Patents Examined by Christopher R Zerphey
  • Patent number: 11002476
    Abstract: An ice maker may include an assembly frame, an ice tray, a cam, a splash cover, and a biasing spring. The ice tray may define a cell for receipt of water for freezing and may be rotatably attached to the assembly frame to rotate about an axial direction. The cam may be attached to the ice tray and extend along the axial direction. The splash cover may be slidably attached to the assembly frame in mechanical communication with the cam to move between an elevated position and a lowered position according to a rotational position of the cam. The biasing spring may be disposed on the splash cover and urge the splash cover to the lowered position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Bo Yan, Daqing Gong, Eddy Zhou, Jason Jiang, Yayu Song, Michael Zhou, Roy Teng
  • Patent number: 10969147
    Abstract: An air conditioning system for a high-rise building includes a condenser unit and a compressor separate from the condenser unit and in fluid communication with the condenser unit. The compressor is to be located at a floor of a high-rise building that is below a location of the condenser unit at a roof top of the high-rise building. The system may also include an oil separator to separate oil from a refrigerant. The oil separator is in a path of the refrigerant from the compressor to the condenser unit, where the oil separator is distal from the condenser unit and proximal to the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Rheem Manufacturing Company
    Inventor: Douglas Bates
  • Patent number: 10952456
    Abstract: A machine for processing liquid or semi-liquid food products including a containing element for containing the product to be dispensed; a stirrer for stirring the product to be dispensed; a heat exchanger fluid flowing in a circuit in a direction of circulation through an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser and a pressure reducing element; a fan rotating about an axis of rotation to force an air flow towards the condenser; a control unit connected to the fan to control the fan through a speed signal; a temperature sensor, located downstream of the condenser in the circulation direction to detect a condensation temperature and configured to send to the control unit a temperature signal as a function of which the control unit generates the speed signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: ALI GROUP S.R.L.—CARPIGIANI
    Inventors: Andrea Cocchi, Roberto Lazzarini
  • Patent number: 10948221
    Abstract: A system for obtaining a desired cooling effect that utilizes a water-soluble endothermic salt solution and pure water. The cooling effect is created by cycling between two phases, a refrigeration phase and a dehydration phase. In the refrigeration phase, a water-soluble endothermic salt solution is used as a refrigerant to absorb heat by pumping through a first heat exchanger which cools an object or an area. In the dehydration phase, the cooling process is regenerated by pumping the now heated endothermic salt solution through a distillation membrane, where the solution and pure water are continuously commingled and separated from one another through a distillation membrane to optimize the thermodynamic efficiency of the system. At least two pumps provide the motive energy to move the endothermic salt and pure water through the closed loop piping system. The concentrated salt solution leaving the distillation membrane is further cooled using a second heat exchanger to facilitate crystal formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: HECTO GROUP, LLC
    Inventors: John R. Bergida, David D. Leavitt, Johan Vanneste, John Arthur Bush, Devlin Leavitt
  • Patent number: 10941948
    Abstract: A liquid desiccant air conditioning system includes one or more liquid desiccant tanks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignees: 7AC Technologies, Inc., Alliance For Sustainable Energy, LLC
    Inventors: Peter F. Vandermeulen, Eric Kozubal, Mark A. Allen, Scott N. Rowe
  • Patent number: 10940337
    Abstract: A temperature control device for heating and/or cooling gases or gas mixtures, in particular for use in the respiratory protection sector. The temperature control device has a housing, a compressed air input, a supply output and a vortex tube with an air inlet, a hot air outlet and a cold air outlet. The vortex tube is installable in at least two final assembly arrangements. In a first arrangement, there is a fluid-conducting connection between the cold air outlet of the vortex tube and the supply output of the temperature control device and, in a second arrangement, there is a fluid-conducting connection between the hot air outlet of the vortex tube and the supply output of the temperature control device. By this configuration, the temperature control device is both a device for heating and cooling respiratory air from mainly the same components with little additional outlay on production and little additional effort during assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: SATA GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Jens Brose, Marco Schönemann
  • Patent number: 10933720
    Abstract: An HVAC air inlet housing for a vehicle includes an air inlet housing having a top portion and a bottom portion. A fresh air duct, to convey fresh air from an air inlet to a blower, is defined by the air inlet housing. A water inlet port, to connect to an evaporator drain port via a hose, is defined in the bottom portion. The hose is to convey water from the evaporator drain port to the water inlet port. A water tunnel is defined by the air inlet housing to convey water from the water inlet port to a sluice defined in the bottom portion. The sluice is to convey water from the water tunnel to a sump defined in the bottom portion. A sump drain port is defined in the air inlet housing bottom portion in fluid communication with the sump to drain water from the sump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: VALEO CLIMATE CONTROL CORP.
