Patents Examined by Darren W Gorman
  • Patent number: 12290710
    Abstract: Automatic dry sprinkler assemblies for fire protection systems. Preferred embodiments of the automatic dry sprinkler assemblies include a tubular outer housing having an inlet, an outlet opening, and an internal surface configuration proximate the outlet opening that defines an internal landing surface and a cantilevered centering wall. A fluid deflection member is spaced from the outlet opening along a fluid flow path of the assembly. A fluid control assembly disposed within the outer housing for axial translation from an unactuated state to an actuated state of the sprinkler assembly to control fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet for fluid discharge along the fluid flow path to the deflection member. The internal landing surface and cantilevered centering wall are axially spaced from one another proximate the outlet opening to circumscribe and confront components of the fluid control assembly to facilitate centering and axial translation of the fluid control assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2024
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: Minimax Viking Patent Management GmbH
    Inventor: Jason Thomas Watson
  • Patent number: 12285770
    Abstract: A showering apparatus with spray holes each accommodating multiple spray patterns includes a main body, a control assembly, and a plurality of selector discs. The main body includes an outlet disc having the spray holes, a water passage plate, and an outlet chamber defined by the both. The selector disc is fit in the outlet chamber and has at least two pattern units for providing different spray patterns. The control assembly is transmissively connected to each of the selector discs to drive each of the selector discs to rotate, so that each of the pattern units in every selector disc is selectively communicated with spray hole corresponding to the selector disc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Inventor: Xiaoling Yan
  • Patent number: 12285771
    Abstract: A spray head includes a front cover, a spray plate, and an actuator. The front cover includes a plurality of exit openings. The spray plate is oriented substantially parallel to the front cover. The spray plate includes a pin that is aligned with at least one exit opening of the plurality of exit openings. The pin is configured to selectively engage with the at least one exit opening to control a flow of water through the at least one exit opening. The actuator is coupled to the spray plate and is configured to reposition the spray plate relative to the front cover based on user input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: KOHLER CO.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Chanseol Muraoka
  • Patent number: 12275032
    Abstract: A shower head is supplied with an annular airflow which surrounds a column of water travelling through a chamber to produce a suspension of water droplets in air, the diameter and length of the chamber and the diameter of the water column are selected in combination with the fluid flow parameters to operate the shower within a defined parameter space corresponding to the non-axisymmetric Rayleigh breakup regime, where the water column remains intact and spaced apart from the chamber wall for the entire length Lc of the chamber, where the airflow perturbs the water column within the chamber causing it to disintegrate into droplets downstream of the chamber outlet, and where multiple chambers are moulded on non-parallel axes with elastomeric linings facilitating withdrawal of the mould tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: KELDA SHOWERS LIMITED
    Inventors: John Scott Shrimpton, Samvir Thandi, Benjamin Doulis, William Penfold
  • Patent number: 12274196
    Abstract: A broadcast spreader broadly comprising a frame, a hopper, an impeller, a set of wheels, and an electric hub motor. The hopper is supported by the frame and configured to hold a particulate material. The impeller is rotatably connected below the hopper and is configured to receive the particulate material from the hopper and spread the particulate material over a surface. The wheels are rotatably connected to the frame for traversing the surface. The electric hub motor is at least partially positioned in one of the wheels and configured to drivably engage the one of the wheels to propel the hopper along the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Earthway Products Inc
    Inventors: Joe Jimenez, Michael Unrein, John Marshall
  • Patent number: 12269049
    Abstract: The disclosure discloses an integrated shower arm, including an arm body, a diverter spool and a shower head holder. The arm body is bent. An upper part of the arm body is provided with an overhead shower coupling, a lower part of the arm body is connected to a shower head holder, and a middle part of the arm body is provided with a diverter seat. The diverter seat is provided with a water inlet port and a diverter duct, and a spool body of the diverter spool is rotatably inserted into the diverter duct and controls whether water comes out of the overhead shower coupling or a handheld connecting port. The disclosure is good in integrality and small in size and can be used for holding a shower head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: XIAMEN GALENPOO KITCHEN & BATHROOM TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD
