Patents Examined by Mary E McManmon
  • Patent number: 11499675
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for storing and distributing liquefied hydrogen using a facility that comprises a store of liquid hydrogen at a predetermined storage pressure, a source of hydrogen gas, a liquefier comprising an inlet connected to the source and an outlet connected to the liquid hydrogen store, the store comprising a pipe for drawing liquid, comprising one end connected to the liquid hydrogen store and one end intended for being connected to at least one mobile tank, the method comprising a step of liquefying hydrogen gas supplied by the source and a step of transferring the liquefied hydrogen into the store characterized in that the hydrogen liquefied by the liquefier and transferred into the store has a temperature lower than the bubble temperature of hydrogen at the storage pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour L'Etude Et L'Exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude
    Inventors: Laurent Allidieres, Renan Luis De Souza Silva
  • Patent number: 11493136
    Abstract: A discrete step, maximum flow-rate-selectable valve includes: (a) an entry tube with: (i) an exit with a single, off-center hole that lies on the circumference of a circle of radius “r” that is centered on the centerpoint of the exit, and (ii) an exterior surface having a portion with rotational symmetry, (b) a selector tube with: (i) an exit with a plurality of holes, each having a differing diameter and a center point that lies on the circumference of a circle of radius “r” which is centered on the centerpoint of the selector tube exit, and (ii) an interior surface configured to lie proximate said entry tube, exterior surface portion having rotational symmetry so as to assist in providing a water-tight seal between said tubes, and (c) a means to enable the selector tube to rotate in discrete steps around the entry tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: conservalve, LLC
    Inventor: Garry Warble
  • Patent number: 11480300
    Abstract: A refueling adapter for an alternative fuel vehicle includes a first filling port that is fluidly coupled to an inlet nozzle of a fuel tank of the alternative fuel vehicle. The first filling port is configured to fit an inlet nozzle of a first dispensing type. A second filling port fluidly coupled to a dispenser nozzle of an alternative fuel dispenser. The second filling port is configured to fit a dispenser nozzle of a second dispensing type, the second dispensing type being different from the first dispensing type. An adapter controller is configured to communicate with a vehicle fueling system of the alternative fuel vehicle and a valve providing a fluid connection between the first filling port and the second filling port and is operated by the adapter controller to selectively open and close the fluid connection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas Patzer
  • Patent number: 11441691
    Abstract: A valve includes a housing, a first ball, a second ball, and a deflector plate. The housing defines an inner chamber and has an inlet and an outlet providing fluid communication into the inner chamber. A longitudinal axis extends between the inlet and outlet. The first ball is disposed in the inner chamber between the inlet and outlet and rests on a seat extending into the inner chamber. The second ball is disposed in the inner chamber between the first ball and outlet and rests on the first ball. The deflector plate is disposed in the inner chamber and positioned between the inlet and first ball. The first ball, second ball, and deflector plate are aligned so that their centers lie on the longitudinal axis. The deflector plate is configured to deflect gas entering through the inlet to prevent the gas from driving the first and second balls upward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: VALCO INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Amos Glen Fowler, Daniel B. Truong
  • Patent number: 11434733
    Abstract: A bypass plunger combines a unitary or one-piece hollow body-and-valve cage, retains a dart valve within the valve cage portion of the hollow body using a threaded retaining nut secured by crimple detents. A series of helical grooves surround the central portion of the outer surface of the hollow body of the plunger to control spin during descent. A canted-coil-spring disposed within the retaining nut functions as a clutch. The valve cage includes ports that may be configured to control flow through the plunger during ascent. Other embodiments include clutch assemblies using canted-coil springs with split bobbins, and valve stems surfaced to achieve specific functions. Combinations of these features provide enhanced performance, durability and reliability at reduced manufacturing cost, due primarily to the simplicity of its design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: FLOWCO PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Garrett S. Boyd, Mitchell A. Boyd
  • Patent number: 11413484
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of monitoring pressure in a fire suppression system of an aircraft, the method providing: receiving a first pressure-vessel measured pressure from a first pressure-vessel pressure transducer connected to a first pressure-vessel; receiving a second pressure-vessel measured temperature from a second pressure-vessel temperature sensor connected to a second pressure-vessel; calculating a first pressure-vessel estimated pressure from the second pressure-vessel measured temperature; comparing the first pressure-vessel measured pressure With the first pressure-vessel estimated pressure; and providing a depressurization alert when a difference between the first pressure-vessel measured pressure and the first pressure-vessel estimated pressure is greater than a threshold thereby avoiding unscheduled aircraft downtime due to an erroneous or missing temperature measurement in the first pressure-vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: KIDDE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Robert J. Norris, Tadd F. Herron
  • Patent number: 11415228
