Patents Examined by James F Sims, III
  • Patent number: 10729272
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods of use and manufacture are provided for a modular grill and smoker device for cooking food that include a first chamber, a door for opening and sealably closing the first chamber, an airflow corridor creating a hull around the first chamber for channeling air around the first chamber with at least one lower vent and at least one upper vent, as well as integration with electronic user devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: UberDesign.Com Inc.
    Inventor: Elliot C. R. Cook
  • Patent number: 10716330
    Abstract: A capsule (6) for use with an electronic smoking device (1) is provided where liquid for atomisation by an electric atomiser is contained within a cavity enclosed by an end wall (50); a lateral wall (50); and a puncturable membrane (34). One or more grooves (54) are provided on the inner face (52) of the lateral wall (50) adjacent the cavity. When the puncturable membrane (34) is punctured the one or more grooves (54) act to provide air channels adjacent the lateral wall (50) facilitating air to pass into the cavity as the liquid leaves the cavity via the puncture in the puncturable membrane (34).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: FONTEM HOLDINGS 1 B.V.
    Inventor: Thorben Rehders
  • Patent number: 10702941
    Abstract: A system for manufacturing boiler tubes includes a first spindle for receiving a first tube having a first weld preparation, a second spindle for receiving a second tube having a second weld preparation, the first spindle and the second spindle being rotatable synchronously, and a welding device having a first weld head. The welding device is configured to automatically weld the first tube to the second tube according to a control routine stored in memory to produce a boiler tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY GMBH
    Inventors: Richard Jeffrey Schmidt, Junior Grant Parrish, Ronald Francis Konopacki, Russell O'Daniel Brumfield
  • Patent number: 10688560
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for mapping a melt pattern of material created during directed energy fabrication. An infrared camera and a video camera are provided to record images of the pattern of melted material. Each frame of the infrared camera's images is processed to generate a first map of pixels identifying pixels indicative of a highest temperature greater than or equal to a liquidus temperature of the meltable material. Each frame of the video camera's images is processed to generate a second map of pixels identifying pixels indicative of a highest temperature greater than or equal to the liquidus temperature of the meltable material. The first map of pixels and said second map of pixels are overlaid on each other wherein a third map of pixels is generated and is indicative of a hybrid image of the pattern of melted material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Administrator of NASA
    Inventors: Paul R. Gradl, Adam C. Kimberlin, Darrell Edwin Gaddy, Roger Derek Moody
  • Patent number: 10694586
    Abstract: A transparent pane having an electrically heatable coating and at least one coating-free zone that can be used, for example, as communication window, is presented. The electrically heatable coating is connected to two collecting electrodes, such that a supply voltage applied to the electrodes generates a heating current that flows via a heating field formed between the collecting electrodes, the heating field containing the coating-free zone whose zone-edge is formed, at least in sections, by the heatable coating. Other implementation details include provision of two electrical supply lines electrically connecting the two collecting electrodes to separate subdivisions of an additional electrode. In one case, the electrical supply lines run, at least in sections, in the heating field, in the coating-free zone, in a coating-free edge strip, in a subregion of the coating outside the heating field, and/or in the zone-edge. Methods for producing the transparent pane are also presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: SAINT-GOBAIN GLASS FRANCE
    Inventors: Valentin Schulz, Guenther Schall
  • Patent number: 10675854
    Abstract: An additive processing apparatus includes a chamber and an irradiation device that together are operable to additively fabricate an article from a powder layer-by-layer in a work space in the chamber. A gas recirculation loop is connected at a first end thereof to an outlet of the chamber and at a second end thereof to an inlet of the chamber. The gas recirculation loop includes at least one purification device that is configured to remove impurities from a cover gas and generate a clean cover gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventor: Bart A. Van Hassel
  • Patent number: 10675434
    Abstract: A system for improving a person's sleep includes a bedding layer having a plurality of individually controllable thermally adjustable zones, a plurality of temperature sensors, where at least one temperature sensor per thermally adjustable zone is dispersed throughout the bedding layer. Further, a controller is configured to control the heating power of each thermally adjustable zone, and detect in which the body presence is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Jacqueline Van Driel, Joldert Maria Boersma
  • Patent number: 10653182