    Inventors: Earl Buckman, Darshan Parikh, Richard Sikorski, Gregory McClane
  • Patent number: 10921035
    Abstract: An aspect of the present disclosure is generally directed to an ice making appliance that includes: an ice making compartment and an ice maker including an ice mold having a total water capacity. The ice mold includes a plurality of ice wells and is configured to release the ice cubes without the use of a heater and by twisting the ice mold. The ice wells are typically no more than about 12.2 mm in depth from a top surface of the ice mold and have a volume of about 20 mL or less. The ice maker is capable of producing at least about 3.5 lbs. of ice or more in a 24 hour span.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Arivazhagan Chandrashekaran, Andrew M. Tenbarge
  • Patent number: 10921001
    Abstract: A liquid desiccant air-conditioning system provides a uniform liquid desiccant flow distribution and wetting out of membranes used in the membrane-modules of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: 7AC Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl Allen, Mark A. Allen, Scott N. Rowe, Mark D. Rosenblum, Peter Luttik
  • Patent number: 10907873
    Abstract: An ice maker includes an ice tray, a motor configured to rotate with respect to the ice tray, an ejector configured to cause rotation of an ice piece, the ejector including a rotary shaft and a protrusion pin, a heater configured to selectively supply heat to the ice tray, and a first sensor unit configured to detect a rotation angle of the protrusion pin about an axis of the rotary shaft. The first sensor unit is further configured to, before discharge of the ice piece from the ice tray, detect whether the protrusion pin has rotated by a predetermined angle about the axis of the rotary shaft, and the heater is further configured to be turned off based on the first sensor unit detecting that the protrusion pin has rotated by the predetermined angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Donghoon Lee, Seungseob Yeom, Donghoon Lee, Wookyong Lee
  • Patent number: 10907872
    Abstract: A refrigerator includes a first compressor configured to compress a first refrigerant, a first condenser configured to return the first refrigerant to the first compressor during a freezing cycle, a second compressor configured to compress a second refrigerant, and a second condenser configured to return the second refrigerant to the second compressor during a refrigerating cycle. The refrigerator includes a controller configured to control a radiating fan for the first condenser and the second condenser based on an operation state of the first compressor and the second compressor, and a refrigerant loop channel configured to allow the first refrigerant passing through a refrigerant channel that is located between a body and a door of the refrigerator. The refrigerant channel is coupled to the first condenser, and, for a predetermined time interval, an average operation time of the freezing cycle is longer than an average operation time of the refrigerating cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Hojin Choi
  • Patent number: 10907877
    Abstract: An ice maker includes an ice tray configured to receive water, where the ice tray includes a plurality of partition ribs that partition an inner space of the ice tray into a plurality of cells, an ejector that is configured to rotate relative to the ice tray, that is configured to cause rotation of ice pieces in a rotation direction relative to the ice tray, and that is configured to discharge the ice pieces from the ice tray, and a motor configured to drive the ejector to rotate in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction. The ice tray further includes a protrusion portion that is located at each cell, that protrudes from a lower surface of each cell, and that extends along the lower surface of each cell in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction of the ice pieces relative to the ice tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Donghoon Lee, Seungseob Yeom, Donghoon Lee, Wookyong Lee
  • Patent number: 10907864
    Abstract: A cooling system includes a heat exchange unit; a supply line configured to send a coolant to the heat exchange unit; a drain line configured to send the coolant drained from the heat exchange unit; a first to a nth gas-liquid separating units connected in series to a gas line in which a gas of the coolant flows; a first to a nth cooling lines extended via the first to the nth gas-liquid separating units, respectively. Both ends of the first cooling line are connected to a cooling device. The second to the nth cooling lines are provided between the drain line and a first to a (n?1)th liquid lines via the second to the nth gas-liquid separating units, respectively. The first to the nth gas-liquid separating units are respectively connected to liquid lines, and the liquid lines communicate with the supply line connected to the heat exchange unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Takehiko Arita
  • Patent number: 10907881
    Abstract: An impingement apparatus associated with a conveyor includes: (a) a shell supporting an impinger; and (b) a coolant delivery apparatus enclosed by the shell, the coolant delivery apparatus including a gas circulation device for directing a coolant to the impinger; the impinger including: (i) an impingement plate including openings for directing impingement jets toward the conveyor; (ii) at least one non-circular cam in mechanical communication with the at least one conveyor and rotatable when the conveyor is in motion; and (iii) at least one connector in mechanical communication with the at least one cam and the impingement plate, the connector displaceable during rotation of the at least one cam to elevate and lower the impingement plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Messer Industries USA, Inc.