    Abstract: Water outlet valve structure and a humidifier having the same. Opening or closing of the water outlet valve structure is controlled by a control structure. The water outlet valve structure includes a flow channel including an inlet and an outlet. The control structure is capable of sealing or opening the outlet of the flow channel. The outlet of the flow channel is capable of being sealed or opened by the control structure of the water outlet valve structure, to control the open and close of the flow channel, thereby simplifying the water outlet valve structure. In a further aspect, since only the outlet is sealed, specific requirements for the structure of the control structure are relatively low, thereby allowing the control structure to be simplified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, INC. OF ZHUHAI
    Inventors: Zhongping Huang, Yihong Zhang, Zhenhua Lin, Zhicong Chen, Gang Liang, Jiandong Bai, Yuliang Xu, Jianhua Zhang
  • Patent number: 11408514
    Abstract: A toy gun magazine constant gas flow valve structure is coupled with a magazine of a pneumatic toy gun and structurally includes a gas valve body fixed in the magazine and includes a gas inlet end portion, a gas discharge portion, and a coupling end portion, a driving rod movably disposed in the gas valve body, a control member coupled with one end of the driving rod, a stroke limiting trough having a front limiting portion and a rear limiting portion, and a stop element. Before the toy gun is firing, the stop element abuts the front limiting portion to control the extent by which the driving rod presses against the leak-sealing element and after the firing of the toy gun, the stop element abuts the rear limiting portion to control the extent of opening of the gas inlet end portion and the gas discharge portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: GUAY GUAY TRADING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yin-Hsi Liao
  • Patent number: 11402032
    Abstract: An electro-hydraulic proportional valve includes: a valve core; a valve sleeve, sleeving an outside of the valve core; a valve body, sleeving an outside of the valve sleeve and fixedly connected to the valve sleeve; a left end cap, covering an end of the valve body, a left sensitive cavity being defined by the left end cap, the valve body, and the valve sleeve; a right end cap, covering the other end of the valve body, a right sensitive cavity being defined by the right end cap, the valve body, and the valve sleeve; a driving mechanism disposed out of the valve body; and a transmission mechanism connected to the driving mechanism and the valve core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignees: ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY CITY COLLEGE, CHINA UNIVERSITY OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Qiang Zuo, Haigang Ding, Zhuhua Deng, Ziwen Sang, Qianqian Lu, Anping Wan, Wei Shao, Pengfei Wang
  • Patent number: 11401789
    Abstract: A bypass plunger includes a unibody, or one-piece hollow body and valve cage, retains a dart valve within the valve cage portion using a threaded retaining nut secured by crimple detents, and includes sealable flow parts. A series of helical grooves surround the central portion of the outer surface of the hollow body of the plunger to control spin during descent. A canted-coil-spring disposed within the retaining nut functions as a clutch. The valve cage includes ports that may be configured to control flow through the plunger during descent. Other embodiments include clutch assemblies using canted-coil springs with split bobbins, and surfaced valve stems surfaced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: FLOWCO PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Mitchell A. Boyd, Garrett S. Boyd
  • Patent number: 11396869
    Abstract: Seat valve, with a valve body having a plurality of inlet channels, with a plurality of closing elements arranged movably in a longitudinal direction L, each inlet channel being assigned a closing element for opening and closing the inlet channel, with a closing spring assigned to each closing element. The closing spring applies a prestressing force to the respective closing element to close the inlet channel. Each closing element assigned a braking device which is arranged separately from the closing element and which gradually brakes an opening movement of the closing element when the inlet channel is opened, independently of the closing spring. The braking device having a stop body with a stop surface against which the closing element can be brought to bear after an opening movement when the inlet channel is opened, the stop body being arranged movably and/or yieldingly in the opening direction of the closing element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: BURCKHARDT COMPRESSION AG
    Inventor: Reiner Schulz
  • Patent number: 11393605
    Abstract: There is disclosed a system for dispensing granular material, comprising: a nozzle attached to a granular filler configured to couple with a trefoil filling port attached to a can for hot isostatic pressing, wherein the nozzle opens and closes via a rotary actuation. In an embodiment, the system comprises a single fill port design, such as one having a concentric, tube-in-tube design. There is also disclosed a method of filling a container with a granular material, by connecting a filling nozzle to a filling port, opening/closing the filling nozzle, attaching the filling nozzle to the filling port, aligning at least one opening of the filling nozzle with an opening in the filling port; and dispensing granular material into the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: GEOROC INTERNATIONAL, INC.
    Inventors: Salvatore Moricca, Simon Chung
  • Patent number: 11383922
    Abstract: A chemical dispensing system can include a docking stating that receives a reservoir containing chemical to be dispensed. The reservoir may have a slidable closure covering an opening through which the chemical can be dispensed from the reservoir. The reservoir may be engaged with the docking station so that the slidable closure on the reservoir is operably coupled to a movable element on the docking station. A user can engage the movable element on the docking station to cause a slidable closure on the reservoir to open. As a result, chemical in the reservoir can discharge through the opening uncovered by moving the slidable closure. In this way, the contents of the reservoir may be dispensed without the user coming into physical content with the chemical in the reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Ecolab USA Inc.