    Abstract: A liquid storage portion for an aerosol-generating system includes a container configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The container has an opening for dispensing the liquid aerosol-forming substrate, and includes at least one transparent wall portion, such that the liquid level in the container can be visually monitored by the vaper. The container is further configured such that the liquid aerosol-forming substrate is held in a contiguous volume area of the container. The aerosol-forming substrate in the contiguous volume is confined near the dispensing opening of the container without regard to the orientation of the liquid storage portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Tony Reevell
  • Patent number: 10646949
    Abstract: The present invention has as its object to provide a spot welded joint and spot welding method which raise the fracture toughness of spot welded metal to raise the strength of the spot welded joint. In the present invention, there is provided a spot welding method comprising a melt zone forming step forming a melt zone by conduction and, after the melt zone forming step, a solidification step of running a current lower than the current run in the melt zone forming step so as to cause the melt zone to solidify, wherein, in the solidification step, electromagnetic vibration is applied to the melt zone, and a frequency fV of the electromagnetic vibration, a solidification speed ?S when the melt zone solidifies, and an arm interval of dendrites ?D when the melt zone solidifies satisfy 0.2??S/(?D·fV)?4.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fuminori Watanabe, Yasunobu Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 10638889
    Abstract: Provided herein are food pan fences, methods of using food pan fences, and methods of manufacturing food pan fences. A food pan fence of the invention can, for example, comprise side walls configured to extend above the sidewalls of a food pan and prevent cross-contamination of food to or from an adjacent food pan. Optionally, the food pan comprises an inner lip at the wall base. Optionally, the food pan further comprises one or more lateral walls (e.g. front wall and back wall) connecting the sidewalls, wherein the one or more lateral walls comprises a low section configured to allow dishing food from the food pan there through. In one embodiment, the invention provides a food bar comprising a plurality of food pans and a plurality of fences configured for the food pans. In one embodiment, the invention provides a cafeteria comprising the food bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Inventor: Gordon Morris
  • Patent number: 10632560
    Abstract: A method for connecting a first element with a second element, includes coupling a third element with the second element, coupling the third element with the first element by thermal joining, wherein the first element and the second element are made of different materials essentially incapable of being thermally joined with a welding process, and wherein the third element is arranged in an opening of the second element in a form fitting and/or force fitting manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: Benteler Automobiltechnik GmbH
    Inventors: Roald Pedersen, Morten Stein Eng, Michael Wibbeke
  • Patent number: 10632558
    Abstract: A welding system includes a welding torch assembly including a body, a first feed roll, a second feed roll, and a lever. The first and second feed rolls are both configured to rotate with respect to the body, and the first and second feed rolls are disposed opposite from one another about a welding wire feed region. The lever is configured to pivot at a first end of the lever about a lever joint of the body, and the second feed roll is movable between a first position and a second position in response to movement of a second end of the lever. The second feed roll is adjacent to the first feed roll in the first position, the second feed roll is not adjacent to the first feed roll in the second position, and the lever is configured to maintain the feed roll in the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventor: Paul William Garvey
  • Patent number: 10631681
    Abstract: The system comprises: capsules (C) of at least a first type and a second type, having outwardly protruding transverse flanges (32), and respective different axial lengths (h1, h2, h3), and a brewing unit (6, 20, 7), in which there is defined a variable-volume brewing chamber (100) with a lateral delimiting part (81, 81a) and a slidable end delimiting part (54, 55), for receiving capsules (C) of said types introduced into the chamber (100). The capsules (C) of the aforementioned different types have flanges (32) of correspondingly different shapes, and the end delimiting part (54, 55) of the brewing chamber (100) carries stop members (70, 71) adapted to be coupled to the flanges (32) of said different types of capsules (C) when the latter are introduced into the brewing chamber (100), so as to allow correspondingly different relative movements of the end delimiting part (54, 55) relative to the lateral delimiting part (81, 81a) of said chamber (100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: LUIGI LAVAZZA S.p.A
    Inventors: Danilo Bolognese, Elvio Bonisoli, Luca Bugnano, Alberto Cabilli, Denis Rotta, Alfredo Vanni
  • Patent number: 10626556
    Abstract: An air guide box of a paper production installation has a front broad side and a rear broad side, each having a width b. An extension device is attachable to a broad side of the air box guide and has a width of at least 0.25*b and a length of at least 10 mm. A surface thereof is defined with at least one recess having a maximum clear opening of at least 0.1 mm for the through passage of at least one high-pressure water jet or at least one laser beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: PAPRIMA INDUSTRIES INC.
