Patents Examined by Brenda A. Lamb
  • Patent number: 7981480
    Abstract: Hot dip coating apparatus for coating a steel strip in an Al—Zn alloy bath comprises components that are made from stainless steel containing an appreciable amount of nitrogen distributed substantially uniformly through its microstructure. The nitrogen is incorporated into the stainless steel as an alloy additive and improves the steel's corrosion resistance and minimizes pitting and thinning of the component when immersed in the metal bath for extended periods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Bluescope Steel Limited
    Inventors: Greg Harris, Nega Setargew, David Willis
  • Patent number: 7823529
    Abstract: To produce a ceramic foam-filled structural sandwich panel, a coating of a pre-ceramic slurry is applied on a preform. The preform includes a foam template sandwiched between a plurality of panels. In addition, the coating is cured to the preform, the preform is modified, and the coating is converted to a ceramic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Julia J. Mack, Janet B. Davis
  • Patent number: 7819076
    Abstract: A substrate treatment apparatus which uniformly forms a fine resist pattern with a desired dimension within a plane of a substrate is disclosed. In a solvent vapor supply unit, a solvent vapor discharge nozzle is provided which can discharge a solvent vapor for swelling a resist pattern while moving above the front surface of a wafer. The wafer for which developing treatment has been finished and on which a resist pattern has been formed is carried into the solvent vapor supply unit, and the solvent vapor discharge nozzle is moved above the front surface of the wafer, so that the solvent vapor discharge nozzle supplies the solvent vapor onto the front surface of the wafer. This uniformly supplies a predetermined amount of solvent vapor to the resist pattern on the front surface of the wafer. As a result, the solvent vapor causes the resist pattern to evenly swell by a predetermined dimension, so that a resist pattern with a desired dimension is finally uniformly formed within the plane of the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Yuichiro Inatomi
  • Patent number: 7814861
    Abstract: A device for coating printed circuit boards with a fluid coating compound applied to the board surface is disclosed. The device has a conveyor for the printed circuit boards, a sprayer arranged over or under the conveyor, and a covering element on at least one side over an edge area of the printed circuit boards, wherein the area of the covering element covering the edge area of the printed circuit board can be moved away from the printed circuit board. The device also has a wiper, which wipes the coating compound moved away from the printed circuit board off from the covering element and supplies it to a holding tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: all4-Holding AG
    Inventors: Marc Hubner, Thomas Echensperger
  • Patent number: 7814860
    Abstract: An adhesive-spreading unit includes a set of rollers, each of which rotates at a higher speed than the preceding one, the first roller being in contact with a tank of adhesive and the last roller sliding in contact with a film on which the adhesive is to be deposited. The unit also includes devices for distancing the rollers from one another and bring them into contact when the film has been loaded into a machine, and a single actuator unit for moving the rollers. The actuator, during the first stage of its travel, brings a rubber-clad roller into contact with the first roller, and during the second part of its travel moves the two rollers to bring the rubber-covered roller into contact with a third roller, which transfers the adhesive to the film and vice versa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Nordmeccanica S.p.A.
