Patents Examined by Michelle A. Mattera
  • Patent number: 6148538
    Abstract: Condensation device and suction element including a condensation device for machines for manufacturing and refining a fibrous material web. The condensation device includes at least one condensation element positioned in a region of at least one of steam formation and accumulation and a condensate receptacle. The suction element includes a hollow body coupled to a vacuum source. The hollow body is adapted to guide a transport belt carrying a moist and heated web. The suction element also includes at least one opening positioned to face the transport belt, at least one condensation element, and at least one condensate receptacle. The at least one condensation element and the at least one condensate receptacle are positioned within the hollow body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Voith Sulzer Papiermaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Karl Steiner, Markus Oechsle
  • Patent number: 6141886
    Abstract: A grain dryer which includes a grain column through which grain may flow is disclosed. The grain column has a discharge opening. The grain dryer further includes a metering roll positioned to contact grain advancing out of the discharge opening of the grain column and a grain support member interposed between the metering roll and the discharge opening, the grain support member defining a substantially planar top surface. Rotation of the metering roll causes grain to advance out of the discharge opening, over the substantially planar top surface, and into contact with the metering roll. An angle .THETA. is defined between a line L1 defined by the substantially planar top surface and a horizontal line HL which intersects the line L1. The angle .THETA. is greater than or equal to 0.degree., but less than or equal to 30.degree..
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: ffi Corporation
    Inventors: L. Michael Watson, Phillip C. Middaugh
  • Patent number: 6138380
    Abstract: A method and device effect controlled uniform temperature drying of a wet web, such as a paper web substantially immediately after formation in a paper machine, without damaging the supporting fabric carrying the web. The web has a central region and first and second border regions. The wet web to be dried is conveyed on a conventional supporting fabric/wire in a first direction generally parallel to the web border regions, and in a hood drying air is blown against the web from the opposite side thereof as the supporting fabric so that the drying air picks up moisture and becomes moistened air. The moistened air is discharged from the volume adjacent the hood, for example is discharged from at least one hood positioned at and encompassing an impingement surface over which the web and supporting fabric pass. Air supplied for blowing against the web is heated to raise its ability to retain moisture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Valmet Corporation
    Inventors: Jarkko Veijola, Hans Sundqvist, Jarkko Nurmi, Petri Norri
  • Patent number: 6139425
    Abstract: An air mixer for an air distribution system for a building includes a set of fixed, substantially parallel partitions arranged in a spaced-apart, side-by-side manner, these partitions forming alternating primary and secondary air passageways. The primary air passageways are open-ended and extend from a front side to a rear side of the mixer. Front end plates extend respectively across front sides of the secondary air passageways and each has elongate edge portions extending along two opposite longitudinal edges thereof. Each elongate edge portion projects beyond the plane defined by an adjacent one of the partitions. Air flow splitters are mounted in the secondary air passageways and each is connected to an adjacent pair of the partitions. These splitters in operation of the mixer turn incoming air flow that enters the secondary air passageways towards the front end plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Air Handling Engineering Ltd.
    Inventors: Muammer Yazici, Ming Hui Han
  • Patent number: 6135875
    Abstract: A cabinet having an aperture passing through a surface thereof. A fan is mounted over the aperture in the cabinet. The fan is adapted to produce a flow of air through the interior of the cabinet when operating properly to exhaust such flow of air externally of the cabinet. A resilient membrane is mounted to said surface of said cabinet. The resilient membrane has formed therein: a plurality of slits extending radially from a center of a region of the membrane. The slits are spaced about the periphery of the aperture to form a plurality of flaps in the membrane. The flaps are configured to pivot from a nominal position outwardly from the surface of the cabinet from the flow of air produced by the fan when the fan is operating properly and to return to the nominal position when the fan is operating improperly to inhibit air externally of the cabinet from entering into the interior. The fans have a hub and a grate. The membrane has an aperture formed therein. The aperture is at the center of the region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2000
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventor: F. William French
  • Patent number: 6134805
    Abstract: A method [and an apparatus are] is disclosed for detecting an occurrence of a liquid dry condition in a container containing a liquefied compressed gas while the gaseous phase of the liquefied compressed gas is being removed from the container over time. The [apparatus includes] method uses a first sensor, a second sensor, and a computer, preferably a programmed logic controller (PLC). The first sensor senses temperature (T) inside the container and provides a signal indicative thereof. The second sensor senses pressure (P) inside the container and provides a signal indicative thereof. The computer receives signals from the first and second sensors, and determines the rates of change in the pressure (dP/dt) and the temperature (dT/dt) inside the container over time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2000
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Naser Mahmud Chowdhury, Sukla Chandra, Warren Matthew Janigian
  • Patent number: 6125553
    Abstract: A control module for a twin air dryer system monitors which dryer was used for drying in the previous cycle. The most recently used dryer is then the first to be regenerated. This ensures that the most recently regenerated dryer is used to dry incoming air. This occurs regardless of the drying mode, i.e., whether it is high air use or normal brake system use. The system minimizes the risk of dryer saturation and loss of function. Moreover, maintenance requirements are simplified, since the air dryer cartridges are more evenly used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: AlliedSignal Truth Brake Systems Company
    Inventors: Leonard Quinn, Richard J. Conklin, III
  • Patent number: 6125551
    Abstract: A rotating wafer processor uses a non-contacting gas seal mounted to a process chamber and a vibration isolation mount between the chamber and a support structure. The non-contacting seal incorporates a housing with a chamfer on opposing ends of an annular land encircling a rotating drive shaft, and one or more outlet ports on the chamfers to form a gas-purged, noncontacting seal. The seal is directly mounted to the chamber and interposed between the chamber and bearings that support the drive shaft, so the shaft, chamber and rotating load vibrate together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: Verteq, Inc.
