Patents Examined by Stephen Gravini
  • Patent number: 6131304
    Abstract: Dryer section of a machine for producing a material web. The dryer section may include at least one dryer group including a plurality of heatable dryer cylinders so that the material web to be guided around at least a portion of the plurality of heatable dryer cylinders may be guided in a meandering path in a web travel direction. At least one pressing device may be located within the dryer section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignee: Voith Sulzer Papiermaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Dieter Egelhof, Markus Oechsle, Hans-Jurgen Wulz
  • Patent number: 6131303
    Abstract: A body dryer for drying the body with blown warm air. The body dryer includes a blower housing with inlet and outlet openings. The blower housing has a heater and a fan therein for drawing air into the blower via the inlet opening and out of the blower housing via the outlet opening. An elongate outer tube has an elongate inner tube disposed therein. An upper end of the inner tube is in communication with the outlet opening of the blower housing. The outer tube has a plurality of spaced apart vent holes arranged in a row extending between the upper and lower ends of the outer tube. The inner tube has an elongate full vent slot extending between the upper and lower ends of the inner tube and a plurality of spaced apart partial vent slots arranged in a pair of rows extending between the upper and lower ends of the inner tube adjacent the full vent slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Inventor: Mike Roper
  • Patent number: 6131536
    Abstract: An instantaneous fluid heating system includes a fluid source, a use point for intermittently demanding fluid from the fluid source, an instantaneous IR gas heater, and a temperature sensor positioned external to the heater. The instantaneous IR gas heater is interposed operatively between the fluid source and the use point. The temperature sensor controls the regulation of the heater in response to output fluid temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Inventor: Stephen M. Kujawa
  • Patent number: 6128826
    Abstract: A combination drying unit has a towel roll rotatably held within a housing. By activation of a switch, a motor drives a drive roller that has an idler roller biased thereagainst for advancing the paper towel stream through a first opening of the housing. A blower is also disposed within the housing and blows a stream of air through at least one second opening on the housing. A sensor activates the motor and the blower. A sensor detects the presence of a towel stream and deactivates the motor until this sensor no longer detects the paper towel stream. Another sensor detects the absence of a towel stream, deactivates the motor, and increases the length of operation of the blower upon activation of the switch. This sensor also illuminates a service light indicating either a jam condition or an out of paper condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Inventor: Joe M. Robinson
  • Patent number: 6129519
    Abstract: For controlling a displacement depending on a pressure differential between a crank chamber (9) and a suction chamber (4), a compressor is provided with a bleed passage (46) establishing communication between the crank chamber and the suction chamber and with a bleed control mechanism which fully closes the bleed passage while the compressor is stopped. The bleed control mechanism may be a suction valve (15) which controls the opening of suction holes of a valve plate (2) synchronously with a compressing operation of the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignee: Sanden Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Ogura
  • Patent number: 6128830
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an apparatus and method for drying solid articles such as semiconductor wafers. In one embodiment, the dryer comprises a process tank and a drying fluid supply system. The process tank includes a plurality spray nozzles to spray a non-flammable drying fluid to wet surfaces of the article for drying without the necessity of heat or other external means. The drying fluid comprises a non-flammable, environmentally compatible, and a non-hazardous fluid including a drying agent of (hydrofluoroether) HFE and a surfactant of isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Even without the benefit of heating, little if any solution or static charge remains after drying. The drying apparatus includes a drying fluid supply system for providing the drying fluid to the plurality of spray nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignees: Dean Bettcher, Christopher Kubinski
    Inventors: Dean Bettcher, Christopher Kubinski
  • Patent number: 6128828
    Abstract: A drying machine includes a hot air blower, a housing divided horizontally into plural long chambers having an open upper side, a closed bottom and two longitudinal sides bored with through holes, a screw conveyor respectively positioned in each long chamber, and a motor to rotate all the screw conveyors, and a sending-out screw conveyor positioned on the bottom of the housing. Each screw conveyor has an inner screw and an outer screw twisting in opposite direction for conveying, squeezing, mixing and stirring material at the same time dried by hot air coming from the blower. Material falls down from a funnel on the upper side of the housing and gradually falling down through the through holes and an outlet in an end of the bottom of the highest long chamber and then into a second highest long chamber and so on to the lowest portion of the housing to be conveyed by the sending-out screw conveyor to an exit through which dried material falls down through for collected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Inventor: Chao-Chun Wang
  • Patent number: 6128829
    Abstract: In a method for drying substrates, in particular, semiconductor wafers, an especially residue-free drying of the substrates results when, during removal of the substrates from a liquid, a meniscus of the liquid forming at the transition between the substrate surface and the liquid surface is heated. A device for performing the method is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignee: STEAG Microtech GmbH
    Inventors: Klaus Wolke, Martin Weber
  • Patent number: 6128827
    Abstract: Steam-heated roll apparatus and process. The steam-heated roll may include a roll, a heating chamber arrangement within the roll, a feeding connection arrangement coupled to the heating chamber arrangement that is adapted for charging the heating chamber arrangement with steam, and a pump arrangement for pumping steam condensate out of the roll. The process includes charging the heating chamber with steam through the feed connection arrangement, and pumping steam condensate from an inside of the roll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignee: Voith Sulzer Papiertechnik Patent GmbH
    Inventor: Gottfried Hendrix
  • Patent number: 6125549
