Patents Examined by Christopher Atkinson
  • Patent number: 6216775
    Abstract: Arrangement in a heat exchanger, for example a retarder oil cooler, constructed from plates with alternating cooling water and oil ducts between them. The plates surrounding the cooling water ducts are provided with converging inward bends in the form of nipples, which are intended to keep the said plates at a distance from one another. Between the plates surrounding the oil ducts there is a so-called turbulator, which on the one hand serves to increase the surface and on the other is designed to make the flow turbulent. The arrangement is characterized in that the oil ducts situated outermost in the cooler each comprise elements designed to reduce the flow through these compared to the flow in other oil ducts. An improved thermal equilibrium is thereby achieved in the outermost ducts, which gives a reduced risk of thermal fatigue, especially in the inward bends converging in the cooling water ducts in the form of nipples. The service life of the heat exchanger is thereby prolonged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Valeo Engine Cooling AB
    Inventor: Rolf Hedman
  • Patent number: 6213197
    Abstract: A sorption unit for air-conditioning technology apparatus with sheets for heat emission, past which water vapor is passed. The sheets are provided with zeolite, that forms string-shaped profiled bodies which are designed to have surface contact with the sheets. Channels for vapor passage are defined between bodies arranged one beside the other. A buffer section and a condenser/evaporator unit complete the sorption unit to form an air-conditioning system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2001
    Assignee: Electrolux Leisure Appliances AG
    Inventor: Bengt Ebbeson
  • Patent number: 6209627
    Abstract: To reduce noise caused by exhausted cooling air as well as to maintain a necessary amount of cooling air of a cooling fan. A cooling fan is positioned behind a radiator. A shroud surrounds an impeller coupled to a motor and a rotating shaft. The shroud has an inlet and an outlet in the shape of a bell mouth. The bell mouth shaped inlet has its front edge spaced from the rear surface of the radiator by a clearance D, and forms a space around its front peripheral edge. A space is formed via the space, and opens around the periphery of the shroud. The ratio A:B is 1:3 to 5, preferably approximately 1:4, where A denotes a difference between maximum and minimum diameters of the bell mouth shaped outlet of the shroud, and B notes a length of the shroud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroaki Hasumi
  • Patent number: 6209622
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for ventilation systems which include an element for the transfer of heat from warm exhaust air (taken from inside a building) to cooler exterior fresh air which is drawn into the building. The present invention in particular provides an apparatus whereby, during a defrost cycle, interior air may circulate through both of the fresh air and exhaust air paths for delivery back into the building i.e. the warm interior air, used as defrost air, may be able to circulate from the interior of the building into the ventilation apparatus and back to the interior of the building. The apparatus can thus use interior air as defrost air while diminishing or avoiding the creation of a negative air pressure in the building.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Assignee: Venmar Ventilation Inc.
    Inventors: Frederic Lagace, Jean-Francois Grondin, Pierre Cusson, Michel Julien, Daniel Marcoux
  • Patent number: 6209624
    Abstract: A heat exchanger for use in a sulphuric acid manufacturing plant to effect heat transfer between desired gas streams selected from air, sulphur dioxide and sulphur trioxide. The exchanger provides for hot or cold split flow gas streams through the exchanger shell with either mixing or splitting into two or more streams to provide for reduced condensible material condensation, corrosion, metal thermal differential stress and capital equipment cost. A preferred exchanger is used in combination with a sulphur burning furnace to provide an improved preheater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Inventor: Gordon M. Cameron
  • Patent number: 6206091
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for the treatment of waste solids that allows for the direct transfer of heat between hot waste solids and cold waste solids in a tube-in-tube heat exchanger. Cold solid waste is moved from a cold solid waste source through one tube of the heat exchanger, and hot solid waste is move from a hot solid waste source through the other tube of the tube-in-tube heat exchanger, and heat is transferred from the hot solid waste to the cold solid waste. The waste treatment, including the heat exchange, can occur in a batch mode or in a continuous mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: United States Filter Corporation
    Inventor: Verne T. Buehler
  • Patent number: 6206088
    Abstract: A heat exchanger system includes a first heat exchanger followed by a second heat exchanger disposed in a dense fluidized bed, the second heat exchanger being made up of a plurality of nests of tubes disposed along the path of the particles in suspension in the dense fluidized bed. The second heat exchanger is provided with at least two feeds situated on either side of its center, each of the feeds receives a distinct mixture of the input fluid and of the output fluid of the first heat exchanger, so that the temperature of the fluid fed into each of the nests is an increasing function of the distance between it and the inlet via which the particles are fed into the dense fluidized bed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: GEC Alsthom Stein Industrie
    Inventors: Jean-Claude Semedard, Pierre Gauville, Christian Enault
  • Patent number: 6196305
    Abstract: A radiator assembly for a cooling system on an internal combustion engine includes a radiator core having a plurality of tube-flow passages for transferring heat from fluid coolant to ambient atmosphere and at least one tank in fluid communication between an internal combustion engine and the radiator core. The radiator core includes a header flange extending about at least a portion of a perimeter of the radiator core and the tank includes a clamping flange extending about at least a portion of a perimeter of the tank corresponding to and in adjacent relationship with the header flange of the radiator core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2001
    Assignee: Great Lakes, Inc.
