Patents Examined by Keith Raymond
  • Patent number: 10408534
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for re-moving solidifiable gas from a process gas stream by direct contact with a cold liquid. The process gas stream includes at least gas that is frozen by the cold liquid while one or more other gases of the process gas stream remain in a gaseous state. The process gas stream may include water, and will have a different composition than the cold liquid. The contacting of the cold liquid with the process gas stream may be at a pressure that is less than 200 psia, and optionally less than 100 psia, 50 psia, or even 30 psia, and the solidified gas may be removed from the contacting assembly as a slurry with cold liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Robert D. Kaminsky, Moses Minta
  • Patent number: 10300763
    Abstract: A system for controlling an air conditioner for vehicles may include a sensor configured to sense surface temperature of a passenger sitting part of a rear seat of a vehicle, a reference temperature estimation device configured to estimate surface temperature of the passenger non-sitting part of the rear seat as a reference temperature, a passenger boarding recognition device configured to compare the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part sensed by the sensor, with the reference temperature estimated by the reference temperature estimation device and to judge that a passenger is seated on the rear seat when a difference between the surface temperature of the passenger sitting part and the reference temperature exceeds a critical value, and an air conditioner operation controller configured to differently control volume and temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner according to whether or not a passenger is seated on the rear seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company
    Inventors: Jae Hyun Park, Sang Hun Kim, Chang Won Lee, Joon Hyung Park
  • Patent number: 10295267
    Abstract: The invention relates to a heat exchanger comprising a block of first and second flow channels arranged adjacently to one another, said block being designed to be open at one inflow side and at one outflow side of the first flow channels for the inflow and outflow of a first fluid into or out of said first flow channels, and the second flow channels comprising openings for the inflow and outflow of a second fluid, said block consisting of a first element and a second element, each of these forming second flow channels and a side wall, and these elements being joined together such that the two side walls form block side walls which lie opposite one another, said second flow channels extending between these side walls and forming first flow channels between themselves and the side walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: MAHLE INTERNATIONAL GMBH
    Inventors: Jürgen Barwig, Steffen Ensminger, Spasoje Ignjatovic, Ulrich Maucher
  • Patent number: 10295226
    Abstract: A vehicle temperature control unit includes an annular temperature control body (12) of magnetocaloric material over and/or around which heat transfer medium flows and a magnetic field arrangement (24), rotatable about an axis of rotation (A), providing magnetic field heating areas (36) and cooling areas (38) between the heating areas (36). A plurality of heat transfer medium flow zones (40), following one another in the circumferential direction are provided with the temperature control body (12), include two heat transfer medium flow zones (40) adjacent to one another that are associated with a heat transfer medium circulation sector (S). Heat input fluid flows through and/or around at least one heat transfer medium flow zone (50) for feeding heat into this heat transfer medium flow zone (50), or/and heat discharge fluid flows through and/or around at least one heat transfer medium flow zone (52) for discharging heat from the flow zone (52).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: Eberspächer Climate Control Systems GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Michael Humburg
  • Patent number: 10288353
    Abstract: The invention relates to a heat exchanger, preferably for motor vehicles, comprising a heat exchanger body (11), a first fluid channel (18), which is flowed through by a first fluid (12), and a second fluid channel (36), which is flowed through by a second fluid (14), wherein one of the fluids, either the first fluid (12) or the second fluid (14) is warmer than the other of the fluids, the first fluid (12) or the second fluid (14), wherein, after entering a heat exchanging region, a heat transfer (30) from the warmer fluid (14) to the colder fluid (12) takes place in the heat exchanging region, wherein the first channel (18) and the second fluid channel (36) have in the heat exchanging region at least two shared co-current regions (25) and a shared counter-current region (27) arranged between the co-current regions (25), or have at least two shared counter-current regions (27) and a shared co-current region (25, 125, 225) arranged between the counter-current regions (27).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: WEBASTO SE
    Inventors: Uwe Strecker, Volodymyr Ilchenko, Klaus Appel
  • Patent number: 10279646
    Abstract: A vehicle seatbelt mounted, individualized climate control apparatus that provides substantially instantaneous heating or cooling of the occupant of a vehicle seat is presented. The apparatus has at least one housing with an inner chamber coupled to diffusers to deliver ambient, cooled or heated air from an air source through the chamber to the body of the occupant. Regardless of the cabin temperature, local conditioning of a seat occupant efficiently cools the front of the torso and dissipates the body's thermal plume or warms the torso in the alternative. The functional and safety aspects of conventional three-point seat belts remain unchanged and the apparatus can be used with retractable belts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Edward A. Arens, Hui Zhang
