Patents by Inventor Antoine Virdis

Antoine Virdis has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230191423
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for transferring product, particularly in a vacuum processing chamber, said transfer system comprising: a body defining a cavity, and a transfer wheel accommodated in said cavity and provided with at least one pocket at its periphery, the wheel being adapted to rotate so as to feed product from said intake zone to said distribution zone, wherein the transfer wheel and the body co-operate to form a substantially air-tight barrier between the two zones. The invention also relates to a processing system including such a transfer system and a corresponding processing method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2022
    Publication date: June 22, 2023
    Inventors: Christian Rhême, Antoine Virdis
  • Patent number: 11440019
    Abstract: A milling device for implementing a milling operation including a milling unit having a body including a milling chamber that can be filled with a material to be milled, a rotor mounted so as to be able to rotate around a shaft in the body, a screen, and a drive unit controlling the movements of the rotor with respect to the screen during the milling operation. The drive unit is designed to impart an oscillating movement to the rotor around the shaft, the oscillation angle being variable during the milling operation. The milling chamber is configured to direct the product to be milled in a direction substantially parallel to the rotation shaft of the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: FREWITT FABRIQUE DE MACHINES SA
    Inventor: Antoine Virdis
  • Patent number: 11376602
    Abstract: A vacuum grinding system having multiple elements connected in series. The elements include an input chamber next to the system input, which chamber can be fluidically connected to a vacuum pump; a grinding chamber which is arranged downstream of the input chamber and which can be fluidically connected to a vacuum pump; and an output chamber, downstream of the grinding chamber and next to the output system, which output chamber can also be fluidically connected to a vacuum pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: FREWITT FABRIQUE DE MACHINES SA
    Inventors: Antoine Virdis, Christophe Pasquier
  • Publication number: 20220193688
    Abstract: Powder processing apparatus including a processing head functionally fixed to a driving unit via a fixation device. The processing head includes an inlet connecting unit configured to be connected to an input container containing the material to be processed and an outlet connecting unit configured to be connected to an output container destined to receive the processed material. The fixation device includes a pivoting element configured to rotate the processing head around a pivoting axis by a rotation angle between a first angular position where the material contained in the input container can be inputted in the processing head and where the processed material can be outputted in the output container, and a second angular position where the input container being on a base can be connected to the inlet connecting unit. Also disclosed is a method of using the powder processing apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2021
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Inventors: Yves Grossrieder, Antoine Virdis
  • Patent number: 10926271
    Abstract: A grinding device including a rotor, mounted in rotational manner around an axle and having a plurality of blades extending radially relative to the axle. A sieve has a plurality of openings, with the sieve being mounted around the rotor so as to turn around the axle in the direction opposite the direction of rotation of the rotor. The rotor and sieve each has a height extending parallel to the axle and a width extending perpendicular to the axle wherein the width is between 1 mm and 20 mm. The rotation of the rotor and of the sieve is adjustable so as to reach a difference in circumferential speed between the rotor and the sieve between 100 m/s and 400 m/s, so as to reduce the average initial size of the crushed matter by a factor of 5 to 20.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: FREWITT FABRIQUE DE MACHINES SA
    Inventors: Glenn Corminboeuf, Antoine Virdis
  • Publication number: 20190308199
    Abstract: A milling device for implementing a milling operation including a milling unit having a body including a milling chamber that can be filled with a material to be milled, a rotor mounted so as to be able to rotate around a shaft in the body, a screen, and a drive unit controlling the movements of the rotor with respect to the screen during the milling operation. The drive unit is designed to impart an oscillating movement to the rotor around the shaft, the oscillation angle being variable during the milling operation. The milling chamber is configured to direct the product to be milled in a direction substantially parallel to the rotation shaft of the rotor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Publication date: October 10, 2019
    Inventor: Antoine Virdis
  • Publication number: 20190151859
    Abstract: A grinding device including a rotor, mounted in rotational manner around an axle and having a plurality of blades extending radially relative to the axle. A sieve has a plurality of openings, with the sieve being mounted around the rotor so as to turn around the axle in the direction opposite the direction of rotation of the rotor. The rotor and sieve each has a height extending parallel to the axle and a width extending perpendicular to the axle wherein the width is between 1 mm and 20 mm. The rotation of the rotor and of the sieve is adjustable so as to reach a difference in circumferential speed between the rotor and the sieve between 100 m/s and 400 m/s, so as to reduce the average initial size of the crushed matter by a factor of 5 to 20.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2018
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Glenn Corminboeuf, Antoine Virdis
  • Publication number: 20180207642
    Abstract: A sieve system for a grinding device permitting the processing of materials in terms of particle size, in particular the processing of solid or powder materials. The system includes a filtering portion having fine holes and designed to cooperate with a rotor of the grinding device in such a way as to press the material to be ground through said filtering portion; and a support portion having large holes, which is able to reinforce the filtering portion. The sieve can be coupled to a vibratory device. The sieve system allows for the grinding method to be operated in continuous mode, with a material flow rate through the sieve up to 50% higher than that reached with a conventional sieve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2015
