Patents Examined by John Donofrio
  • Patent number: 4571388
    Abstract: Reticulocytes are stained with thioflavin T for detection in a flow cytometer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1983
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1986
    Assignee: Becton Dickinson and Company
    Inventors: James P. O'Connell, Burton H. Sage, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4552841
    Abstract: N-Acetyl-.beta.-D-glucosaminides produced from 1-chloro-1-deoxy-2,3,4,6-tetraacetyl-.alpha.-D-glucosamine and indicators for titration as the aglycons useful as substrates in kits for diagnostic aid, with which N-acetyl-.beta.-D-glucosaminidase activity can be determined colorimetrically in high sensitivity, precisely, and quickly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1983
    Date of Patent: November 12, 1985
    Assignee: Shionogi & Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasunao Ogawa, Akira Noto, Sachio Mori, Mitsuru Yoshioka
  • Patent number: 4549964
    Abstract: A device for cleaning obstructions from the reject end of a centrifugal separator without interrupting normal opertion. Modern small-sized separators, in particular, are liable to become blocked, and the usual method of removing the blockage is to use a water jet or pressurized air which is led to the obstructed reject end by various methods. The disadvantage associated with these methods is that the impurities removed by the jet partially contaminate the regular flow. This invention will help to avoid this because cleaning is effected by means of a device having a chamber into which the flow containing the rejected material is directed when the plug of the separator is opened. The chamber is fitted with a discharge orifice. In this way, the reversed flow removes the obstruction in the reject orifice, thus preventing it from contaminating the accept mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1985
    Assignee: Enso-Gutzeit Oy
    Inventor: Pentti Vikio
  • Patent number: 4547258
    Abstract: Liquid silicon is deposited on a high surface area column of silicon nitride particles, by hydrogen decomposition of trichlorosilane. This is accomplished in an environment heated to a temperature in excess of the melting point of silicon. After deposition, the liquid silicon flows by gravity to a collection point. Preferably a liquid transfer system moves the silicon directly to a crystal pulling operation. The liquid transfer to immediate pulling conserves energy and allows for continual withdrawal of melt from the reactor. The immediate pulling provides additional purification and the crystal thus pulled is preferably used as feedstock for a final crystal pulling operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1982
    Date of Patent: October 15, 1985
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: David E. Witter, Mohendra S. Bawa
  • Patent number: 4545853
    Abstract: A film evaporator is made up of a central shaft with conical surface elements fixed on it, each of which has a conically convex side and a conically concave side, said conical surface elements walling off an evaporation space. There is a means for running a product feed to limits of inner openings in the rotating conical surface elements so that same may be spread out from said limits in the form of a film and after heating by said heat vehicle may be run off out of the evaporator as a concentrate. The outer faces of the surface elements are heated by a heat vehicle. To make certain that the film of product is kept unbroken on its way through the apparatus there are tubelets with a small diameter running out radially from the outer limits of the surface elements. At their inner limits the tubelets each have an inner diameter such that the sum of the inner circumferences of all the tubelets on a given surface element is equal to the circumference of the surface element in question at its outer limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1984
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1985
    Inventor: Vaclav Feres
  • Patent number: 4544639
    Abstract: The instant invention is directed to a process for determining the amount of organic phosphonate present in an aqueous solution, comprising the steps of:(a) adding 1000 to 20,000 ppm of a strong oxidizing agent and 8 ppb to 5000 ppm silver ion to the aqueous solution;(b) allowing the organic phosphonate present in said solution to react to form orthophosphate;(c) precipitating any excess silver in said solution by the addition of 1000 to 50,000 ppm of a reducing agent or at least an equimolar amount of a halide, based on the silver ion added in Step (a), and removing any precipitate formed;(d) adding to said solution 5 to 30 percent, by volume, of an acid solution containing 500 to 2000 ppm of ions selected from the group consisting of molybdate ion and vanadate ion, and if a halide was used in Step (c), adding 1000 to 50,000 ppm of a reducing agent;(e) measuring the absorbance of said solution at 625 to 880 nanometers and determining the orthophosphate concentration from a calibration curve of orthophosphate
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1985
    Assignee: Calgon Corporation
    Inventor: Robert J. Faust
  • Patent number: 4537652
    Abstract: A process for preparing a single crystal comprising drawing up a single crystal by the Czochralski process and cooling it at a temperature not lower than 600.degree. C. at a reduced pressure or in vacuo, by which a single crystal having a dislocation density of 1.5.times.10.sup.4 cm.sup.2 or less is prepared.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1984
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1985
    Assignees: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Public Corp.
