masud Akhtar
  • Patent number: 6440876
    Abstract: Methods for depositing a low-k dielectric film on the surfaces of semiconductors and integrated circuits are disclosed. A Si—O—C-in-ring cyclic siloxane precursor compound is applied to the surface by chemical vapor deposition where it will react with the surface and form a film having a dielectric constant, k, less than 2.5. The compound generally has the formula (—O—R1—O—)SiR2R3 or the formula (—R1—O—)SiR2R3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Qing Min Wang, Ce Ma
  • Patent number: 6434950
    Abstract: An apparatus for the chilling or freezing of items, particularly food items includes an entrance module, an exit module and may include one or more intermediate modules. Each module includes a portion of a belt for conveying items and a motor driven impeller for circulating a stream of cryogenic gas around the items. The velocity of the stream of cryogenic gas is increased through the use of one or more impingers creating impingement jets above and below the belt. The impinger may be a plate having a series of holes or it may be a series of channels. The impinger effects the rate of heat transfer from the cryogen to the items. A sprayer for spraying liquid cryogen into the impingement jets provides an immediate freezing of the surface of an item. A pneumatically actuated ball valve is used to vibrate the impingers to remove snow and ice on the impingers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael D. Newman, Stephen A. McCormick
  • Patent number: 6436171
    Abstract: The present invention provides for novel solid state O2-selective metal complex-based adsorbents and their utility for separating oxygen from a gas stream. In particular, the invention provides for an adsorption complex which contains four-coordinate O2-selective metal complexes including oligomeric/polymeric metal complexes, and organic base-containing polymers supported on porous materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Qing Min Wang, Dongmin Shen, Miu Ling Lau, Martin Bülow, Frank R. Fitch, Norberto O. Lemcoff, Philip Connolly
  • Patent number: 6436173
    Abstract: An improved method for preparing an adsorbent containing sheet is disclosed. Alkali or alkaline metal salts or mixtures thereof are added to a slurry during preparation of the adsorbent containing sheet or washed onto a finished adsorbent monolith which was prepared from the adsorbent containing sheet. The treated adsorbent monoliths provide improved sorption capacity and N2/02 selectivity when employed in gas separation processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Sudhakar R. Jale, Frank R. Fitch, Dongmin Shen
  • Patent number: 6432171
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a thermal swing adsorption process for the removal of trace impurities such as oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons from air prior to its separation by cryogenic distillation. The process may utilize three adsorbent layers, the first primarily removes water; the second primarily removes carbon dioxide; and the third layer is a composite adsorbent layer which removes the oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons from the air stream. Another embodiment employs a two layer adsorbent system to remove the impurities. Additionally, a single layer of composite adsorbent may be used to remove water, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and hydrocarbons from the air stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Ravi Kumar, Madhusudhan Huggahalli, Martin Bülow
  • Patent number: 6422041
    Abstract: In an industrial glass furnace which contains recuperators, regenerators, electric boost or other devices for providing heat to glass batch material an oxy-fuel burner mounted in the roof of the furnace provides additional heat to melt the batch material. A method of mounting and using such a roof-mounted oxy-fuel burner including the operating parameters to maximize heat transfer while minimizing the disturbance of the batch material is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Neil George Simpson, Greg Floyd Prusia, Stephen McDonald Carney, Thomas G. Clayton, Andrew Peter Richardson, John R. LeBlanc
  • Publication number: 20020090430
    Abstract: Various food processing methods and a food processing system minimize microbial growth while an animal, such as a chicken, is processed into food. During processing, temperature of an animal carcass and atmosphere surrounding the carcass are controlled by spraying gases and a mixture of ozone and water on the carcass, directing the gases through a passage in a wall to cool a processing area, and flowing the gases into atmosphere surrounding the carcass. Preferably, the gases include ozone and cryogenic gases recycled from a cryogenic freezer. The system uses a reduced amount of fresh water by recycling water used during food processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2002
    Publication date: July 11, 2002
    Applicant: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventor: Louis D. Caracciolo
  • Patent number: 6416569
