Patents Examined by Cassey Bauer
  • Patent number: 7823412
    Abstract: A hermetic vessel capable of preventing noise caused by fluid flow, and an oil separator, a gas-liquid separator, and an air conditioning system using the same. The hermetic vessel having a vessel body includes an inlet through which a fluid flows into the vessel body, and a discharge pipe which is inserted into the vessel body to discharge the fluid. The discharge pipe includes a first discharge pipe which guides a flow of the fluid in a first direction and causes a wave of a higher frequency than an audible frequency, and a second discharge pipe which is connected to the first discharge pipe to guide a flow of the fluid from the first discharge pipe in a second direction which is different from the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Won Jae Jang, Suk Ho Lee
  • Patent number: 7814760
    Abstract: A cooling device, in particular for a switchgear cabinet with a housing, in which a refrigeration cycle system is housed, wherein the refrigeration cycle system has vibration-generating elements, namely a compressor and at least one fan. The fan and the compressor are supported in the housing via vibration dampers. For preventing vibratory emissions a cooling device in accordance with this invention has the fan and/or the compressor separately supported by first vibration dampers on an intermediate bracket, or together on an intermediate bracket. The intermediate bracket is supported by second vibration dampers on a bracket, and the bracket is connected to the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Rittal GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Manfred Immel, Joachim Maul
  • Patent number: 7810343
    Abstract: A dispenser, a food dispensing appliance with a dispenser, and a system including a food dispensing appliance for providing at least one service to a consumer electronic device. The dispenser has a service interface providing at least one service for a consumer electronic device. The appliance comprises a cabinet, a door movably mounted to the cabinet and having a peripheral edge, and a dispenser on the door. A service interface is provided on the dispenser and provides at least one service for use by a consumer electronic device. The system comprises an appliance with a dispenser and service interface supplying the at least one service and an adapter capable of coupling to the service interface to receive the service and supply it to the consumer electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Richard A. McCoy, James W. Kendall, Douglas D. LeClear, Christopher S. Moes
  • Patent number: 7802445
    Abstract: An insulated and refrigerated beverage transport line provides enhanced temperature control of one or more beverages conveyed through the transport line. A plurality of coolant lines carrying a re-circulated coolant makes contact with the one or more product lines. One or more empty lines, referred to as packers, may be placed between the coolant lines and the product lines to provide a dimensionally stable and tight group of lines that are bundled together. An external insulation is provided over the bundle of lines to further enhance insulation for the beverage being transported through the product lines. At least one dedicated coolant return line may be placed remote from the other lines. The dedicated coolant return line carries the highest temperature coolant found in a beverage transport system. Independent and separate insulation of this dedicated coolant return line prevents inadvertent heat transfer to the one or more product lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Millercoors, LLC
    Inventor: Kevin Winters
  • Patent number: 7797961
    Abstract: Provided is a refrigerator including a main body cabinet forming a storage compartment; a door operable to open and close the storage compartment; an ice tray provided in the door and capable of making ice cubes; and an ice storage container receiving the ice cubes made by the ice tray, and having an ice outlet formed in a lower part thereof and a rear wall surface forming an angle of inclination with respect to a level surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2010
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jae-koog An, Keon-ho Hong
  • Patent number: 7788940
    Abstract: The disclosure provides an improved cooling system and associated cabinet for electronic equipment, and optionally, a backup ventilation system for cooling related failures. Generally, the disclosure includes a high capacity closed loop refrigeration system in a modified cabinet, while accommodating standard sized computer equipment. Further, the system provides directed heat removal by altering typical airflow paths within the cabinet. The backup ventilation system is powered by auxiliary power in the case of power failure and uses the same fan(s) for ventilation as is used for cooling. The disclosure provides a more efficient, higher capacity cooling cabinet in less space than otherwise known in the art. Further, the cooling system can anticipate heat loads and therefore operate in a predictive capacity by monitoring input power to the electronic equipment and adjusting the cooling for the expected increase or decrease in heat load generated based on the input power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: Liebert Corporation
    Inventors: Steven M. Madara, Steve Sillato, Thomas E. Harvey, David A. Dukes
  • Patent number: 7779641
    Abstract: An ice supplier includes an ice maker configured to make ice, a case configured to store ice made by the ice maker, a sensing unit configured to sense a quantity of ice stored in the case, and a controller configured to control the ice maker according to a result of sensing from the sensing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Dong Hoon Lee, Wook Yong Lee
  • Patent number: 7779644