    Inventor: Roman Caspar
  • Patent number: 10624158
    Abstract: A radio frequency inductive heating apparatus includes a control device, a plurality of radio frequency devices, a plurality of transformers, a resonant tank circuit, a heating element, a first power supply, and a second power supply. The radio frequency devices are selectively activated by the control device, and each of the plurality of radio frequency devices is coupled to the primary winding of one of the plurality of transformers. The secondary winding of each of the plurality of transformers is coupled to the resonant tank circuit, and the heating element is coupled to the resonant tank circuit. The plurality of radio frequency devices includes a first radio frequency device and a second radio frequency device. The first radio frequency device is coupled to the first power supply, and the second radio frequency device is operatively coupled to the second power supply. A corresponding method is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: UltraFlex International Inc.
    Inventors: Philip Charles Schmitt, Mario Metodiev, Stanimir Bonev Bonev
  • Patent number: 10619310
    Abstract: A device for heating of railway tracks is provided. The device comprises a magnetic field generator fed with a low-frequency current. The magnetic field generator is formed by a device without a circuit returning a magnetic flux generated by the magnetic field generator. Hereby the magnetic flux can be returned via a heater. The heater is a material generating heat when placed in the magnetic field. The heater can be the railway tracks or a plate provided in conjunction with the railway tracks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: Stegia AB
    Inventor: Agne Fälldin
  • Patent number: 10618751
    Abstract: A modular loading and unloading system wherein modular units can be simply added to a base unit, or main unit, in a desired configuration that fulfill capacity and footprint needs of a manufacturer at any moment, for example when the manufacturer's business expands, thus considerably reducing the time and cost of modifying existing manufacturing systems, such as a laser-based parts cutting system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: Amada America, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Beransky, Mihai Cioclei, Alexey Volovik, Jonas Gutierrez, Fred Cortez, Karapet Kirishchyan
  • Patent number: 10597060
    Abstract: A steering wheel is provided with a heater element on the rim. The heater element is mounted at least on a part of a core of the rim, and a cladding layer formed from synthetic resin foam covers an outer circumference of the heater element. The heater element includes a cord-shaped heater and a base material. The base material includes an insulation sheet that is formed from synthetic resin foam and disposed to face towards the core and a permeable sheet that is formed from non-metal which allows permeation of the cladding layer. The insulation sheet and permeable sheet are bonded together and sandwich and support the cord-shaped heater there between.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Bunpei Morita
  • Patent number: 10589374
    Abstract: A welding auxiliary joining part in the shape of a stud having a head, a shank and a tip is disclosed. The welding auxiliary joining part is driven into a component made of a non- or poorly weldable material by means of a setting method. A welding head is created during driving-in due to mechanical deformation such that subsequently the component can be connected by welding via the welding auxiliary joining part to a further component made of a weldable material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: Böllhoff Verbindungstechnik GmbH
    Inventors: Torsten Draht, Sergej Hartwig-Biglau
  • Patent number: 10549374
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing welding-type power is disclosed. The apparatus includes an input circuit, a dc bus, an output circuit, and a control module. The input circuit receives power and provides an intermediate signal to the bus. The output circuit receives the dc bus and provides an ac welding-type output. The output circuit includes a half-bridge output inverter with at least first and second switches. The output inverter further includes an output control circuit. The output control circuit provides freewheeling paths that includes control switches, the output, antiparallel diodes. The control module has a four quadrant control module that provides control signals to the half bridge output inverter and provides modulating control signals to the first and second output control switches. The modulating signals cause the output control switches to be turned on and off multiple times to control a rate of change of output current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew J. Henry