Patents Examined by Travis Ruby
  • Patent number: 9243847
    Abstract: Heat is indirectly transferred between a process fluid and ambient air in apparatus that includes an evaporative heat transfer cell operative in a wet mode or a dry mode, a dry heat transfer cell and a fan. The air may bypass the dry heat transfer cell to flow through a first air passage or may flow through a second air passage through the dry heat transfer cell and in either event, then through the evaporative heat transfer cell. The air may partially flow through and partially bypass the dry heat transfer cell, and then through the evaporative heat transfer cell. The evaporative heat transfer cell optionally may include a direct contact evaporative heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Evapco, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven M. Benz, Trevor H. Hegg, Thomas William Bugler, III, Davey Joe Vadder
  • Patent number: 9228318
    Abstract: A cooling device includes: a cooling fan; a shroud provided at an outer circumferential side of the cooling fan; an inner circumferential wall provided on the shroud and adjacent to the outer circumference of the cooling fan so as to surround the cooling fan; an outer circumferential wall provided to surround the inner circumferential wall. An air-flow-direction downstream side end of the outer circumferential wall is positioned at a further downstream position in an air flow direction than an air-flow-direction downstream side end of the inner circumferential wall. The cooling fan is rotatable within a space provided on a radially inner side of the inner circumferential wall. The air-flow-direction downstream side end of the outer circumferential wall is provided at a further upstream position in the air flow direction than an air-flow-direction downstream side end of the cooling fan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Yabe, Hiroki Shinoda, Masahiro Ikeda, Tomoya Watanabe, Atsushi Kawano, Seiichi Fuchita, Yasuhiro Kusuyama, Teruyuki Matsuki
  • Patent number: 9228320
    Abstract: A cooling device includes: a cooling fan; a shroud provided at an outer circumferential side of the cooling fan; an inner circumferential wall provided on the shroud and adjacent to the outer circumference of the cooling fan; and an outer circumferential wall provided to surround the inner circumferential wall. An air-flow-direction downstream side end of an outer circumferential edge of the cooling fan is positioned at a further downstream position in an air flow direction than an air-flow-direction downstream side end of the inner circumferential wall. An angle between: an line connecting the air-flow-direction downstream side end of the inner circumferential wall to the air-flow-direction downstream side end of the outer circumferential wall in cross section along the air flow direction of the inner circumferential wall and the outer circumferential wall; and a line orthogonal to the air flow direction, is 9 degrees or more and 45 degrees or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Yabe, Hiroki Shinoda, Masahiro Ikeda, Tomoya Watanabe, Atsushi Kawano, Seiichi Fuchita, Yasuhiro Kusuyama, Teruyuki Matsuki
  • Patent number: 9228317
    Abstract: A cooling device includes: a cooling fan; a shroud provided at an outer circumferential side of the cooling fan; and a ring having an inner circumferential wall and an outer circumferential wall. The inner circumferential wall is provided on the shroud and adjacent to an outer circumference of the cooling fan. The outer circumferential wall surrounds the inner circumferential wall, and an air-flow-direction downstream side end of the outer circumferential wall is positioned at a further downstream position in an air flow direction than an air-flow-direction downstream side end of the inner circumferential wall. An air-flow-direction downstream side end of an outer circumferential edge of the cooling fan is positioned at a further downstream position in the air flow direction than the air-flow-direction downstream side end of the inner circumferential wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Yabe, Hiroki Shinoda, Masahiro Ikeda, Tomoya Watanabe, Atsushi Kawano, Seiichi Fuchita, Yasuhiro Kusuyama, Teruyuki Matsuki
  • Patent number: 9228319
    Abstract: A cooling device includes: a cooling fan; a shroud provided at an outer circumferential side of the cooling fan; an inner circumferential wall provided on the shroud and adjacent to the outer circumference of the cooling fan; and an outer circumferential wall provided to surround the inner circumferential wall. An air-flow-direction downstream side end of the outer circumferential wall is positioned at a further downstream position in an air flow direction than an air-flow-direction downstream side end of the inner circumferential wall. An air-flow-direction downstream side end of the cooling fan is positioned at a further downstream position than the air-flow-direction downstream side end of the inner circumferential wall. A ratio between a length of the outer circumferential wall and a length of the inner circumferential wall in the air flow direction is 1.07 or more and 1.81 or less, and a width between the outer circumferential wall and the inner circumferential wall is 15 mm or more and 55 mm or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuo Yabe, Hiroki Shinoda, Masahiro Ikeda, Tomoya Watanabe, Atsushi Kawano, Seiichi Fuchita, Yasuhiro Kusuyama, Teruyuki Matsuki
  • Patent number: 9207021
    Abstract: An electrical equipment cabinet coupled to a closed loop in turn coupled to a groundwater source for exchanging heat energy with the closed loop for air-conditioning the interior of the electrical equipment cabinet. In the absence of a groundwater source a slinky loop is used as a substitute. The slinky loop is buried in the ground or located in a body of water located on or below ground.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Inventor: Michael Gian
  • Patent number: 9194594
    Abstract: A multiple-tank water thermal storage system and its using method belong to energy saving technology. The multiple-tank water thermal storage system includes at least two water tanks. There are an upper diffuser (2) and a lower diffuser (5) provided in each said water tank. The upper and lower diffusers (2, 5) are connected with a chiller (heater) unit (4) and a heat exchanger (11) after connecting in parallel, respectively. Control valves (8) are set on pipes of the upper and the lower diffusers (2, 5), respectively. A thermal energy-charging pump (1) is set on the water-inlet pipe of chiller (heater) unit (4). A thermal energy-releasing pump (10) is set on the water-inlet pipe of the heat exchanger (11), and temperature sensors (6) are set in the water tanks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Beijing Poweru Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hong Liu, Yuanquan Jiang, Zhangwei Hou
  • Patent number: 9188394
    Abstract: The heat sink includes a fastener and a heat pipe. The fastener has a receiving space, an upper claw and a lower claw. The upper claw and the lower claw are formed in the receiving space. The heat pipe has a first end and a second end. The first end is received in the receiving space and clipped between the upper claw and the second claw, and the upper claw or the lower claw is partially embedded in the heat pipe to be flush with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: CHAUN-CHOUNG TECHNOLOGY CORP.
