Patents Examined by Denise L. Ferensic
  • Patent number: 7044618
    Abstract: A light emitting diode having a helical spring around one of its leads. The spring extends so that it has a free end which is cantilevered. As the free end of the spring moves it completes an electrical circuit intermittently lighting the light emitting diode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Carmen & Thomas Rapisarda Enterprises
    Inventor: Thomas C. Rapisarda
  • Patent number: 6659024
    Abstract: A powdery fuel combustion apparatus disposed on furnace side plane (7) of vertical square body type furnace in which a vertical plane passing through a fuel jetting directional axis (8) does not cross the furnace side plane orthogonally, and thus the workability of furnace wall tubes and burner panel, and the maintainability of burner nozzle are improved. The apparatus includes a burner nozzle (1) that is formed such that the nozzle has right and left non-symmetrical shapes, with respect to a vertical plane passing through axis (8). Also, the nozzle has a tip portion opening lying in an opening plane (2) which coincides or is parallel to the furnace side plane (7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tadashi Gengo, Kouichi Sakamoto, Masashi Hishida, Tomomitsu Yokoyama, Akiyasu Okamoto
  • Patent number: 6561894
    Abstract: Using a clean box 30 which includes a box body 31 having an annular groove 33 for suction surrounding a side aperture 32 and an intake/exhaust port 34 in communication therewith, a side lid 35 for closing the aperture 32 while being sucked by a pressure difference between inside and outside a space S for suction formed by the annular groove 33 for suction, and an additional lid 36 for closing the intake/exhaust port 34 by a pressure difference between inside and outside thereof, the clean box 30 is connected to a gate aperture 42 of a clean room 40, a vacuum changer 50 evacuates a hermetically closed space outside the box body including the additional lid 36 to cancel the pressure difference between inside and outside of the additional lid 36 and opens the intake/exhaust port 34 to turn the space S for suction into the atmospheric pressure, the side lid 35 is drawn into the clean room 40 to establish communication between the clean box and the inside of the clean room, and objects to be transferred are then t
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventor: Toshihiko Miyajima
  • Patent number: 6460472
    Abstract: A fluidized bed material including mineral particles of a gabbro class or darker rock type. The rock type includes several minerals and having a quartz content of 5 wt-% or less. The particles are made by comminuting a gabbro class or darker rock type. A fluidized bed process including performing a reaction or a processing of a material in a fludized bed reaction in connection with the fluidization of a fluidized bed material, wherein the fludization bed material includes particles of the gabbro class or darker rock type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Kvaerner Pulping Oy
    Inventor: Jaani Silvennoinen
  • Patent number: 6378447
    Abstract: The furnace with liquid-cooled grate elements has an inflow and a return to these grate elements, the inflow and the return being connected to a condensation device open to the atmosphere. The inflow has arranged in it a U-shaped cooling-liquid seal, one leg of which has a liquid head which corresponds to an arbitrarily selected maximum pressure. The other, shorter leg is connected to a central distributor for the individual grate elements of the grate stages. The distance between the lowest point of the coolant flow of the lowest grate element and the upper point of the shorter leg corresponds to a selectable safety height amount which generates a pressure which counteracts the spread of steam bubbles occurring in the grate elements, so as to prevent a reversal in the direction of flow of the coolant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2002
    Assignee: Martin GmbH fuer Umwelt- und Energietechnik
    Inventors: Johannes Martin, Henner-Siegbert Schloms
  • Patent number: 6368104
    Abstract: An improved rotary hearth furnace having a cylindrical enclosure containing a radially moving belt for transporting pellets containing metal oxide and carbon is disclosed. One or more oxy-fuel burners preferably having a flat flame shape are positioned so as to provide a mixture of fuel and oxidant to the pellets countercurrent to the direction of the pellets. The oxy-fuel burners are operated so as to provide a pre-determined quantity of oxygen in addition to that necessary for combustion so that the additional oxygen oxidizes the carbon monoxide and hydrogen present in the hot combustion gases. Oxygen injectors may also be used to introduce additional oxygen into the furnace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2002
    Assignee: The BOC Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Neeraj Saxena, Rajesh Maruti Wajge, Kenneth W. Grieshaber
  • Patent number: 6330980
    Abstract: In a hydronic heating system including a heating element that is a length of tubing that conducts water and is against a radiating metal plate, all mounted in a floor, wall or ceiling, the element being held by two spaced apart providing an elongated space for holding the tubing adjacent the plate, the metal plate is in two separate pieces that are attached to an edges of the spaced apart boards and combine when they abut each other at installation to provide a metal groove into which the tubing is inserted and held snugly with a substantial part of the tubing in direct intimate thermal contact with the metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2001
