Patents Examined by Dana Ross
  • Patent number: 11785676
    Abstract: A cooking apparatus includes: a receiving coil configured to receive power wirelessly, a first rectifier configured to rectify power transmitted from the receiving coil, a first DC capacitor connected to an output terminal of the first rectifier, a working coil, an inverter, a second DC capacitor connected to an input terminal of the inverter, and a filter circuit connected between the first DC capacitor and the second DC capacitor and configured to block a noise current that flows between the first DC capacitor and the second DC capacitor and that is associated with a predetermined frequency or a frequency higher than the predetermined frequency. The inverter is configured to convert power from the second DC capacitor into an alternating current and transmit the converted alternating current to the working coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Jaewoo Lee, Hyunwook Moon, Hojae Seong
  • Patent number: 11771096
    Abstract: A system and method to control the power supplied to heating elements of a conveyor oven. The conveyor oven includes a plurality of heating elements to evenly distribute heat in an oven compartment. During peak-loads, the current draw of the heating elements may exceed available power of a power supply. Therefore, a system and method to reduce the total current draw of the plurality of heating elements is provided. The system includes a controller configured to perform the methods disclosed herein. The methods effectively lower the total current draw by rapidly cycling a plurality of relays connected to each of the plurality of heating elements to achieve even distribution of heat and reduced current draw during peak-loads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION
    Inventors: William S. Schjerven, Sr., James Jeffery Hanson, Ricky Joe Sullivan McIntosh
  • Patent number: 11772195
    Abstract: An additive manufacturing system includes one or more processors configured to determine one or more geometrical characteristics of each of multiple segments of a build part at a candidate position relative to an additive manufacturing instrument. The one or more geometrical characteristics include an angle of incidence between a beam line extending from a beam source and a surface normal of a respective skin of the corresponding segment proximate to the beam line. The one or more processors are configured to control the additive manufacturing instrument, based on the one or more geometrical characteristics, to direct focused energy beams from a first orientation relative to the build part to form a first segment of the segments of the build part and to direct focused energy beams from a second orientation relative to the build part to form a second segment of the segments of the build part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Eric M. Chapman, Dana A. Henshaw
  • Patent number: 11774108
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a cooking apparatus, a method of controlling the cooking apparatus, and a knob of the cooking apparatus. An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a display on a knob for setting a function of a cooking apparatus and to display status information of the cooking apparatus through the display of the knob, so that a user can easily and conveniently check the status information of the cooking apparatus. The cooking apparatus includes a knob comprising a fixing member fixed to a main body of the cooking apparatus, a rotating member supported by the fixing member and rotatably installed on the main body, and a display provided on the fixing member to display status information of the cooking apparatus; and a controller configured to transmit the status information of the cooking apparatus displayed on the display through a wireless communication network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chang Hyun Park, Hwa-Sung Kim, Su-Ho Jo, Jae Hoon Cha
  • Patent number: 11772200
    Abstract: An allograft optimization system utilizes an optical system to determine the outer perimeter of a tissue blank for allograft cutting therefrom. The optical system determines an optimal allograft array pattern that can be derived from the irregular tissue blank and may include a plurality of various allograft shapes and sizes. A computer operates an allograft optimization computer program that receives input regarding the outer perimeter of the tissue blank. A cutting implement, such as a laser, is configured to cut the allografts from the irregularly shaped tissue blank according the allograft array pattern. The cutting implement is automatically actuated by an actuator with respect to the tissue blank to cut the allografts therefrom. The cutting implement may be a laser or a galvo laser that is directed by one or more mirrors. The tissue may be birth tissue including placental tissue and amnion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: Amnio Technology LLC
    Inventors: Merrill Stromer, Larry Macal, Donald R. Taylor, Cris Holmes, James E. Ellis
  • Patent number: 11766734
    Abstract: Welding carts with tool-less securing systems are disclosed. In some examples, a welding cart may be configured to retain and/or transport a welding-type power supply. The cart and power supply may have bracket holes configured to receive bracket ends of a securing bracket. The bracket ends may be received by the bracket holes when a shaft retaining the securing bracket is engaged with a rotational lock of the cart. An actuator connected to the shaft may be configured to rotate the shaft to engage the rotational lock. A resilient member may bias the bracket ends out of the bracket holes when the shaft is disengaged from the rotational lock. A captive fastener attached to the shaft may ensure that the shaft and bracket remain captive to the cart even when the shaft is disengaged from the rotational lock and/or the securing bracket is biased away from the cart.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventors: Nicholas James Dessart, Chancelor D. Wyatt
  • Patent number: 11766745
