Patents Examined by Stephen Gravini
  • Patent number: 6945243
    Abstract: A portable Dutch Oven stand comprising a low aspect ratio and few parts which are integrally pieced together into one transportable unit. In a preferred form the Dutch Oven Stand includes a tray for holding cooking fuel (typically charcoal briquettes) at a safe distance from the ground while also maintaining such fuel from falling onto the ground, and while also supporting at least one Dutch Oven during cooking. The Dutch Oven stand also comprises folding legs permanently attached to the tray, a leveling means forming a part of the tray to level the stand prior to cooking, and a rotatable platform assembly for rotating a Dutch Oven while on the stand without lifting the Dutch Oven from the stand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Inventors: Michael Eric Walker, Jonathan B. Orlick, Roy Thomas Powell, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6944969
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to a method and an installation or system for drying fibrous material. The method comprises the step of ventilating very moist air through the fibrous material located in a drying zone. The moisture content of the moist air is less than that inside the drying zone, its pressure is close to atmospheric pressure and its temperature is higher than that of the material to be dried. The method additionally comprises the step of recovering the heat of condensation of the water vapor extracted from the fibrous material to heat the moist air, providing leaks between the outside ambient air and the ventilation circuit upstream and downstream of the drying zone, making possible a mass and heat exchange. It is possible to ensure heat and mass balance without expelling large amounts of moist air into the ambient air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Assignee: Armines
    Inventors: Denis Clodic, Lionel Palandre
  • Patent number: 6944967
    Abstract: An air dryer and process employs a jet engine for producing high quality dried products. A turbofan jet engine in an air-drying system uses both thermal and non-thermal air-drying. The turbofan jet engine is housed within an air distribution chamber for directing exhaust air and bypass air from the jet engine into a product drying tube, where it is dried through a combination of thermal drying from heat content in an engine exhaust, and by the kinetic energy of air flowing past the product traveling through the drying tube, that may include a physical impediment for retarding retard the speed of the product solids flowing in the air stream through the tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Inventor: Wesley A. Staples
  • Patent number: 6941680
    Abstract: A clothes dryer that is operatively attached to a heating system is illustrated. The clothes dryer receives heated fluid when the dryer is turned on. The dryer has a radiator that receives the heated fluid from the circulating fluid flow system. The fluid-filled radiator radiates heat into a clothes-drying chamber, which forms part of a motor-driven, rotating drum. The rotating drum tumbles the clothes as heat is projected into the drying chamber, thus driving the moisture from the clothes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Zielewicz, Karen Zielewicz, Sarah Zielewicz, Matthew Zielewicz, Emily Zielewicz
  • Patent number: 6941673
    Abstract: A closed-type drying system a drying chamber with glass windows to allow light entering, an condensation and heating system connected between two distal ends of the drying chamber and controlled by an automatic control system, the condensation and heating system including an air blower for blowing air through the drying chamber, a heater for heating air passing through the drying chamber, two evaporators for condensing moisture from output air of the drying chamber, a heat energy reclamation chamber connected between the air blower and the evaporator, a condenser mounted inside the heat energy reclamation chamber for preheating air passing through the heat energy reclamation chamber, a first compressor mounted in the heat energy reclamation chamber for heat exchange with the flow of air passing through reclamation chamber, and a second compressor adapted to provide low temperature conditions (if needed) in the drying chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: National Pintung University of Science and Technology
    Inventors: Ho Hsien Chen, Jwo Jyh Huang
  • Patent number: 6941679
    Abstract: A laundry machine having a malfunction detection system for detecting when an obstructing item protrudes outwardly from a perforated tumbler of the machine beyond a predetermined amount during rotation of the tumbler and for detecting when the drive belt for the tumbler is either broken or dislodged from its drive pulleys. In response to either malfunction, a control device is actuated for automatically shutting down operation of the machine. The obstruction detection system includes a cable disposed in closely spaced relation to an outer perimeter of the tumbler for engagement by an obstructing item extending outwardly from the perforated tumbler beyond the predetermined spacing of the cables. In the illustrated embodiment, the obstruction detection system and the drive belt malfunction detection system utilize a common malfunction detection switch and control circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Alliance Laundry Systems LLC
    Inventors: Stephen L. Harris, Andrew Kegler, Lon Borgmann, Thomas F. L'Esperance
  • Patent number: 6941678