    Inventor: Xiaoling Yan
  • Patent number: 12259059
    Abstract: A programmable, electronically controlled sprinkler system has a hermetically sealed internal chamber which encloses all of the internal water flow, valves, mechanical and rotational components. A plurality of magnetic coupling arrangements allows external motors to control operation of the internal mechanical components without requiring any hydraulic seals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Inventor: John S. Heaney
  • Patent number: 12257466
    Abstract: A sprinkler accelerator system includes an accelerator and at least one orifice. The accelerator is coupled with at least one pipe coupled with at least one sprinkler, and vents gas from the at least one pipe when the at least one sprinkler opens. The at least one orifice controls a rate of change of pressure in the at least one pipe to control operation of a flow control valve coupled with the accelerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: Tyco Fire Products LP
    Inventors: James O. Williams, Joshua Motha
  • Patent number: 12251720
    Abstract: A multi-mode fluid nozzle includes a mixing chamber with a stream mode fluid inlet connected to one side of the chamber, a fluid outlet connected to the opposite side of the chamber and at least one mist mode fluid inlet connected to the periphery of the chamber. The discharge pattern of the nozzle depends upon the inlets fluid enters the mixing chamber such that when the fluid enters the mixing chamber through the stream mode fluid inlet, the fluid exits the fluid outlet in a stream flow discharge pattern, when the fluid enters the mixing chamber through the at least one mist mode fluid inlet, the fluid exits the fluid outlet in a mist flow discharge pattern and when the fluid enters the mixing chamber through the stream mode and the at least one mist mode fluid inlets, the fluid exits the fluid outlet in a droplet flow discharge pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Innomist LLC
    Inventor: Xinqi Rong
  • Patent number: 12246201
    Abstract: A fire extinguishing apparatus of a vehicle is capable of effectively extinguishing a fire by uniformly and directly spraying a fire extinguishing agent in a wide range to a battery cell covered with an external structure in a vehicle. The fire extinguishing apparatus includes a cover, a spray nozzle, a controller, a driving device, and a fire extinguishing agent supplying device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kyung Wan Kang
  • Patent number: 12247376
    Abstract: In an outflow structure (10) of a jet regulator (1), holes (17, 19, 25) are formed in the edge region of a regular arrangement (12) which are enlarged with respect to the regular arrangement (12), in order to avoid the formation of small holes (17, 19, 25) in the edge region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: NEOPERL GMBH
    Inventor: Gerhard Blum
  • Patent number: 12241492
    Abstract: Provided in this disclosure is a slam latch for attaching a chute to a hopper mounted onto a vehicle. A cover is secured to an exterior surface of the hopper and defines a void therebetween. First and second aligned holes are formed in the cover and the hopper. A pin is mounted to the cover for movement through the first and second holes and urges with a spring. A plunger is retained in the void and moves between a closed position that blocks the pin from engagement with the holes, and an open position that admits the pin for engagement. The chute includes an engagement member having a third hole. The chute is displaced such that the engagement member slides into the void and displaces the plunger, enabling engagement of the pin with the first, second and third holes, thereby attaching the chute to the hopper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: BUYERS PRODUCTS COMPANY
    Inventor: Philip Sandler
  • Patent number: 12220714
    Abstract: A double-sided fluidic oscillator, includes a primary feedback loop unit, a secondary feedback loop unit with two outlet and one inlet, and a common mixing chamber. Two perpendicular oscillator jets operating at different oscillation frequencies produce perpendicular and bi-stable pulsating flow oscillations, simultaneously. The proposed design of the fluidic oscillator is a double-sided fluidic oscillator. Also, disclosed is a method of achieving an enhanced heat and mass transfer by better mixing due to the wide sweeping pattern over a target surface using the double-sided fluidic oscillator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Emad Elnajjar, Mohammed Sami Uddin Khan
  • Patent number: 12214370
    Abstract: A double tentacle pump system for a liquid sprayer includes first and second tentacle pumps positioned serially within a flow path that extends between a liquid container and the outlet of the sprayer. A motor is configured to actuate the first and second tentacle motors in response to a user directed trigger, thereby causing fluid to be moved from the container and expelled from the sprayer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: THE FOUNTAINHEAD GROUP, INC.