    Abstract: An additive manufacturing system includes one or more processors configured to determine one or more geometrical characteristics of each of multiple segments of a build part at a candidate position of the build part relative to an additive manufacturing instrument. The one or more geometrical characteristics include an angle of incidence between a beam line extending from an electromagnetic energy source of the additive manufacturing instrument and a surface normal of a respective skin of the corresponding segment proximate to the beam line. The one or more processors are configured to determine, based on one or more geometrical characteristics of the segments at the candidate position, one or more locations of support material to be formed adjacent the build part during a build process of the build part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Eric M. Chapman, Dana A. Henshaw
  • Patent number: 11770881
    Abstract: A cooking vessel sensor and an induction heating device including a cooking vessel sensor is provided. The cooking vessel sensor may include a cylindrical hollow body having a first receiving space defined therein; a hollow cylindrical magnetic core received in the first space and having a second receiving space defined therein; and a sensing coil wound on an outer face of the side wall by a predetermined number of winding counts. The cylindrical hollow body may have a side wall having a coil outlet defined therein, and the sensing coil may pass though the coil outlet out of the body. The cooking vessel sensor may further include a controller that applies a current to the sensing coil and determines, based on a sensing result of the cooking vessel sensor, whether the cooking vessel is inductive or has an inductive heating property.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Kyungsoo Hwangbo, Junbo Byun, Hyeonwoo Seo
  • Patent number: 11766151
    Abstract: According to one example, a system comprises a plurality of cooking device systems that are each operable to be used in cooking a food item during a cooking process; a heat source system comprising a plurality of heat sources that are each operable to provide an amount of energy to be used to cook the food item; and a sensor operable to detect information associated with the cooking process. The system further comprises a processor operable to determine an identity of a first cooking device system and determine an identity of a first heat source. The processor is further operable to receive an indication of the detected information; determine whether there is an error in the cooking process based on the indication; and following a determination that there is an error in the cooking process, transmit an indication of the error in the cooking process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Inventors: Jonathan A. Jenkins, Brenden Duncombe-Smith, Darren Erik Vengroff
  • Patent number: 11766735
    Abstract: A welding system includes power conversion circuitry configured to convert input power to weld power and a first housing surface. The first housing surface includes a first mating geometry configured to mate with a first complementary geometry of a first modular surface of a first modular component of the welding system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventors: Nicholas James Dessart, Ryan Lawrence Peterson, Nicholas Alexander Matiash, Michael Allen Sammons
  • Patent number: 11766740
    Abstract: A device for determining a focus position of a laser beam in a laser machining system has a first optical element which is designed to reflect a portion of the laser beam in order to uncouple a first sub-beam of the laser beam, a second optical element which is designed to reflect another portion of the laser beam in order to uncouple a second sub-beam of the laser beam substantially coaxially to the first sub-beam, a spatially-resolving sensor to which the first sub-beam and the second sub-beam can be directed, and an evaluation unit which is designed to determine a focus position of the laser beam on the basis of the first and second sub-beams hitting the spatially-resolving sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Precitec GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: David Blazquez Sanchez
  • Patent number: 11765794
    Abstract: A portable heating apparatus includes a top layer and a bottom layer connected to the top layer to form a cavity. An electric heating element is disposed within the cavity, and a temperature-retaining component, such as a gel layer, is affixed within the cavity adjacent to the electric heating element and adjacent to the top layer. A power cord is in electrical communication with the electric heating element and connectable to a power source to provide power to the electric heating element, the power cord detachable from the portable heating apparatus. The temperature-retaining component is capable of retaining heat generated by the electric heating element and creating a generally uniform distribution of heat across the top layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: FKA Distributing Co., LLC
    Inventors: Amanda Beuckelaere, Chaunta Johns, Mark Straight, Ray Morency
  • Patent number: 11759882
    Abstract: A system and method apparatus for purging liquid coolant from liquid coolant lines providing cooling to welding electrodes in a welding apparatus. The system provides a purging fluid of air at a pressure higher than a pressure of the liquid coolant to be purged. High-pressure air is generated by a centralized compressor and distribution system, a local electric pump, or existing robotic arm movements applied to pump bellows mounted thereon. A variety of placements, tie-ins, and hardware for fluid purging line(s) and its valve(s), for coolant supply(ies) and its valve(s), for coolant return(s) and its valve(s), and for liquid coolant line(s) and its valve(s) allow individual liquid coolant lines to be purged independently, with trade-offs of speed to purge, thoroughness of purge, amount of liquid coolant needed to be purged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: PROTEUS INDUSTRIES INC.