  • Patent number: 10273949
    Abstract: A method of operating a cryopump includes: cooling a cryopanel from an initial temperature higher than a cryogenic temperature for a vacuum pumping operation to the cryogenic temperature by using a refrigerator; and after the cooling, initiating the vacuum pumping operation, in which the cooling includes providing a cooling relief effect selectively to a high-temperature stage of the refrigerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Kakeru Takahashi
  • Patent number: 10267560
    Abstract: The power required to recover C3+ hydrocarbons from crude carbon dioxide comprising C1+ hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulfide may be reduced by distilling the crude carbon dioxide to produce carbon dioxide-enriched overhead vapor and C3+ hydrocarbon-enriched bottoms liquid such that the hydrogen sulfide is rejected with the overhead vapor. Power consumption reductions may be achieved by incorporating a heat pump cycle using carbon dioxide vapor as working fluid to provide at least a part of the refrigeration duty and using a side reboiler to reduce the bottom reboiler duty. Where the bottoms liquid is further processed to produce “lighter” and “heavier” hydrocarbon fractions, the process enables optimization of upgrading crude oil on the basis of API gravity, Reid Vapor pressure and/or viscosity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Higginbotham, Liu Yang, John Eugene Palamara, Vincent White
  • Patent number: 10267527
    Abstract: Provided is an outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, including a heat exchanger having heat exchanger cores stacked in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction of the outdoor unit. Each of the heat exchanger cores includes: a plurality of fins arranged in parallel to each other at intervals therebetween; and heat transfer tubes provided to extend through the fins, through which refrigerant is caused to flow. Each of the fins of the heat exchanger includes a deformable portion configured to be deformable by impacts applied to the deformable portion, which is formed at a position where the fins of the upper one of the heat exchanger cores from among the vertically-adjacent heat exchanger cores comes into contact with the fins of the lower one of the heat exchanger cores from among the vertically-adjacent heat exchanger cores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yutaka Aoyama, Yudai Morikawa
  • Patent number: 10267457
    Abstract: An apparatus, system and method for capture, utilization and sendout of latent heat in boil off gas (“BOG”) onboard a cryogenic storage vessel is described. A liquefied gas vessel comprises a cryogenic cargo tank onboard a liquefied gas vessel, the cargo tank comprising a liquefied gas and a BOG, a latent heat exchanger fluidly coupled to a stream of the liquefied gas and a stream of the BOG, wherein the latent heat exchanger transfers a heat between the BOG stream and the liquefied gas stream to produce a condensed BOG, means for combining the condensed BOG and the liquefied gas stream to obtain a combined stream, the means for combining the condensed BOG and the liquefied gas stream fluidly coupled to the latent heat exchanger, and a liquefied gas regasifier onboard the vessel and fluidly coupled to the combined stream, wherein the liquefied gas regasifier regasifies the combined stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Excelerate Energy Limited Partnership
    Inventors: Kenneth D. Nelson, Graeme David Trotter, Alan B. Nierenberg, Kenneth Hugh McGeachie
  • Patent number: 10267572
    Abstract: A flat tube, in particular for a heat exchanger, is provided that has an areal material strip with two mutually opposite first and second side walls which are connected to one another via third and fourth side walls, wherein the third side wall is formed by two sections of the material strip that are laid one against the other in double-layer form, wherein an internal fin is arranged in the interior of the flat tube, which fin, at the end sides, bears against the third side wall and against the fourth side wall, and which fin, between the third side wall and the fourth side wall, is supported alternately against the first side wall and against the second side wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: MAHLE International GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph Kaestle, Steffen Marx
  • Patent number: 10253554
    Abstract: For the purpose of improving a usability, a home appliance door, in particular a home chiller appliance door, is proposed: The home appliance door has an inner wall section; an outer wall section; a valve connecting the inner wall section and the outer wall section; and a cover element which is separate from and fixed to the valve and at least partly covers the inner wall section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Muharrem Uemit Caglin, Semih Cakil, Tanzer Yildizgoecer
  • Patent number: 10247490
    Abstract: A heat exchanger can include a core, a first tank, and a set of guide members. The core can include a first end member, a second end member, and a plurality of tubes that can extend longitudinally between the first and second end members. The first tank can be fixedly coupled to the first end member. The first tank and first end member can define a first chamber that can be in fluid communication with a first port of the first tank and a first end of the tubes. The set of guide members can be coupled to the first end member. The set of guide members can cooperate to define a plurality of first funnels. A narrow end of each first funnel can be open to an individual one of the tubes. A wide end of each first funnel can be open to the first chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO International America, Inc.