    Inventors: David M. Audette, Andrew C. Putrello
  • Patent number: 12215798
    Abstract: A sprinkler water flow switching device is assembled in a movable seat of the water sprinkler with a partition dividing into an impeller chamber and a gear chamber. The partition is provided with a first water channel and a second water channel for directing water from the gear chamber to the impeller chamber, so as to control the direction of rotation of the impeller in the impeller chamber. The water flow switching device includes a projection member, a seesaw plate and a driving lever in the gear chamber; the driving lever can oscillate and actuate the seesaw plate to move on the projection member, then the seesaw plate can move as a seesaw to selectively close the water inlet of the first water channel or the second water channel, thereby changing the rotation direction of the impeller and the water spray direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: Yuan Pin Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Ming-Chih Hsieh
  • Patent number: 12195936
    Abstract: The invention relates to a modular system for weed control for a rail vehicle. The modular system has a control unit for producing control signals for controlling valves and miners in a separate herbicide and mixing module and for producing a second set of control signals for controlling valves of a nozzle rod. The herbicide and mixing module has a container for holding different herbicides and electrical connection elements for connections to the control unit. Furthermore, a nozzle rod is present, which is fitted with a nozzle set, in order to spray herbicides of the herbicide and mixing module. In addition, a camera module is present, which produces a weed signal in response to the detection of a weed, in order to control the spraying of the herbicides. The camera module is at such a distance from the nozzle rod that, despite high speed, there is sufficient time to provide the herbicide at the nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Inventors: Hinnerk Bassfeld, Thomas Arians, Nils Keilholz
  • Patent number: 12194329
    Abstract: The conceived invention simplifies current art methods of incorporating fire notification appliances with fire sprinkler systems by replacing vane and pressure type of waterflow switches with a single water driven generator having dual functionality. It includes power generation and activation when water moves through a sprinkler system. A notification appliance may use audible, visible, or other stimuli to alert the occupants of a fire. The system also includes a waterflow switch output to trigger an external fire/security alarm system when required and a digital controller with a delay timer to prevent false alarms due to water pressure fluctuations. Another embodiment includes both alarm monitoring and circuit supervision to enhance operation and system maintenance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Inventor: Kris L. Maddalena
  • Patent number: 12194486
    Abstract: A multifunctional solar landscape fountain device is disclosed, including a first base, a column, and a colorful floating ball component. The column is fixedly mounted on a top of the first base, and a power supply module is provided in the first base. The colorful floating ball component includes a second base, an overflow tank, a crystal ball, several colorful LED lights, and an outlet eccentric nozzle. By use of the PLC control electrical box to control the colorful LED lights for working, to achieve the landscape effect of suspended rolling with light irradiation, reducing the water spray evaporation, thereby improving the viewing effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2024
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Shenzhen Haisituopu Technology Co., Ltd
    Inventor: Yao Liu
  • Patent number: 12188191
    Abstract: A modular boom for attaching to a prime mover and configured to dispense a solution to remove snow and deice a surface. The boom includes a boom shroud having a main body extending from a first end to a second end. The main body of the boom shroud has a substantially wedge shaped portion with an edge configured to engage a snow pile or windrow of snow and cause snow to flow about the wedge shaped portion. The boom shroud includes an opening in a bottom of the main body that provides access to an interior cavity. The modular boom includes a boom pipe positioned within the interior cavity of the boom shroud and has ends that extend beyond the boom shroud. The boom pipe having spaced apart apertures along the length configured to dispense the solution onto the surface. The modular boom also includes first and second end caps configured to support the end of the boom pipe and to connect to the first and second ends of the boom shroud to provide structural rigidity to the modular boom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2024
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: THE TORO COMPANY
    Inventors: David Voigt, Jordan Smith
  • Patent number: 12178273
    Abstract: A method and apparatus comprising a headgear that has a channel conduit implemented therein, preferably on a brim of the headgear. The channel conduit is operatively connected to a liquid source via a conduit. The liquid source holds a liquid, such as water. A liquid pumping means in the liquid source pushes the liquid, under pressure, through the conduit, into the channel conduit. Tiny openings in the channel conduit expel the liquid in the form of minute droplets, which readily evaporate because of their tiny size. Their evaporation produces a cooling effect in an area around the channel conduit, such as around the facial area of a user wearing the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Inventor: Bobby Coffman