Patents Examined by Marc C Howell
  • Patent number: 10966433
    Abstract: A stuffing filling and gas charging system of a dough food product machine is arranged between a stuffing feeding unit and a dough feeding unit of the dough food product machine and includes a stuffing conveyance pipe, and a shaft sleeve, a dough driving rod, and a screw rod support enclosure sleeved over the stuffing conveyance pipe. A first passage is formed between the shaft sleeve and the stuffing conveyance pipe; a second passage is formed between the dough driving rod and the stuffing conveyance pipe; and a third passage is formed between the screw rod support enclosure and the stuffing conveyance pipe. The passages are in communication with each other and are connected to a gas supply unit, so that air flow is introduced into a dough skin during the dough skin being shaped to prevent the dough skin from wrinkling and collapsing before being properly shaped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: ANKO FOOD MACHINE CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Li-Hsien Wang
  • Patent number: 10967577
    Abstract: A method and powder system component of an apparatus for use in a printing process is disclosed, and for removing and recycling excess powder. The powder system results in a cutoff point of 3 microns rather than 50 microns of previous systems. The apparatus comprises a powder applicator, a powder remover, a helical cyclone, a powder collector, and two valves that alternately open and close. The two-valve system prevents air backflow. The powder is processed through the two-valve system. The method comprises: valve 1 is closed and powder accumulates; valve 2 is closed also; after valve 1 opens, powder goes through (there is no air backflow), then valve 1 closes; then valve 2 opens and allows powder onto a powder applicator; then valve 2 closes; then the cycle starts again.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Impossible Objects, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Swartz, Eugene Gore
  • Patent number: 10967482
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a polishing pad using an additive manufacturing system includes dispensing a first plurality of first layers from a first plurality of successive layers by, for each respective first layer of the first plurality of first layers, ejecting droplets of polishing layer precursor into gaps between projections from a support to form the respective first layer, and curing the respective first layer before depositing a subsequent first layer, and dispensing a second plurality of layers from the first plurality of successive layers over the first plurality of layers by, for each respective second layer of the second plurality of layers, ejecting droplets of the polishing layer precursor to form the respective second layer, each respective second layer spanning the projections and the gaps, and curing the respective second layer before depositing a subsequent second layer, and removing the polishing layer from the support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel Redfield
  • Patent number: 10967594
    Abstract: A head (50), for the co-extrusion of a complex rubber profiled element, includes a lower wall (56) of cylindrical profile, a first extrusion unit (B60) having a first extrusion duct (60) divided into various sub-ducts (60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-4), a first profiling blade (62) defining a first shaping profile (P62) that is discontinuous, a second extrusion unit (B64) including a second extrusion duct (64) divided into various sub-ducts (64-1, 64-2, 64-3, 64-4), a second profiling blade (66) including at least one tooth (67-1, 67-2, 67-3) situated in the continuation of a divider (72-1, 72-2, 72-3), and this second profiling blade (P66) incorporating at least one third extrusion duct, each outlet of a third extrusion duct closely adjoining a tooth (67-1, 67-2, 67-3) of the second profiling blade (66), and a third profiling blade (74) defining a final shaping profile (P74).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Mickael Rouby, Christophe Bessac
  • Patent number: 10960594
    Abstract: A method of coextruding polymeric materials into multiple layers of desired thickness to form a tubular workpiece. The method includes conveying a first polymeric material through a main extruder and a second polymeric material through a coextruder. The second polymeric material has dispersed therein an amount of electrically conductive particles effective to impart electrical conductivity to the tubular workpiece. The method further includes simultaneously extruding the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material through a coextrusion die to form the tubular workpiece. The tubular workpiece is extruded in the form of one or more outer layers having the first polymeric material and one or more inner layers comprising the second polymeric material. A tubular workpiece prepared by the method of coextruding polymeric materials into multiple layers of desired thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: SOCIETE BIC S.A.