    Abstract: A system for the thermal processing of material in a housing having an inlet for receipt of the materials and an outlet for the discharge of the material after thermal treatment. The heating of the materials is accomplished, at least in part, by contact of the materials with a particulate medium which has been preheated in a separate heating operation employing infrared radiant heaters. The housing includes a heating zone separate from the zone used for thermal processing of the materials with the separate heating zone including the infrared radiant heaters. The particulate medium is introduced to the heating zone and brought to a controlled temperature. The medium is then conveyed to the processing zone where it is admixed with the materials being thermally processed. A shrouded zone is located intermediate the processing and particulate medium heating zones. This zone comprises a section of reduced clearance thereby providing a gas and dust lock between the processing and heating zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: Hosokawa Bepex Corporation
    Inventor: Ilya Pikus
  • Patent number: 6122841
    Abstract: Apparatus for the drying of particulate material in superheated steam in a closed vessel (1). The vessel consists of a number of upwardly open, elongated and substantially vertical processing cells (2) which are placed around a central part with a heat exchanger (3). The last of these processing cells (2) has a closed bottom and is the discharge cell (4), while the remainder (2) have bottoms (5) through which steam can permeate. The processing cells (2), which lie at the side of one another, stand in mutual connection through openings (11) at the lowermost ends of the cells, so that the particulate material which is dried by the superheated steam which is blown up from the heat exchanger (3) through the steam-permeable bottoms (5) can pass from one processing cell (2) to the next through said openings (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: ASJ Holding ApS
    Inventor: Arne Sloth Jensen
  • Patent number: 6122843
    Abstract: Drum washer-drier includes a drum rotating about a horizontal rotary axis, a water tank including drum, and outer tank resiliently supporting water tank. A plurality of suspending rods are suspended from an upper inner surface of outer tank, and water tank is resiliently supported by providing compression springs between spring receiving portions at lower ends of suspending rods and support receiving portions of water tank. Further, a damper generating a sliding resistance as the spring is expanded/compressed is provided at the lower end portion of suspending rod. At the time of dehydration, drum is rotated for a prescribed time period at a rotation speed higher than critical rotation speed of a fluid balancer but lower than a resonance rotation speed caused by resilient support, and thereafter high speed rotation starts. A structure for protecting the fluid balancer formed of synthetic resin during drying is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeo Noguchi, Masaru Ando
  • Patent number: 6122839
    Abstract: A method of contacting an article placed in a chamber with a gas flowing through the chamber includes the step of displacing at least one interior surface in or of the chamber relative to the article so that the surface and the article are positioned adjacent one another to inhibit the flow of gas between them and to encourage the flow of gas into contact with the article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Inventor: Gilbert Franciscus Evarist D'Hollander
  • 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: 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: 6119363
    Abstract: Directly heated rotary drums are used in the drying of pourable goods such as wood chips or strands. Drums are provided with built-in fixtures such as cross fixtures, in order to ensure good heat transmission from the drying gas to the goods. The invention comprises a design for a rotary drum (4) which enables good transmission of drying gas to the goods and which is cheap to produce and assemble in comparison with cross fixtures. According to the invention the built-in fixtures in the rotary drum (4) extend radially in the direction of the middle of the drum, starting from the perimeter, over an area of 60 to 85% of the radius of the rotary drum (4), form at least two pockets, and run, apart from the area close to the perimeter, substantially in the direction of rotation (25), in front of the radial starting from their point of attachment. These radially shaped built-in fixtures enable constant distribution of the goods over the cross-section and are substantially cheaper to manufacture and assemble.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: Buttner Gesellschaft fur Trocknungs-und Umwelttechnik GmbH
    Inventors: Karl-Friedrich Bahner, Dagmar Bautzmann, Wolfgang Schroder
  • Patent number: 6119364
    Abstract: A process for drying or curing green wood including the heating of green wood in a heating enclosure to a predetermined temperature over about 120 F while maintaining the moisture content of the wood close to the original moisture content of the felled wood, and then immediately cooling the heated wood with a cooling fluid at a temperature and humidity substantially less than the temperature and relative humidity of the heating enclosure for a time period sufficient for the wood to reach substantially the reduced temperature of the cooling fluid for normally removing at least about 5% of moisture from the green wood. The green wood is conditioned by the cooling step for subsequent drying steps in which moisture removal rates are substantially higher than moisture removal rates under prior conventional drying steps. The green wood process as set forth is effective to minimize staining of the wood.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Inventor: Danny J. Elder
  • Patent number: 6119362
    Abstract: An arrangement for impingement drying and/or through-drying of a paper or material web in which the web is dried by blowing hot air and/or superheated steam from an impingement drying and/or through-drying dryer in a direction substantially perpendicular to the web, and the web runs on support of a wire or equivalent past the dryer. In the area of the dryer, the web and wire are supported from the opposite side of the wire, opposite in relation to the web, by blowings produced from one or more vacuum blow boxes substantially across the entire width of the web. The outlet direction of the blowings may be substantially the same as the running direction of the drying wire and as such, steam and/or air is/are ejected out of the space between the drying wire and the wall placed in connection with the blow boxes that produce the blowings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: Valmet Corporation
    Inventor: Hans Sundqvist
  • Patent number: 6119437
    Abstract: A method for drying the applicating finger of a contact lens wearer with sterile, lint-free, absorbent paper. The applicating finger is used to remove the contact lens from an aqueous solution. The lens is then transferred from the applicating finger, and the applicating finger is dried by contact with the sterile, lint-free, absorbent paper. Thereafter, the lens is returned to the dry applicating finger for insertion of the contact lens onto the eye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: Palisades Eye Care Company
    Inventor: Todd Baker
  • Patent number: 6119361
    Abstract: A method for drying the applicating finger of a contact lens wearer with sterile, lint-free, absorbent paper. The applicating finger is used to remove the contact lens from an aqueous solution. The lens is then transferred from the applicating finger, and the applicating finger is dried by contact with the sterile, lint-free, absorbent paper. Thereafter, the lens is returned to the dry applicating finger for insertion of the contact lens onto the eye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: Palisades Eye Care Company
    Inventor: Todd Baker