Patents Examined by Jonathan Bradford
  • Patent number: 12270582
    Abstract: A bulbless thermostatic expansion valve has enhanced joining of the power element to the valve body. The valve body includes an upper extension that extends from a main body portion, an end of the upper extension being crimped into a lip relative to an opposing surface of the main body portion thereby defining a recess that receives a portion of the housing of the power element to the join the power element to the valve body. The lip may be formed by roll forming the end of upper extension of the valve body. The housing of the power element may be a multipart housing including an upper housing and a lower housing, with a diaphragm being secured between the upper housing and the lower housing, and an end of the lower housing is the portion of the housing of the power element that is received within the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Parker-Hannifin Corporation
    Inventors: Eric R. Coyle, Raghujit Prasad Kunapuli
  • Patent number: 12270564
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, an air conditioner includes an outdoor unit including a control unit which controls an operation of a compressor, an expansion valve kit, at least one air-handling unit, and a controller. The control unit or the controller adjusts, when a parameter value indicating a change in temperature of air blown out of an indoor fan or a parameter value indicating a change in temperature of air sucked by the indoor fan is not within a range defined by a first threshold and a second threshold smaller than the first threshold, each of an opening degree of an indoor expansion valve and a change period of the opening degree or each of an operation frequency of the compressor and a change period of the operation frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Carrier Japan Corporation
    Inventors: Yuji Inada, Ken Miura
  • Patent number: 12264826
    Abstract: An air conditioner includes an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. The outdoor unit includes a housing, a compressor, a first damping member, and a second damping member. The compressor is provided with a pipe. The first damping member and the second damping member each are disposed on the pipe. The second damping member is located at a preset position of the pipe. The first damping member and the second damping member are configured to change a natural resonant frequency of the pipe to a target frequency. The second damping member includes a housing assembly and a clamping groove. The clamping groove is disposed on a side of the cavity proximate to the pipe, so that a center of gravity of the second damping member deviates from a center of gravity of a portion of the pipe connected with the damping groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignee: QINGDAO HISENSE HITACHI AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEMS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Wendong Gao, Qingjie Wang, Xiaonan Gai
  • Patent number: 12263658
    Abstract: A system and method to be used to close an opening. In particular, the system may include a kit that seals the opening around a window air conditioning unit which is mounted in a window. The system includes a left side panel which may be placed in a first opening between a side of the air conditioner and a left side jamb of the window. The system further includes a right side panel which may be placed in a second opening between a right side of the air conditioner and a right side jamb of the window. The system also has a top panel which may be placed in the opening between the left side jamb and the right side jamb on the top of the unit. The top panel also includes a first side flap, a second side flap, and a central flap which extend down and over an upper section of the side panels and seal the opening around the unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Inventor: Shraga Weiss
  • Patent number: 12259182
    Abstract: A refrigerator appliance and a method of operating a refrigerator appliance to detect produce ripening. The refrigerator includes a camera assembly in a chilled chamber to obtain an image of a produce item and analyze the image for a ripeness value. Comparing the ripeness value of produce item to a predetermined value may be used to determine if the produce item has reached an optimal ripeness condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Reagan Murphy, Michael Goodman Schroeder
  • Patent number: 12257878
    Abstract: An injection-type heat exchange module includes an outer tank connected to an external condenser or an indoor condenser and a lower chamber connected to an evaporator and a compressor, an inner tank disposed so as to exchange heat with a refrigerant in the outer tank and connected to the compressor, the evaporator, or a lower portion of the outer tank, a first valve disposed at an upper end of the inner tank, a second valve rotatably coupled to a lower end of the inner tank, and an actuator connected to the first valve and the second valve to simultaneously rotate the same. The first and second valves are configured to permit flow of, expand, or block the flow of the refrigerant by rotation thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jong Won Kim, Sang Shin Lee
  • Patent number: 12259170
