Patents Examined by Shawntina Fuqua
  • Patent number: 8866051
    Abstract: A device and a method are provided, for shrinking a protective element (101) shrinkable by means of the supply of heat onto an optical waveguide (100). The method involves generating thermal radiation, reflecting it and focusing it onto a focus zone in which the protective element (101) is held. The device contains a heating element (10), which generates thermal radiation, a reflector (30), which focuses the thermal radiation emitted by the heating element onto the focus zone, and a mount (20), by means of which the protective element (101) can be held in the focus zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: CCS Technology Inc.
    Inventor: Bert Zamzow
  • Patent number: 8866048
    Abstract: Disclosed is a low-temperature heat-generating solid wood laminate floor, which comprises: an exterior finished layer, an upper base material layer, a heat-generating layer, and a lower base material layer, which are stacked in sequence and hot-pressed. The upper base material layer, heat-generating layer and lower base material layer comprise 9 layers in total after hot-pressing, the heat-generating layer being positioned at the 5th to the 7th layer, the upper base material layer being above the heat-generating layer, the lower base material layer being below the heat-generating layer, the upper base material layer consisting of 3 to 5 layers, the lower base material layer consisting of 4 to 6 layers, and the exterior finished layer being provided on the upper base material layer by hot-pressing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Shanghai Rell Electric Heating Systems Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Bing Sun, Yuming Zhang
  • Patent number: 8866049
    Abstract: A method of heat treating a tubular device may include heat treating a first longitudinal section of the tubular device to have a first austenitic finish temperature and heat treating a second longitudinal section of the tubular device to have a second austenitic finish temperature different than the first austenitic finish temperature. The tubular device may include a hypotube and/or a wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Insera Therapeutics, Inc.
    Inventors: Vallabh Janardhan, Vikram Janardhan
  • Patent number: 8859942
    Abstract: An insulated conductor heater may include an electrical conductor that produces heat when an electrical current is provided to the electrical conductor. An electrical insulator at least partially surrounds the electrical conductor. The electrical insulator comprises a resistivity that remains substantially constant, or increases, over time when the electrical conductor produces heat. An outer electrical conductor at least partially surrounds the electrical insulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Shell Oil Company
    Inventors: Ronald Marshall Bass, Robert Guy Harley, Justin Michael Noel, Robert Anthony Shaffer
  • Patent number: 8847125
    Abstract: A local resistance heating device, with a controlled atmosphere, includes two end members and a mid member. The two end members are respectively connected with an anode pole and a cathode pole. Each end member has an air channel. The air channel of one of the end members is adapted to connect with an output terminal of a gas supplier, and the air channel of the other one of the end members is adapted to connect with a sucking terminal of the gas supplier. The mid member is arranged between the two end members. The two end members and the mid member jointly define a heating room communicating with the air channels of the two end members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: National Pingtung University of Science & Technology
    Inventors: Kuang-Hung Tseng, Jie-Meng Huang
  • Patent number: 8841585
    Abstract: An electrically heatable, transparent article and a method for fabricating such article are described. The article comprises an electrically conductive transparent coating and a transparent substrate. The coating is in contact with electrical bus bars and delimits a localized region, which contains a coating-free transparent region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass France
    Inventors: Volkmar Offermann, Alwin Timmermann
  • Patent number: 8841584
    Abstract: A deicing device for propfan-type aircraft propulsion unit blades, wherein the propulsion unit includes a turbomachine that drives in rotation at least one rotor including a plurality of blades arranged around an annular crown moving with the blades, which forms with its outer wall part of the outer envelope of the propulsion unit, the outer envelope being subjected to atmospheric conditions outside the propulsion unit, the turbomachine generating a flow of hot gases that exit via an annular hot vein, which is concentric with the moving annular crown, and defined for part of its surface by an inner wall of the moving annular crown. The deicing device includes: a mechanism transforming thermal energy into electrical energy, within the moving annular part; a mechanism transferring the generated electrical energy towards the rotor blades; and a mechanism transforming the electrical energy into thermal energy onto at least a part of the surface of the blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Airbus Operations S.A.S.
