Patents Examined by Thor S. Campbell
  • Patent number: 12225636
    Abstract: A self-regulating far-infrared carbon fiber composite planar electrothermal material and manufacturing method therefor, where the material is composed of two reinforced insulating layers, two insulating layers, two self-regulating layers and a heating layer, is formed by high-temperature hot pressing, impregnation and curing, and further comprises a connecting terminal and a power supply lead. The connecting terminal is riveted on copper electrodes at two ends of the self-regulating far-infrared carbon fiber composite planar electrothermal material, and the power supply lead is snap-fitted on a wiring groove of the connecting terminal. The electrothermal material uses a three-dimensional conductive network with a stable physical structure of carbon fiber conductive paper, which effectively avoids unstable heating performance, short service life, and fire hazards that may be caused in the self-regulating planar heating material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2024
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: Shanghai Junhui New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Juncheng Quan, Chuonan Wang, Yumei Ma, Shouzhi Quan
  • Patent number: 12219671
    Abstract: A heat source that emits infrared radiation; a reflective sheet surrounding the heat source with a first emission area tuned to direct infrared energy directly downward out of the first emission area; and an outer sheet surrounding the reflective sheet with an insulation gap between the outer sheet and the reflective sheet with a second emission area directed downward out of the insulation gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: Animal Lamps, LLC
    Inventor: James Wetzel
  • Patent number: 12219669
    Abstract: An electric braking resistor-based heat generator for process fluids or emulsions includes a housing having a connection end, a body portion, and a closed end, where at least part of the housing forms an at least partially enclosed portion, an electric braking resistor at least partially disposed within the enclosed portion of the housing, and a thermally conductive material disposed within the enclosed portion of the housing that provides thermal communication between the electric braking resistor and the housing. The electric braking resistor converts electrical energy provided by an electric power source into thermal energy that is thermally communicated from the housing to the process fluids or emulsions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Inventors: Stoney Dean Lake, Robert Dean Alsup
  • Patent number: 12194233
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a cartridge, a vaporiser section configured to receive the cartridge, and a power supply section configured to supply electrical power to the vaporiser section. The cartridge may include a cartridge housing containing a solid aerosol-forming substrate and defining a cartridge air inlet that extends through a wall portion of the cartridge housing. The vaporiser section may include a vaporiser housing containing an electric heater and a liquid aerosol-forming substrate and defining a vaporiser air outlet that extends through a wall portion of the vaporiser housing. The cartridge wall portion is configured to abut the vaporiser wall portion when the cartridge is received within the vaporiser section. The cartridge configured to be rotatable with respect to the vaporiser section to vary the amount of overlap between the cartridge air inlet and the vaporiser air outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Tony Reevell
  • Patent number: 12194227
    Abstract: An electronic vaporizer is provided. The electronic vaporizer includes a cartridge that facilitates provision of a vaporized solution to an individual. The cartridge includes a housing that includes an interior, wherein the housing is one of a polymer housing or a ceramic housing. The cartridge also includes a heating element located in the interior of the housing, wherein the heating element is configured to vaporize a solution for oral provision to the individual. The vaporizer may also include a power harvesting device operative to acquire energy from the environment for use with powering the heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: NJOY, LLC
    Inventors: Gregory D. Conley, Daniel C. Hillenbrandt
  • Patent number: 12196454
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a water heater including a bypass conduit to allow flow of cold water from an inlet pipe to an outlet pipe, and an outlet temperature sensor coupled to the outlet pipe downstream of an outlet of the bypass conduit, to sense temperature of mixture of hot water and cold water in the outlet pipe. An electronic mixing valve is disposed along the inlet pipe to receive temperature data of water mixture from the outlet temperature sensor and compare temperature of the water mixture with a predefined temperature value. In response to determining that the water mixture is flowing through the outlet pipe, the electronic mixing valve regulates the flow of cold water through at least one of the bypass conduit and the inlet pipe until the temperature of the water mixture is within a predetermined range of the predefined temperature value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Rheem Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Edward G. Holman, Michael C. Ezell, David I. Vega, Patrick L Figueroa, Raheel A. Chaudhry
  • Patent number: 12194234
    Abstract: An electrically heated aerosol-generating device includes a storage portion configured to contain an aerosol-forming substrate and having a fluid permeable internal surface surrounding an open-ended passage extending through the cartridge. The device includes a housing having a cavity for receiving the cartridge, and a heater assembly positioned in the cavity. The heater assembly includes an elongate support member connected to the housing and arranged to extend into the open-ended passage of a cartridge inserted in the cavity. The heater assembly also includes a plurality of electric heaters fixed to and spaced along the length of the elongate support member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Rui Nuno Batista, Laurent Manca
  • Patent number: 12178234
