Patents by Inventor Michael T. Mills

Michael T. Mills 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).

  • Publication number: 20240134630
    Abstract: A method may include receiving an indication of an available updated container. The method may also involve identifying one or more compute surfaces comprising a first container and a second container that correspond to the available container, such that the first container may control one or more operations of an operational technology (OT) device. The method may also include scheduling a deployment of the updated container to replace the second container, receiving expected output data associated with a digital model associated with the OT device, and scheduling a switchover of control of the one or more operations to the second container based on the expected output data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 2, 2024
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Inventors: Nathaniel S. Sandler, Rob A Entzminger, David C. Mazur, Bruce T. McCleave, Jr., Jonathan Alan Mills, Patrick E. Ozimek, Tim S. Biernat, Michael J. Anthony, Chris Softley
  • Patent number: 6382961
    Abstract: The present invention is a gas appliance utilizing a single electrode spark ignition system. The gas appliance comprises two common ground planes, a conductive piece, a spark ignition device, and a P-N junction device. The conductive piece, e.g., a burner, a chassis, or a metal plate adjacent to the burner, is grounded to a first common ground plane. The spark ignition device has an electrode, and it is grounded to a second common ground plane. The spark ignition device is adapted to generate a spark between the electrode and the conductive piece to ignite the fuel. The P-N junction device is adapted to isolate the second common ground plane from the first common ground plane. As a result, the design prevents transient voltage spikes caused by the spark ignition device from interfering with the normal operation of the control circuitry of the gas appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2002
    Assignee: Convenience Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd W. Clifford, Jeffrey A. Benz, Michael T. Mills
  • Publication number: 20010053505
    Abstract: The present invention is a gas appliance utilizing a single electrode spark ignition system. The gas appliance comprises two common ground planes, a conductive piece, a spark ignition device, and a P-N junction device. The conductive piece, e.g., a burner, a chassis, or a metal plate adjacent to the burner, is grounded to a first common ground plane. The spark ignition device has an electrode, and it is grounded to a second common ground plane. The spark ignition device is adapted to generate a spark between the electrode and the conductive piece to ignite the fuel. The P-N junction device is adapted to isolate the second common ground plane from the first common ground plane. As a result, the design prevents transient voltage spikes caused by the spark ignition device from interfering with the normal operation of the control circuitry of the gas appliance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Publication date: December 20, 2001
    Applicant: Convenience Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd W. Clifford, Jeffrey A. Benz, Michael T. Mills
  • Patent number: 6220854
    Abstract: The present invention is a gas appliance comprising a burner, a conduit, a control circuit, and a valve. The burner is adapted to burn a fuel and producing a flame. The conduit is connected to a source of the fuel and adapted to convey the fuel to a burner. The valve is interposed on the conduit between the source of fuel and the burner and is in electrical communication with the control circuit. The control circuit is adapted to provide a pulse width modulated signal to the valve whereby the valve provides a substantially linear flow rate of fuel to the burner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2001
    Assignee: Convenience Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd W. Clifford, Jeffrey A. Benz, Michael T. Mills
  • Patent number: 6116230
    Abstract: The present invention is a gas appliance comprising a burner, a conduit, a control circuit, and a valve. The burner is adapted to burn a fuel and producing a flame. The conduit is connected to a source of the fuel and adapted to convey the fuel to a burner. The valve is interposed on the conduit between the source of fuel and the burner and is in electrical communication with the control circuit. The control circuit is adapted to provide a pulse width modulated signal to the valve whereby the valve provides a substantially linear flow rate of fuel to the burner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: Convenience Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd W. Clifford, Jeffrey A. Benz, Michael T. Mills