Patents Examined by Derek S. Boles
  • Patent number: 6431977
    Abstract: In the cowl of a motor vehicle, partitioning walls are provided by means of which the air inlet opening for a heating or air-conditioning system is partitioned off from the ram pressure in the area below the windshield which occurs during the drive of the vehicle. Partitioning wall, in addition, causes an insulation of the air inlet opening with respect to air flows transversely to the driving direction. By means of the partitioning according to the invention, a reduction is achieved of the dependence of the air throughput in the vehicle interior on the driving speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Ernst Schlaudraff
  • Patent number: 6431973
    Abstract: An improved structure of a turbine exhauster. The exhauster includes a fan assembly, an operating assembly and a fixing assembly, wherein the connecting points on the components of the assemblies have mounting holes and the turbine exhauster is assembled directly by using pull pins or screws. The fixing assembly includes an upper, a lower portion and a fixing seat of a central seat. The upper portion and the lower portion of the central seats are formed respectively from a plurality of upper sheets and lower sheets to complete the cylindrical structure. The bottom edge of the upper portion and the top edge of the lower portion are both beveled. By rotating the upper portion, the fan assembly can be adjusted at a slope of a supporting surface to a horizontal state. A user can be easily assembled and all the components can be packaged in a compact case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Inventor: Kao-Hsung Tsung
  • Patent number: 6431980
    Abstract: A vent assembly for mounting in a passageway extending through an exterior wall to provide ventilation to the space bounded by the exterior wall includes an apertured panel exteriorly juxtaposed with a security grate to prevent unauthorized intrusion through the exterior wall. Carriage bolts extend through the apertured panel and security grate into engagement with an anchoring element, such as brackets disposed in the passageway. In addition or in the alternative screws penetrably engaging the security grate may be attached directly to the exterior wall laterally of the passageway. The smooth surfaced head of the carriage bolts, coupled with the square cross-section of the shank adjacent the head mating with square apertures in the apertured panel and in the security grate prevent turning of the carriage bolts from a location external to the exterior wall. For further security, the louvered vent may be configured to overlap and shield the heads of the screws, if used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Inventor: John J. Achen
  • Patent number: 6431459
    Abstract: A heater, especially a liquid fuel-operated water heater (10) or air heater of a motor vehicle in the form of an auxiliary heater or a parking heater has a housing jacket (1) and a heat exchanger (2) as well as with a control device (11) for regulating or monitoring the heating operation via at least one temperature sensor (3), especially a regulating temperature sensor and/or overheating sensor. The temperature sensor (3) is arranged on the underside of a control device bottom plate (4) facing the temperature sensor (3) on the housing jacket (1), wherein the temperature sensor (3) extends through an opening of the housing jacket (1), especially a water jacket, in the direction of the heat exchanger (2) and is preferably pretensioned by a spring. As a result, the temperature sensor can be mounted on the control device bottom plate already during the manufacture of the control device and finally mounted together with the control device bottom plate rapidly and reliably.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: J. Eberspächer GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Michael Humburg
  • Patent number: 6427924
    Abstract: A combustion type heater of this invention includes fuel distribution means 11 for distributing a fuel to the whole surface of a wick 10, disposed upstream of the wick in a fuel passage. The fuel distribution means comprises fuel distribution grooves 15 and a fuel dispersion plate 16 having a large number of holes bored therein. The fuel distribution means can quickly supply the fuel to the whole surface of the wick. To shorten the heating time of the wick, the heater of the present invention uses a wick heating glow plug 14b outside an ignition glow plug 14a, or a planar heater 18, for heating the wick.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Masashi Takagi, Masakazu Ozaki, Hirohito Matsui, Sadahisa Onimaru, Yuichi Sakajo, Toshio Morikawa, Kouji Mori
  • Patent number: 6428409
    Abstract: An inside/outside air switching box has first and second inside air introduction ports, and an outside air introduction port. An inside/outside air switching door is disposed to open and close the first inside air introduction port and the outside air introduction port, and the second inside air introduction port is opened and closed by an inside air auxiliary door operated due to a pressure difference generated by operation of a blower fan between an inner side of the inside/outside air switching box and an inner side of a passenger compartment. Accordingly, even in an outside air introduction mode, inside air can be introduced from the second inside air introduction port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hirotaka Egami, Yasuhiro Sato, Mitsutoshi Kato