    Inventors: Michael Johnes, Robert White
  • Patent number: 10960602
    Abstract: A three dimensional printing system includes a resin vessel, a light engine, a movement mechanism, a fixture, and a controller. The resin vessel is for containing a photocurable resin and has a lower portion with a transparent sheet. The light engine is configured to selectively project radiation up through the transparent sheet and over a build plane. The fixture is coupled to the movement mechanism and has a lower face that faces the transparent sheet. The controller is configured to operate the light engine to solidify a particle trapping sheet proximate to the build plane thereby trapping particles that extend upwardly from the transparent sheet into the build plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: 3D Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Tanner, Andrew Enslow, Ben Wynne, Robert Mueller, James Pingel, Martin Alan Johnson
  • Patent number: 10955357
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing an OSB, wherein a scattered mat formed by strands adhered in multiple layers is pressed in a hot press to form a panel with a desired thickness, comprising the following steps: a) scanning the surface of an upper side of the mat or of the pressed panel to determine uneven areas and/or faults; b) determining position data of the determined uneven areas and/or faults; c) determining the volumes of the individual uneven areas and/or faults; d) targeted filling of the uneven areas and/or faults with a filling material, based on the determined position data and volumes, wherein e) the filling material is scattered with a scattering device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: SWISS KRONO TEC AG
    Inventors: Norbert Kalwa, Torsten Kopp
  • Patent number: 10948818
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to imprint lithography, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for creating a large area imprint without a seam. Methods disclosed herein generally include separating the curing time of the features in a stamp or product from the curing time of the seam and the periphery. The seam and periphery can be cured first or the seam and periphery can be cured last. Additionally, the seam curing operations can be performed on the master, on the stamp, or on the final product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Kevin Laughton Cunningham, Manivannan Thothadri
  • Patent number: 10946349
    Abstract: A mixing element for a static mixer for installation into a tubular mixer housing has a longitudinal axis along which a plurality of installation bodies are arranged behind one another. A first installation body has a first wall element which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis and a first side wall and a second side wall which is arranged opposite the first side wall. A deflection element is arranged adjacent to the first wall element and has a deflection surface extending in the transverse direction to the wall element at both sides of the wall element. A first opening is provided in the deflection surface at the side which faces the first side wall of the first wall element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: SULZER MIXPAC AG
    Inventors: Volker Linne, Sasan Habibi-Naini
  • Patent number: 10946573
    Abstract: The cassette mold type injection molding machine controls a first temperature control circuit to supply a heat medium having a heating temperature from a first heating device to a matrix supply path, controls a second temperature control circuit to supply the heat medium having a cooling temperature from a second heating device to the core cavity supply path, and performs cassette mold cool down control in which a bypass control valve is controlled to connect a bypass path and a main body supply path, such that a second heating device or a core cavity supply path is connected to a main body supply path, and thus the heat medium having the heating temperature is supplied to the matrix and the heat medium having the cooling temperature is supplied to a cassette mold main body and a core cavity portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: SODICKCO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shuji Aiba, Shigeru Takakura, Yasuhiro Kitamura, Kenzo Akiyama
  • Patent number: 10940618
    Abstract: An apparatus for producing a microporous plastic film comprising a pattern roll having large numbers of high-hardness, fine particles; an anvil roll opposing the pattern roll; a conveying means for passing a plastic film through a gap of both rolls; a stationary frame rotatably supporting one of both rolls; a pair of laterally arranged movable frames rotatably supporting the other roll; and a pair of laterally arranged carriages to each of which each of the movable frames is fixed; at least one of the carriages moving in a running direction of the plastic film to generate positional difference between a pair of the movable frames, so that the center axes of both rolls are relatively inclined to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Inventors: Seiji Kagawa, Atsuko Kagawa
  • Patent number: 10934574
    Abstract: A diagnostic kit for viscoelastic analysis of a sample includes a pipette tip containing constituent (A) and a measurement cup containing constituent (B), wherein the constituents (A) and (B) are adapted to form a diagnostic composition upon combination, wherein the diagnostic composition includes an activator of coagulation and a calcium salt. A method of performing a viscoelastic analysis on a sample using such a diagnostic kit is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: enicor GmbH
    Inventor: Harald Leyser
  • Patent number: 10931765
    Abstract: A blending system is provided for contextual blending. The blending system may include an ingredient component and a recipe component. The ingredient component may identify ingredients and determine a quantity of each type of ingredient. The recipe component may create a recipe based on the identified ingredients and the determined quantities of the ingredients. The recipe may include instructions for controlling a blender device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Vita-Mix Management Corporation
    Inventor: Anthony Ciepiel
  • Patent number: 10926436
