Patents by Inventor Thomas Wetzel

Thomas Wetzel 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: 11746010
    Abstract: Direct thermal decomposition of hydrocarbons into solid carbon and hydrogen is performed by a process and a device. The process comprises preheating a hydrocarbon gas stream to a temperature between 500° C. and 700° C. and injecting the pre-heated hydrocarbon gas stream into the reactor pool of a liquid metal reactor containing a liquid media; forming a multi-phase flow with a hydrocarbon gas comprising hydrogen and solid carbon at a temperature between 900° C. and 1200° C.; forming a carbon layer on the free surface of the liquid media made up of solid carbon particles which are then displaced into at least one carbon extraction system and at least one recipient for collecting them; and, at the same time, the gas comprising hydrogen leaves the reactor pool through a porous rigid section, being collected at a gas outlet collector from where the gas comprising hydrogen finally leaves the liquid metal reactor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignees: UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID, KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FÜR TECHNOLOGIE
    Inventors: Alberto Abánades Velasco, Javier Muñoz Antón, José María Martínez-Val Peñalosa, Tobias Geissler, Leonid Stoppel, Benjamin Dietrich, Michael Plevan, Thomas Wetzel
  • Publication number: 20220377892
    Abstract: An electrical device, e.g., an inverter or converter, includes a first and a second printed circuit board. The first printed circuit board includes protruding tab regions, and a respective tab region protrudes into a respective recess of the second printed circuit board. Contact pins, e.g., of one or more plug connector parts, protrude into holes of the second printed circuit board.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2020
    Publication date: November 24, 2022
    Applicant: SEW-EURODRIVE GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Werner GROß, Martin SCHÖRNER, Thomas WETZEL, Rolf JANZER
  • Publication number: 20220312628
    Abstract: In an electrical device and method for producing a first and second electrical device from a construction kit, the electrical device includes a heat sink having a contact surface, on which a power module is arranged. A frame part of the electrical device is arranged on the contact surface, the power module is accommodated in the frame part, and the frame part is delimited by a bulge of the heat sink protruding at the edge of the contact surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2020
    Publication date: September 29, 2022
    Applicant: SEW-EURODRIVE GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Martin SCHÖRNER, Thomas WETZEL, Rolf JANZER
  • Publication number: 20210032102
    Abstract: Direct thermal decomposition of hydrocarbons into solid carbon and hydrogen is performed by a process and a device. The process comprises preheating a hydrocarbon gas stream to a temperature between 500° C. and 700° C. and injecting the pre-heated hydrocarbon gas stream into the reactor pool of a liquid metal reactor containing a liquid media; forming a multi-phase flow with a hydrocarbon gas comprising hydrogen and solid carbon at a temperature between 900° C. and 1200° C.; forming a carbon layer on the free surface of the liquid media made up of solid carbon particles which are then displaced into at least one carbon extraction system and at least one recipient for collecting them; and, at the same time, the gas comprising hydrogen leaves the reactor pool through a porous rigid section, being collected at a gas outlet collector from where the gas comprising hydrogen finally leaves the liquid metal reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Publication date: February 4, 2021
    Inventors: Alberto ABÁNADES VELASCO, Javier MUÑOZ ANTÓN, José María MARTÍNEZ-VAL PEÑALOSA, Tobias GEISSLER, Leonid STOPPEL, Benjamin DIETRICH, Michael PLEVAN, Thomas WETZEL
  • Patent number: 8929403
    Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a system for providing remote tuning and clock synchronization in a network. The system includes a device that receives a signal that includes a plurality of channels, a device that receives a user request indicative of a desire to view at least one of the plurality of channels, and a filter that filters the received signal and transmits a user signal corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of channels to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Terry Wayne Lockridge, Mike Arthur Derrenberger, Daniel Thomas Wetzel
  • Publication number: 20140009896
    Abstract: A converter assembly, a method for producing a converter assembly and a method for operating a converter assembly are described, in which a base module includes power electronics and control electronics. The base module includes a housing, particularly a housing part at least partially forming a housing for the power electronics and control electronics. The base module includes an electrical and mechanical interface, via which signal electronics are able to be joined to the base module with form-locking and/or force-locking, in order to form the converter assembly. The signal electronics include a housing, especially so that after being joined, the housing of the signal electronics and the housing of the base module together form a housing of the converter assembly. A setpoint value for speed and/or torque is transmittable electrically via the interface, the signal electronics having means for receiving, determining and/or inputting the setpoint value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2012
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Inventors: Joachim Nikola, Hans Juergen Kollar, Rolf Janzer, Juergen Maucher, Thomas Wetzel
  • Patent number: 7991014
    Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a system for providing remote tuning and clock synchronization in a network. The system includes a device that receives a signal that includes a plurality of channels, a device that receives a user request indicative of a desire to view at least one of the plurality of channels, and a filter that filters the received signal and transmits a user signal corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of channels to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Terry Wayne Lockridge, Mike Arthur Derrenberger, Daniel Thomas Wetzel