    Abstract: A cartridge may include a housing, a liquid supply reservoir in the housing and configured to store a pre-vapor formulation, a vaporizer, and a porous plug. The vaporizer may be in liquid communication with the liquid supply reservoir. The vaporizer may be configured to generate a vapor from heating a portion of the pre-vapor formulation. The porous plug may be connected to the housing and separated from the liquid supply reservoir. The porous plug may be permeable to the vapor. The porous plug may enclose a flavoring additive contacting a storage material. The flavoring additive may be configured to at least partially elute from the storage material or at least partially volatilize from the storage material if the vapor flows through the porous plug. An e-vaping device may include the cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Gerd Kobal, San Li, Peter Lipowicz
  • Patent number: 12178959
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a liquid storage portion configured to hold liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a vaporizer including a heating element with an internal passage at least partially defined by a surface of the heating element, and a micro pump configured to deliver liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion to the internal passage of the heating element, such that the vaporizer is configured to heat the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate at the internal passage to a temperature sufficient to volatilize at least a part of the delivered liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The micro pump may be configured to deliver a particular amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the internal passage based on the micro pump performing an individual pump cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Shaun Phillips, Bruce Renfrew, Ben Mazur, Ben Bright, Rui Nuno Batista
  • Patent number: 12178256
    Abstract: A base for an e-vaping device is configured to couple with multiple cartridges configured to generate separate, respective dispersions. The cartridges may include one or more atomizer assemblies or vaporizer assemblies. The base may include multiple connectors electrically coupled to the power supply. The connectors may be configured to couple multiple dispersion generators to a power supply of the base. The base may include control circuitry configured to independently control dispersion generation by dispersion generators coupled to the base. The control circuitry may independently control dispersion generation by the first and second cartridges based on cartridge information accessed through at least one of the first and second connectors. The control circuitry may control dispersion generation by controlling power supplied to the dispersion generators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Ali A. Rostami, Gerd Kobal, Yezdi Pithawalla, David Kane, Christopher S. Tucker, Peter Lipowicz, Jason Flora, Georgios Karles, Munmaya K. Mishra, Catherine Barnes, Richard Arena
  • Patent number: 12171262
    Abstract: A cartridge for an e-vaping device enables simultaneous vaporization of different pre-vapor formulations to form a vapor for vaping by an adult vaper. The cartridge includes a dispensing interface coupled to a plurality of reservoirs and a heater coupled to the dispensing interface in a housing. The dispensing interface may include a trunk and separate roots extending into separate reservoirs, such that the dispensing interface draws different pre-vapor formulations from the reservoirs to the trunk via the separate roots. The heater is coupled to the trunk, such that the heater is operable to simultaneously vaporize the different pre-vapor formulations drawn into the trunk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Ali Rostami, Christopher S. Tucker, David Kane, Peter Lipowicz, Georgios Karles, Gerd Kobal, Yezdi Pithawalla
  • Patent number: 12169305
    Abstract: A fusion splicer includes a first electrode, a second electrode, an optical fiber disposition unit, and a first conductive member. The first electrode has a first potential, the second electrode has a second potential lower than the first potential, and an arc discharge is generated therebetween. The optical fiber disposition unit has grooves in which first optical fibers and second optical fibers are accommodated. The first conductive member is provided apart from the grooves between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first conductive member has a third potential that is lower than the first potential and higher than the second potential, and is disposed at a position at which the shortest distance from one of the first electrode and the second electrode is shorter than the shortest distance from the other of the first electrode and the second electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ryosuke Meo, Hiroshi Takayanagi, Shohei Nakamura
  • Patent number: 12161156
    Abstract: An e-vaping device may include a pre-vapor formulation tank configured to hold a pre-vapor formulation, an adaptor that includes a vaporizer assembly configured to vaporize the pre-vapor formulation, and a flavor insert positioned to receive vapors formed by the vaporizer assembly. The flavor insert may hold at least one flavorant. The tank, adaptor, and flavor insert may be a non-combustible vaping element that includes a channel into which the flavor insert may be inserted to be positioned to receive the vapors. The flavor insert and the vaporizer assembly may be at opposing ends of the channel. The flavor insert may be a detachable insert configured to be inserted into the tank element. The flavor element may be a tobacco element. The tobacco element may be at least a portion of a cigarette.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: ALTRIA CLIENT SERVICES LLC
    Inventors: San Li, Ben Ragland, Diane Gee, Raquel Olegario
  • Patent number: 12167510
    Abstract: The subject application provides a portable electronic heating type device with an improved power converter topology configured for receiving a DC input voltage from the power supply and generate an AC output voltage to the heating element. The power converter is based on an inductor, a DC blocking capacitor and only one switching device. Heating power can be adjusted under a pulse-width-modulation mode, a fixed-on-time mode, a fixed-off-time mode or a frequency-modulation mode. The portable electronic heating type device has less switching loss and faster response. Therefore, it can be operated at higher frequency and more compact in size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: INNOSCIENCE (SUZHOU) TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Weipeng Li