    Abstract: Provided is an injection molding method for resin that contains reinforcing fiber, the method being capable of easily eliminating uneven distribution of added components. The injection molding method is provided with: a plasticizing step for supplying resin pellets P and added components to a cylinder equipped with a screw 10, which has a rotating axis as the center is capable of rotating normally and in reverse, and generating molten resin by rotating the screw 10 in the normal direction; and an injecting step for injecting the molten resin M comprising the added components into a cavity. In the plasticizing step, a reverse rotation operation for reversing the rotation of the screw 10 is performed or a screw-stopping operation of stopping the normal rotation of the screw 10 is performed with a prescribed timing and for a prescribed period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignees: UBE MACHINERY CORPORATION, LTD., MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Munehiro Nobuta, Naoki Toda, Toshihiko Kariya, Takeshi Yamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kinoshita
  • Patent number: 10898031
    Abstract: An easily assembled blender with an internal frame holding a cupholder elevator assembly, a mix motor assembly, a food preparation chamber, a water heater assembly and a steamer assembly. The water heater and steamer assemblies are preferably on modular trays that slide into the internal frame. The water heater preferably also serves as a hot water reservoir and, to avoid overheating, has its heating coil located near its bottom. To resist scale deposits, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubing is preferably used to transport steam from the steamer to the food preparation chamber. To expedite manufacture, a spring-biased idler assembly with a drive belt for the cupholder elevator assembly preferably snaps into a lower receiving port on the internal frame. Crisscrossing infrared light beams are preferably placed at the entrance of the food preparation chamber to detect whether the cup entering the chamber is the correct size and detect whether any foreign object is below the food preparation chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: F'Real Foods LLC
    Inventors: Steven T. Connell, John Diemer, Kathleen A. Scheible, Kurt J. Ahmann, Patrick M. Goebel, Shek Fai Lau, Curtis Tom
  • Patent number: 10899040
    Abstract: A continuous mixer includes a barrel with a hollow interior, and a pair of mixing rotors housed in the barrel and that rotate in mutually different directions, each mixing rotor including a mixing portion with plural mixing flights formed about an axial center of the mixing rotor and projecting radially outward. The mixing rotors have a center distance therebetween smaller than a rotation outer diameter of each of the respective mixing flights. An inter-rotor clearance, which is the smallest clearance between the mixing portions at each rotation phase of the mixing rotors in a cross section perpendicular to axial directions of the both mixing rotors, has a dimension allowing an extensional flow to be generated in a material passing through the inter-rotor clearance. The continuous mixer can reliably and efficiently mix a material having a large viscosity difference between a dispersed phase and a matrix phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Yamaguchi, Takaya Uda, Yoshinori Kuroda, Tsugushi Fukui
  • Patent number: 10875000
    Abstract: A storage and mixing device for PMMA bone cements having a cylindrical interior of the cartridge that is delimited on a front side by a cartridge head with a closed delivery opening, a plunger which is arranged to be axially movable in the cylindrical interior of the cartridge and which is spaced from the cartridge head. The plunger circumferentially rests against the inner wall of the interior, so that the plunger divides the interior of the cartridge into two sections in a gas-tight manner, a powdery first parent component of the bone cement, which is contained in the interior between the plunger and the cartridge head, a feed-through which is arranged in the cartridge head or in the cylinder barrel of the cartridge between the plunger and the cartridge head, wherein the feed-through is connected to a fluid line in which a monomer liquid as a second parent component of the bone cement is contained or into which a monomer liquid is fillable or introducible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: HERAEUS MEDICAL GMBH
    Inventors: Sebastian Vogt, Thomas Kluge
  • Patent number: 10850284
    Abstract: The invention relates to a pipette-tip-accommodating container (1), including a receiving cradle (3) and a cover (4) which covers a receiving opening (12) of the receiving cradle (3) in its closed position. The cover (4) comprises a standardized footprint and is realized as an adapter element for the receiving cradle (3). A positioning device (25) with multiple positioning elements (26) is provided on the cover (4). The receiving cradle (3) is supported on the cover (4) by way of its base (7), wherein the receiving cradle (3) is aligned relatively with reference to the footprint defined by the cover (4), positioned in a positioning position for automated sample processing by means of the positioning elements (26). Furthermore, the invention also relates to a method for providing such a pipette-tip-accommodating container (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Greiner Bio-One GmbH
    Inventor: Georg Kofler
  • Patent number: 10850236
    Abstract: A mixing system has a parallel droplet dispenser capable of making droplets of a first working material in the range of 10 nanometers to 10 micrometers, a pump to deliver fluid for the droplets of the first working material and to produce a first emulsion, a compact mixer having low inter-voxel mixing to receive the emulsion and produce a homogenous material, and a dispensing system. A method of dispensing a graded material includes generating droplets of a first working material, the droplets having a size in the range of 10 nanometers to 10 micrometers, adding the droplets of the first working material into a fluid to create a first emulsion, wherein addition of the droplets of the first working material is controlled to create gradient in the emulsion, mixing the first emulsion to create a homogenous, graded mixture, and dispensing the homogenous, graded mixture onto a surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated
    Inventors: John Steven Paschkewitz, David Mathew Johnson
  • Patent number: 10828609
    Abstract: A mixing element for a static mixer for installation into a tubular mixer housing has a longitudinal axis along which a plurality of installation bodies are arranged behind one another. A first installation body has a first wall element which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis and a first side wall and a second side wall which is arranged opposite the first side wall. A deflection element is arranged adjacent to the first wall element and has a deflection surface extending in the transverse direction to the wall element at both sides of the wall element. A first opening is provided in the deflection surface at the side which faces the first side wall of the first wall element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: SULZER MIXPAC AG
    Inventors: Volker Linne, Sasan Habibi-Naini