    Inventor: Mark Nicewonger
  • Patent number: 11765792
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a PTC heating module for heating a fluid and a method for producing such a PTC heating module. The PTC heating module includes a plurality of PTC thermistors having main surfaces disposed opposite to one another and spaced apart relative to one another in a thickness direction. The PTC thermistors are arranged between two contact plates next to one another transversely to the thickness direction and spaced apart relative to one another. The main surfaces of the PTC thermistors are electrically contacted with a contact surface of the two contact plates. At least one dielectric function element is arranged between the two contact plates and laterally sealingly engages about the respective PTC thermistors to at least partially fill a hollow space between the two contact plates and facilitate enlarging a creepage distance between the two contact plates within the hollow space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Inventors: Alexander Daniel, Michael Kohl, Jonas Caspar Schwenzer, Wolfgang Seewald, Falk Viehrig
  • Patent number: 11754280
    Abstract: An electrically heated aerosol-generating device is configured for use with a consumable cartridge including a storage portion containing an aerosol-forming substrate and having a fluid permeable internal surface surrounding an open-ended passage extending through the cartridge. The device includes a housing having a cavity for receiving the cartridge and a heater assembly positioned in the cavity. The heater assembly includes an electrically conductive hollow shaft portion connected to the housing and an electric heater positioned along the hollow shaft portion and having at least one heating element for heating the aerosol-forming substrate. The hollow shaft portion defines an airflow passage forming part of an airflow pathway through the device and is arranged to extend into the open-ended passage of the cartridge. The hollow shaft portion comprises a plurality of apertures, and the heating element is one or more narrow regions of the hollow shaft portion between adjacent apertures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Rui Nuno Batista, Laurent Manca
  • Patent number: 11752567
    Abstract: A method of joining a first piece of an automotive component that is made from a first material to a second piece of the automotive component that is made from a second material includes machining a fay surface onto each of the first and second pieces of the automotive component, cleaning the fay surfaces of each of the first and second pieces of the automotive component, placing a metal filler between the fay surfaces of the first and second pieces of the automotive component, holding the first and second pieces together with the metal filler positioned between the fay surfaces of the first and second pieces, and passing an electric current through the first piece, the metal filler and the second piece to melt the metal filler and weld the first piece to the second piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Huaxin Li, Cheonjae Bahk, Daniel J. Wilson
  • Patent number: 11752547
    Abstract: Provided are a jet device and systems and methods using the jet device for manufacturing objects by additive manufacturing, especially titanium and titanium alloy objects, wherein the jet device directs a cooling gas across a liquid molten pool, or to impinge on the liquid molten pool, or to impinge upon a solidified material adjacent to a liquid-solid boundary of the liquid molten pool, or to impinge on an as-solidified material, or any combination thereof, during the additive manufacturing process. The application of the cooling gas can result in an additively manufactured metal product having refined grain structure with a high proportion of the grains being approximately equiaxed, and can yield an additively manufactured product exhibiting improvements in strength, fatigue resistance, and durability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Norsk Titanium AS
    Inventors: Martin Borlaug Mathisen, Hilde Løken Larsen
  • Patent number: 11752697
    Abstract: A device for the making of a three-dimensional object by means of layer by layer consolidation of a powderlike construction material by electromagnetic radiation or particle beam has a control unit that controls an irradiation device such that the powder particles of the construction material are bonded together at the sites where the radiation impinges on the construction material. A selective heating device is designed so that any given partial surface of the construction field can be heated before and/or after to a plateau temperature, which is significantly higher than the temperature of at least a portion of the construction field outside the partial surface. The control unit actuates the selective heating device such that the partial surface has a predefined minimum distance from the edge of the construction field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems
    Inventor: Johann Oberhofer
  • Patent number: 11753705
    Abstract: A Ni-based superalloy composition to be used for powder-based additive manufacturing (AM) technology, such as selective laser melting (SLM) or electron beam melting (EBM). The cracking susceptibility during an AM process is considerably reduced by controlling the amount of elements, especially Hf, that form low-melting eutectics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Technology GmbH
    Inventors: Roman Engeli, Thomas Etter, Fabian Geiger
  • Patent number: 11751717
    Abstract: A jug for use with a frothing apparatus. The jug comprising: a vessel body for holding a liquid to be heated; a handle attached to the vessel body, the handle for holding the jug; a user interface for receiving an operation-related user input; a communication means adapted to communicate data associated with the jug to the frothing apparatus; and a controller for controlling the user interface and the communication means. In an embodiment, The frothing apparatus comprises: a steam heater, a steam nozzle, and a steam path providing fluid communication from the steam heater to the steam nozzle for delivering heating steam to the jug; communication means adapted to receive operating data from a cooperating communication means associated with the jug, the data comprising an operation-related user input; and a controller for controlling operation of the steam heater and the steam path based on the operation-related user input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Inventors: Robert Grassia, Nicholas McColl, Daniel Robert Corkin