Patents by Inventor Harvey A. Frank

Harvey A. Frank 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: 6303244
    Abstract: Improvements to non acid methanol fuel cells include new formulations for materials. The platinum and ruthenium are more exactly mixed together. Different materials are substituted for these materials. The backing material for the fuel cell electrode is specially treated to improve its characteristics. A special sputtered electrode is formed which is extremely porous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: California institute of Technology
    Inventors: Subbarao Surampudi, Harvey A. Frank, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan, William Chun, Barbara Jeffries-Nakamura, Andrew Kindler, Gerald Halpert
  • Patent number: 6265093
    Abstract: Improvements to non acid methanol fuel cells include new formulations for materials. The backing material for the fuel cell electrode is specially treated to improve its characteristics. A special sputtered electrode is formed which is extremely porous. Methanol is delivered to the fuel cell through a filter comprising molecular sieves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Subbarao Surampudi, Harvey A. Frank, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan, William Chun, Barbara Jeffries-Nakamura, Andrew Kindler, Gerald Halpert
  • Patent number: 6254748
    Abstract: Improvements to non-acid methanol fuel cells include new formulations for materials. The platinum and ruthenium are more exactly mixed together. Different materials are substituted for these materials. The backing material for the fuel cell electrode is specially treated to improve its characteristics. A special sputtered electrode is formed which is extremely porous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2001
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Subbarao Surampudi, Harvey A. Frank, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan, William Chun, Barbara Jeffries-Nakamura, Andrew Kindler, Gerald Halpert
  • Patent number: 6248460
    Abstract: A liquid organic fuel cell is provided which employs a solid electrolyte membrane. An organic fuel, such as a methanol/water mixture, is circulated past an anode of a cell while oxygen or air is circulated past a cathode of the cell. The cell solid electrolyte membrane is preferably fabricated from Nafion™. Additionally, a method for improving the performance of carbon electrode structures for use in organic fuel cells is provided wherein a high surface-area carbon particle/Teflon™-binder structure is immersed within a Nafion™/methanol bath to impregnate the electrode with Nafion™. A method for fabricating an anode for use in a organic fuel cell is described wherein metal alloys are deposited onto the electrode in an electro-deposition solution containing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. A fuel additive containing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid for use with fuel cells employing a sulfuric acid electrolyte is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2001
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Subbarao Surampudi, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan, Eugene Vamos, Harvey A. Frank, Gerald Halpert, George A. Olah, G. K. Surya Prakash
  • Patent number: 6146781
    Abstract: Improvements to non-acid methanol fuel cells include new formulations for materials. The platinum and ruthenium are more exactly mixed together. Different materials are substituted for these materials. The backing material for the fuel cell electrode is specially treated to improve its characteristics. A special sputtered electrode is formed which is extremely porous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Subbarao Surampudi, Harvey A. Frank, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan, William Chun, Barbara Jeffries-Nakamura, Andrew Kindler, Gerald Halpert
  • Patent number: 5773162
    Abstract: Improvements to non acid methanol fuel cells include new formulations for materials. The platinum and ruthenium are more exactly mixed together. Different materials are substituted for these materials. The backing material for the fuel cell electrode is specially treated to improve its characteristics. A special sputtered electrode is formed which is extremely porous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1998
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Subbarao Surampudi, Harvey A. Frank, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan, William Chun, Barbara Jeffries-Nakamura, Andrew Kindler, Gerald Halpert
  • Patent number: 5599638
    Abstract: A liquid organic fuel cell is provided which employs a solid electrolyte membrane. An organic fuel, such as a methanol/water mixture, is circulated past an anode of a cell while oxygen or air is circulated past a cathode of the cell. The cell solid electrolyte membrane is preferably fabricated from Nafion.TM.. Additionally, a method for improving the performance of carbon electrode structures for use in organic fuel cells is provided wherein a high surface-area carbon particle/Teflon.TM.-binder structure is immersed within a Nafion.TM./methanol bath to impregnate the electrode with Nafion.TM.. A method for fabricating an anode for use in a organic fuel cell is described wherein metal alloys are deposited onto the electrode in an electro-deposition solution containing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. A fuel additive containing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid for use with fuel cells employing a sulfuric acid electrolyte is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 4, 1997
    Assignees: California Institute of Technology, University of Southern California
    Inventors: Subbarao Surampudi, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan, Eugene Vamos, Harvey A. Frank, Gerald Halpert, George A. Olah, G. K. Surya Prakash
  • Patent number: 5026119
    Abstract: A support for the back of a rider of a motorcycle having a seat for supporting a rider within a given seating range along the seat, includes a back rest, and a device connected to the back rest for continuously biasing the back rest against the back of the rider regardless of the posture of the rider and the position occupied by the rider within the given seating range along the seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Inventors: Harvey A. Frank, Rhoda Lynge
  • Patent number: 4047107
    Abstract: A security system comprises electronic means for generating a group of pulses of predetermined frequency, which group has a unique identity specified by the particular durations of its constituent pulses; means for transmitting that group of pulses; means for receiving that group of pulses; and means responsive to that received group of pulses only when it has said unique identity. Preferably the pulses are bursts of high frequency waves, and the means responsive to received pulses includes means for establishing tolerance intervals for the ends of corresponding pulses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1975
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1977
    Assignee: Ferranti Limited
    Inventor: Harvey Frank Dickinson
  • Patent number: 4023660
    Abstract: In a follow-up servo system for the electrical control of a friction clutch of, say, a motor vehicle from the throttle control by way of an electro-mechanical actuator, with automatic take-up of the wear of the mating friction surfaces, whenever the clutch plate (i.e. the axially-movable part) is in its fully-engaged (FE) position with respect to the cooperating axially-fixed part a signal is repetitively derived to represent the corresponding just-touching (JT) position of the plate under the then conditions of wear. To this signal is added a signal from the throttle control within a range corresponding to the JT-FE range of the plate, thereby forming a demand signal corrected for wear. From a comparison of it with a measurement signal representing the actual position of the plate an error signal is derived for application to the actuator in the appropriate sense.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1975
    Date of Patent: May 17, 1977
    Assignee: Ferranti, Limited
    Inventor: Harvey Frank Dickinson