    Abstract: A refrigerator includes an ice crushing device and a driving device. The ice crushing device includes a stirrer and a transmission assembly. The stirrer includes a rotary shaft. The transmission assembly includes a first cylindrical gear, a first intermediate shaft, a second cylindrical gear, a second intermediate shaft, a third cylindrical gear, a first bevel gear and a second bevel gear. Any one of the first cylindrical gear, the second cylindrical gear, the third cylindrical gear, and the first bevel gear is defined as a driving gear. The driving gear is connected to the driving device and is configured as an incomplete gear. The driving gear is configured to rotate due to driving of the driving device, so as to drive the rotary shaft of the stirrer to rotate intermittently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: HISENSE RONSHEN (GUANGDONG) REFRIGERATOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zhipeng Li, Yong Zeng, Zehong Xu
  • Patent number: 12247773
    Abstract: A system includes a dynamic compressor and a controller having a processor and a memory. The compressor includes a first compressor stage having a first variable inlet guide vane (VIGV) and a second compressor stage having a second VIGV. The memory stores instructions that program the processor to operate the compressor at a current speed, a first position of the first VIGV, and a second position of the second VIGV to compress the working fluid, and to determine if a condition is satisfied. If the condition is not satisfied, the processor is programmed to continue to operate the compressor at the current speed, the first position of the first VIGV, and the second position of the second VIGV. If the condition is satisfied, the processor is programmed to change the second position of the second VIGV to a third position and maintain the first position of the first VIGV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: Copeland LP
    Inventors: Michael M. Perevozchikov, Matthew J. Swallow, Zheji Liu
  • Patent number: 12247770
    Abstract: A container has a first end portion hosting a first fitting and a second end portion hosting a second fitting. The container contains a first fluid between the first end portion and the second end portion. The first fitting directly and detachably connects to a service port of a system that is running, where the system is an air conditioning system or a refrigeration system, and where the system is residential or commercial. The second fitting detachably connects to a source of a second fluid, where the first fluid is input into the service port of the system that is running from the first fitting directly and detachably connected to the service port of the system that is running when urged via the second fluid entering the container from the source via the second fitting while the system is running.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: Alltemp Products Company Limited
    Inventors: Paul Clarence Appler, Jesse Richard Homenuik, Norma Hill
  • Patent number: 12241653
    Abstract: A dehumidifier without a condensate tank is provided. The dehumidifier may include a housing, one or more outlets, and no condensate tank. The dehumidifier may be positioned directly above a floor drain and/or a drain within a utility sink during operation. The dehumidifier may include a pump. The dehumidifier may include one or more sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zachary Chapin, Adam Schultz, David Leezer
  • Patent number: 12241679
    Abstract: A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet defining a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber and a plurality of camera assemblies mounted to the cabinet at a front portion of the fresh food chamber. The refrigerator appliance also includes a controller that is configured to perform a pixel statistical analysis of one or more video clips from the plurality of camera assemblies. The controller is configured to adjust one or both a brightness setting in the fresh food chamber of the refrigerator appliance and an exposure setting of the plurality of camera assemblies in response to the pixel statistical analysis of one or more video clips from the plurality of camera assemblies. The pixel statistical analysis of one or more video clips from the plurality of camera assemblies is triggered by an interaction with the refrigerator appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Goodman Schroeder
  • Patent number: 12241681
    Abstract: A system for and method of monitoring cooling system parameters where the system identifies characteristic behaviors of the cooling system and establishes limits that identify when a parameter or parameters indicate that the cooling system is experiencing a failure or is predicted to experience a failure in the future. The system includes a processor, memory and instruction that when executed by the processor, perform steps to detect actual failures or predict future failures of the cooling system being monitored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: OneEvent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brett Bodenburg, Kurt Joseph Wedig, Daniel Ralph Parent
  • Patent number: 12235007
    Abstract: Disclosed is a dehumidifier with compensation and controlling method thereof. The dehumidifier with compensation includes an environment-adjusting unit, a temperature-detecting unit, a humidity-detecting unit, a temperature-compensation unit and a control unit. The temperature-compensation unit is used to derive a plurality of compensated temperature values of the indoor space by calculating or checking a temperature reference table. The control unit is used to adjust a power of the environment-adjusting unit according to the plurality of compensated temperature values to achieve the target-moisture value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: NATIONAL TAIWAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Wei-Jen Chen, Tun-Ping Teng
  • Patent number: 12235030
