Patents by Inventor Mark A. Junio

Mark A. Junio 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: 10876456
    Abstract: A vehicle is provided which includes a Stirling Cycle engine that generates a flow of exhaust gases from the external combustion of a fuel supply. The vehicle is equipped with a thermoelectric generator module which is in fluidic communication with the flow of exhaust gases generated by the Stirling Cycle engine. The thermoelectric generator module includes a thermopile array, and generates electrical energy from the thermal energy in the flow of exhaust gases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignees: Quantum Industrial Development Corp., Texas A&M University
    Inventors: Mark A. Junio, Terry R. McCauley, Joseph S. McDowell, Victoria A. Watson, Mirley K. Balasubramanya
  • Publication number: 20200025053
    Abstract: A vehicle is provided which includes a Stirling Cycle engine that generates a flow of exhaust gases from the external combustion of a fuel supply. The vehicle is equipped with a thermoelectric generator module which is in fluidic communication with the flow of exhaust gases generated by the Stirling Cycle engine. The thermoelectric generator module includes a thermopile array, and generates electrical energy from the thermal energy in the flow of exhaust gases.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Publication date: January 23, 2020
    Inventors: Mark A. Junio, Terry R. McCauley, Joseph S. McDowell, Victoria A. Watson, Mirley K. Balasubramanya
  • Publication number: 20180058295
    Abstract: This embodiment is a Stirling-Electric Hybrid automotive exhaust module generator device for converting waste heat energy into electrical energy by employing the Seebeck Effect. The disclosure herein describes how the invention converts heat energy, from hot exhaust gases, from the operation of an automotive external combustion engine (e. g. Stirling Cycle engine), into electrical energy which is fed back into the electrical system of the Stirling-Electric Hybrid Automobile (U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,130 B2) minimizing losses due to the second law of thermodynamics. The improvements on the art in this disclosure focuses on employing a plurality of thermopiles and materials with improved coefficients of thermal conductivity and increasing residence time of the hot exhaust gases by inducing turbulent flow through the module generator device in conjunction with external cooling plate(s), heat sink(s); in the form of a plurality of pin(s), on the interior and exterior surface(s) of the module generator device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Publication date: March 1, 2018
    Applicant: Quantum Industrial Development Corp. & Texas A&M University - San Antonio
    Inventors: Mark A. Junio, Terry R. McCauley, Joseph S. McDowell, Victoria A. Wattson