    Inventors: Cheng-Tu Wang, Chi-Chung Tseng
  • Patent number: 9188358
    Abstract: A device and method for managing the supply of energy to heating and cooling devices based on environmental conditions within a regulated area, said system including one or more sensor devices within said regulated area for communicating one or more status signals, and a control module for receiving said one or more status signals, said control module analyzing said one or more status signals based on one or more heating and cooling routines, said one or more heating and cooling routines instructing said control module to communicate one or more control signals to said heating and cooling devices, said one or more control signals activating or deactivating said heating and cooling devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Inventors: Clive Alan Webb, Yvette Rose Webb
  • Patent number: 9150132
    Abstract: An HVAC comfort system operates in a cabin of a vehicle. A plurality of vehicle status parameters are measured including a cabin temperature and a seat occupancy configuration. The method detects whether the vehicle status parameters correspond to a predetermined override state. When the vehicle status parameters correspond to the predetermined override state, then a respective mandated setting is automatically activated. Unless prevented by the mandated setting, one of a plurality of HVAC modes is automatically selected in response to the cabin temperature and other inputs, wherein the HVAC modes include an extremity heating mode and a panel circulation mode. The extremity heating mode is comprised of automatic activation of a touchpoint heated surface and other outputs in response to the seat occupancy configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Paul B. Hoke, Johnathan A. Line, Gary A. Dage, Robert S. Sawyer
  • Patent number: 9134038
    Abstract: An HVAC system for controlling the temperature and humidity of air supplied to a comfort zone includes a heater and a cooler operating concurrently. In response to a supply air temperature sensor, a PID control loop with substantially constant gain controls the cooler to maintain the zone air at a certain comfortable temperature. The heater, also under PID control, is controlled in response to a humidistat. To prevent the heater from overloading the cooler during periods of high cooling demand, a variable gain multiplier decreases the heater's gain when the cooler's output exceeds a predetermined limit; otherwise, the heater's gain remains substantially constant. When the cooler is operating above the predetermined limit, the multiplier varies linearly between positive-one and negative-one and does so inverse-proportionally with the cooling load to smoothly change the heater's PID control from direct acting to reverse acting as the cooler approaches its maximum capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Trane International Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony N. Lee, Joel D. Monroe
  • Patent number: 9091485
    Abstract: A hybrid heat exchanger apparatus includes a direct heat exchanger device and an indirect heat exchanger device and a method of operating the same encompasses conveying a hot fluid to be cooled from a hot fluid source through the indirect heat exchanger device to a cooling fluid distribution system. The hot fluid to be cooled is distributed from the cooling fluid distribution system onto the direct heat exchanger device. In a hybrid wet/dry mode, ambient air flows across both the indirect heat exchanger device and the direct heat exchanger device to generate hot humid air from the ambient air flowing across the direct heat exchanger device and hot dry air from the ambient air flowing across the indirect heat exchanger device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: EVAPCO, INC.