    Inventor: Scott Boyles
  • Patent number: 10876783
    Abstract: A compartment comprising at least one target area susceptible to condensed water formation includes at least one condensed water collector is presented. The condensed water collector comprises at least a first portion arranged to collect condensed water from the at least one target area and at least a second portion outside of the at least one target area. A porous material is arranged between the first portion and the second portion. The condensed water collector is configured to transport the collected condensed water. The compartment further including a condensed water remover configured to remove condensed water from the second portion thereby facilitating transportation of condensed water from the first portion to the second portion via the porous material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Marty, Beat Widmer, Markus Jeziorski
  • Patent number: 10871307
    Abstract: An apparatus for heating water has a tank for storing water and an air conditioning system that defines a refrigerant flow path through which refrigerant flows. The refrigerant flow path passes through the heat exchanger so that refrigerant heat is contributed to the tank. A control system controls operation of the water heating apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Rheem Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Timothy B. Hawkins, Jeremy L. Babb
  • Patent number: 10859294
    Abstract: A refrigerator includes: a main body having a storage chamber; a door for opening and closing the storage chamber; a thermoelectric module for cooling the storage chamber; an outside temperature sensor for detecting an outside temperature; a storage chamber temperature sensor for detecting the storage chamber temperature; and a control unit for applying a voltage within a range between the maximum voltage and the minimum voltage to the thermoelectric module. The control unit applies the set voltage, not the maximum voltage, to the thermoelectric module when the outside temperature is the uppermost outside temperature range among the plurality of outside temperature ranges and thus the temperature of the control is lowered and power consumption is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Seokhyun Kim, Heayoun Sul, Minkyu Oh, Jeehoon Choi, Hyoungkeun Lim
  • Patent number: 10852049
    Abstract: A refrigerator includes a storage space, an evaporator located inside of the storage space, a grille panel assembly that partitions the storage space to separate an evaporator space, a cryogenic freezing compartment that defines an insulation space within the storage space that maintains a temperature of the insulation space less than a temperature of the storage space, and a thermoelectric module assembly located at the grille panel and configured to supply cold air to the cryogenic freezing compartment. The thermoelectric module assembly includes a thermoelectric module having a heat absorption surface and a heat generation surface, a cold sink configured to contact the heat absorption surface and located in the cryogenic freezing compartment, a heat sink configured to contact the heat generation surface and located in the evaporator space, and an insulation frame that receives the thermoelectric module and that thermally insulates the cold sink from the heat sink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Myeongha Yi, Yoomin Park, Hyoungkeun Lim
  • Patent number: 10852054
    Abstract: A refrigerator having an improved structure configured to increase the energy efficiency includes a main body provided with an inner case and an outer case, a storage compartment formed inside of the inner case, an insulation material provided between the inner case and the outer case to insulate the storage compartment and a flange having the anisotropy having different heat resistance distribution to insulate the storage compartment, together with the insulation material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Min Soo Kim, Choong Hyo Jang, Keon Kuk
  • Patent number: 10845067
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the present invention relates to heat dissipation systems including a hygroscopic working fluid integrating waste water as makeup water. The present invention also relates to methods of using the same. The present invention also relates to hygroscopic cooling systems adapted to dispose of waste water by combining the waste water with a hygroscopic working fluid, precipitating impurities and evaporating the remaining water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Energy & Enviornmental Research Center
    Inventor: Christopher Lee Martin