Patents Examined by Matthew Zapadka
  • Patent number: 8835743
    Abstract: The disclosure provides a thermoelectric composite sandwich structure with an integrated honeycomb core and method for making. The thermoelectric composite sandwich structure comprises two prepreg composite face sheets and an integrated honeycomb core assembled between the face sheets. The honeycomb core comprises a plurality of core elements bonded together with a core adhesive. Each core element has a first side substantially coated with a negative Seebeck coefficient conductive material having a plurality of first spaced gaps, and each core element further has a second side substantially coated with a positive Seebeck coefficient conductive material having a plurality of second spaced gaps. The honeycomb core further comprises a plurality of electrical connections for connecting in series the first side to the second side. A temperature gradient across the honeycomb core generates power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Liam S. Cavanaugh Pingree, Noel T. Gerken
  • Patent number: 8704076
    Abstract: A thermoelectric tempering device having a plurality of thermoelectrically operating tempering elements, including a cold surface, which forms upon the supply of an electric current, on one side thereof, and a warm surface on the opposite side thereof, including air/heat exchange bodies affixed on both sides and accommodated in a respective air flow chamber, and ventilators effecting an air flow along the same. Simple adjustment and expansion possibilities are provided with a unit of the tempering device configured as a tempering module and constructed so that the air flow chambers are configured as flow channels surrounding the heat exchange bodies parallel to the flow direction laterally and on the cover side facing away from the tempering elements, the flow channels having an air intake opening and an air discharge opening, wherein the ventilator of the respective flow channel is disposed on an intake opening or on a discharge opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Rittal GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Ralf Braun, Lon E. Bell, Robert W. Diller, Christoph Reitz
  • Patent number: 8648247
    Abstract: A SolarTurf unit has a plurality of solar blades, each blade comprising a donor-acceptor conjugated polymer (DA-CP) disposed between and electrically contacting a working electrode and a counter electrode where at least one of electrodes is transparent and where the plurality of solar blades have like or different DA-CPs having like color or different colors, for example, green. The SolarTurf unit includes an interconnect strip having a first electrically conductive surface and a second electrically conductive surface separated by an insulator. The working electrodes are electrically connected to the first electrically conductive surface and the counter electrodes are electrically connected to the second electrically conductive surface. The SolarTurf units can be combined into a device for harvesting light energy to provide an electric output. The SolarTurf device can have the appearance of a lawn or other plant, fungi, rock, sand or animal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Jiangeng Xue, Franky So, Kirk S. Schanze, John R. Reynolds
  • Patent number: 8642880
    Abstract: An interchangeable and fully adjustable solar thermal-photovoltaic concentrator system is provided, comprising: one or more heat collecting elements; one or more primary reflectors having one or more openings; one or more sunray directing optical mechanisms at the sun-collecting side of primary reflectors and between the heat collecting elements and openings in the primary reflectors; one or more PV cell modules disposed at the non-sun-collecting side of the primary reflectors; and one or more sunray distributing optical mechanisms disposed at the non-sun-collecting side of the primary reflectors. Wherein after sunrays irradiate to the primary reflectors, a proportion of sunrays ranging from 0% to 100% are reflected to one or more heat collecting elements and the remaining sunrays are directed by the sunray directing optical mechanisms, through openings in the primary reflectors, and distributed by the sunray distributing optical mechanisms to one or more PV cell modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Inventors: Chia-Chin Cheng, John W. Holmes
  • Patent number: 8592672
    Abstract: A foldable solar energy collector has a base and a panel body. The base has an elevatable telescopic shaft mounted thereon. The panel body has a bottom board and multiple side panels pivotally mounted around a perimeter of the bottom board. Two foldable panels are respectively and pivotally mounted on two edges of each side panel. A link assembly is pivotally mounted between the panel body and the telescopic shaft and has multiple inside and outside links pivotally connected to each other. One end of each inside link away from a corresponding outside link is pivotally mounted on the telescopic shaft. One end of each outside link away from a corresponding inside link is pivotally mounted between adjacent two of the foldable panels. When the telescopic shaft is elevated, the link assembly is pulled to drive the panel body to unfold or fold, rendering convenience in operation and storage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Leadinway Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Raymond Chu
  • Patent number: 8519262
    Abstract: Core shell particles and bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices using the core shell particles are described. In particular, core shell particles having a core particle and a shell of a second material and bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices using the core-shell particles are described. The core-shell particles can have a core particle with an electron donating material or a core particle with an electron donating material. Formation of a hulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic device using such an core-shell particles forming an interpenetrating network with the an electron donating or electron accepting phase is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Nano-C, Inc.
    Inventors: Ramesh Sivarajan, Henning Richter, Angela Herring, Thomas A. Lada, Viktor Vejins
  • Patent number: 8487177
    Abstract: The disclosure provides a thermoelectric composite sandwich structure with an integrated honeycomb core and method for making. The thermoelectric composite sandwich structure comprises two prepreg composite face sheets and an integrated honeycomb core assembled between the face sheets. The honeycomb core comprises a plurality of core elements bonded together with a core adhesive. Each core element has a first side substantially coated with a negative Seebeck coefficient conductive material having a plurality of first spaced gaps, and each core element further has a second side substantially coated with a positive Seebeck coefficient conductive material having a plurality of second spaced gaps. The honeycomb core further comprises a plurality of electrical connections for connecting in series the first side to the second side. A temperature gradient across the honeycomb core generates power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Liam S. Cavanaugh Pingree, Noel T. Gerken