    Abstract: A compressor return gas dryness detection method includes: obtaining an exhaust gas pressure, a return gas pressure, a working frequency, an exhaust gas temperature, and a return gas temperature of a compressor; determining a return gas saturation temperature corresponding to the return gas pressure; calculating a temperature difference value based on the return gas temperature and the return gas saturation temperature; and in accordance with a determination that the temperature difference value is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, calculating a return gas dryness of the compressor based on the exhaust gas pressure, the return gas pressure, the working frequency, and the exhaust gas temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignees: GD MIDEA HEATING & VENTILATING EQUIPMENT CO., LTD., MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yusheng Zhang, Kebi Chen, Yunxiao Ding
  • Patent number: 12235028
    Abstract: A refrigerant leakage determination system includes a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator. The system performs a first determination, and a second determination. The first determination determines that refrigerant has leaked from the refrigerant circuit, by using a first state amount of refrigerant as a determination index, the first state amount including at least one of an outlet temperature of the condenser, a suction temperature of the compressor, and a discharge temperature of the compressor. The second determination determines that refrigerant has leaked from the refrigerant circuit, based on information different from the first state amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Manabu Yoshimi
  • Patent number: 12222145
    Abstract: A method controls a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a compressor that includes a piston and uses refrigerant as lubricant for the piston, and the method includes determining an end time point of a refrigerant recovery operation based on a driving input value of the compressor to thereby reducer abrasion of the piston and power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Sangil Lee, Jinseok Hu, Buhwan Ahn, Seonggu Shin
  • Patent number: 12214697
    Abstract: A battery temperature adjustment system includes: a battery; a cooling device to which electric power from an external power source and electric power from the battery are selectively supplied and configured to cool the battery; and a control device configured to control the cooling device to adjust a state of charge of the battery and a battery temperature. The control device stores a deterioration sensitivity map in which a deterioration sensitivity is preset according to the state of charge and the battery temperature, or is configured to calculate a deterioration sensitivity according to the state of charge and the battery temperature, and when a vehicle is connected to the external power source, the control device selects either the electric power from the battery or the electric power from the external power source based on the deterioration sensitivity to operate the cooling device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Toru Ogaki
  • Patent number: 12209779
    Abstract: A refrigeration system includes an evaporator configured to receive a flow of refrigerant and transfer heat into the refrigerant within the evaporator to provide cooling for a temperature-controlled space, an expansion valve operable to modulate the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator, a liquid level sensor configured to measure a level of liquid accumulated within a component of the refrigeration system, and a controller configured to operate the expansion valve to increase the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator or decrease the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator based on the level of liquid measured by the liquid level sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2024
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Hill Phoenix, Inc.
    Inventors: Senthilkumar Kandappa Goundar Shanmugam, Manu Mital
  • Patent number: 12209763
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods that provide a novel thermostat system, which involves a hybrid line volt two-way thermostat configured with triode for alternating current (TRIAC) and relay components. The configuration and operational benefits of each thermostat type can be leveraged by the disclosed hybrid thermostat, which can provide a silent, efficiently operated thermostat system. Such system provides a resource efficient heating, ventilation and cooling control system that can reduce power consumption and thereby reduce costs, while maintaining a streamlined, operationally accurate framework for monitoring and managing the climate of a location (e.g., building, home, office, and the like).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Ademco, Inc.
    Inventor: Raul Antonio Rascon
  • Patent number: 12209783
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a heat pump water heater can include a heat pump water heater system having an evaporator, a condenser, a vapor injection line, a compressor, and a multi-fluid heat exchanger. The vapor injection line can include an expansion valve to transition refrigerant received from the condenser at a first pressure to a second pressure. The compressor can be configured to circulate refrigerant through the condenser, the multi-fluid heat exchanger, the vapor injection line, and the evaporator. The multi-fluid heat exchanger can be configured to receive refrigerant at a first pressure from the condenser, refrigerant at a second pressure from the vapor injection line, and water. The multi-fluid heat exchanger can further facilitate heat transfer between the refrigerants at the first and second pressures and the water to preheat the water before the water is passed through the condenser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Rheem Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Yang Zou, Sivakumar Gopalnarayanan, Atilhan Manay, Vishwanath Reddy Ardha