    Abstract: An ECS system includes an ACM mounted adjacent an air-liquid heat exchanger through a diffuser that contains a diffuser plate. The diffuser plate receives airflow from the ACM which strikes the diffuser plate and flows radially outward and around the diffuser plate and into the air-liquid heat exchanger to provide minimal pressure loss and proper flow distribution into the air-liquid heat exchanger with significantly less packaging space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventors: Angelo A. Decrisantis, James R. O'Coin, Edmund P. Taddey
  • Patent number: 7775063
    Abstract: An apparatus harvests latent energy and water by adiabatically decompressing a controlled volume of atmospheric air to lower its pressure and temperature below the saturation point of included water vapor, thus causing the water vapor to change state to nonvaporous water and release to the decompressed air thermal energy associated with the change of state. The apparatus then extracts the nonvaporous water, leaving the released thermal energy in the decompressed air. The apparatus then recompresses the decompressed air, which will have a resulting temperature, and thus a thermal energy, greater than those of the initially ingested air, and harvests the recompressed air and its increased thermal energy. The apparatus can also humidify and warm atmospheric air before it is ingested to increase appreciably the amount of harvested thermal energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Inventors: Christopher E. Thompson, Owen E. Thompson
  • Patent number: 7770408
    Abstract: An ice supplier includes a case configured to store ice from an ice maker. The case includes an outlet and a transfer unit configured to transfer ice pieces in the case to the outlet. A sensor is configured to sense ice pieces passing through the outlet and a controller is configured to control the transfer unit according to input from the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Yong Su Kim, Seong Jae Kim, Nam Gi Lee
  • Patent number: 7765821
    Abstract: A seal device has a for sealing a through hole in a partition includes a first seal for providing a first abutment portion that abuts against a periphery of the through hole in an entirety thereof, and a second seal for providing a second abutment portion that is made of an elastic material for abutting against an outer peripheral surface of a component disposed in the through hole. The first seal and the second seal are connected to cover an entire periphery of the through and the component, and a support member on the second seal has an inner surface shaped in a corresponding form of the component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinori Araki, Takuya Natsume
  • Patent number: 7762100
    Abstract: A refrigerator is provided that includes a fan that blows cool air generated by an evaporator to a freezing chamber or a refrigerating chamber; a scroll guide that discharges cool air discharged from the fan in two directions; a guide pipeline formed at the scroll guide in two directions, that guides cool air discharged from the scroll guide; and a cool air duct connected to the guide pipeline, that supplies cool air to the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber. An optimum scroll guide that can be applicable even when a plurality of cool air ducts are implemented is provided, thereby reducing a flow loss of cool air discharged from the fan and decreasing power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2010
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Jun-Ho Bae, Soo-Kwan Lee, Chang-Joon Kim
  • Patent number: 7757511
    Abstract: A refrigerated appliance includes a cabinet including a drawer and a refrigeration system having at least a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator. An icemaker unit is mounted in the drawer and includes a housing and an ice cube mold. The evaporator includes a coil mounted below the housing proximate to the ice cube mold. A mounting plate is attached to the housing with the evaporator coil sandwiched therebetween. With this arrangement, the evaporator coil is selectively operated to provide freezing temperatures to form ice cubes in the ice cube mold and establish refrigerated temperatures in the refrigerated compartment. That is, the refrigeration system is selectively operated to chill the evaporator in both an ice production mode and a refrigeration mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas D. LeClear, Jim J. Pastryk
  • Patent number: 7743623
    Abstract: An ice making and storing system which may be mounted in a refrigeration appliance. The ice making and storing system includes an ice making mechanism, a removable ice storage receptacle positioned adjacent to the ice making mechanism, an insulated cover for the ice making mechanism with a portion engageable with the ice storage receptacle to provide a thermally tight seal between the cover and the ice storage receptacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: James Charles Leslie Guarino, Marcus Roland Fischer, Jeffrey J. Anselmino
  • Patent number: 7726146
    Abstract: A refreshment bar includes one embodiment of a cooling or heating apparatus for food and/or beverage containers. The apparatus maintains a food or beverage container placed on one of the plates at a desired cold or hot temperature relative to the bar surface temperature and ambient temperature. The apparatus includes thermally conductive plates, for example stainless steel disks, positioned in recesses such that the upper surfaces of the plates are coplanar with the top surface of the bar, thereby providing a level surface. A thermal exchanger system is used to cool or heat the plates. The system includes a reservoir containing a thermal element and a thermal transfer fluid. The reservoir is located adjacent the lower surface of the bar top. The plates are thermally coupled to the thermal transfer fluid and thermal element, thereby cooling or heating the plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: HCR, Inc.