  • Patent number: 6427923
    Abstract: A heating system having, in at least one heatable room, at least one first heating device and a second heating device, with the second heating device being of a kind which differs from that of the first heating device, and with both heating devices being controlled. To improve the comfort feeling of a consumer, the two heating devices and their control circuits are coupled with each other, and a change of a parameter in one control circuit causes a corresponding change of a parameter in the other control circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignee: Danfoss A/S
    Inventors: Christian Neve, Jørgen Seerup, Eva Kühne
  • Patent number: 6425818
    Abstract: An enclosure for treating air (1) of a passenger compartment, especially of a motor vehicle, comprises an inlet (2) which supplies cool air to a mixing chamber (4) and a heating chamber (5) supplying the mixing chamber with heated air. It further comprises a front channel (12) supplied from the mixing chamber with treated air intended for a front area of the passenger compartment, and a rear channel (15) supplied from the mixing chamber (4) with treated air intended for a rear area of the passenger compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2002
    Assignee: Valeo Climatisation
    Inventors: Michel Auvity, Michel Grellier, Giancarlo Giordano
  • Patent number: 6422936
    Abstract: A building ornament, building ventilator, roof ventilator, or cupola (10 or 50), includes a top portion (12 or 52), a base portion (14 or 54), one portion (12, 14, 52, or 54) preferably is translucent. Optionally, the cupola (10 or 50) includes an illumination unit (82), elongated ventilation slots (32, 74), a plastic screen (76), to exclude bugs, that preferably is welded into one of the portions (52 or 54), and multiple V-shaped flanges (92A, 92B, or 92C) of different pitches that provide means for attachment to double-pitched roofs (42) having different pitches (40A, 40B, or 40C).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: Behlen Engineered Plastics
    Inventors: Carl W. Van Gilst, Glen R. George
  • Patent number: 6422935
    Abstract: An air vent covering assembly is provided which is adapted to be mounted to a floor, in the peripheral region of an air vent opening therethrough. The air vent covering assembly comprises a cover plate, abase, at least one damper plate, and first and second brackets. The cover plate and base have a plurality of spaced-apart and substantially parallel louvers formed therein, and each of the plurality of louvers defines an edge of a space. Each of the at least one damper plate includes a plurality of spaced-apart and substantially parallel damper bars, and the number of damper bars is equal to the number of louvers provided. When the damper plate is in an open position, flow of air through the spaces defined by the plurality of louvers is allowed, and when the damper plate is in a closed position, flow of air through the spaces is precluded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Inventor: Yuri Yampolski
  • Patent number: 6422477
    Abstract: The heat recovery reflector has a channel-like extrusion comprising a web and flanges bordering the web. The web has a heat reflective surface thereon and the flanges have a substantial depth relative to the thickness of the web. The distances between the flanges is similar to the height of the back surface of a baseboard heat convector. The channel-like extrusion is mountable behind a baseboard heat convector for defining with the back surface of the baseboard heat convector a closed space for maintaining the heat reflective surface in a dust free environment. In another aspect of the invention, each flange has serrations of the inside surface thereof. A pair of caps is provided for covering the ends of the channel-like extrusion. Each cap has tabs extending therefrom and each of the tabs has at least one notch which is engagedly mountable in one of the serrations on the flanges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Inventor: L. Paul Hébert
  • Patent number: 6419576
    Abstract: An air duct silencer can be used at the inlet of an air supply fan unit for a building or other large structure. The silencer has an exterior housing with exterior walls forming outer surfaces of the housing and interior walls arranged in the housing, connected to the exterior walls and defining an annular airflow passageway extending between an air inlet located at one end and a circular air outlet adapted for connection to the fan unit. The outlet defines a primary central axis extending through the center of the outlet and perpendicular to a plane in which the outlet lies. A central airflow defining member has a second central axis extending from an outer end thereof to an inner end and this axis is substantially coaxial with the primary central axis. This airflow defining member is substantially circular in transverse cross-section along its length and has a relatively wide bulb like end section at its outer end and a narrow end section at the inner end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: Air Handling Engineering Ltd.