    Inventor: Karl Erwin Geiger
  • Patent number: 6196299
    Abstract: A mechanical assembly for regulating the temperature of a chip is comprised of a heat exchanger which has a face for mating with a planar surface on the chip. A frame is coupled to the heat exchanger such that the face of the heat exchanger is exposed and can contact the planar surface of the chip. And, the face of the heat exchanger has a shape which makes contact with the entire planar surface on the chip except for each of its corners. One particular embodiment of the heat exchanger has four grooves which extend from the face and which respectively align with the corners of the chip. Due to those grooves, initial contact between the face on the heat exchanger and the planar surface on the chip occurs on an edge of the chip which is spaced-apart from a corner. Consequently, the chance of breaking the tip of a corner off of the chip is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2001
    Assignee: Unisys Corporation
    Inventors: Jerry Ihor Tustaniwskyj, James Wittman Babcock, Lawrence William Friedrich
  • Patent number: 6189607
    Abstract: A multi-flow type heat exchanger includes a pair of headers and a plurality of heat transfer tubes interconnecting the headers. The flow direction of the heat exchange medium through the whole of the heat transfer tubes is only one direction. A flow division parameter &ggr; is defined as a ratio of a resistance parameter &bgr; of the heat transfer tubes to a resistance parameter &agr; of an entrance side header and is set to at least about 0.5. The flow division parameter is calculated, such that &ggr;=&bgr;/&agr;, where &bgr;=Lt/(Dt·n), and &agr;=Lh/Dh. The equation variables are defined as follows: Lt equals a length of each tube, Dt equals a hydraulic diameter of one tube, n equals a number of tubes, Lh equals a length of an entrance side header, and Dh equals a hydraulic diameter of the header. The flow division from the header to the tubes may be chosen at an optimum condition, and the heat exchanger may have superior performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2001
    Inventors: Kazuki Hosoya, Toshiharu Shinmura, Hirotaka Kado, Akira Sakano
  • Patent number: 6179051
    Abstract: A heat exchanger has stacked plate elements that are joined together so as to form first and second sets of channels. Each set of channels has an inlet port and an outlet port to allow fluid to flow in and out of the channel in the set. A distributor is located in the inlet port of the first set. The distributor has a first and a second end, with the distributor first end being located near a fitting in the inlet port, and the distributor second end being located near a rear plate of the heat exchanger. The presence of the distributor in the inlet port forms a passage for fluid flow into the respective channels. The passage is larger at the distributor first end than at the distributor second end. The passage can be formed by channels or grooves in the outside diameter of the distributor. Alternatively, the passage can be formed by variations in the outside diameter between the first and second ends of the distributor. For example, such a distributor could be frusto-conical in shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2001
    Assignee: Delaware Capital Formation, Inc.
    Inventor: Zahid H. Ayub
  • Patent number: 6179047
    Abstract: A mechanical assembly for regulating the temperature of an integrated circuit chip is comprised of a frame which has at least two spaced-apart spring supports. Respective leaf springs extend from each of the spring supports towards each other. And, a heat exchanger lies in the space between the spring supports, attaches to all of the leaf springs, and has a face for mating with the chip. With this assembly, the heat exchanger exerts a very small force at its initial point of contact on the chip; the length of the leaf springs do not add to the profile of the assembly; no slippage occurs between the heat exchanger and the chip; and, the leaf springs prevent the heat exchanger from twisting and becoming offset relative to the chip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2001
    Assignee: Unisys Corporation
    Inventors: Jerry Ihor Tustaniwskyj, James Wittman Babcock
  • Patent number: 6173763
    Abstract: There is disclosed a heat exchanger tube for conducting refigerant in a heat exchanger. The inner surface of the tube has a convex portion having a broad tip and a plurality of inner fins. The area of the tip of the convex portion is larger than that of the tip of the inner fins. The height of the convex portion can be set at more than that of the inner fin. A heat exchanger according to the invention has a plurality of plate fins, each having a hole therein. Heat exchanger tubes pass through the holes of the plate fins. A method of manufacturing a heat exchanger comprises the steps of stacking a plurality of plate fins, each having a hole, with a predetermined space therebetween. Heat exchanger tubes are inserted through the holes. Then, the tubes are expanded to engage the plate fins. A refrigerating circuit utilizing a heat exchanger is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2001
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tetsuo Sano, Hideaki Motohashi, Kokichi Furuhama
  • Patent number: 6173762