    Inventors: Guillaume Bulin, Severine Perret
  • Patent number: 8835812
    Abstract: A home appliance having an oven with a broil element, the home appliance including an appliance body; an oven cavity defined within the appliance body; a broil element mounted within the oven cavity; a broil element reflector mounted to a wall of the oven cavity; and a mounting arrangement formed integrally with the broil element reflector for mounting the broil element within the oven cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: BSH Home Appliances Corporation
    Inventors: Ben Braden, Charlie Hanna, Timothy Russell
  • Patent number: 8829396
    Abstract: A new class of work-piece conveyors, comprising zero-mass, shadow-less transport systems, with a drive having a pair of parallel, laterally spaced, movable chains defining a processing path, with fingers projecting transversely toward the process path centerline. The gap between fingers eliminates conveyor tube/rod supports, improving wafer quality and conserving energy. Implementations include wire chain, band and roller chain transports to which fingers are secured. Fingers are angled down so that the intersection of the bottom and side edges of the work-piece make only point contacts with each finger. A pair of finger chains implement a single lane drive; adding center bilateral finger drive chains with oppositely pointing fingers implement a multi-lane system. The inventive method includes individually configurable processing temperature profiles in side-by-side lanes, on a zone-by-zone, upper and lower half basis for broad processing flexibility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: TP Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Luis Alejandro Rey Garcia, Richard W. Parks, Peter G. Ragay
  • Patent number: 8831412
    Abstract: A housing for transporting a generally cylindrical canister configured to store at least one of a pressurized gas and a pressurized liquid. The housing includes a first housing section and a second housing section that is movable with respect to the first housing section from a first operating condition to a second operating condition. A heat transfer element is coupled to at least one of the first and the second housing sections to define at least a portion of a boundary of a generally cylindrical volume. The canister is generally fixed from movement with respect to the first and the second housing sections when the second housing section is in the first operating condition, and the canister is movable with respect to the first and the second housing sections and configured to be removed from the generally cylindrical volume when the second housing section is in the second operating condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Modine Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Zachary T. Ouradnik, Timothy J. Carlson, Roy J. Ingold, Brian Merklein, Eric J. Boticki, Jeroen Valensa, Michael P. Devine, Gregg D. Olson
  • Patent number: 8822891
    Abstract: A sheet heater that includes a sheet article composed of a conductive resin composition containing a conductive material and a resin, and a pair of metal plate electrodes, each of the electrodes being bonded to each of the ends of the sheet article, wherein when elements of the sheet article are detected at a portion 1 ?m depth from a surface of the metal plate electrode, a peak area ratio of silicon (Si) to metal ion (M) is 1/100 to 1, the metal ion M being most abundant of all metal ions detected at the portion, the peaks being obtained by measuring an X ray generated at the portion by applying an X ray to the portion with the scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventors: Susumu Sudo, Eiichi Yoshida, Izumi Mukoyama, Junji Ujihara
  • Patent number: 8822890
    Abstract: A food heating and serving appliance is provided including generally circular upper and base portions with the upper portion being rotatably mounted to the base portion. The upper portion has a plurality of independently controlled heated food containers mounted in cavities on the upper portion. The upper portion is freely rotatable relative to the base portion for rotating a preferred heated container to the front of the appliance for serving convenience. Each of the food containers may include a lid with a handle for covering the heated containers. A pivoting cover attached to the base portion may be folded to engage a pocket on a sidewall of the housing when in alignment for preventing relative rotation between the upper and base portions. The pocket may also serve to store the cord plug when the power cord is retracted into the base portion and the cover is folded into the pocket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Sunbeam Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Day, Jeffrey Juskowich
  • Patent number: 8816257
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a flexible transparent heating element using graphene and a method for manufacturing the same. The heating element comprises a flexible transparent substrate; a graphene layer formed to at least one side of the flexible transparent substrate; and an electrode connected with the graphene layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Graphene Square, Inc.