    Inventors: Dwayne Taylor, Sergio Pujols, Mylissa Tinsley
  • Patent number: 10240850
    Abstract: A supplemental refrigeration heat sink includes a plurality of sealed tubes filled with a compound and arranged so as to extend across the top inside a refrigerated box. The compound is preferably a phase change compound with a melting point proximate to and higher than the average return air temperature. During the cooling phase of the box, the supplemental heat sink tubes are cooled, with the phase change material freezing or nearly freezing. During the heating phase, cooling fans can be secured and the phase change material readily absorbs heat from the box, slowing the temperature rise in the box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Inventor: Joseph P. Stine
  • Patent number: 10234147
    Abstract: It is an object to obtain an air conditioner capable of suppressing rise of compressor discharge temperature and individually controlling cooling capacity of a plurality of respective indoor units. For this purpose, the air conditioner is a multi-room air conditioner, in which a refrigeration cycle is formed by connecting an outdoor unit 100 having an outdoor heat exchanger to the plurality of indoor units 200 and 300 having indoor heat exchangers 201 and 301 and indoor expansion mechanisms 203 and 303 using a liquid pipe 121 and a gas pipe 122. Further, as refrigerant circulating through the refrigeration cycle, R32 or mixed refrigerant containing 70 mass % or higher percent of R32 is used. Further, a temperature difference detection device to detect an air temperature difference between inlet-side air and outlet-side air in the respective indoor heat exchangers of the respective indoor units is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Hitachi-Johnson Controls Air Conditioning, Inc.
    Inventors: Atsuhiko Yokozeki, Susumu Nakayama, Hiroaki Tsuboe
  • Patent number: 10234175
    Abstract: A turbo refrigerator is provided with: a turbo compressor having a motor; an oil cooling unit which cools lubricating oil which is supplied to at least a portion of the turbo compressor; a refrigerant introduction part which introduces some of the refrigerant which circulates between an evaporator and a condenser into a motor accommodation space and the oil cooling unit; and a cooling unit which cools the refrigerant which is introduced into the motor accommodation space and the oil cooling unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kentarou Oda, Seiichiro Yoshinaga, Nobuyoshi Sakuma
  • Patent number: 10234183
    Abstract: A compressing device of the present invention comprises a compressor, a heat exchanger, an expander, a power recovery unit, a condenser, a pump, a bypass flow passage for bypassing the expander, and a bypass valve. When a bypass condition for allowing a working medium to circulate through the bypass flow passage is satisfied, the bypass valve is caused to be opened, thereby allowing the working medium to circulate between the heat exchanger and the condenser through the bypass flow passage. As a result, a compressed gas discharged from the compressor is cooled by the working medium in the heat exchanger. This configuration makes it possible to cool the compressed gas by the working medium in the heat exchanger regardless of operation conditions of the expander.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichiro Hashimoto, Kazumasa Nishimura, Shigeto Adachi, Yutaka Narukawa, Haruyuki Matsuda, Tetsuya Kakiuchi, Noboru Tsuboi, Kazunori Fukuhara
  • Patent number: 10222120
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for generating two purified partial air streams under different pressures. A total air stream (1) is compressed to a first total air pressure. The compressed total air stream (5) is cooled with cooling water under the first total air pressure by way of heat exchange (4, 6). The heat exchange with cooling water for cooling the total air stream (5) is carried out as a direct heat exchange in a first direct contact cooler (6), at least in part. The cooled total air stream (9) is divided into a first partial air stream (10) and a second partial air stream (11). The first partial air stream (10) is purified in a first purification device (18) under the first total air pressure, generating the first purified partial air stream (19). The second partial air stream (11) is re-compressed to a higher pressure (12), which is higher than the first total air pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: LINDE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Alexander Alekseev, Dimitri Goloubev
  • Patent number: 10222074
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a plastic cover, preferably made of CPVC plastic, for traditional baseboard heaters. The plastic cover contains a front piece with bulges and a connected perforated top piece with back flanges. The plastic cover is supported by preferably two support brackets which are attached to the wall. The support brackets have top and bottom slots in the back and protruding arms which fit into the bulges of the front piece. The slots of the support brackets hold top and bottom angled slats that direct hot air into a room. The plastic cover is easily attached to the support brackets as the bulges snap into place over the protruding arms of the support bracket and the back flanges of the top cover piece locks onto the top slat held in place by the supporting brackets. Side pieces prevent hot air from escaping and might further include straight or corner connectors to longitudinally extend the plastic cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Amarino LLC
    Inventors: Angelo Marino, Gregory Meller
  • Patent number: 10215485
    Abstract: In a method and apparatus for treating a hydrocarbon stream having methane, at least a part of the hydrocarbon stream and a main refrigerant stream are cooled by indirect heat exchanging against a pre-cooling refrigerant. The pre-cooled hydrocarbon stream is passed to a first inlet of an extraction column, and an effluent stream is discharged from the extraction column. The effluent stream and at least a part of the pre-cooled main refrigerant stream are passed to a further heat exchanger, where they are both cooled thereby providing a cooled methane-enriched hydrocarbon stream and at least one cooled main refrigerant stream. The passing of the effluent stream to the further heat exchanger and the passing of the pre-cooled hydrocarbon stream to the first inlet of the extraction column includes indirectly heat exchanging the effluent stream against the pre-cooled hydrocarbon stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: SHELL OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Francois Chantant, Wouter Jan Meiring