    Inventor: Antonio Cerciello
  • Patent number: 7810447
    Abstract: A strip of dental articulating paper is held pincer-like between two biased lateral edges of an outer housing. A grip head overlying a liner protects one lateral edge of the dental articulating paper, with a linear tracing of petroleum jelly formed on the liner adjacent exposed surfaces on both sides of the dental articulating paper. During storage, the grip head is received by and between the two biased lateral edges of the housing. Immediately prior to use, the dental professional slowly removes the grip head from the housing, with the biased lateral edges pressing against the sides of the withdrawing articulating paper, spreading an even, thin film of petroleum jelly over the surfaces thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Inventors: Deborah Manos, Harry-George T. Manos, Joseph R. Mackenroth, III
  • Patent number: 7784424
    Abstract: A heated towel dispenser includes a roll of a semi-absorptive medium that can be readily separated into individual sheets. The dispenser includes one or more different fluids to be applied to each of the sheets as directed by a user. The dispenser includes a heating element therein to heat each of the sheets prior to them being emitted from the dispenser. A plurality of sensors are disposed in the dispenser to monitor conditions within the dispenser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2010
    Assignee: Belanger Industrial Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert J. Wentworth, Lionel Belanger
  • Patent number: 7779779
    Abstract: The present application is directed to a spray booth comprising a first enclosure for applying spray material and a second enclosure for drying spray material. An exhaust system is in fluid connection with the first and second enclosures. A fire suppression system is in fluid connection with at least one component chosen from the first enclosure, the second enclosure and the exhaust system. A processor is in data communication with at least one component chosen from the spray enclosure, the drying enclosure, the exhaust system and the fire suppression system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: John D. Ferguson, Mark F. Gabriel, Christopher R. Carter, Kevin M. Bell, Candace Propp, David O. Wagner, Daniel J. Wells
  • Patent number: 7770538
    Abstract: Printed sheets are delivered from a printer to a coating machine which feeds the sheets successively to a coating nip formed between a coating cylinder and an impression cylinder. A transport mechanism advances the sheets through the coating nip. The arrival of each sheet is sensed, and a control unit determines a speed necessary for each sheet to be initially fed in order to reach the coating nip simultaneously with an image area of the coating cylinder and with grippers of the transport mechanism, as well as at a speed equal to a surface speed of the coating cylinder. Independently driven rollers advance each sheet at that sheet's determined speed (e.g., acceleration or deceleration).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Inventor: Max W. Dahlgren
  • Patent number: 7765949
    Abstract: A device for extruding/dispensing materials on a substrate includes a housing with at least two channels formed to facilitate flow. The housing includes entrance ports for each of the channels for receiving different materials. The housing further includes an exit port for co-extruding the materials on the substrate to generate a relatively fine feature with a relatively high aspect ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated
    Inventors: David K. Fork, Thomas Hantschel
  • Patent number: 7757629
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for coating optical articles, such as optical lenses, are provided. In one aspect, an optical article is placed in a holder and a sheet of coating material is discharged from a nozzle, such as from a fan coater nozzle, onto the optical article to form a coating on the optical article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: Transitions Optical, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael T. Lydon, William P. Blackburn, Ernesto Maldonado, James R. Kausch, Lex E. Pace
  • Patent number: 7752997
    Abstract: A method and apparatus that produces highly ordered, nanosized particle arrays on various substrates. These regular arrays may be used as masks to deposit and grow other nanoscale materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: NanoLab, Inc.
    Inventor: David L. Carnahan
  • Patent number: 7752999
    Abstract: A wet processing system detects a globule of a process solution in a drippy or dripping state from the tip of any one of process solution pouring nozzles being moved to a pouring position for pouring the process solution onto a substrate by obtaining image data on the process solution pouring nozzle, and takes proper measures to prevent the process solution from dripping. A wet processing system 1 pours a process solution, such as a resist solution, through one of process solution pouring nozzles 10 onto a surface of a substrate, such as a wafer W, held substantially horizontally by a substrate holding device 41 surrounded by a cup 5 to process the surface by a wet process. A nozzle carrying mechanism 10a carries the process solution pouring nozzles 10 between a home position on a nozzle bath 14 and a pouring position above the substrate held by the substrate holding device 41. An optical image of the tips of the process solution pouring nozzles 10 is obtained by an image pickup means, such as a camera 17.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Tsunenaga Nakashima, Michio Kinoshita, Kousuke Nakamichi
