Patents Examined by Kirstin U Oswald
  • Patent number: 11142043
    Abstract: An air-conditioning case of a vehicular air-conditioning unit has a cooler accommodation portion defining a cooler accommodation space in which a cooler is accommodated, and a downstream portion defining a downstream space. The cooler accommodation portion includes an accommodation bottom portion defining a bottom portion space. The accommodation bottom portion includes a drainage hole through which condensed water is drained, and the drainage hole is located closer to one end of the accommodation bottom portion than to another end in a longitudinal direction of a lower end of the cooler. A bottom surface of the accommodation bottom portion is inclined with respect to a horizontal line. The air-conditioning case includes a bottom portion rib. The bottom portion rib includes a communication slit. The communication slit is located closer to the one end than to the other end in the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Taisuke Sakaguchi
  • Patent number: 11137186
    Abstract: An ice making device is provided and includes: an ice tray, having water storage recessed parts; a drive unit, structured to make the ice tray perform a reversing operation and a twisting operation interlocked with the reversing operation; and a frame, holding the drive unit. The drive unit is attached to the frame by being relatively moved with respect to the frame in an attaching direction intersecting the axial direction. The frame includes: a first positioning part, positioning the drive unit in the attaching direction; and a second positioning part, positioning the drive unit in the axial direction. The second positioning part includes: a restriction part, restricting a movement to the other side in the axial direction of the drive unit; and an abutting part, abutting with the drive unit from one side in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shunji Saito
  • Patent number: 11130896
    Abstract: A heat-storage material that provides a sufficiently large amount of thermal energy as a latent-heat storage material including a semiclathrate hydrate and that improves hysteresis between the solidifying temperature and the melting starting temperature and a refrigerator and a cooling container that include the heat-storage material are provided. The heat-storage material that changes phase at a predetermined temperature includes water, a main agent including a quaternary ammonium salt that forms a semiclathrate hydrate, a pH adjuster that maintains alkaline properties, and a nucleating agent that generates a cation that exhibits positive hydration. In such an aqueous solution maintained to be alkaline, the nucleating agent becomes a nucleus in solidification, and thus, the temperature difference between the solidifying temperature and the melting temperature can be decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Satoru Motonami, Yuka Utsumi, Masao Urayama, Hisanori Bessho, Daiji Sawada, Takashi Yamashita
  • Patent number: 11125231
    Abstract: A compressor includes a casing and a metallic coating. The casing includes a low-pressure casing part covering a low-pressure space and a high-pressure casing part covering a high-pressure space. The metallic coating is formed at least on a part of an outer surface of the casing. The metallic coating includes a low-pressure part coating formed in the low-pressure casing part, a high-pressure part coating formed in the high-pressure casing part, and a welded part coating formed in a welded part. At least either the average thickness of the low-pressure part coating or the average thickness of the welded part coating is greater than the average thickness of the high-pressure part coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoki Shimozono, Mikio Kajiwara, Tomomi Yokoyama, Kouji Kojima, Tsuyoshi Fukunaga, Mahoba Ogawa, Yasuhiro Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11118825
    Abstract: an ice making system includes a tank that stores a medium to be cooled, an ice making machine that cools the medium and makes ice, a pump that circulates the medium between the tank and the ice making machine, a de-icing mechanism that heats the medium and melts the ice in the ice making machine, and a control device that controls operations of the ice making machine, the pump, and the de-icing mechanism. The ice making machine includes a cooling chamber that cools the medium, an inflow port through which the medium flows into the cooling chamber, and a discharge port through which the medium is discharged from the cooling chamber. The control device activates the de-icing mechanism when a pressure difference between a pressure of the medium at the inflow port and a pressure of the medium at the discharge port exceeds a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Azuma Kondou, Shouhei Yasuda, Takahito Nakayama, Kazuyoshi Nomura, Takeo Ueno
  • Patent number: 11097600
    Abstract: A method for adaptive power engine control of a transport refrigeration unit (TRU) is provided. The method includes determining a current compressor power of a compressor of the TRU. The method also includes determining an adaptive compressor power error of the compressor. Also, the method includes calculating and setting a target compressor power of the compressor based on the current compressor power and the adaptive compressor power error. Further, the method includes determining a suction pressure control point of the compressor based on the target compressor power and a compressor curve map. Moreover, the method includes operating the compressor with the suction pressure control point of the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Thermo King Corporation
    Inventors: David J. Dykes, Carl A. Withey, Mitchell Anthony Tramp
  • Patent number: 11067077
    Abstract: Disclosed is a rotating cylinder enthalpy-adding piston compressor. The compressor is a two-stage rotating cylinder piston compressor, including a first-stage rotating gas cylinder, a first gas cylinder liner, a first piston, and a second-stage rotating gas cylinder, a second gas cylinder liner, and a second piston, and further including an enthalpy-adding assembly connected between the first-stage rotating gas cylinder and the second-stage rotating gas cylinder for supplying gas and adding enthalpy between the two stages of rotating cylinders.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Gree Green Refrigeration Technology Center CO., LTD. of Zhuhai