    Inventor: Joachim Fiedrich
  • Patent number: 6331141
    Abstract: A fluid extraction apparatus comprises a passage 20 for the pumped flow therealong of a first fluid, for example air. A fluid flow area control device in the form of an apertured plug 22 is present in the passage. An inlet 26 to the passage 20 is provided at or downstream of the downstream side of the plug 22. When, in use, the first fluid is pumped along the passage through the aperture 23 of the plug 22 the fluid pressure at the inlet 26 is reduced causing a second fluid to be drawn into the passage 20 via the inlet 26 to flow with the first fluid towards the downstream end of the passage 20. The downstream end of the passage may be provided with a filter 6 in the form of a tank 8 containing an oil dissolving agent 10. The apparatus has a particular application to a cooker hood assembly for extracting a gas from a cooker hood 2, without having to pass the gas through a pump 4, and then treating the extracted gas to remove pollutants such as water, oil droplets and smoke therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2001
    Inventor: Boon Pen Chua
  • Patent number: 6321690
    Abstract: A device, system and method permitting on-line explosives-based cleaning and deslagging of a fuel burning facility such as a boiler, furnace, incinerator, or scrubber. A coolant, such as ordinary water, is delivered to the explosives to prevent them from detonating due to the heat of the on-line facility. Thus, controlled, appropriately-timed detonation can be initiated as desired, and boiler scale and slag is removed without the need to shut down or cool down the facility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: North American Industrial Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Francis Zilka, Timothy Zilka, Kurt Prouty, Donald Howard, Christopher Scaringe, William Youngs
  • Patent number: 6302039
    Abstract: This invention improves fluid flow, gas mixing and combustion in the furnaces of recovery boilers which burn liquor from various pulping processes, namely, the kraft process, the soda process, the sodium-based sulphite process, the closed-cycle CTMP (chemical, thermal, mechanical pulp) process, the magnesium-based sulphite process and the ammonium-based sulphite process, which are employed in the manufacture of pulp and paper, and in the furnaces of boilers burning biomass, wood waste or other solid fuel. The invention improves the operation of new or retrofitted boilers in several ways and can reduce both the capital and operating costs. One embodiment comprises introducing a portion of the combustion air, and/or recycled flue gas, at any elevation in the furnace, from two opposing walls only, as jets arranged in a partially-interlaced manner, with the jets oriented in a more or less common plane which is inclined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Boiler Island Air Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Colin MacCallum, Brian Robin Blackwell
  • Patent number: 6298795
    Abstract: A mounting device for supporting the movable part of a cooling or heating grate, while permitting the movable part to oscillate in the feed direction. The mounting device comprises a plurality of leaf springs connected by transmission members. The upper and lower ends of the leaf springs are alternately attached to transmission members to form symmetrical N-shaped assemblies in which lateral movement is permitted by equal deflections of the leaf springs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Inventor: Ulrich Suer
  • Patent number: 6289827
    Abstract: A process for the utilization and strategic addition of ash modifying compounds, into selective catalytic reduction units, to modify the resultant ash chemistry to control ash accumulation and corrosive effects of the combustion products, and problems associated with fly-ash disposal or recycling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2001
    Assignee: Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Wajer, David M. Smith
  • Patent number: 6286443
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for treating combustibles by slagging combustion, such as municipal wastes, plastic wastes, sewage sludges, or automobile wastes. Combustibles and oxygen-containing gas are supplied to a slagging combustion furnace (3), and the combustibles are partially oxidized under a reducing atmosphere in a primary combustion chamber (8) to obtain combustible gas and convert ash content in the combustibles into molten slag which is discharged from a slag separation chamber (10), and then the combustible gas is completely combusted in a secondary combustion chamber (9) by supplying oxygen-containing gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Shosaku Fujinami, Tetsuhisa Hirose, Takahiro Oshita
  • Patent number: 6283748
    Abstract: A continuous pusher furnace includes a product carrier assembly forming a traveling gas barrier. The product carrier assembly comprises a pusher plate disposed to receive product thereon and a gas barrier extending upwardly from the pusher plate. The perimeter of the gas barrier is sized and configured to fit within a vestibule between heating chambers in the furnace with a clearance gap with the vestibule selected to increase a gas flow velocity through the vestibule sufficient to overcome a gas diffusion velocity through the vestibule in a direction opposite to the gas flow. In this manner, gas is unable to diffuse into an upstream heating chamber. In an alternative embodiment, an exhaust outlet may also be provided in the vestibule or chamber to exhaust gas from upstream and downstream heating chambers from the furnace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2001