  • Publication number: 20110113446
    Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a system for providing remote tuning and clock synchronization in a network. The system includes a device that receives a signal that includes a plurality of channels, a device that receives a user request indicative of a desire to view at least one of the plurality of channels, and a filter that filters the received signal and transmits a user signal corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of channels to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2011
    Publication date: May 12, 2011
    Inventors: TERRY WAYNE LOCKRIDGE, Mike Arthur Derrenberger, Daniel Thomas Wetzel
  • Patent number: 7940801
    Abstract: A WLAN compliant device which comprises a VCX), a MAC, a decoder which outputs video wherein said device compares time stamps to obtain a difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: John Alan Gervais, Daniel Thomas Wetzel
  • Patent number: 7924872
    Abstract: A system for multiplexing a transport packet and an Ethernet packet comprises a transport interface for receiving a transport stream comprising the transport packet and a network interface for receiving a network stream comprising the Ethernet packet. The system comprises a packet identifier coupled to the transport interface for filtering the transport stream and selecting the transport packet and a date formatter coupled to the network interface for creating a transport header appended to the Ethernet packet. The system further comprises a multiplexer for receiving the transport packet from the packet identifier, for receiving the Ethernet packet from the data formatter, and for multiplexing the transport packet and the Ethernet packet comprising the transport header.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Terry Wayne Lockridge, Daniel Thomas Wetzel, Mike Arthur Derrenberger
  • Patent number: 7708830
    Abstract: A method for the production of a silicon single crystal by pulling the single crystal, according to the Czochralski method, from a melt which is held in a rotating crucible, the single crystal growing at a growth front, heat being deliberately supplied to the center of the growth front by a heat flux directed at the growth front. The method produces a silicon single crystal with an oxygen content of from 4*1017 cm?3 to 7.2*1017 cm?3 and a radial concentration change for boron or phosphorus of less than 5%, which has no agglomerated self-point defects. Semiconductor wafers are separated from the single crystal. These semiconductor wafers have may have agglomerated vacancy defects (COPs) as the only self-point defect type or may have certain other defect distributions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Wilfried Von Ammon, Janis Virbulis, Martin Weber, Thomas Wetzel, Herbert Schmidt
  • Patent number: 7366754
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus using a system level clocking scheme to remove jitter from multi-media packets distributed over an asynchronous network, in particular an Ethernet network. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with jitter introduced in an Ethernet network by using various time stamps to synchronize a client device clock to a headend clock and to control the data flow in the client device to match the rate that the data is received by a broadband receiver coupled to the headend. A first time stamp is prepended to the transport packets when the packets are received from the headend. A second time stamp is placed in the data frame when the data frame is placed on the network. A third time stamp is placed in the data frame when the data frame is received from the network. The second and third time stamps are used for clock synchronization and the first time stamp is used for data flow control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Daniel Thomas Wetzel, Anh Quang Nguyen
  • Patent number: 7203457
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for compensating for frequency drift in an LNB by storing the frequency offset of each LNB with respect to each channel. When a channel is selected, a particular LNB is activated and the table of offset values is consulted. The offset value for the LNB and channel is used to tune the LNB to a frequency that is appropriate for receiving the selected channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Daniel Thomas Wetzel
  • Publication number: 20060292890
    Abstract: A method for the production of a silicon single crystal by pulling the single crystal, according to the Czochralski method, from a melt which is held in a rotating crucible, the single crystal growing at a growth front, heat being deliberately supplied to the center of the growth front by a heat flux directed at the growth front. The method produces a silicon single crystal with an oxygen content of from 4*1017 cm?3 to 7.2*1017 cm?3 and a radial concentration change for boron or phosphorus of less than 5%, which has no agglomerated self-point defects. Semiconductor wafers are separated from the single crystal. These semiconductor wafers have may have agglomerated vacancy defects (COPs) as the only self-point defect type or may have certain other defect distributions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2006
    Publication date: December 28, 2006
    Applicant: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Wilfried Ammon, Janis Virbulis, Martin Weber, Thomas Wetzel, Herbert Schmidt
  • Patent number: 6944878
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for ensuring a correct satellite signal connection. Specifically, a user selects a satellite signal via an integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) from at least one satellite, and the IRD sends a command signal to a selector switch to acquire and lock onto said satellite signal. The IRD repeats transmission of the command signal to the selector switch once the IRD has acquired and locked onto said information signal. Thus, in the event that the selector switch failed to switch to a low noise block converter (LNB) corresponding to the initial command signal, then the repeated command signal helps to ensure that the selector switch switches to the LNB corresponding with the latest command signal sent by the IRD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing S.A.
