Did You Know...
...that one person who claimed to be the inventor of the television is Russian emigre Vladimir Zworykin? In 1929 David Sarnoff, founder of RCA, asked Zworykin what it would take to develop TV for commercial use. He said: a year and a half and $100,000. In reality, it took 20 years and $50 million! Before his death in 1982 at the age of 92, Zworykin said of his invention: "The technique is wonderful. It is beyond my expectations. But the programs! I would never let my children even come close to this thing."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7351274 | Air filtration system control An intense field dielectric air filtration system associated with an air conditioning unit includes a microprocessor based control system which may be connected to the thermostat of the air conditioning unit to energize the air filtration system in response to a cal... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7340906 | HVAC desiccant wheel system and method An HVAC system includes a desiccant wheel, wherein the wheel's speed varies with airflow, the wheel is energized for at least a set period at startup, and/or a heat recovery system (e.g., an air-to-air heat exchanger) upstream of the wheel enhances the system's abil... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7332019 | Air filtration system An air filtration system includable in and for HVAC equipment includes one or more intense field dielectric filter units and a field charging unit retained in a support structure or cabinet by a removable door which includes control circuitry and contactors engageab... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7311501 | Scroll compressor with bifurcated flow pattern A scroll compressor includes various features that promote a bifurcated flow pattern of gas through a compressor shell to reduce oil entrainment. After entering the shell, some gas travels upward, which reduces the volume of gas traveling downward toward an oil sump... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7299996 | Thermostat with energy saving backlit switch actuators and visual display An air conditioning system thermostat includes a visual display and plural switch actuators, respectively backlit by an electroluminescent lamp and LED light sources mounted on a circuit board disposed in a thermostat housing. A control circuit causes at least one s... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7266956 | Base pan and cabinet for an air conditioner An air conditioner includes an outdoor section comprising an outdoor coil, a fan, and a refrigerant compressor housed within a cabinet. The cabinet includes an outer wrapper supported by a plastic base. The base and wrapper include features that facilitate the cabin... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7228693 | Controlling airflow in an air conditioning system for control of system discharge temperature and humidity An air conditioning system may comprise an air handler, heat pump or fossil fuel furnace and may include a variable speed blower for conducting air through the system and operably connected to a controller which is also connected to a thermostat and/or humidity sens... | 06/12/2007 |
| D540930 | Door for air filter apparatus | 04/17/2007 |
| 7202858 | Processing analog to digital converter signals to a touch screen display An enhanced touch-screen display system is disclosed for generating pixel coordinate estimates corresponding to a location on a display screen touched by a user. The system is an analog resistive touch-screen display system having a processor and associated software... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7186080 | Fan inlet and housing for a centrifugal blower whose impeller has forward curved fan blades A centrifugal blower with forward curved fan blades includes an inlet shroud whose shape is specifically designed for creating a smooth incoming airflow pattern that leads into the inner leading edges of the fan blades. The inlet shroud has first and second curved s... | 03/06/2007 |
| D537517 | Heating, ventilating and air conditioning blower housing | 02/27/2007 |
| 7178355 | HVAC desiccant wheel system and method An HVAC system includes a desiccant wheel, wherein the wheel's speed varies with airflow, the wheel is energized for at least a set period at startup, and/or a heat recovery system (e.g., an air-to-air heat exchanger) upstream of the wheel enhances the system's abil... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7168917 | Heat-generating blower housing A centrifugal blower for a furnace, heat pump, or other type of air handling unit includes a heat-generating blower housing that heats the airflow as the air passes through the blower housing. In some cases, the housing is made of a thermosetting resin impregnated w... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7158121 | Enhanced touch-screen display system An enhanced touch-screen display system is disclosed for generating pixel coordinate estimates corresponding to a location on a display screen touched by a user. The system is an analog resistive touch-screen display system having a processor and associated software... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7150314 | Dual exhaust energy recovery system A heat recovery arrangement. The arrangement has a housing including a bathroom exhaust inlet, an exhaust outlet, a bathroom exhaust airflow path through the housing from the bathroom exhaust inlet to the exhaust outlet, a return air inlet, and a return air path thr... | 12/19/2006 |
| D533091 | Heating, ventilating and air conditioning controller | 12/05/2006 |
| 7144219 | Cutoff for fan or blower A cutoff for a blower housing. The cutoff comprises a cutoff having an edge, the edge includes first and second ends and a midsection. The midsection includes an acoustical reduction section. Each end includes an efficiency enhancing portion curving from a first sma... | 12/05/2006 |
| D529157 | Packaged air conditioning unit | 09/26/2006 |