    Abstract: Nitrogen oxides and low molecular weight hydrocarbons are removed from air by subjecting the air to a temperature swing adsorption process using as the adsorbent a composite zeolite product containing both zeolite type A and zeolite type X. The composite zeolite product is prepared by crystallizing a sodium ion- or sodium ion- and potassium ion-containing alumina-silica hydrogel under conditions which result in the production of a zeolitic composite which contains both zeolite type A and zeolite type X crystal domains. In a preferred embodiment, calcium ions constitute a substantial number of the composite's exchangeable cations and the type X portion of the composite zeolite product has a silicon-to-aluminum atomic ratio in the range of 0.9 to less than 1.15. The nitrogen oxide- and hydrocarbon-selective adsorbent can be incorporated into an atmospheric air prepurification plant downstream of a water vapor-selective adsorbent and a carbon dioxide-selective adsorbent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignees: The BOC Group, Inc., Chemiewerk Bad Köstritz GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Bülow, Adeola F. Ojo, Frank R. Fitch, Baldur Unger, Alfons Brandt
  • Patent number: 6409800
    Abstract: Nitrogen oxides and low molecular weight hydrocarbons are removed from air by subjecting the air to a temperature swing adsorption process using as the adsorbent a composite zeolite product containing both zeolite A and zeolite X. The composite zeolite product is preferably prepared by forming a mixture of an agglomerate of silica and sodium zeolite X having a Si/Al atomic ratio in the range of about 0.9 to less than about 1.2 and a water-soluble sodium aluminate salt; maintaining the mixture at a temperature in the range of about 25 to about 100° C. for a period of time sufficient to convert at least 50% of the silica to sodium zeolite A; and at least partially exchanging the zeolite A-containing product with divalent cations, preferably calcium ions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Adeola F. Ojo, Frank R. Fitch, Martin Bülow
  • Patent number: 6409801
    Abstract: An improved method for preparing and activating monolith adsorbents is disclosed. A regeneration gas is passed through the formed monolith adsorbent at a temperature sufficient to decompose at least part of the binding agents in the adsorbent. The present invention also provides for the use of the treated adsorbent monoliths in separating gases in cyclical separation processes such as vacuum swing adsorption processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Dongmin Shen, Sudhakar R. Jale, Frank R. Fitch, Ravi Jain, Arthur I. Shirley, Yaping Lu, Divyanshu R. Acharya
  • Patent number: 6407025
    Abstract: Zeolites exchanged with lithium cations and polyvalent cations are prepared by first partially ion-exchanging a sodium-containing zeolite, a potassium-containing zeolite or a sodium- and potassium-containing zeolite with polyvalent cations, then heat-treating the partially polyvalent cation-exchanged zeolite, then ion exchanging the heat-treated zeolite with ammonium cations, and then reacting the ammonium cation-exchanged zeolite with a water-soluble lithium compound under conditions which result in the removal of ammonia from the reaction zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignees: The BOC Group, Inc., Chemiewerk Bad Köstritz GmbH
    Inventors: Alfons Brandt, Baldur Unger, Hartmut Tschritter, Martin Bülow, Frank R. Fitch, Adeola F. Ojo
  • Patent number: 6397883
    Abstract: An equipment skid for mounting ancillary equipment to support a semiconductor processing tool. The equipment skid comprises a plurality of equipment sections and a service section. The ancillary equipment is mounted within the equipment sections and the plurality of equipment and service sections are connected to one another in an in-line relationship to define a framework to allow external connections between the ancillary equipment and the semiconductor processing tool to pass through a region overlying the footprint of the service section. The equipment and service sections are preferably covered by an enclosure to contain leakage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Graeme Huntley, Kate Wilson
  • Patent number: 6395139
    Abstract: There is provided a feed distributor for feeding liquid to a liquid distributor. The feed distributor has an elongated body sized to extend across the liquid distributor and an inlet defined in the one of the ends thereof. One or more passageways are provided within the body extending between the ends of the body. Each passageway has an elongated outlet configured to discharge the liquid across the liquid distributor. Each passageway has a taper configured to promote a constant liquid velocity within the passageway. As a result, a uniform liquid distribution of the liquid out of the elongated outlet and therefore to the liquid distributor are promoted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard W. Potthoff
  • Patent number: 6391092
    Abstract: The present invention provides for a process for purifying atmospheric air prior to its separation by cryogenic distillation. The process utilizes three adsorbent layers, the first primarily removes water; the second primarily removes CO2; and the third layer is designed to remove displaced gas components such as N2O and hydrocarbons which are displaced by the second layer. It has been found that CaX type adsorbents provide the removal of N2O and hydrocarbons in the third layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Dongmin Shen, Madhusudhan Huggahalli, Martin Bülow, Sudhakar R. Jale, Ravi Kumar