    Inventors: Daniel Thomas Wetzel, Terry Wayne Lockridge, Michael F. Barry
  • Publication number: 20040192015
    Abstract: A method for the production of a silicon single crystal by pulling the single crystal, according to the Czochralski method, from a melt which is held in a rotating crucible, the single crystal growing at a growth front, heat being deliberately supplied to the center of the growth front by a heat flux directed at the growth front. The method produces a silicon single crystal with an oxygen content of from 4*1017 cm−3 to 7.2*1017 cm−3 and a radial concentration change for boron or phosphorus of less than 5%, which has no agglomerated self-point defects. Semiconductor wafers are separated from the single crystal. These semiconductor wafers have may have agglomerated vacancy defects (COPs) as the only self-point defect type or may have certain other defect distributions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Publication date: September 30, 2004
    Applicant: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Wilfried Von Ammon, Janis Virbulis, Martin Weber, Thomas Wetzel, Herbert Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20040177162
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus using a system level clocking scheme to remove jitter from multi-media packets distributed over an asynchronous network, in particular an Ethernet network. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with jitter introduced in an Ethernet network by using various time stamps to synchronize a client device clock to a headend clock and to control the data flow in the client device to match the rate that the data is received by a broadband receiver coupled to the headend. A first time stamp is prepended to the transport packets when the packets are received from the headend. A second time stamp is placed in the data frame when the data frame is placed on the network. A third time stamp is placed in the data frame when the data frame is received from the network. The second and third time stamps are used for clock synchronization and the first time stamp is used for data flow control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2003
    Publication date: September 9, 2004
    Inventors: Daniel Thomas Wetzel, Ahn Quang Nguyen
  • Patent number: 6324070
    Abstract: A scanner having a serviceable circuit board assembly with a stair-stepping configuration. The scanner has a card cage for mounting circuit boards in the rear of the scanner. The card cage has an access opening. A first circuit board and a second circuit board are mounted inside the card cage. The first circuit board forms a notch. The second circuit board has a viewable portion that is viewable and accessible through the access opening and the notch. The test points and light emitting diodes are positioned within the viewable portion of the second circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: Heidelberg Digital L.L.C.
    Inventors: Robert McMullen, Thomas Wetzel, Steven Bailey, Woogie Son
  • Patent number: 6143646
    Abstract: A method for forming a dual inlaid contact structure (damascene) begins by etching dual inlaid contact structures (32, 34, and 36). Masking layers (28) are (228) and the deposition of low-K dielectric material 26 is used to selectively form low-K regions (30) only in critical areas where low-K dielectric material is absolutely needed. Other portions of the wafer remain covered with conventional oxide (24) so that adverse impacts of low-K dielectric material is minimized. Conductive material (38, 40, and 42) is then formed to complete dual inlaid contact structures whereby low-K dielectric plugs (30) reduce cross talk and capacitance within the final structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Motorola Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey Thomas Wetzel
  • Patent number: 5880018
    Abstract: An interconnect structure having a dielectric layer with low dielectric constant is formed within an integrated circuit. In one embodiment of the invention, portions of a silicon dioxide layer (18) lying adjacent to a conductive interconnect (21) are removed to expose portions of a silicon nitride etch stop layer (16). A dielectric layer (22) having a low dielectric constant is then formed overlying the conductive interconnect (21) and the exposed portions of the silicon nitride etch stop layer (16). A portion of the dielectric layer (22) is then removed to expose the top surface of the conductive interconnect (21) to leave portions of the dielectric layer (22) between adjacent conductive interconnects (21). The resulting interconnect structure has reduced cross-talk between conductive interconnects (21) while avoiding prior art disadvantages of reduced thermal dissipation and increased mechanical stress.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1999
    Assignee: Motorola Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Allen Boeck, Jeff Thomas Wetzel, Terry Grant Sparks