    Inventors: Akihisa Kawasaki, Kohji Tada, Toshihiro Kotani, Shintaro Miyazawa
  • Patent number: 4537314
    Abstract: A vortex cleaner for separating fibre-liquid-suspensions, and in particular paper-pulp suspensions, into fractions, comprises an elongate vortex chamber (1) of circular cross-section, which over a part (3) of its length tapers towards its one end. At the wider end of the chamber there is provided a substantially tangentially directed inlet (4) for the suspension to be treated, and an axially directed outlet (6) for a lighter fraction of the treated suspension. At the narrower end of the chamber there is provided a second, axially directed outlet (7) for a heavier fraction of the treated suspension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1985
    Inventor: Karl A. Skardal
  • Patent number: 4536290
    Abstract: A water purification device has first and second like hollow elongated members adapted for detachable engagement with each other, and when engaged defining an elongated housing having a cylindrically shaped central section and opposite ends with small openings. A cylindrically shaped filter is disposed removably in said central section. The filter ends are disposed transversely to an axial bore in the filter. A first mechanism detachably securable to a water faucet pivotably secures one housing end to the faucet and conducts water from the port into the housing. A thin flat annularly shaped disposable fiber prefilter removably overlies the end of the filter adjacent said one housing end. A second mechanism connected between said first mechanism and the bore has a first position at which the conducted water flows through the device unfiltered and has a second position at which the water is filtered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1984
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1985
    Inventor: Robert Bonazzo
  • Patent number: 4533360
    Abstract: Method of extracting magnesium sulphate from mixtures constituted essentially of magnesium sulphate heptahydrate and sodium chloride by means of heat treatment, grinding and dry grading.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1985
    Assignee: Ing. Luigi Conti Vecchi S.p.A.
    Inventors: Giorgio Cozza, Luigi Piccolo
  • Patent number: 4533472
    Abstract: A pressure filter in which the filter element is constituted by a tubular fabric which can be turned inside-out like a stocking. A tubular membrane closed at opposite ends, and inflatable and resiliently deformable radially, is supported coaxially within the filter element. By means of this membrane it is possible to squeeze fully the layer of solid material held on the filter after filtration of a turbid liquid or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1985
    Assignee: Comber S.p.A. Costruzioni Meccaniche Bergamasche
    Inventors: Vittorio Verri, Renato Christiani
  • Patent number: 4532110
    Abstract: A protected trigger usable in initiating crystallization of a supercooled salt solution comprises a thin metallic strip containing multiple openings. The strip is protected as by a peripheral frame and/or by a metallic coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1983
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1985
    Assignees: Imants P. Kapralis, Harry Krukle, William W. Haefliger
    Inventors: Imants P. Kapralis, Harry Krukle
  • Patent number: 4530691
    Abstract: There is disclosed herein a liquid processing apparatus for use in centrifugal apheresis in which whole blood is received from a donor, separated into therapeutic components and selectively collected. The apparatus includes a processing chamber support system for cooperating in controlling the volume of a variable-volume blood processing chamber during apheresis. The support system is constructed to spin about a spin axis and is substantially symmetric about said axis.The elements of the support system include a chamber cover for receiving a variable-volume chamber. A mandrel is provided for engaging the variable-volume chamber and applying a conforming force to the chamber by urging the chamber toward the cover and thereby causing the chamber to conform to the shape of the cover. Thus the chamber is positioned between the cover and mandrel during apheresis, and the cover and mandrel cooperate in controlling the volume and shape of the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1983
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1985
    Assignee: Baxter Travenol Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard I. Brown
  • Patent number: 4529513
    Abstract: A waste digestion unit which comprises a container, a waste inlet into the container, an outlet from the container for digested waste, a gas bleed outlet from the container and a stirrer for stirring the contents of the container. The inlet, waste outlet, bleed outlet and stirrer are arranged so that the container can be mounted in position and partially filled with waste to a level defined by the waste outlet to provide a gas space above the waste. In this position of the container the bleed outlet is above the waste level and, the inlet discharges into the container below the waste level. The stirrer is capable of stirring the waste at said waste level and below said waste level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1983
