Patents by Inventor James Victor Schaefer

James Victor Schaefer 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).

  • System and method for gapping conveyed substrates
    Patent number: 8714342
    Abstract: A method for gapping substrates conveyed through a vacuum chamber is disclosed. The method may include positioning an upstream substrate outside the vacuum chamber as a downstream substrate is conveyed within the vacuum chamber, detecting a position of the downstream substrate within the vacuum chamber and conveying the upstream substrate into the vacuum chamber at a conveyance rate greater than a conveyance rate of the downstream substrate to set a gap between the downstream substrate and the upstream substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: First Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Sean Timothy Halloran, James Victor Schaefer, Frank Sanford Prescott
  • HEATING SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING THE HEATERS OF A HEATING SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20130306620
    Abstract: A method for controlling a plurality of heaters of a heating system is disclosed. The method may generally include generating control commands for turning on the plurality of heaters during a time period, determining which electrical phase is powering each heater of the plurality of heaters and staggering execution of the control commands across the time period for two or more of the heaters powered by the same electrical phase.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2012
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: PRIMESTAR SOLAR, INC.
    Inventors: Sean Timothy Halloran, James Victor Schaefer
  • SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GAPPING CONVEYED SUBSTRATES
    Publication number: 20130259610
    Abstract: A method for gapping substrates conveyed through a vacuum chamber is disclosed. The method may include positioning an upstream substrate outside the vacuum chamber as a downstream substrate is conveyed within the vacuum chamber, detecting a position of the downstream substrate within the vacuum chamber and conveying the upstream substrate into the vacuum chamber at a conveyance rate greater than a conveyance rate of the downstream substrate to set a gap between the downstream substrate and the upstream substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Applicant: PRIMESTAR SOLAR, INC.
    Inventors: Sean Timothy Halloran, James Victor Schaefer, Frank Sanford Prescott