    Inventor: Ming Hui Han
  • Patent number: 6415986
    Abstract: In a system for supplying a heat by a heat medium, a heat discharged from a customer requiring only a high temperature heat is effectively utilized, and respective prices paid by the customer requiring only the high temperature heat and a customer requiring only a low temperature heat are reduced. In this system, a heat medium discharged by the customer requiring only the high temperature heat is recovered so as to be fed to the customer requiring only the low temperature heat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Osamu Yokomizo
  • Patent number: 6416404
    Abstract: An air conditioner unit comprises a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein; two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism attached to an outer surface of the wall of the case to actuate the two pivotal mode doors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
    Inventor: Yukio Ozeki
  • Patent number: 6409090
    Abstract: A self optimizing device for controlling a heating unit in a manner so as to improve the energy efficiency of the heating unit using an autocalibration processor. The heating unit employs a heating medium that is heated by the heating unit and which transfers the heat into an ambient atmosphere outside of the heating unit. The heating unit has an on-state initiated when a characteristic of the heating medium representative of the heating capacity of the medium decreases below a minimum level, and an off-state initiated when the characteristic of the heating medium reaches a maximum level. The controller includes an input element, an output element, a time-measuring element, and a processor. The input element receives a signal from a sensor, the signal indicating the heating medium characteristic representative of the heating capacity of the heating medium. The output element signals the heating unit to begin its on-state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Microtherm LLC
    Inventors: David L. Gilvar, Steven G. Landry, Steven P. Harter
  • Patent number: 6409590
    Abstract: There is provided an air guide duct for a vehicle, the air guide duct connected for communication with an air conditioner unit provided in a passengers' room in a vehicle, the air guide duct adapted to pass and guide temperature regulated air supplied from the air conditioner unit, the air guide duct comprising a first base body constituting one duct half, the first base body including a mounting part for allowing a wire element of an electrical component system to be contained along the air guide duct, and a second base body constituting the other duct half, the second base body covered over the first base body to define an air flowing space therebetween, the second base body including a cover piece which laterally extends from the duct, wherein the mounting part containing the wire element is so constructed as to be covered with the cover piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignees: Inoac Corporation, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Suzuki, Kazushi Shikata, Shigeo Numazawa, Tomohiro Kamiya
  • Patent number: 6405933
    Abstract: The invention relates to a mechanical control device (10) making it possible to act on control members of an airflow-distribution system (1) for a motor vehicle, characterised in that it comprises at least two separate control means (30, 40) with rotary movement acting respectively independently with respect to one another on the control members, a first control means (30) being mounted turning about a first rotational axis and carrying a second control means (40) mounted turning about a second rotational axis which is inclined with respect to the first rotational axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Valeo Climatisation
    Inventor: Louis Lacroix
  • Patent number: 6406257
    Abstract: A system and method of cooling heat generating components. Heat generating components are placed in an enclosure having an air permeable cover. A mating panel having a mating connector is placed proximate to the air permeable cover. A fan assembly having a hub is coupled to the mating panel, wherein coupling includes wiring the fan to a fan connector, mounting the fan connector along an axial line running through the hub and pressing the fan assembly into the mating panel so as to mate the mating connector and the fan connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
    Inventor: Philip J. Houdek
  • Patent number: 6402611
    Abstract: The hinged mine stopping has at least two panels joined by a hinge defining a wall adapted for forming an air tight seal in a mine passageway to improve mine ventilation. Each panel has a lower section defined by a sheet of gas impermeable material mounted on a tubular, rectangular frame, and an upper section defined by a sheet of gas impermeable material mounted on a tubular, inverted U-shaped frame. The side members of the upper section frame telescope into the side members of the lower section frame for height adjustment of the panels. Preferably the hinged mine stopping is disposed between the ribs of a mine in a V-shape, with the apex directed towards the high pressure side to reduce the load on the stopping, the perimeter of the stopping being sealed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Inventor: David J Rohrbaugh
  • Patent number: 6398638
    Abstract: In a vehicle air conditioner having manually operated operation members of an air-conditioning operation panel, rotation shafts of an air mixing door and a mode switching rotary door are disposed in a vehicle front-rear direction, so that an axial direction of the rotation shafts of the doors is made the same as that of rotation shafts of the operation members of the air-conditioning operation panel. Accordingly, operation force of the operation members can be directly transmitted to the rotation shafts of the doors by a simple structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuji Shibata, Yoshio Yoshida