Patents Examined by William C Weinert
  • Patent number: 12269315
    Abstract: A vehicle system includes: a volatile organic compounds (VOC) sensor configured to measure an amount of a VOC within a passenger cabin of a vehicle; a particulate matter sensor configured to measure an amount of particulate matter within the passenger cabin of the vehicle; a triggering module configured to, during a use of the vehicle, selectively trigger the VOC and particulate matter sensors to measure the amount of the VOC and the amount of particulate matter; an odor database including a mapping of amounts of VOCs and amounts of particulate matter to odors; and an odor determination module configured to, using the odor database, determine an odor introduced into the passenger cabin of the vehicle during the use of the vehicle based on the measured amounts of VOCs and particulate matter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: DENSO International America, Inc.
    Inventors: Sibu Varughese, Martín Nespolo, Thomas Krzyzak, Gareth Webb, Wilson Yim, Matthew Johnson
  • Patent number: 12268331
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a silicon nitride ceramic heating and ignition device for a granular fuel barbecue oven, including a combustion chamber and a fixing pipe. An outer wall of the combustion chamber is welded to one end of the fixing pipe, the fixing pipe is communicated with an interior of the combustion chamber, and air inlet holes and air flow holes are defined in the two sides of the fixing pipe. One end of the fixing pipe is fixedly connected with a stainless steel sheet bending support, and the heat dissipation ceramic flange sleeve and one end flange port of the fixing pipe are connected with a boss positioning center. An inner cavity of the heat dissipation flange ceramic sleeve is bonded with the silicon nitride ignition rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Inventor: Shirong Zhu
  • Patent number: 12263717
    Abstract: An air outlet, in particular for heaters or air conditioning units for recreational vehicles like campers or caravans, having a main housing, a flap suitable to seal the air flow channel in the main housing and a coupling mechanism. The main housing forms an air flow channel and the coupling mechanism couples the flap to the main housing in a movable manner such that the flap can be moved with respect to the main housing between a closed state, in which the flap seals the air flow channel, and an opened state, in which the flap does not seal the air flow channel. The coupling mechanism is configured such that the flap conducts a rotating and sliding movement with respect to the main housing when being moved between the closed state and the opened state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignee: Dometic Sweden AB
    Inventor: Herr Dirk Hornung
  • Patent number: 12259139
    Abstract: A heating cooking apparatus (100) includes a housing (1), a lid portion (21), a moving member (25), at least two connecting members (60), and a pivoting mechanism (30). The housing (1) includes an opening and a first face disposed on an outer periphery of the opening. The lid portion (21) includes a second face (21B) facing the first face, and a fixing member (26) fixed to the second face (2B). The moving member (25) moves along a first direction (D1) with respect to the housing (1). At least two connecting members (60) connect the housing (1) and the lid portion (21) when the lid portion (21) is placed at a position where the lid portion (21) covers the opening. The pivoting mechanism (30) couples the fixing member (26) of the lid portion (21) and the moving member (25) such that the lid portion (21) pivots about a rotation axis extending along a second direction intersecting with the first direction (D1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yu Shinohara
  • Patent number: 12251991
    Abstract: A vehicle system includes: an olfaction sensor comprising: a blower configured to draw air through an inlet; a dehumidifier configured to decrease a humidity of the air; and a sensor located downstream of the dehumidifier and configured to measure an amount of a chemical in the air after the air flows through the dehumidifier; and a control module configured to selectively take one or more remedial actions based on the amount of the chemical in the air measured by the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: DENSO International America, Inc.