  • Patent number: 12167511
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating article may comprise a liquid storage portion containing a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, and a hydrochromic material provided on the liquid storage portion. The hydrochromic material has a first colour when in the presence of or when in contact with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate and a second colour when in the absence of or when not in contact with the liquid aerosol-forming substrate. An aerosol-generating system may comprise the aerosol-generating article, an aerosol-generating element, and an aerosol-generating device. An aerosol-generating device may comprise an electrical power supply, an electronic photosensor, and a controller configured to control a supply of electrical power from the electrical power supply based on a value of an optical property sensed with the electronic photosensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Stephane Bilat, Guillaume Colotte
  • Patent number: 12156536
    Abstract: A vaporizer device may include a controller and a heater control circuitry. The controller may generate, based at least on a temperature of a heating coil in a cartridge coupled with the vaporizer device, an output signal for controlling a discharge of a battery of the vaporizer device. The battery may be discharged to the heating coil to increase the temperature of the heating coil and cause a vaporization of a vaporizable material contained in the cartridge. The heater control circuitry may determine the temperature of the heating coil. The heater control circuitry may further control, based on the output signal from the controller, the discharge of the battery to the heating coil. The heater control circuitry may be powered by a voltage rail coupled to a voltage regulator configured to regulate an output voltage of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: Pax Labs, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua Fu, Christopher Loental, Marko Markovic, Alexander Weiss, Alexander Ringrose, David Carlberg, Robyn Nariyoshi, Devin Spratt, Nicholas J. Hatton, Yen Jen Chang, Chen Yu Li, Barry Tseng, Prince Wang, Thomas Germann, Andreas Schaefer
  • Patent number: 12156539
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices, methods of forming such devices, and elements of such devices. In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides devices configured for vaporization of an aerosol precursor composition that is stored in and/or transported to a heater by a porous monolith, which can be, for example, a porous glass or a porous ceramic. A heater can be in a heating arrangement with an external portion of the porous monolith or can be substantially internal to the porous monolith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael F. Davis, Ercilia Hernandez Garcia, Sawyer Hubbard, Percy D. Phillips, James William Rogers, Stephen Benson Sears, Andries Don Sebastian, Karen V. Taluskie
  • Patent number: 12156301
    Abstract: An electric heater includes a first busbar, a second busbar, a third busbar, a neutral busbar, a plurality of first heating elements, a plurality of second heating elements, and a plurality of third heating element. A first end of each first heating element is coupled to the first busbar for electrical communication therewith. A second end of each first heating element is coupled to the neutral busbar for electrical communication therewith. A first end of each second heating element is coupled to the second busbar for electrical communication therewith. A second end of each second heating element is coupled to the neutral busbar for electrical communication therewith. A first end of each third heating element is coupled to the third busbar for electrical communication therewith. A second end of each third heating element is coupled to the neutral busbar for electrical communication therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Ethan Dinauer, Dennis Long, Scott Boehmer
  • Patent number: 12154764
    Abstract: In a plasma generator having a first supply port and a second supply port, in which the plasma generator includes a first supply device for supplying a first gas from the first supply port, and a second supply device connected to the first supply device so as to supply a second gas from the second supply port, a gas supply determination method includes a first supply step of causing the first supply device to start supplying the first gas in a state where the second supply device stops supplying the second gas, a first measurement step of measuring a flow rate of the gas supplied to the first supply port after the first supply step, and a first notification step of notifying a supply state of the first gas in the first supply port in accordance with a flow rate measurement result of the first measurement step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: FUJI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinji Takikawa, Takahiro Jindo
  • Patent number: 12146667
    Abstract: A lightning protective and heating porcelain tile includes a porcelain tile layer, a shell, a metal plate protective layer, and an electric heating film heating layer. The metal plate protective layer is attached to the inner wall of the porcelain tile layer, and the electric heating film heating layer is attached to the metal plate protective layer. The electric heating film heating layer includes an electric heating film, a first lightning protective module and a second lightning protective module. The hot wire and neutral wire connected to the electric heating film are electrically connected to the first lightning protective module and the second lightning protective module, respectively. The first lightning protective module and the second lightning protective module are electrically connected to the metal plate protective layer individually. The first lightning protective module and the second lightning protective module are made of varistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2024
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Inventors: Jun Du, Bo Lu