    Assignee: BTU International, Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Orbeck, John Thayer
  • Patent number: 6279494
    Abstract: An operation control method and apparatus are provided for a melting furnace 1 having a supply opening 2 for incineration ash 6, a discharge opening 3 for molten slag 7, and a heat source 9 for applying an amount of heat to the supplied incineration ash. The method includes the steps of imaging the vicinity of the surface of molten slag 7 heated by an amount of heat transferred from the heat source with a television camera 5 to obtain an electronic image, differentiating a high-temperature region in the electronic image that is not lower than a predetermined temperature (1,300° C.) from a low-temperature region in the electronic image that is lower than the predetermined temperature, and controlling the amount of heat applied to the incineration ash from the heat source so that the size of the differentiated high-temperature region reaches a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Hajime Jimbo, Takeshi Kikuchi, Toshirou Amemiya, Yasuyuki Gohda
  • Patent number: 6279491
    Abstract: A method of removing dioxins from an exhaust gas, including the steps of introducing gamma-alumina into a stream of the dioxin-containing exhaust gas, and sorbing dioxins on the gamma-alumina.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomonori Takahashi, Ralph T. Yang
  • Patent number: 6279493
    Abstract: A system and method for treating, injecting and co-combusting sludge in a municipal waste or other combustor is disclosed. The system includes a sludge receiving and treatment module and a sludge injection and combustion module. The sludge is received and stored in one or more storage hoppers where it is first diluted with a liquid and subsequently mixed to a desired homogeneous consistency suitable for pumping. The high liquid content sludge is then pumped to a furnace injection nozzle where it is preferably atomized with steam and sprayed into the combustion zone of the furnace. The disclosed system and method increases sludge moisture content and controls the solids content of the sludge to control furnace temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: ECO/Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: E. Larry Beaumont, Larry D. Richardson, Kevin G. Rousseau
  • Patent number: 6276287
    Abstract: An iron compound catalyst for inhibiting the generation of dioxin of the present invention, comprise iron oxide particles, iron oxide hydroxide particles or mixed particles thereof having a catalytic activity capable of converting not less than 15 % of carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide when 2.8×10−4 mol of iron oxide particles obtained by heat-treating said iron compound catalyst in air at a temperature of 800° C. for 15 minutes, are instantaneously contacted with 6.1×107 mol of carbon monoxide at a temperature of 250° C. at a space velocity (SV) of 42,400 h−1 in an inert gas atmosphere using a pulse catalytic reactor, the iron oxide particles or said iron oxide hydroxide particles having an average particle size of 0.01 to 2.0 &mgr;m, a BET specific surface area of 0.2 to 200 m2/g, a phosphorus content of not more than 0.02 % by weight, a sulfur content of not more than 0.6 % by weight and a sodium content of not more than 0.5 % by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignees: Toda Kogyo Corporation, Naikai Plant Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Imai, Toshiki Matsui, Yasuhiko Fujii, Satoshi Hatakeyama, Kojiro Tsutsumi, Tomoko Okita, Hiroshi Inoue, Tatsuaki Baba, Masaki Ishihara, Takashi Okamura
  • Patent number: 6276286
    Abstract: A compression device for feeding a waste material to a reactor includes a waste material feed assembly having a hopper, a supply tube and a compression tube. Each of the supply and compression tubes includes feed-inlet and feed-outlet ends. A feed-discharge valve assembly is located between the feed-outlet end of the compression tube and the reactor. A feed auger-screw extends axially in the supply tube between the feed-inlet and feed-outlet ends thereof. A compression auger-screw extends axially in the compression tube between the feed-inlet and feed-outlet ends thereof. The compression tube is sloped downwardly towards the reactor to drain fluid from the waste material to the reactor and is oriented at generally right angle to the supply tube such that the feed-outlet end of the supply tube is adjacent to the feed-inlet end of the compression tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Paul M. Williams, Kenneth M. Faller, Edward J. Bauer
  • Patent number: 6273009
    Abstract: A method for automatized combustion of solid fuel in a combustion apparatus which comprises a burner with a device, which is rotatable about the center axis of the burner for stirring the fuel in the burner which is connected to a boiler and has a feeding-in opening for fuel in the rear end of the burner outside of the boiler and an outlet opening for completely or partly combusted flue gases in the front end of the burner which opens in a combustion chamber inside the boiler which comprises a convection unit, from which a hot water conduit extends, the combustion apparatus also including a fan provided to be driven by a second motor for blowing combustion air into the burner, and a fuel charge feeder for fuel provided to be driven by a third motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: Swedish Bioburner System Aktiebolag
    Inventor: Jan Magnusson