    Abstract: A sensor assembly is provided for an automatic drying machine having a rotatable drum containing a load of wet clothes to be dried wherein at least one sensing element is disposed on a surface of an elongated sensor body and is exposed to inside of the drum so as to make contact with the wet clothes. The sensor body is secured directly to a bulkhead having an air outlet opening and is provided at the air outlet opening for effective engagement with the wet clothes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Soo Won Park
  • Patent number: 6938356
    Abstract: A washing/drying machine has objects to shorten a time required for a washing operation, to improve a heat exchange capability in a radiator and an evaporator, and to shorten a drying time for things to be dried, and comprises: an accommodating chamber in which things to be washed (things to be dried) are accommodated and in which a drying operation of the things to be washed is performed; a refrigerant circuit in which a compressor, a gas cooler, a decompression device, an evaporator and the like are successively connected to one another in an annular form via a piping and in which carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant and which has a supercritical pressure on a high pressure side thereof; and blower means for blowing air which has exchanged heat with the radiator into the accommodating chamber to allow the air passed through the accommodating chamber to exchange the heat with the evaporator, wherein the blower means constitutes a circulation direction of the air passed through the gas cooler, and that of
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Etsushi Nagae, Hiroshi Mukaiyama, Koji Ono, Masaya Tadano, Tetsuya Masuda, Kazuyoshi Tomochika, Takahiro Nakamura, Masakatsu Morishige, Harumi Takeuchi, Kiyokazu Fujikawa, Tamotsu Kawamura, Motohiko Kosano, Shinichi Akiyama, Nobuo Koumoto
  • Patent number: 6939126
    Abstract: A gas burner (10) includes an internal cavity (20) for receiving a gas and air mixture and an external substantially cylindrical wall (16) surrounding the cavity (20). The wall (16) is provided with through holes (32) for allowing gases to pass from the cavity (20) to an exterior burner (10) for combustion. The wall (16) is made up of one or more wall elements (30) in the form of sheets of material shaped so that together they form a substantially cylindrical shape. The wall includes at least one join between adjacent edge portions (34a, 34b) of the wall elements, the join being welded and at least the part of one edge portion (34a) overlying at least a part of the other edge portion (34b) in the region of the join.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: Aeromatix Limited
    Inventor: Michael Boyes
  • Patent number: 6935327
    Abstract: A handle and light assembly for use on a barbecue grill. The assembly is inclusive of handle and at least one source of illumination for illuminating a cooking surface inside a hollow cooking chamber of the barbecue grill. The handle may function both as a means for opening a lid to access the cooking surface and also as a compartment for retaining the energy used to power the source of illumination. The lid includes at least one channel for the appropriate wiring to extend from the energy compartment to the illumination source. Accordingly, the handle may be located on the outside of the grill lid, and the source of illumination may be located inside the hollow cooking chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: W.C. Bradley Company
    Inventors: Benjamin M. Williams, Wesley J. Wagner, James E. deBeers, Chris Labak
  • Patent number: 6935047
    Abstract: A hair styling attachment including a main housing and at least a pair of hair treating members, the hair treating member includes at least a thermally conductive hair treating surface, the pair of hair treating members being adjacently disposed with the corresponding hair treating surfaces on the pair of adjacent hair treating members generally in compressive contact, the corresponding hair treating surfaces on the pair of adjacent hair treating members being relatively displaceable to form a gap for receiving the hair to be treated, the main housing includes an air inlet and the hair treating surface being communicable with the air inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Inventor: Wing Kin Chan
  • Patent number: 6935328
    Abstract: A gas burner assembly for connection to a source of gas includes a burner body, a burner cap disposed over the burner body, a ceramic igniter positioned adjacent the burner body, and a ceramic igniter protection apparatus positioned adjacent to the ceramic igniter, the ceramic igniter protection apparatus is configured to shield the ceramic igniter from inadvertent contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Joel Meier Haynes, David Joseph Najewicz, Derrick Douglas Little
  • Patent number: 6935049
    Abstract: A system for reclaiming effluent from a freeze drying process has at least one condenser apparatus used during a freeze-drying cycle to collect effluent from material being freeze-dried, and a recovery reservoir positioned for collecting material from the condenser apparatus. The system is characterized in that ice crystals formed from the effluent are removed from the condenser after the freeze drying cycle into recovery reservoir to be re-used. Product systems include both freeze-dried material and the effluent collected during freeze drying.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Inventor: Edward K. Alstat
  • Patent number: 6931757