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1985
    Assignee: Deico Mac International, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel McLennan
  • Patent number: 4528029
    Abstract: Self-reducing agglomerates of an iron oxide-containing material, such as an iron ore concentrate, having a compressive strength of at least about 100 lbs. are produced by preparing a moistened mixture of the ore concentrate, a finely-divided natural pyrolyzed carbonaceous material having a volatile matter (on dry basis) content of about 20 weight % or less in an amount at least sufficient to reduce all the iron oxide to metallic iron, about 1 to about 30 weight % of a bonding agent, such as burned or hydrated lime, and 0 up to about 3 weight % of a siliceous material (as SiO.sub.2), such as silica; forming green agglomerates from this mixture; and hydrothermally hardening the green agglomerates by contacting them with steam under pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1983
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1985
    Assignee: Board of Control of Michigan Technological University
    Inventor: Mehmet A. Goksel
  • Patent number: 4525280
    Abstract: Rapid precipitation of the particulate solids e.g. ash, slag, char and mixtures thereof in dilute dispersions of quench cooling and/or scrubbing water as produced in the partial oxidation process for ash-containing solid carbonaceous fuels is effected by mixing with said dispersion an anionic sulfonate surfactant and a water soluble divalent metal salt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 1983
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1985
    Assignee: Texaco Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen R. Vasconcellos, Farrokh Yaghmaie, Paul E. Howe
  • Patent number: 4519990
    Abstract: A spray dryer apparatus for contacting a hot gas stream containing gaseous impurities with an aqueous medium containing an absorbent for the impurities to produce a gas stream of reduced impurity content and dried powder products. The apparatus includes a chamber formed symmetrically about a vertical axis and an atomizer means located in an upper portion of the chamber for introducing a finely dispersed spray of the aqueous medium, a conduit for delivering the hot gas stream to the chamber and a gas injection means for receiving a major portion of the hot gas stream from the conduit and introducing it circumferentially about the atomizer means. The gas injection means imparts both axial and angular velocity components to the major portion of the hot gas stream whereby the hot gas stream swirls downwardly through the chamber.The apparatus provides a bypass means for withdrawing a minor portion (about 5 to 25 vol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1985
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Paul M. Bevilaqua, Stanley J. Stachura
  • Patent number: 4515696
    Abstract: A process for treatment of an acidic solution containing ferric iron and at least one non-ferrous metal, prior to removal of ferric iron therefrom, is characterized by adding a specified amount of at least one neutralizing agent, and separating off from the solution any residue or undissolved neutralizing agent remaining after neutralization, thereby producing a solution possessing an acid consuming capacity termed "negative acidity", and still containing substantially all the dissolved ferric iron in solution, and from which ferric iron can subsequently be removed with the generation of less acid compared to that generated from solutions partially neutralized according to the prior art.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1985
    Assignee: Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited
    Inventors: Ian G. Matthew, Robert V. Pammenter, Mervyn G. Kershaw
  • Patent number: 4512954
    Abstract: In a crystal growing apparatus, an electrode is arranged above a crystal raw material melt at a distance therefrom. Changes in the resistance of the atmosphere between the electrode and the melt are detected so as to detect the surface level of the melt. The crystal pulling speed or power supply for heating the melt is controlled in accordance with the detection result, thereby performing dimension control of the crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1983
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1985
    Assignee: Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshiro Matsui
  • Patent number: 4512884
    Abstract: A fuel treatment device for use in fuel system of an internal combustion engine comprises a casing adapted to be secured, in use, to a mounting which defines a fuel inlet and an outlet. A fuel treatment element is located in the casing and a wall of the casing is displaceable by hand to achieve a pumping action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1982
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1985
    Assignee: Lucas Industries, plc
    Inventor: William T. Wheatley