Patents by Inventor Dennis Patrick McAndrews

Dennis Patrick McAndrews 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).

  • Patent number: 11660579
    Abstract: An air lance for removing pellets from tubes includes a conduit body having an inlet end and a bottommost discharge opening, and a poker fixed relative to the conduit body and projecting beyond the bottommost discharge opening to serve as a spacer and poker; wherein a rigid member extends along said conduit body, such that that a hammering force applied to said rigid member where it extends outside of the tube will be transmitted through said rigid member to said poker for dislodging and breaking pellets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul D Gossen, Dennis Patrick McAndrews, Clifford L Johns
  • Publication number: 20230112170
    Abstract: A loading device for loading pellets into reactor tubes has a modular design, which can be taken apart, moved through a manway, and then reassembled simply by stacking one part on top of another. A reciprocating slide plate and a vibrator work together to meter pellets through the loading device and into the reactor tubes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2022
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Applicant: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford L. Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews, Paul D. Gossen, Christopher G. Johns
  • Patent number: 11590471
    Abstract: A device for loading pellets into reactor tubes includes a portable loading box with a bottom wall defining an opening, a loading tube projecting downwardly from the opening, and a movable dam for dividing said loading box into separate chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford L Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews, Douglas Keith Cornett
  • Patent number: 11406955
    Abstract: An air lance for removing pellets from tubes may include a nozzle with an inner surface having converging and diverging portions adjacent the downstream end of the nozzle to improve air flow. The air lance may include a projection fixed relative to the nozzle and extending beyond the downstream end of the nozzle to serve as a feeler, a poker, and a spacer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford L Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews
  • Publication number: 20220008883
    Abstract: An air lance for removing pellets from tubes includes a conduit body having an inlet end and a bottommost discharge opening, and a poker fixed relative to the conduit body and projecting beyond the bottommost discharge opening to serve as a spacer and poker; wherein a rigid member extends along said conduit body, such that that a hammering force applied to said rigid member where it extends outside of the tube will be transmitted through said rigid member to said poker for dislodging and breaking pellets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2021
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Applicant: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul D. Gossen, Dennis Patrick McAndrews, Clifford L. Johns
  • Publication number: 20210310756
    Abstract: A grit blasting arrangement for cleaning chemical reactor tubes includes means for ensuring the grit blast nozzle is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the tube to be cleaned.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2021
    Publication date: October 7, 2021
    Applicant: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford L Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews, Stephen W Brewer
  • Publication number: 20210220787
    Abstract: A device for loading pellets into reactor tubes includes a portable loading box with a bottom wall defining an opening, a loading tube projecting downwardly from the opening, and a movable dam for dividing said loading box into separate chambers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Publication date: July 22, 2021
    Applicant: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford L Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews, Douglas Keith Cornett
  • Publication number: 20200338513
    Abstract: An air lance for removing pellets from tubes may include a nozzle with an inner surface having converging and diverging portions adjacent the downstream end of the nozzle to improve air flow. The air lance may include a projection fixed relative to the nozzle and extending beyond the downstream end of the nozzle to serve as a feeler, a poker, and a spacer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Applicant: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford L. Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews
  • Patent number: 10493417
    Abstract: A method for loading pellets into receptacles having an open top end and a bottom end uses a pressurized fluid injected through injector tubing to form virtual blankets at a plurality of elevations inside the receptacle to reduce the acceleration of the falling pellets in order to provide gentle loading of the pellets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas Keith Cornett, Clifford L Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews
  • Publication number: 20180304219
    Abstract: A method for loading pellets into receptacles uses a pressurized fluid to form virtual blankets at a plurality of elevations inside the receptacle to reduce the acceleration of the falling pellets in order to provide gentle loading of the pellets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2018
    Publication date: October 25, 2018
    Applicant: Tubemaster, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas Keith Cornett, Clifford L. Johns, Dennis Patrick McAndrews