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for conditioning fibrous substances, especially wood fibers that are dried in a dryer. In a substantially closed drying circuit (1) a vapor-gas mixture is guided in said dryer as a circulating gas (referred to as vapors) that is separated from the dried fibers (6) in a separator (5) once it has passed the drier, and is then returned to a first heat exchanger (7) connected to the drying circuit (1). Gas is heated in a furnace (11) and is supplied to the heat exchanger to heat the vapors. A partial flow (8) of the vapors is coupled out upstream of the first heat exchanger (7) when seen in the direction of the drying circuit (1), heated in a second heat exchanger (10) and is then supplied to the furnace (11) and combusted. In order to reduce emissions and save energy, the partial flow (8) of vapors coupled out, before being heated in the second heat exchanger (10), is cooled in a vapor condenser (9) and depleted, and the resulting condensation product (14) is fed out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Dieter Greubel, Timon Gruber
  • Patent number: 6932079
    Abstract: This document discusses, among other things, systems, devices, and methods that increase radiant energy output, such as by using the waste airflow of combusted gas and/or ambient airflow resulting from convection, or by reducing or avoiding cooling effects of such airflows. In one example, the collected energy can be used to drive other secondary radiant sources or to preheat combustion air or ambient air. In another example, segmented secondary radiant sources are thermally isolated from each other to operate as a cross flow exchanger that exchanges thermal energy from a heated gas to a heated surface that provides radiant energy output. In a further example, a re-radiant membrane can separate the radiant source from the environment and/or reconfigure the effective shape of the primary radiant energy source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Radiant Optics
    Inventor: Roger N. Johnson
  • Patent number: 6931758
    Abstract: An apparatus for carrying out a method of controlling the moisture of tobacco material comprises a hollow rotating cylinder (6) having an inlet (4) and an outlet (8) for tobacco material, and a feeding device for supplying a moist air flow into the rotating cylinder (6) such that the moist air flow runs out from the inlet (4) toward the outlet (8) within the rotating cylinder (6). Temperature and relative humidity of the moist air flow supplied into the rotating cylinder (6) are within the range of 40-80° C. and 80-95%, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Japan Tobacco, Inc.
    Inventors: Koji Sakamoto, Susumu Uchida, Katsuhide Yokota, Takashi Ogawa, Kazuo Yoshimoto
  • Patent number: 6931755
    Abstract: A dehumidifier includes: a housing, a fan axially mounted in the housing along a longitudinal axis of the housing, and a moisture-exchange device having a plurality of thin flat air-penetrable ducts radially disposed in the housing and having a dehydrating chamber filled with desiccant material in the chamber between the fan and an outer shell of the housing; whereby the ambient air will be drafted by the fan and blown radially outwardly by the fan through the air-penetrable ducts to allow the desiccant material to absorb the moisture as laden in the air through the ducts for efficiently dehumidifying the air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Inventor: Tsang-Hung Hsu
  • Patent number: 6932594
    Abstract: A method and device for low-emission, noncatalytic combustion of a liquid fuel. The method includes separately introducing the liquid fuel in a non-ignitable state into a mixing zone, vaporizing the liquid fuel in the mixing zone, separately introducing a gaseous oxidizing agent into the mixing zone, and mixing the fuel and the gaseous oxidizing agent in the mixing zone to create ignitable mixture. The mixing zone is formed so that combustion is not possible even when the ignition temperature of the mixture is reached within the mixing zone. Combustion of the mixture occurs in a combustion zone located down current from the mixing zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: GVP Gesellschaft zur Vermarktung der Porenbrennertechnik mbH
    Inventors: Miroslaw Weclas, Jochen Volkert
  • Patent number: 6931760
    Abstract: A dryer control method provides for selection among a plurality of dryness levels so that the user may select a desired degree of dryness for any given type of laundry. The method includes steps of selecting one among a plurality of dryness levels; driving a drying unit holding laundry; sensing a value indicative of a water content of the laundry; comparing the sensed value with first and second predetermined values; measuring a time required for the sensed value to reach the second predetermined value from the first predetermined value; computing a drying time based on the measured time; and stopping the driving step upon expiration of the computed drying time, wherein the first and second predetermined values determine a reference value corresponding to the selected dryness level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Jae Suk Yang
  • Patent number: 6931759
    Abstract: An apparatus for sensing a dryness degree in an exhaust type clothes dryer and a control method using the same, includes an electrode sensor for sensing a clothes drying state based on the humidity of the clothes in the drum, and a thermistor for sensing the temperature of the air discharged after drying the clothes. By comparing the clothes drying state and discharged air temperature, the operation of the dryer is controlled, so that the drying of clothes can be accurately performed, thus to improve efficiency and performance of an exhaust type clothes dryer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Hae-Deog Jeong, Soon-Jo Lee