    Abstract: A heat exchanger tube for a falling film evaporator has fins provided on the outer periphery of the tube body and extending in a direction transverse or in oblique to the axial direction of the tube. The fins have heights in a range of 0.2 to 0.8 mm. The fins are arranged in a density to have 905 to 1102 in number of fins per 1 m in the axial direction. Grooves formed in the tip end of the fins and extending substantially along the fins, the mutually opposing inner peripheral wall surface of the groove defining an angle within a range of 70° to 150°. Cut-outs formed in the tip end of the fins, the cut-outs being provided at a pitch in a range of 0.5 to 1.0 mm. With this construction, the heat exchanger tube for the falling film evaporator which exhibits a high refrigerant wetting and spreading ability as well as large surface area for providing remarkably improved heat transmission performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2001
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Ishida, Tomio Higo, Tetsuo Uchida, Masahiro Furukawa, Masashi Izumi, Kazuhiro Yoshii
  • Patent number: 6167950
    Abstract: A heat transfer tube (10) for use in an application, such as a shell and tube type air conditioning system condenser, in which a fluid flowing through the heat exchanger external to the tubes condenses by transfer of heat to a cooling fluid flowing through the tubes. The tube has at least one fin convolution (20) extending helically around its external surface (13). A pattern of notches (30) extends at an oblique angle (&agr;) across the fin convolutions at intervals about the circumference of the tube. There is a spike (22) between each pair of adjacent notches. The fin convolution, notches and spikes are formed in the tube by rolling the wall of the tube between a mandrel and, first, a gang of finning disks (63) and, second, a notching wheel (66). Because, during the manufacture of the tube, of the interaction of the rotating and advancing tube and the notching wheel, the angle (&bgr;) of inclination of the axis of the tip of the spike is oblique with respect to the notch angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Neelkanth S. Gupte, Xin Liu, Steven J. Spencer, Robert H. L. Chiang, Daniel Gaffaney
  • Patent number: 6167946
    Abstract: A radiator includes a core portion, a header tank, a side plate attached to the core portion and a bracket through which the radiator is mounted to a vehicle. The bracket is separately formed from the header tank, and is connected to the side plate through a bolt. As a result, the radiator is readily mounted to a vehicle of a different model by only changing an attachment position of the bracket to the radiator, without modifying the header tank. Further, the bracket includes a coolant receiving portion disposed to face a drain outlet of the header tank with a predetermined gap therebetween. Therefore, coolant discharged from the header tank collides with the coolant receiving portion to reduce its dynamic pressure. As a result, coolant drained from the radiator is restricted from being scattered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Uchikawa, Satomi Muto, Takaaki Sakane
  • Patent number: 6167949
    Abstract: A low electro-magnetic radiation emissions heat sink that dissipates heat away from an integrated circuit package by means of conduction to the electronic chassis. The heat sink may also include a ferrite ring for reducing electro-magnetic radiation emissions from the integrated circuit package by increasing the electrical impedance of the EMI transmission path between the integrated circuit package and the electronic chassis, thus reducing the capacitive coupling and RFI concerns of conductive heat dissipation. The heat sink of the present invention may also include fins that are external to the electronic chassis for greater heat dissipation by means of external air convection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Philip David Langley, Douglas Boone
  • Patent number: 6167948
    Abstract: A heat spreading apparatus includes a first planar body for attachment to a heat generating surface which results in a hot region and a cool region on the first planar body. A second planar body connected to the first planar body is used to define a void between the first planar body and the second planar body. The void includes a planar capillary path and a non-capillary region. A fluid positioned within the void distributes heat by vaporizing the fluid from the planar capillary path in the hot region, condensing the fluid in the non-capillary region in the cool region, and moving from the non-capillary region to the planar capillary path in the hot region through capillarity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Novel Concepts, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel Lee Thomas
  • Patent number: 6161613
    Abstract: A two pass heat exchanger is provided. The first pass includes a plurality of tubes located in liquid refrigerant, when employed as an evaporator, whereby the liquid refrigerant draws heat from the water flowing through the tubes causing the water to be cooled and the liquid refrigerant to evaporate. The second pass is a single pipe which need not be located in the liquid refrigerant. The two pass heat exchanger can also be used as a condenser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventor: Edward A. Huenniger
  • Patent number: RE37134
    Abstract: Regenerative heat exchangers are described for transferring heat between hot and cold fluids. The heat exchangers have seal-leakage rates significantly less than those of conventional regenerative heat exchangers because the matrix is discontinuously moved and is releasably sealed while in a stationary position. Both rotary and modular heat exchangers are described. Also described are methods for transferring heat between a hot and cold fluid using the discontinuous movement of matrices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventor: David Gordon Wilson