    Inventors: Sibu Varughese, Martín Nespolo, Thomas Krzyzak, Gareth Webb, Wilson Yim, Matthew Johnson
  • Patent number: 12241636
    Abstract: An oven appliance having a cabinet with a chamber positioned within the cabinet. The chamber is configured for receipt of a food item for cooking. The oven appliance also includes a door for providing selective access to the chamber and a plurality of walls including a top wall, a bottom wall, a back wall, a front wall, and opposing sidewalls defining the chamber. Further, the oven appliance includes a fan assembly operable to cause air to flow in the chamber and a fan cover arranged to at least partially cover the fan assembly. Moreover, the oven appliance includes a first heating element arranged adjacent to the bottom wall. In addition, the oven appliance includes a duct in fluid communication with the fan assembly and the first heating element for directing airflow in the chamber to the fan assembly and across the first heating element to heat the food item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Scott Johnson, Rebekah Leigh Tyler, Hans Juergen Paller
  • Patent number: 12234683
    Abstract: A door and a home appliance having the same. The home appliance includes a main body including a chamber and a door configured to open or close the chamber, wherein the door includes a front panel, a plurality of flanges formed from the front panel in a bent shape, an incision portion between the plurality of flanges, a fixing member coupled to the plurality of flanges to prevent the door from being deformed, and a cover member configured to cover the incision portion and the fixing member. The cover member includes a corner cover portion and a rear cover portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Cheoleun Choi, Sihwan Kim, Hongman Chang
  • Patent number: 12188662
    Abstract: A cooking appliance in one embodiment may include a main body provided therein with a cooking space, a door configured to open and close the cooking space, a packing member disposed at an entrance of the cooking space and configured to seal a gap that is created in a portion where the main body contacts the door with the door closed, and a bracket coupled to a lower portion of the door and to suppress contact between the packing member and a foreign substance moving to the lower portion of the door with the door closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventor: Cheong Hwan Yu
  • Patent number: 12171370
    Abstract: Fire pit systems including a base pan member having a base pan member lower wall with a pan outer periphery, and one or more side walls extending upward from the base pan member lower wall and along the pan outer periphery; at least two rod members extending upward along opposite sides of the pan outer periphery; and one or more additional accessories that are attachable to and detachable from at least one of the at least two rod members, the one or more additional accessories comprising a griddle, a grill, a coffee pot, a Dutch oven, a tubular spacer, a pot holder, a horizontal bar extending between two rod members of the at least two rod members, a warming tray, or any combination thereof. Methods of making and using the fire pit systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: KUDU SAFARI BRAAI, LLC
    Inventor: Stebin Horne, III
  • Patent number: 12161242
    Abstract: A cake covering assembly for protecting a cake from airborne pathogens includes a cover that is positionable over a cake. The cover is comprised of a fluid impermeable material to protect the cake from airborne pathogens. The cover has a plurality of candle openings each extending through the cover. A plurality of candle holders is provided and each of the candle holders has a receiver to insertably receive a candle. Each of the candle holders is insertable through a respective one of the candle openings having the receiver being spaced above the cover. In this way each of the candle holders can support the candle in a vertical orientation thereby facilitating the candle to be blown out by a user in the convention of blowing out birthday candles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Inventors: Raul Hernandez, David Hernandez
  • Patent number: 12140310
    Abstract: This invention relates to a method of monitoring a burner (2) and/or a burning behavior of a burner (2) by means of a measured ionization signal. The invention consists in that the ionization signal is measured between an ionization electrode (4, 4?) and a counter-electrode (3) spaced apart from a burner surface (2?) of the burner (2). Furthermore, the invention relates to a burner assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: TRUMA GERÄTETECHNIK GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Wolfgang Muselmann, Kai Armesto-Beyer, Craig Hawthorne
  • Patent number: 12140320
    Abstract: An appliance is provided with a cavity wrapper defining a cooking chamber therein. An embossment is formed in a wall of the cavity wrapper and protrudes within the cooking chamber. The embossment has a leading sloped portion. A shroud is located adjacent the wall and includes an outer perimeter edge that is spaced from the embossment thereby defining an exhaust port therebetween. A bracket is disposed outside the cavity wrapper and includes a pair of mounting tabs affixed to an external surface of the wall of the cavity wrapper. The pair of mounting tabs straddling the embossment in a staggered formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Greg Funk, Steven M. Swayne, Ryan Blanchard, Robert W. Smith
  • Patent number: 12130019
    Abstract: An oven appliance may include a cabinet, a door, and a restrictor plate. The cabinet may include a top panel and a bottom panel. The cabinet may define a cooking chamber between the top panel and the bottom panel. The door may be mounted on the cabinet to selectively restrict access to the cooking chamber in a closed position. The door may extend along the vertical direction in the closed position between a top lip and a bottom lip. The restrictor plate may be mounted to the door at the bottom lip. The restrictor plate may extend downward and be spaced apart from the cabinet along the transverse direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Alla Hamid Abdelhalim, Venkatapathi Raju Jampana