    Inventors: James R. C. Bushong, Mario S. Manriquez
  • Patent number: 6122840
    Abstract: A clothes dryer includes a control system for determining the drying time for a partial load in a clothes dryer. The system includes a humidity sensor, a signal processor, and a fuzzy logic control system. The humidity sensor generates a humidity signal representative of the humidity of air flowing through the trap duct. The humidity sensor transmits the humidity signal to the signal processor, and the signal processor determines a drying span utilizing the humidity signal. The fuzzy logic control system then utilizes the drying span to estimate the clothes load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Nicolas Wadih Chbat, Vivek Venugopal Badami
  • Patent number: 6122835
    Abstract: A device for cleaning exhaust air from clothes dryers has a housing, an element for connecting an interior of the housing with an outlet of a clothes dryer so as to supply in the interior of the housing air exiting the clothes dryer and containing impurities, an element for supplying liquid into the interior of the housing so that the impurities are washed off from the air by the liquid and entrained in the liquid, an element for withdrawing air after washing off from the impurities from the housing, and an element for withdrawing the liquid with entrained impurities from the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Inventor: Arkadiy Khanyutin
  • Patent number: 6122837
    Abstract: A dryer for processing semiconductor substrates which rotates a carrier containing the substrates within a housing in combination with a bubbler which heats and directs a gas containing a water tension reducing vapor to the housing to contact the substrates and thereby hasten drying, decrease water marking, and decrease contamination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Verteq, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael B. Olesen, Mario E. Bran
  • Patent number: 6119367
    Abstract: In order to remove water adhering to the surfaces of cleaned semiconductor wafers W, a vibration transmitting device 20 capable of approaching the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers W, and an oscillator 25 for applying an ultrasonic vibration to the vibration transmitting device 20. The oscillator 25 is driven to apply the ultrasonic vibration to the vibration transmitting plates 24 of the vibration transmitting device 20 and to apply energy of the ultrasonic vibration to a gas between the vibration transmitting device 20 and the surfaces of the semiconductor wafer W to remove water adhering the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers W. Thus, it is possible to surely remove water adhering to the surfaces of cleaned objects to be treated, to dry the objects without the need of a dry gas of an organic solvent vapor, such as IPA.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yuji Kamikawa, Satoshi Nakashima
  • Patent number: 6108938
    Abstract: The invention is of methodologies and associated equipment, the practice and use of which, in the context of drying systems used in the drying of conveyorized articles bearing residual moisture from prior manufacturing steps, provides substantially enhanced drying efficacy and substantially accelerated drying rates, when compared with presently available drying systems. The present invention is of certain design parameters for drying systems, and associated methods, the practice of which result in impingement pressures, created by air or flowing from drying system nozzles onto to-be-dried articles of manufacture, which fall between the certain optimum ranges discovered by the present inventor for drying articles such as printed circuit boards in an assembly line context. The design parameters pertain to relative dimensions and positioning of air supply conduits, manifolds, nozzles, and conveyor surfaces, as well as performance parameters such as the velocity of air exiting the drying system nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Inventor: Jeff Jones
  • Patent number: 6108942
    Abstract: A drying apparatus for sliced veneer sheets having a conveying system comprising two superposed conveyor belts lying one above the other which are guided over a drying path around guide members. The drying path includes both rectilinear and curvilinear sections and includes a three roller configuration for making a one hundred eighty degree turn in the drying path. The drying path is designed to provide for pressing of the veneer and to allow for the effects of shrinking of the veneer during the drying process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Fezer S.A. Industrias Mecanicas
    Inventor: Carlos Alberto Fernando Fezer
  • Patent number: 6108927
    Abstract: Equipment provides more rapid drying of heating parts comprising hygroscopic, electric insulation made of cellulose and/or plastics. At least two condensers are present, one being used when heating the parts and the other in the distillation stage. As a result removal by distillation is possible any time during heating and during the time intervals when heating is interrupted and the pressure-dropping procedure is carried out in the vacuum vessel. Due to the second condenser (with a second, associated vacuum pump), the heating medium can be cleansed or distilled during the pressure-dropping procedure and simultaneously the suction or drying procedure can be carried out in the vacuum vessel. This feature leads to drying the electrical parts more rapidly than heretofore because the steps of drying the electrical parts and regenerating the heating medium no longer require being consecutive, but instead regeneration can be implemented simultaneously with the evacuation of the vicinity around the electrical parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Wilhelm Hendrich Vakuumanlagen GmbH & Co.