    Publication date: July 26, 2018
    Inventors: Antoine VIRDIS, Christophe PASQUIER, Glenn CORMINBOEUF
  • Publication number: 20170348698
    Abstract: A modular system for performing a plurality of crushing and grinding processes, including: a plurality of interchangeable milling heads, each interchangeable milling head having a milling mechanism configured to perform one of the plurality of crushing and grinding processes when driven; a driving unit including a driving motor having a range of motor characteristics; and a connecting unit configured to functionally connect one of the interchangeable milling heads to the driving motor such that, when connected, the one of the plurality of interchangeable milling heads can perform the one of the plurality of crushing and grinding processes. Each of the plurality of interchangeable milling heads further includes an adaptor unit configured to connect the milling head to the connecting unit and for converting the range of motor characteristics of the driving motor into the milling driving characteristics of the connected interchangeable milling heads.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Publication date: December 7, 2017
    Inventors: Antoine VIRDIS, Christophe PASQUIER
  • Publication number: 20170326553
    Abstract: A vacuum grinding system having multiple elements connected in series. The elements include an input chamber next to the system input, which chamber can be fluidically connected to a vacuum pump; a grinding chamber which is arranged downstream of the input chamber and which can be fluidically connected to a vacuum pump; and an output chamber, downstream of the grinding chamber and next to the output system, which output chamber can also be fluidically connected to a vacuum pump.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2015
    Publication date: November 16, 2017
    Inventors: Antoine VIRDIS, Christophe PASQUIER
  • Patent number: 9289776
    Abstract: A milling device for performing a milling operation comprising a milling unit comprising a housing defining a milling chamber that can be filled with a material to be milled, a rotor assembly rotatably mounted in the housing, and a screen assembly for fractionating the material milled by the rotor assembly in movement and extending below the rotor assembly; and a drive unit adapted for controlling the movements of the rotor assembly relative to the screen assembly during the milling operation; wherein said drive unit is configured to produce an oscillating movement of the rotor assembly, the oscillating movement having an oscillation angle that can be varied during the milling operation when controlling the movements of the rotor assembly relative to the screen assembly. The milling device has improved milling efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: FREWITT FABRIQUE DE MACHINES SA
    Inventors: Antoine Virdis, Xin Gao
  • Patent number: 8662430
    Abstract: A crusher device for performing a crushing operation, including a hollow part of frusto-conical shape narrowing downwardly, a crusher spindle rotatably mounted coaxial with the hollow part, at least one crusher impeller rotatably mounted on the crusher spindle, and a crusher driving device for rotatably driving the at least one crusher impeller relative to the first hollow part; the at least one crusher impeller comprises a first crusher impeller containing a first crushing blade and a second crushing blade, each of the first and second crushing blades extending radially from the crusher spindle and being fixedly connected to each other at their distal extremities by a blade member. The crusher device can be combined with a milling device providing an apparatus of compact size, adapted for reducing material from a size up to 36000 cm3 to particles having a size below 250 microns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Frewitt Fabrique de Machines S.A.
    Inventors: Claude Lefebvre, Antoine Virdis
  • Publication number: 20110114775
    Abstract: A crusher device for performing a crushing operation, comprising a hollow part of frusto-conical shape narrowing downwardly, a crusher spindle rotatably mounted coaxial with the hollow part, at least one crusher impeller rotatably mounted on the crusher spindle, and a crusher driving device for rotatably driving said at least one crusher impeller relative to said first hollow part; said at least one crusher impeller comprises a first crusher impeller containing a first crushing blade and a second crushing blade, each said first and second crushing blades extending radially from the crusher spindle and being fixedly connected to each other at their distal extremities by a blade member. The crusher device can be combined with a milling device providing an apparatus of compact size, adapted for reducing material from a size up to 36000 cm3 to particles having a size below 250 microns.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Applicant: FREWITT FABRIQUE DE MACHINES S.A.
    Inventors: Claude Lefebvre, Antoine Virdis
  • Patent number: 7484949
    Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing an elongate composite element in undefined lengths, the composite element containing reinforcement fibers embedded in a matrix based on a composition containing a curable resin, including a vacuum chamber, rigid-walled inlet tubing, an impregnation chamber, rigid-walled transfer tubing between the vacuum chamber and the impregnation chamber, a sizing die and, downstream of the sizing die, irradiation tubes providing radiation in the ultraviolet-visible spectrum to prepolymerize the resin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2009
    Assignee: Conception Et Developpement Michelin S.A.
    Inventors: Henri Hinc, Jean-Paul Meraldi, Antoine Virdis, Fernand Genoud
  • Publication number: 20030015827
    Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing an elongate composite element in undefined lengths, the composite element containing reinforcement fibers embedded in a matrix based on a composition containing a curable resin, including a vacuum chamber, rigid-walled inlet tubing, an impregnation chamber, rigid-walled transfer tubing between the vacuum chamber and the impregnation chamber, a sizing die and, downstream of the sizing die, irradiation tubes providing radiation in the ultraviolet-visible spectrum to prepolymerize the resin.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2001
    Publication date: January 23, 2003
    Inventors: Henri Hinc, Jean-Paul Meraldi, Antoine Virdis, Fernand Genoud