Patents by Inventor Michael A. Swank

Michael A. Swank 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: 9482429
    Abstract: A field-ready oven has reinforced telescoped side walls that extend and hold a base, shelf, tray support and cover spaced apart. A low air intake and a semipermeable membrane deliver air and vapor fuel to catalyst pads on the shelf. Radiant heat from exothermic reaction is diffused over a bottom of a tray. Hot gas circulates around the diffuser and tray with a chimney effect before exhausting. A lid on the cover lifts for access to the tray. A fuel container in the oven forces fuel through a capillary restriction to limit fuel flow. A spring in the container is released to start fuel flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: GHT GLOBAL HEATING TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Jeffrey K. Poston, Michael A. Swank, Robert G. Hockaday, Lawrence D. Weber, Giampaolo Vacca
  • Patent number: 8490617
    Abstract: The present invention is a method of delivering vaporized alcohol fuel through a thermally conductive porous nozzle to a catalytic burner with a plasma cavity and a surrounding porous catalytic cavity with fuel vapor and air supplied separately and inter diffusing into each other from different routes to the catalyst to achieve an efficient, steady, and complete combustion of the hydrogen bearing fuels. This heating system with passive auto thermostatic behavior, coupled to thermopiles, heat pipes and fluid heating systems may provide useful heat and electricity to applications of floors, roadways, runways, electronics, refrigerators, machinery, automobiles, structures, and fuel cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: GHT Global Heating Technologies, GmbH
    Inventors: Giampaolo Vacca, Jeffrey Poston, Michael A. Swank, Robert Glenn Hockaday, Lawrence Weber, Pavlo Bagriy
  • Publication number: 20120231138
    Abstract: A field-ready oven has reinforced telescoped side walls that extend and hold a base, shelf, tray support and cover spaced apart. A low air intake and a semipermeable membrane deliver air and vapor fuel to catalyst pads on the shelf. Radiant heat from exothermic reaction is diffused over a bottom of a tray. Hot gas circulates around the diffuser and tray with a chimney effect before exhausting. A lid on the cover lifts for access to the tray. A fuel container in the oven forces fuel through a capillary restriction to limit fuel flow. A spring in the container is released to start fuel flow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2011
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Inventors: Jeffrey K. Poston, Michael A. Swank, Robert G. Hockaday, Lawrence D. Wwber, Giampaolo Vacca
  • Publication number: 20100192937
    Abstract: The present invention is a method of delivering vaporized alcohol fuel through a thermally conductive porous nozzle to a catalytic burner with a plasma cavity and a surrounding porous catalytic cavity with fuel vapor and air supplied separately and inter diffusing into each other from different routes to the catalyst to achieve an efficient, steady, and complete combustion of the hydrogen bearing fuels. This heating system with passive auto thermostatic behavior, coupled to thermopiles, heat pipes and fluid heating systems may provide useful heat and electricity to applications of floors, roadways, runways, electronics, refrigerators, machinery, automobiles, structures, and fuel cells.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2009
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: VACCA, INC.
    Inventors: Giampaolo Vacca, Jeffrey Poston, Michael A. Swank, Robert Glenn Hockaday, Lawrence Weber, Pavlo Bagriy