    Inventors: Thomas W. Bugler, III, Davey J. Vadder
  • Patent number: 9090143
    Abstract: In an air conditioner for a vehicle and including a heat exchanger for cooling, an air mix door, and a heat exchanger for heating arranged in an air conditioner casing in that order from an upstream fan side toward a downstream side and a rear vent outlet path and a foot outlet path branching out via an air mix chamber for mixing, cold air and hot air, an air distribution amount adjustment blade for adjusting an amount of air distribution from the air mix chamber is provided in the rear vent outlet path, a foot door a door opening degree of which is controlled according to a selected mode is provided in the foot outlet path, and the air distribution amount adjustment blade is a blade in operative association with door open/close operation of the foot door and for limiting the amount of air distribution to the rear vent outlet path when the door opening degree of the foot door is large.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: CALSONIC KANSEI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tsugutaka Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 9068771
    Abstract: The present invention relates generally to a method for automatically adjusting the interval of time between defrost cycles in a heat pump system. The method includes tracking the duration of the previous defrost cycle or cycles, and dynamically adjusting the length of time before initiating the next defrost cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventor: Rajendra K. Shah
  • Patent number: 8950469
    Abstract: A temperature control system includes a heat transfer medium supply configured to supply a first heat transfer medium of a first temperature into a heat transfer medium path; at least one heat transfer medium storage provided between the heat transfer medium path and the heat transfer medium supply and configured to store a second heat transfer medium of a second temperature higher than the first temperature; a heat transfer medium supply control device provided between the heat transfer medium supply and the heat transfer medium path and between the heat transfer medium storage and the heat transfer medium path and configured to stop a supply of the first heat transfer medium into the heat transfer medium path from the heat transfer medium supply and to supply the second heat transfer medium into the heat transfer medium path from the heat transfer medium storage when a heating unit generates heat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yasuharu Sasaki, Ryo Nonaka, Nobuyuki Nagayama
  • Patent number: 8931545
    Abstract: A heat exchanger arrangement is provided for an internal-combustion engine having a heat engine, which converts hot steam of a working medium by way of an expansion device to kinetic energy. The working medium, that can be delivered by a pump, can be heated in a first heat exchanger by a coolant and in a second heat exchanger by an exhaust gas of the internal-combustion engine. In the delivery direction, the working medium first flows through the first heat exchanger and, subsequently, through the second heat exchanger. The exhaust gas can flow through the first heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Raymond Freymann, Wolfgang Strobl, Walter Huebner, Andreas Obieglo, Peter Doemeland, Norbert Kraus, Juergen Becker, Michael Hoetger, Christian Goebel, Goeran Gensicke
  • Patent number: 8910705
    Abstract: An automobile which includes a radiator fan control for heat pump HVAC which can selectively reverse fan direction based on ambient temperature and moisture to reduce ice buildup on a liquid-gas converter. The automobile may include a liquid-gas converter located within an engine bay, a radiator located adjacent the liquid-gas converter, a first fan located adjacent the radiator, a fuel cell and motor with the inverter located adjacent the first fan, the fuel cell supplying electricity to the motor with the inverter to drive the vehicle. The automobile can also include a temperature sensor located on an exterior surface of the automobile to sense an ambient temperature, a heater core connected to the liquid-gas converter and located between the engine bay and the passenger area, and a control unit connected to the first fan, the temperature sensor, and the heater core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Shimpei Miura
  • Patent number: 8910706
    Abstract: An apparatus for cooling a heat-generating component is disclosed. The apparatus includes a cooling chamber containing a liquid metal. The cooling chamber has a heat-conducting wall thermally coupled to the heat-generating component. A plurality of extendable tubes making up an array of cooling pin fins is attached to the cooling chamber. Each of the extendable tubes has a port end that opens into the cooling chamber and a sealed end that projects away from the cooling chamber. Moreover, each of the extendable tubes has an extended position when filled with liquid metal from the cooling chamber and a retracted position when emptied of the liquid metal. A pump system is included for urging the liquid metal from the cooling chamber into the plurality of extendable tubes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Don Alan Gilliland, Maurice Francis Holahan, Cary Michael Huettner
  • Patent number: 8905123
    Abstract: An automobile which includes a radiator fan control for heat pump HVAC which can selectively reverse fan direction based on ambient temperature and moisture to reduce ice buildup on a liquid-gas converter. The automobile may include a liquid-gas converter located within an engine bay, a radiator located adjacent the liquid-gas converter, a first fan located adjacent the radiator, a fuel cell and motor with the inverter located adjacent the first fan, the fuel cell supplying electricity to the motor with the inverter to drive the vehicle. The automobile can also include a temperature sensor located on an exterior surface of the automobile to sense an ambient temperature, a heater core connected to the liquid-gas converter and located between the engine bay and the passenger area, and a control unit connected to the first fan, the temperature sensor, and the heater core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Shimpei Miura
  • Patent number: 8905124
    Abstract: A temperature controlled loadlock chamber for use in semiconductor processing is provided. The temperature controlled loadlock chamber may include one or more of an adjustable fluid pump, mass flow controller, one or more temperature sensors, and a controller. The adjustable fluid pump provides fluid having a predetermined temperature to a temperature-controlled plate. The mass flow controller provides gas flow into the chamber that may also aid in maintaining a desired temperature. Additionally, one or more temperature sensors may be combined with the adjustable fluid pump and/or the mass flow controller to provide feedback and to provide a greater control over the temperature. A controller may be added to control the adjustable fluid pump and the mass flow controller based upon temperature readings from the one or more temperature sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Chun-Hsien Lin, Jyh-Cherng Sheu, Ming-Feng Yoo, Kewei Zuo