    Inventors: Hui Huang, Yusheng Hu, Lingchao Kong, Zhongcheng Du, Sen Yang, Jia Xu, Liping Ren
  • Patent number: 11029065
    Abstract: A vapor compression system (20) comprises: a compressor (24) having a suction port (26) and a discharge port (28); a refrigerant flowpath (33) from the discharge port and returning to the suction port; a first heat exchanger (30) along the refrigerant flowpath; a second heat exchanger (50) along the refrigerant flowpath; and a vaporizer system (22; 300). The vaporizer system comprises: a first vaporizer (68A; 368A) and a second vaporizer (68B: 368B) each comprising: a vessel (86; 386) having an inlet (84), a vapor outlet (124), and a liquid outlet (130); and a gas bypass flowpath (160) in heat transfer relation with an interior of the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventor: Anthony S. Molavi
  • Patent number: 11021072
    Abstract: A heat management control device for a vehicle that includes an electric motor and a power supply section that includes a storage battery and that supplies electrical power to the electric motor. The heat management control device includes a charging device that charges the storage battery through a connection to an external power source, a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange of heat generated by the charging device during charging with fluid flowing in a specific transport path. The heat management control device includes a heat storage section that uses a chemical reaction partway along the specific transport path in order to recover heat from the fluid and that stores the recovered heat, and a fluid supply controller that, from immediately after a vehicle is started, releases heat stored by the heat storage section to the fluid, and selectively supplies the fluid to a predetermined plurality of warm-up targets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA CHUO KENKYUSHO
    Inventor: Gentaro Yamanaka
  • Patent number: 11015855
    Abstract: A container refrigeration apparatus includes: a casing which forms an external storage space communicating with the exterior of the container and an internal storage space communicating with the interior of the container; a refrigerant circuit; an external fan; an internal fan; and an inside air control system including an exhaust passage which allows a space on a blowout side of the internal fan in the internal storage space to communicate with the external storage space, and controls composition of the inside air in the container. An external end of the exhaust passage is open on a suction side of the external fan in the external storage space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Noritaka Kamei, Atsushi Ozato, Wataru Hirata
  • Patent number: 11001126
    Abstract: A vehicle air-conditioning unit includes a seal compressing portion presses a sealing component against a partition wall that separates an interior and an exterior of a vehicle compartment. The seal compressing portion is positioned in the interior of the vehicle compartment and includes a tubing routing space through which inner tubing extends, and a drain space positioned below the tubing routing space to receive water drained from the tubing routing space. The drain space communicates with the exterior of the vehicle compartment via a through hole of the partition wall to discharge water from the drain space to the exterior of the vehicle compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masahiro Tominaga
  • Patent number: 10989450
    Abstract: A solid-state optical refrigerator for cryogenic cooling of a payload, the solid-state optical refrigerator including a laser cooling crystal including a first material and a dopant material; a thermal link including a second material, the thermal link being bonded to the laser cooling crystal and the thermal link being configured to be thermally linked to the payload to transfer heat conductively from the payload to the laser cooling crystal via the thermal link; and a vacuum chamber housing the laser cooling crystal and the thermal link, the vacuum chamber and thermal link having a combination of shape and coating such that laser and fluorescence light reflected off a wall of the vacuum chamber and laser and fluorescence light propagating within the thermal link are not incident on the payload.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Triad National Security, LLC
    Inventor: Markus Peter Hehlen
  • Patent number: 10967978
    Abstract: An aircraft air conditioning system including an ambient air supply line having a first end connected to an ambient air inlet and a second end connected to a mixer of the aircraft air conditioning system so as to supply ambient air to the mixer. A first compressor is arranged in the ambient air supply line and is configured to compress the ambient air flowing through the ambient air supply line. A bleed air supply line allows a flow of bleed air bled off from an engine or an auxiliary power unit therethrough. A bleed air turbine is driven by the bleed air flowing through the bleed air supply line and is coupled to the first compressor so as to drive the first compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH
    Inventors: Holger Bammann, Frank Klimpel, Hans Brunswig
  • Patent number: 10941965
    Abstract: A supplemental heat-providing system is provided for heating a refrigerant. The system includes an outdoor unit that can act as a heat pump located outside a building and configured to use the refrigerant to condition an indoor space inside the building; a hot water heater located in the building and connected to one or more points of use in the building, the hot water heater being configured to heat water and provide the water to the one or more points of use; a water-refrigerant heat exchanger containing a refrigerant pathway and a water pathway, configured to pass the refrigerant from the outdoor unit through the refrigerant pathway, to pass the water from the hot water heater through the water pathway, and to exchange heat from the water to the refrigerant; and a water pump configured to selectively pump the water from the hot water heater through water pathway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC US, INC.