    Inventors: Young Jin Kim, Byung Hee Hong, Jae Boong Choi, Jonghyun Ahn, Junmo Kang, Hyeong Keun Kim, Su Kang Bae
  • Patent number: 8816254
    Abstract: The apparatus of this invention relates to a device for heating or cooking food or liquids such as soup, water, roast, etc. A downwardly curved visor-like deflector is positioned at the upper end of a radiation disk of an infrared heater so as to extend outwardly therefrom. The deflector has an upwardly presented cooking utensil opening formed therein and a horizontally disposed cooking utensil support secured to the deflector at the inner surface thereof below the cooking utensil opening. The cooking utensil support dwells in a plane below the upper end of the radiation disk whereby infrared rays emitted from the radiation disk will impinge upon the cooking utensil support and a cooking utensil positioned on the cooking utensil support to cook or heat the contents thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Inventor: James Zoucha
  • Patent number: 8816253
    Abstract: Multi-lane, side-by-side, independently driven transport systems particularly useful for transfer on conveyor belts or finger/chains of thin work pieces, such as silicon wafers, through processing equipment for converting the wafers into solar cells, including UV pre-treaters, dopers, dryers, diffusion furnaces and metallization furnaces. The inventive multi-lane transport systems may employ wire mesh belts having a flying bridge wafer support system comprising longitudinally spaced carrier wire elements that support the wafers at their side edges at only point contacts, by means of opposed, inwardly inclined, downwardly slanted segments or wings. Alternately, finger drives comprising spaced-apart chains having inwardly projecting fingers may be used for transport of the wafers by side edge contact. Friction or sprocket drives having tensioner assemblies associa-ted therewith are used to move the transport belts or finger chains through the furnace zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: TP Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard W. Parks, Peter G. Ragay, Luis Alejandro Rey Garcia
  • Patent number: 8809744
    Abstract: A wax remover for removing solidified wax within a wax container of a scent-warmer device includes a base having a size and shape configured to fit within a wax container of a scent-warmer device, and at least one tab attached to and extending from the base for removing the base from a wax container of a scented warmer device. Such wax removers are used to remove wax from a wax container of a scent-warmer device. A scent-warmer assembly includes a scent-warmer device that comprises a base housing a heat source, and a wax container configured to be heated by the heat source during operation of the scent-warmer device. The assembly further includes a wax remover disposed within the wax container, and a wax disposed at least partially over the wax remover within the wax container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Scentsy, Inc.
    Inventor: Julie Stewart
  • Patent number: 8809743
    Abstract: There are provided a heater with temperature detecting device capable of accurately detecting the temperature of a laminated sheet heater (the temperature of a heater element) by a temperature detecting device, a battery structure provided with this heater with temperature detecting device, and a heater unit. A first heater with temperature detecting device includes a first laminated sheet heater and a temperature detecting device. In this first heater, a first metal sheet includes a part protruding outward in a lamination direction of a laminated heater to provide at least part of an accommodation space in which the temperature detecting device is accommodated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiko Suzuki, Jun Okuda, Yukie Uemura, Kunio Kanamaru
  • Patent number: 8809742
    Abstract: A transparent disk that can be electrically heated over a large surface area, comprising: a large-surface-area, electrically conductive, transparent coating, which is applied to a transparent substrate, at least two bus ribbons, which are electrically connected to the electrically conductive transparent coating, at least one locally delimited region free from the coating, wherein at least one heating conductor having two poles is applied inside the free region, and wherein the first pole is electrically connected to the electrically conductive, transparent coating and the second pole is electrically connected to the electrically conductive, transparent coating or a bus ribbon. A method for the production of the disk is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass France
    Inventors: Bernhard Reul, Dang Cuong Phan, Günther Schall, Susanne Lisinski, Jean-Luc Lesage
  • Patent number: 8803042
    Abstract: A solenoid valve for use in a hazardous environment requiring a surface temperature of the valve to not exceed a cutoff temperature, the valve comprising coil configured to physically move an armature using an field generated by the coil; a thermal cutoff device having a fusing temperature above the cutoff temperature; and a heating resistor sized and configured to raise thermal cutoff device's temperature to the fusing temperature before the surface temperature exceeds the cutoff temperature. A method of constructing a solenoid valve for use in a hazardous environment requiring a surface temperature of the valve to not exceed a cutoff temperature, the method comprising the steps of: selecting a thermal cutoff device having a fusing temperature above the cutoff temperature; and selecting and configuring a heating resistor to raise thermal cutoff device's temperature to the fusing temperature before the surface temperature exceeds the cutoff temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Automatic Switch Company
    Inventors: Nicholas F. Buccheri, John J. Haller
  • Patent number: 8796595
    Abstract: An electrothermal cooker including an upper opening, a heating case, a lid body for the upper opening, a lower heater for heating a lower portion of the heating chamber, an upper heater for heating an upper portion of the heating chamber, and a check window. The lid body includes an inner lid, beneath an outer lid, which form the upper portion of the heating chamber. The upper heater is mounted to the lid body. The outer lid and inner lid define an opening for the check window. A portion of the lower side edge of the outer lid forms an engaging portion under the check window, and an upper portion of the inner lid forms a contact support for an outer peripheral edge of the check window, engaged with the engaging portion while surrounding this outer peripheral edge portion from under.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Zojirushi Corporation
    Inventor: Akira Sasai