  • Patent number: 12108910
    Abstract: There is described a portable oven, such as a wood-fired oven. The oven comprises a housing and a cooking surface arranged within the housing. The housing comprises a skirt extending below the cooking surface such as to raise the cooking surface from the bottom edge of the oven. There is also provided a method for making a portable oven.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2024
    Assignee: DELIVITA LIMITED
    Inventor: Giuseppe Formisano
  • Patent number: 12085286
    Abstract: This invention provides a system and process to optimize photovoltaic (PV), grid, and other electricity in powering an electric water heater. The system comprises a photovoltaic (PV) controller coupled to a plurality of power input sources and heating elements wherein the heating elements immersed in an electric immersion heater water tank. The PV controller is further configured with control circuitry having an operating efficiency routine calculating optimal use cases from a variety of installation parameters and learned parameters to determine the appropriate power input source and switch between sources accordingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: GreenPWR Inc
    Inventor: Mitchell James Hodges
  • Patent number: 12066209
    Abstract: A method for producing an air duct damper includes the steps of punching from sheet metal stock a damper preform having a body and two diametrically opposed arms extending from opposite sides of the body; and forming an indentation in the damper preform extending between and up to respective ends of the two arms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: Capital Hardware Supply, LLC
    Inventor: David Yoskowitz
  • Patent number: 12066184
    Abstract: A low NOX air heating swirl burner includes at least one burner unit, the burner unit comprising a combustion air duct, a fuel gas supply pipeline, a combustion nozzle and a fire protection baffle. The fire protection baffle comprises a fin and a base plate for generating swirl combustion air. The base plate includes a plurality of elongated holes and air guide blades disposed obliquely on air outlet sides of the elongated holes. The combustion air flows out of the elongated holes in the base plate of the fire protection baffle, generates a rotational flow under the action of the air guide blades to be strongly mixed with fuel gas sprayed from the combustion nozzle for combustion. The burner is in a modular form, which can adopt a corresponding splicing shape according to structural features of a heating space to meet the heating requirement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: ANDERSON THERMAL SOLUTIONS (SUZHOU) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Senwei Dai, Renquan Sun, Zhuanbo Ren, Liangyan Sun, Hongxing Sun
  • Patent number: 12031744
    Abstract: An upblast rain cap may have an inverted bottom cone joined to a top cap. The wall of the bottom cone is at an angle of less than 45 degrees with respect to a vertical axis. The joined cone and cap are held above a lower support coupler by a spar. The height of the bottom cone above the support coupler forms a side discharge area. The coupler attaches to the top of a vertical conveyance pipe through which exhaust air flows. A gutter is formed around the edge of the top cap. The gutter has a vertical opening that is aligned with the top of the spar. When rain falls, water flows over the top cap to the gutter, through the opening in the gutter, down the outside edge of the spar and down the outside of the support coupler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: Vapor Dynamics LLC
    Inventor: Thomas E. Hatton
  • Patent number: 12017506
    Abstract: A vehicle system includes: at least one of: a particulate matter sensor configured to measure an amount of particulate within a passenger cabin of a vehicle; and a volatile organic compounds (VOC) sensor configured to measure an amount of VOCs within the passenger cabin of the vehicle; and a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system including a blower; a blower control module configured to: operate the blower in a first direction and blow air into the passenger cabin of the vehicle; and based on at least one of the amount of particulate and the amount of VOCs within the passenger cabin of the vehicle, selectively operate the blower in a second direction that is opposite the first direction, thereby blowing air from within the passenger cabin out through the HVAC system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Assignee: DENSO International America, Inc.
    Inventors: Sibu Varughese, Martín Nespolo, Thomas Krzyzak, Gareth Webb, Wilson Yim, Matthew Johnson
  • Patent number: 12013125
    Abstract: A fire pit includes a top plate, upright poles, side plates, and limiting members. The top plate has a central through hole and connecting parts on its lower surface. An upper end face of each upright pole is rotably connected to a corresponding one of the connecting parts in a snap-on manner. Each upright pole has mounting grooves its sides. The mounting grooves extend downwardly along an axial direction of the upright pole and pass a lower end face of the upright pole. Two ends of each side plate are insertedly connected to the mounting grooves of corresponding two of the upright poles from lower ends of the corresponding upright poles. The limiting members are movably connected to lower end portions of the sides of the respective upright poles for limiting and preventing the side plates from falling out of the mounting grooves of the upright poles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2024
    Inventor: Stephen Dale Potter