Patents Examined by Phillip E Decker
  • Patent number: 8113012
    Abstract: An airflow arrester is provided and configured to reside between electronics racks disposed in a row within a data center. The airflow arrester includes a panel, which when operatively disposed, has a first vertical end, a second vertical end, and a central vertical hinge located intermediate the first and second vertical ends. The airflow arrester further includes an attachment mechanism at the first vertical end and at the second vertical end, and when operatively disposed between a first and second structures, the airflow arrester has a single V-shaped configuration, and is sized and constructed to block airflow from passing therebetween. The single V-shaped configuration provides operational stability to the airflow arrester by translating net twisting forces applied to the airflow arrester to normal forces applied to the first and second structures at the attachment points of the airflow arrester to the first and second structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Allan R. Hoeft, Madhusudan K. Iyengar, Francis R. Krug, Jr., Steven C. McIntosh, Matthew A. Nobile, Donald W. Porter, Roger R. Schmidt, Howard P. Welz
  • Patent number: 8109813
    Abstract: A thin air outlet structure to a vehicle compartment exhibiting excellent directivity while ensuring sufficient volume and velocity of air conditioning air stream. In the air outlet structure 10, delivery direction of the air stream can be altered by altering the posture of a pair of fins 16 provided at a middle portion 13 in the flow direction in a case 12. Since the air outlet 20 does not require a plurality of fins for altering the delivery direction, the air outlet 20 can be made thin. Since the delivery direction of the air stream can be altered by means of the pair of fins 16 and the number of the fins 16 is small, flow of air is not impeded in the flow path within the case 12 and effective cross-sectional area of the flow path within the case 12 can be ensured. Consequently, sufficient volume and velocity of air stream can be secured. Furthermore, the size for each blade of the fins 16 can be increased by the decrease made in the number of fins 16.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kimio Sakakibara
  • Patent number: 8056825
    Abstract: An object is to provide a heating tank capable of highly efficiently heating a target to be heated and having high safety and reliability, and a hot water storage tank. The heating tank in which the target to be heated is stored and which heats the target to be heated by a circulated refrigerant of a heat pump, for example, the hot water storage tank which is heated by the circulated refrigerant of the heat pump to produce hot water in the tank includes a heat exchanger in which a wall surface of a tank main body is partially secured to peripheral edge portions and inner portions of two metal plates and in which non-secured portions swell to constitute a refrigerant passage closed except an inlet and an outlet. A thickness dimension of one metal plate is set to be larger than that of the other metal plate, and the one metal plate is arranged on the inner side of the other metal plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahisa Otake, Hiroshi Mukaiyama
  • Patent number: 8043148
    Abstract: A damper is provided to suppress the abnormal noise or air noise at the small opening of the damper. The damper includes a wall surface which forms an air flow passage, a stationary portion which extends from the wall surface to the center of a flow passage, and a rotating portion rotatably disposed in the flow passage, having one end in contact with a portion of the stationary portion at a downstream side of an air flow through the flow passage. A curved wall portion as a convex curved surface protruding to the center of the flow passage is formed on a position of the wall surface on which the air flow passing between the one end and the stationary portion impinges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Eguchi, Atsushi Suzuki, Tetsuo Tominaga, Mitsuhiro Nakao, Hajime Izumi, Jun Ito, Satoshi Kominami
  • Patent number: 8025559
    Abstract: The invention concerns a device for connecting first and second air ducts using a connecting element for transferring an air stream between the air ducts, wherein the connecting element can assume various snap-in positions relative to the first air duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: Faurecia Innenraum Systeme
    Inventor: Marco Schweitzer
  • Patent number: 8020783
    Abstract: An improved apparatus and method of attaching heated or cooled liquid filled tubing to a floor, wall or ceiling to create a radiant heating or cooling system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Inventor: James Joseph Backman, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8002013
    Abstract: A device for altering the airflow pattern from a ceiling vent diffuser. The device comprises a flexible member that is secured to a diffuser vane by a spring-biased hook and one or more tabs. A release button on the outer surface of the device is depressed to pivot the hook out of engagement with the vane. The device is complementary shaped to a region of the diffuser. When installed, the device blocks the openings in that region and substantially prevents air from flowing out of the openings. One or more devices may be installed in selected regions to block airflow from those selected regions. A plurality of devices may be utilized to completely prevent airflow from the diffuser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Airvisor Inc.
    Inventors: Chad A. Brown, Robert G. Dickie
  • Patent number: 7997966
    Abstract: A cooling structure for an electricity storage device includes: a secondary battery generating heat; a DC-DC converter generating heat in a quantity different from that of secondary battery; an exhaust path for passing air after cooling secondary battery generating heat in a relatively small quantity, and led to the outside of a vehicle; an exhaust path for passing air after cooling DC-DC converter generating heat in a relatively large quantity, and joining exhaust path; and a circulation path connected to exhaust path upstream of an air flow beyond a position at which exhaust path joins, and led to the inside of a vehicle compartment. With this configuration, there is provided a cooling structure for an electricity storage device in which the suppression of both increase in temperature and decrease in inner pressure inside the vehicle compartment can be effectively achieved at the same time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takehito Yoda
  • Patent number: 7997964
    Abstract: An adjustable air vent assembly has a frame and a plurality of louvers pivotally mounted to the frame. The plurality of louvers is movable between a closed position and a diffuse position. In the closed position, each louver has an edge contacting an edge of at least one other louver to substantially prevent air from flowing through the plurality of louvers in the closed position. In the diffuse position a first louver is oriented along a non-parallel plane with respect to a second louver. A single actuator is provided for moving the plurality of louvers between the closed and diffuse positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: International Automotive Components Group North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas F. Gehring, Matthew G. Thornback, Farhan Sultan