  • Patent number: 7739980
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for manufacturing a steel tube are provided. The apparatus includes: a tube-forming device for forming a steel plate into a steel tube; a heat treatment device connected in-line to the tube-forming device to heat the steel tube to a high temperature; a pre-treatment device for annealing the steel tube and providing a reduction atmosphere; and a plating device including a pot for storing a SeAHLume alloy composed of aluminum and zinc in a molten state, a level block selectively inserted into the molten alloy to adjust a level of the molten alloy, and a plating part into which the molten alloy flows in response to insertion of the level block and through which the steel tube passes substantially vertically. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a steel tube having a plated surface to improve its corrosion-resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: Korea Bundy Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Gi Hyeoug Kim, Kyung Yun Kim, Yong Kil Kim, Sun Chang Kim, Jae Pyeong Sim, Jong Seo Kim
  • Patent number: 7735451
    Abstract: A substrate processing method and apparatus can securely carry out a pre-plating treatment that enables uniform plating in the necessary area of the surface of a substrate. The substrate processing method carries out a cleaning treatment and a catalyst-imparting treatment of a surface of a substrate as pre-plating treatments and then electroless plates a metal film on the catalyst-imparted surface of the substrate. The cleaning treatment is carried out in a wider area of the surface of the substrate than that area to which a catalyst is imparted by the catalyst-imparting treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2010
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Seiji Katsuoka, Masahiko Sekimoto, Toshio Yokoyama, Teruyuki Watanabe, Takahiro Ogawa, Kenichi Kobayashi, Mitsuru Miyazaki, Yasuyuki Motojima
  • Patent number: 7717060
    Abstract: An electroless metal deposition process to make a semiconductor device uses a plating bath solution having a reducing agent. A sample of the bath solution is taken and the pH of the sample is increased. The hydrogen evolved from the sample is measured. The hydrogen evolved is used to determine the concentration of the reducing agent present in the sample. Based on the determined reducing agent concentration, the plating bath solution is modified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven M. Hues, Michael L. Lovejoy, Varughese Mathew
  • Patent number: 7717057
    Abstract: This invention relates to methods and apparatus for making coated articles with one or more layers by dip, spray or flow coating. In one aspect, this invention relates to an apparatus and method for making coated containers, preferably comprising polyethylene terephthalate, from coated preforms. In preferred embodiments, the apparatus and method permit the coated container or preform to be made in an energy-efficient manner that reduces the danger of coating damage and thus increases the efficacy of the final container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Sharon Hutchinson
    Inventors: Gerald A. Hutchinson, Robert A. Lee
  • Patent number: 7707963
    Abstract: A system for forming a multi-layer film, where the system includes a backing support having a surface and a close-coupled unit configured to be disposed adjacent the surface of the backing support. The close-coupled unit includes a corona electrode and a coating die disposed at a downstream location along the surface from the corona electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Scott L. Ciliske, Gregory F. King, Mark A. Strobel, Joel A. Getschel, Bert T. Chien
  • Patent number: 7699020
    Abstract: A tabular holding jig has a plurality of holding holes whose side walls are made from an elastic material. When electronic parts are inserted into the holding holes of the holding jig, deflection of the holding jig is prevented by (a) disposing an intermediate plate between the holding jig and a base plate, or (b) using a base plate having a stepped portion with a raised surface that covers an area of the holding jig where the plurality of holding holes is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Sanada, Takeshi Ohkura, Hirokazu Naito
  • Patent number: 7694642
    Abstract: A printing press is provided. The printing press includes at least one printing unit for printing a web-shaped printing material and a device for applying a liquid mixture of a silicone oil concentrate and at least water to the web-shaped printing material. The device includes reservoir for the silicone oil concentrate, a supply source for the water, a mixing tank for the silicone oil concentrate and the water, an applicator for transferring the liquid mixture onto the printing material. The applicator has at least one container for the liquid mixture. The device also includes a buffer tank for the silicone oil concentrate separate from the mixing tank. The buffer tank receives the silicone oil concentrate from the reservoir. The printing press also includes a cooling roll for the web-shaped printing material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignee: Goss Contiweb B.V.
    Inventor: Clemens Johannes De Vroome