    Inventors: Carol Yeagy, Hal Yeagy, John Conover
  • Patent number: 7721568
    Abstract: A refrigerator unit beverage tapper conversion kit includes a door cover. The door cover includes a nylon sheet sewn into the shape of a generally concave cap. The regular door is replaced with the door cover. At least one insulating layer is attached to an inside surface of the cap. An inside perimeter of the door cover is sized to be slipped over an outside perimeter of an open end of the refrigerator unit. An elastic loop is retained on an open perimeter of the door cover for sealing an open end of the refrigerator unit. The refrigerator unit beverage tapper conversion kit may also include a carbon dioxide bottle, a gas regulator, a sankey, a faucet support, a faucet, a faucet shank, a carbon dioxide tube and a beverage tube. The faucet is disposed on the refrigerator door cover for dispensing a beverage in a half barrel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Inventor: Robert J. Grutza, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7716947
    Abstract: Apparatus for condensing hydrocarbons, such as but not limited to butane and propane, from a stream of natural gas includes as its primary components a pre-cooler assembly, a chiller assembly, a refrigerant compressor/condenser assembly, and separator assembly. In the pre-cooler assembly warm gas entering the apparatus is cooled by counter-current flow heat exchange with cooled natural gas exiting the apparatus. The chiller assembly of the apparatus the hydrocarbon stream is cooled in co-current flow heat exchange with a first refrigerant tube, carrying a first refrigerant which is itself cooled in co-current heat exchange with a second refrigerant tube disposed in coaxial relationship with the first refrigerant tube. Both first and second refrigerant tubes are disposed in coaxial relationship with an outer jacket conveying the gas stream through the chiller assembly. Condensed hydrocarbons are separated from the gas stream in the separator assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Gas-Chill, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark A. Brandon, Calvin Cain, Bruce Primrose
  • Patent number: 7685836
    Abstract: The present invention is a water cooler with refrigerator or wine cellar, having a water tank inside of the water cooler connected to a water bottle, a water tank lower part connected with a hot tank assembly and a cold tank assembly through a hot tank inlet tube and cold tank inlet tube. Cold tank and hot tank connect with two water taps through a cold tank outlet tube and a hot tank outlet tube, on the top of cold tank. There is an exhausting tube connecting with water tank, which connect with a compressor. On the back of the cooler a condenser is installed. The cold tank assembly is placed horizontally inside of a cold compartment at its highest point. The cold tank assembly includes a cold tank, evaporator coiled on the outside of cold tank the two parts are separated by separate pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2010
    Inventor: George Yui
  • Patent number: 7665327
    Abstract: An appliance with a separately chilled storage area is disclosed. The appliance comprises a refrigerated compartment; a refrigeration system for cooling air; an air circulation system for circulating the cooled air about the refrigerated compartment; and a secondary air circulation system for circulating a portion of the cooled air in the storage assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Sub-Zero, Inc.
    Inventor: Scott T. Tunzi
  • Patent number: 7654108
    Abstract: A unit for a refrigerant cycle device includes an ejector that has a nozzle part which decompresses refrigerant, and a refrigerant suction port from which refrigerant is drawn by a high-speed refrigerant flow jetted from the nozzle part, a first evaporator connected to the outlet of the ejector, and a second evaporator connected to the refrigerant suction port of the ejector. One of the first evaporator and the second evaporator has a tank structure that includes a tank for distributing refrigerant into or for collecting the refrigerant from refrigerant passages of a heat exchanging part. The tank has therein a first space through which the refrigerant discharged from the outlet of the ejector flows into a heat exchanging part of the first evaporator, and a second space through which the refrigerant to be drawn into the refrigerant suction port flows into a heat exchanging part of the second evaporator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2010
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Naohisa Ishizaka, Thuya Aung, Hiroshi Oshitani, Yoshiaki Takano, Mika Gocho, Hirotsugu Takeuchi, Yoshiyuki Okamoto