    Inventor: Helmut Strzala
  • Patent number: 6092298
    Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement for a drying section of a paper machine, the arrangement comprising a fine wire (5a) and a coarse wire (5b) that are arranged to pass between metal bands (2, 3) of a band dryer (1) together with a web (4) to be dried. The coarse wire (5b) comprises a fine texture (5d) to be placed against the cooled metal band (3). Further, against the fine-textured section (5d) placed against the cooled metal band (3) there is a coarse texture (5c).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Tamfelt Oyj ABP
    Inventors: Ari Salminen, Kari Hyvonen
  • Patent number: 6088927
    Abstract: The invention describes a device for through-flow continuous processing of textiles, nonwovens, or paper in web form with a gaseous processing medium circulated in the device. The material rests on the outside of a permeable drum subjected to suction, said drum having bottoms on the ends, namely a sieve-type or perforated covering that rests on the drum structure. For this purpose, sheet metal strips firmly connected with the bottoms extend from one bottom to the other between the bottoms of the drum, with the widths of the strips extending in the radial direction. These sheet metal strips are secured over their entire radially aligned height firmly but releasably to the corresponding bottoms by means of the clamping structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Assignee: Fleissner GmbH & Co., Maschinenfabrik
    Inventor: Gerold Fleissner
  • Patent number: 6085438
    Abstract: A screen drum design is known whose drum jacket consists of sheet metal strips running axially and whose width extends in the radial direction. These sheet metal strips must be permanently connected with the endwise bottoms to produce the drum jacket. According to the invention, this connection is made movable. For this purpose, an articulated ring (32) is used that consists of a number of connecting arms (13) mounted pivotably, said arms being connected with articulation at their free ends either with sheet metal strip structure (13, 14) or with bottoms (11, 12) that are located at a distance from the ends of sheet metal strips (13). In this way, movement is always possible between the drum jacket and bottoms (11, 12) to compensate for dimensional changes as a result of temperature fluctuations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Fleissner GmbH & Co., Maschinenfabrik
    Inventor: Gerold Fleissner
  • Patent number: 6082022
    Abstract: A clothes dryer having a rear end head with axially spaced apart apertures through which air may enter into the dryer drum through a diffuser wall mounted to the inside of the drum end head. The apertures in the end head have an air flow deflection shield integrally formed therewith. The air flow deflection shield extends radially across the apertures in the end head, is recessed from the rear end head and is spaced from the diffuser wall. Advantage is found with the use of such an air flow deflection shield because it permits for the apertures in the rear head to be of sufficient size to permit satisfactory air flow into the dryer drum while deflecting the air away from potential warm spots generated through and on the surface of the diffuser wall that would otherwise be in direct immediate air flow impingement with the apertures in the end head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: Camco Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Maurice St. Louis
  • Patent number: 6079120
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for making the drying finely divided materials, more effective in a suction drier provided with a fine porous suction surface, where the radii of the fine pores of the suction surface are essentially within the range of 0.5-2 micrometers, and in which method, of a slurry containing liquid and solids there is made a filter cake (2,12,22) onto a fine porous liquid suction surface constituting the filter surface of the filter medium (1,11,21), According to the invention, the filter cake (2,12,22) and an oscillator (6,15,25) are arranged, in relation to each other, so that in between the filter cake (2,12,22) and the oscillator (6,15,25), there is generated an acoustic field by virtue of a mechanical contact between the filter cake (2,12,22) and the oscillator (6,15,25) or a structural element (7,16,26) connected to the oscillator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Outokumpu Oyj
    Inventors: Bjarne Ekberg, Goran Norrg.ang.rd, Juan A. Gallego Juarez, German Rodriguez Corral, Luis Elvira Segura