    Inventor: Luiz Antonio Diemer Lopes
  • Patent number: 10921036
    Abstract: A stand-alone ice making appliance, as provided herein, may include an outer casing, a water tank, a pump, an ice maker, and a container. The outer casing may define an internal cavity that includes a primary opening. The water tank may define a storage volume to receive water. The pump may be in fluid communication with the storage volume of the water tank to actively flow water therefrom. The ice maker may in fluid communication with the storage volume of the water tank to receive water therefrom. The container may be disposed within the internal cavity. One or more insulated walls or sealing features may be further included herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Ronald Scott Tarr, Samuel Vincent DuPlessis, Tomas Garces
  • Patent number: 10900701
    Abstract: An apparatus for preserving bulk ice that includes a compartment for drying and storing ice, and a shaft for attaching an ice drying receptacle to the drying and storage compartment is disclosed. The shaft is actuated by a motor having two directions of rotation. The motor is adapted to cause the shaft and ice drying receptacle to rotate in two directions. The action of the motor, and therefore the rotation of the shaft and the ice drying receptacle, are controlled based in part on information received from one or more sensors. The compartment also has a tray with a drain for collecting and removing waste. The tray includes a resistor for melting the remains of the drying process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Inventor: Pedro Enrique De Los Santos Juan
  • Patent number: 10845101
    Abstract: The integrated solar absorption heat pump system includes an absorption heat pump assembly (AHPA) having a generator, a condenser in fluid communication with the generator, an evaporator/absorber in fluid communication with the condenser and the generator, and a heat exchanger in communicating relation with the evaporator/absorber; a solar collector in fluid communication with the generator of the AHPA; a photovoltaic thermal collector in communicating relation with the evaporator/absorber of the AHPA; a plurality of pumps configured for pumping a fluid throughout the system to provide the desired heating or cooling; a power storage source, e.g., a solar battery, in communicating relation with the photovoltaic thermal collector; and a coil unit in communicating relation to the evaporator/absorber for receiving an air-stream. The absorption heat pump assembly can include an absorber and a solution heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
    Inventors: Nasiru I. Ibrahim, Fahad A. Al-Sulaiman, Palanichamy Gandhidasan
  • Patent number: 10845102
    Abstract: The integrated solar absorption heat pump system includes an absorption heat pump assembly (AHPA) having a generator, a condenser in fluid communication with the generator, an evaporator/absorber in fluid communication with the condenser and the generator, and a heat exchanger in communicating relation with the evaporator/absorber; a solar collector in fluid communication with the generator of the AHPA; a photovoltaic thermal collector in communicating relation with the evaporator/absorber of the AHPA; a plurality of pumps configured for pumping a fluid throughout the system to provide the desired heating or cooling; a power storage source, e.g., a solar battery, in communicating relation with the photovoltaic thermal collector; and a coil unit in communicating relation to the evaporator/absorber for receiving an air-stream. The absorption heat pump assembly can include an absorber and a solution heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
    Inventors: Nasiru I. Ibrahim, Fahad A. Al-Sulaiman, Palanichamy Gandhidasan
  • Patent number: 10837695
    Abstract: A refrigerator assembly includes a cabinet defining a storage compartment and a door for providing selective access to the storage compartment. The refrigerator assembly further includes a mullion assembly having a hinge coupled to the door and a flipper mullion pivotally attached to the hinge. The flipper mullion is rotatable between a first position, a second position, and an intermediate position that is intermediate the first and second positions. The mullion assembly further includes a spring configured to bias the flipper mullion toward the first position when the flipper mullion is between the first position and the intermediate position. The spring is further configured to bias the flipper mullion toward the second position when the flipper mullion is between the second position and the intermediate position. The mullion assembly further includes a magnetic assembly configured to bias the flipper mullion toward the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Chris Baum, Anthony Jenkins, Lori Burgener, Rodrigo Panozzi, Manjunath Shivamurty, Cristela Siebert, Ivo Torres, Charles Gascoyne
  • Patent number: 10837690
    Abstract: A refrigerator utilizes in some instances an icemaker having a tandem arrangement of storage bins. A first storage bin receives ice produced by an icemaker and includes a reversible ice mover that when operated in a first direction feeds an ice dispenser, and when operated in a second direction feeds a second storage bin disposed below the first storage bin. A refrigerator may also in another aspect include an externally-accessible ice dispenser having a dispenser recess portion that is removable from the refrigerator when the doors of the refrigerator are closed, e.g., for the purpose of accessing an ice storage bin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Eric Scalf