    Inventors: Amy Louise Lee, Kenneth Thomas Dobizl, Brian Philip Carlson
  • Patent number: 11365829
    Abstract: An example assembly includes: a valve body having a cavity therein, wherein the valve body comprises internal threads formed in a first-handed direction and an external feature; a knob having an internal feature configured to engage with the external feature of the valve body to allow the internal feature of the knob to move past the external feature of the valve body in a linear direction when assembling the knob on the valve body; and a needle disposed in the cavity of the valve body and having external threads formed in the first-handed direction and engaging with the internal threads of the valve body, the needle being coupled to the knob such that rotation of the knob and the needle results in linear movement of the needle within the valve body due to engagement of the external threads of the needle with the internal threads of the valve body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Parker-Hannifin Corporation
    Inventors: Donal R. Chapin, Steven Ware, Christopher J. Webber
  • Patent number: 11271225
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a thermal-activated pressure relief device of a fuel cell vehicle, the thermal-activated pressure relief device including: a hollow body mounted at an outlet of a hydrogen tank; a hydrogen discharge block having a plurality of first hydrogen discharge holes and mounted and fixed in an upper portion of the hollow body; a hydrogen discharge pipe having a plurality of second hydrogen discharge holes and connected to a bottom of the hydrogen discharge block; a piston fitted on an outer side of the hydrogen discharge pipe to be able to move up and down and to open and close the second hydrogen discharge holes; a stopper mounted in a lower portion of the hollow body and limiting a downward movement distance of the piston; and a melting alloy disposed between the piston and the stopper and melting at a predetermined temperature or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, KIA Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Jeong Hyun Ham, Yong Joo Cho, Ki Ho Hwang, Jae Han Chung
  • Patent number: 11180356
    Abstract: In a filling machine, a circulation line connects a filling element to a filling tank at a location for drawing beverage from the filling tank and at a location for adding beverage to the filling tank. A controller connects to a measuring system that itself connects to either or both the filling tank and the circulation line. Based in part on measurements from the measuring system, the controller controls addition of beverage components at a dosage section along the circulation line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: KHS GmbH
    Inventors: Olaf Muszinski, Hans-Jürgen Katzenbächer
  • Patent number: 11118737
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a gas cylinder valve (2) comprising a body (4) with an inlet (18), an outlet (40) and a passage (20) fluidly interconnecting said inlet and outlet; a shut-off device (22) with a seat (26) formed in the passage (20) and a shutter (24) movable along a longitudinal axis (7) for cooperating with said seat; a spindle (12) rotatably mounted on the body (4) along the longitudinal axis (7) and cooperating with the shutter (24) such as to move said shutter upon rotation of said spindle; a residual pressure device (28) fluidly downstream of the shut-off device (22), with a seat (32) formed in the passage (20) and a piston (30) movable along a transversal axis (38. At least one of the shutter (24) and the piston (30) shows a recess or opening (24.4) accommodating the other of said shutter and piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Luxembourg Patent Company S.A.
    Inventors: Sellen Stephan, Philippe Schmitz
  • Patent number: 11067184
    Abstract: Provided herein are embodiments of a refrigerator valve and method of routing water through a refrigerator with the valve. The valve includes three valve bodies that route water in a refrigerator to different features. The middle valve body is higher than the two outer valve bodies, allowing the solenoid actuators to be mounted in a space-saving manner. The three valve bodies are linked by a central core pin that can be continuous or discontinuous such that the central core pin can provide fluid communication between all three valve bodies or divide the valve into two separate but linked valves. In a valve with a discontinuous central core pin, one valve body is isolated from the other two valve bodies so as to provide a redundant shutoff and allow a filter of a filtration unit to be replaced without having to shut off the water being supplied to the refrigerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Robertshaw Controls Company
    Inventors: Jay P. Griswold, Todd D. Tiefenbach
  • Patent number: 11047498
    Abstract: A valve assembly including a valve body, an outer housing having rotating shaft containing magnets and being driven by a motor, an inner housing statically sealed to the valve body, and an actuation system enclosed within the inner housing, the actuation system having magnets that are induced by magnetic field created by the rotating shaft magnets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: FLOWSERVE MANAGEMENT COMPANY
    Inventors: Gifford Decker, Varadharajen Lakshamanan, Fred Cain
  • Patent number: 11028806
    Abstract: A fluid supply system for a machine such as an internal combustion engine includes a shutoff valve having an electrical actuator that includes a solenoid subassembly, and a stabilizer for the electrical valve actuator. The stabilizer includes a fitting structured to couple the shutoff valve to adjacent hardware in the fluid supply system, and a strongarm extending between the fitting and the solenoid assembly and clamped to the solenoid subassembly. A vibration-damping reinforced grommet may be clamped between the solenoid subassembly and the clamp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Rodney Allen Lawrence, Brandyn Anthony Stack, Joseph John Stabnik, Keith Thomas Igoe, Eric Ferguson