| 7108478 | Blower housing and cabinet with improved blower inlet airflow distribution An airhandling unit for an HVAC system includes a cabinet having an electric motor driven centrifugal blower disposed therein. The blower includes a scroll or volute type blower housing which may be formed of opposed releasably connectable housing parts. The blower ... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7088346 | Detecting a ‘no touch’ state of a touch screen display An enhanced touch-screen display system is disclosed for generating pixel coordinate estimates corresponding to a location on a display screen touched by a user. The system is an analog resistive touch-screen display system having a processor and associated software... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7024283 | Method of determining indoor or outdoor temperature limits A method identifies at what outdoor temperature a heating or cooling system will need to operate at full capacity (e.g., 100% duty cycle) to maintain a desired indoor temperature. The tolerable outdoor temperature limit is identified by extrapolating data collected ... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7017356 | HVAC desiccant wheel system and method An HVAC system includes a desiccant wheel, wherein the wheel's speed varies with airflow, the wheel is energized for at least a set period at startup, and/or a heat recovery system (e.g., an air-to-air heat exchanger) upstream of the wheel enhances the system's abil... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7020156 | Multiple device communications A communications protocol for a communications bus wherein messages are transmitted to a plurality of devices communicating by a bus. Each message includes a unique code indicating the end of the message and that same unique code triggers a transfer of communication... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7014422 | Rounded blower housing with increased airflow A blower housing. The blower housing comprises an axis about which the blower housing is oriented; an inlet allowing the entrance of fluid in an axial direction for the blower housing; a discharge for the blower housing discharging fluid in a radial direction; a cut... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7007498 | HVAC cabinet with configurable duct connections A cabinet for air handling equipment includes two similarly sized covers that are each nonsymmetrical about their vertical centerline. Each cover has an original supply or return air duct opening plus space for an alternate opening. The original and alternate openin... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6986387 | Multi-mode damper for an A-shaped heat exchanger A temperature conditioning system includes a damper system that determines the pattern of airflow through two coil slabs of an indoor heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger is preferably part of a split-system air conditioner or a heat pump. In a normal mode pos... | 01/17/2006 |
| 6974383 | Cabinet for air handling equipment A cabinet for air handling equipment includes a door assembly having features such as inner and outer door panels being held together and sealed by double-sided tape, which acts as a thermal break, a latch that prevents a door gasket from being crushed due to positi... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6973795 | HVAC desiccant wheel system and method An HVAC system includes a desiccant wheel, wherein the wheel's speed varies with airflow, the wheel is energized for at least a set period at startup, and/or a heat recovery system (e.g., an air-to-air heat exchanger) upstream of the wheel enhances the system's abil... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6959972 | Tri-action hinge and latching mechanism for a door panel A hinge assembly allows an access panel to be pivotally coupled to a cabinet, even though the cabinet includes a top cover that overlaps an upper edge of the panel. To open the access panel, a latch is actuated to first release a lower edge of the panel. The hinge a... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6925999 | Multistage warm air furnace with single stage thermostat and return air sensor and method of operating same A multistage furnace for heating residential or commercial spaces is operated by a single stage thermostat and a return air temperature sensor providing sensed temperature information to a controller. The furnace is started at a first, low firing rate and after a pr... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6919809 | Optimization of building ventilation by system and zone level action A method of selecting a ventilation control strategy from among a plurality of ventilation control strategies. The method comprises the steps of: determining if a CO2 signal is present and valid; selecting a CO2 based ventilation control strate... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6917857 | Magnetically overridden flow control device A flow control device. The flow control device comprises a valve; an actuator operably connected to and positioning the valve and a controller operably connected to the actuator and providing control signals thereto. An external signal provides control input to the ... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6912766 | Base pan and cabinet for an air conditioner An air conditioner includes an outdoor section comprising an outdoor coil, a fan, and a refrigerant compressor housed within a cabinet. The cabinet includes an outer wrapper supported by a plastic base. The base and wrapper include features that facilitate the cabin... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6868695 | Flow distributor and baffle system for a falling film evaporator A falling film evaporator includes a flow distributor for uniformly distributing a two-phase refrigerant mixture across a tube bundle. The flow distributor includes a stack of at least three perforated plates each of which are separated by nearly full-width, full-le... | 03/22/2005 |
| 6840272 | Fuel-conditioning device A fuel-conditioning device for removing moisture from fuel includes two replaceable fuel-conditioning cartridges. The cartridges are alternately put in use by selectively positioning a valve actuator. A marking system for the fuel-conditioning cartridges and the val... | 01/11/2005 |
| 6837737 | Bus connector A system for electrically connecting electrical components. The system comprises a first ribbon cable; a connector cap including a track area adapted to operably engage the ribbon cable, and a connector base having a first ribbon cable receptacle area adapted to ele... | 01/04/2005 |
| 6830099 | Falling film evaporator having an improved two-phase distribution system An improved two-phase refrigerant distributor for use in a falling film evaporator in a refrigeration chiller system defines apertures in its undersurface from which serrated collars depend. The serrations cooperate to define locations below the undersurface of the ... | 12/14/2004 |
| 6742990 | Panel optimized for edge stiffness and gasket compression An air handler enclosure includes a sheet metal panel fastened to a frame of the enclosure with a gasket sealingly compressed between the frame and the face of the panel. The outer edges of the panel are folded over to create a hem that overlays the face of the pane... | 06/01/2004 |
| 6723150 | Air filter with expandable filter media An air filter assembly comprises a plastic frame containing an air permeable filter media. The media is corrugated to provide a series of pleats. Some of the pleats can be folded more compactly than others, so that the media can fit in various size frames. This can ... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6715202 | Tube bender for forming serpentine heat exchangers from spine fin tubing An apparatus and method of forming serpentine heat exchanger coils from spine fin tubing involves applying spine fins to a tube while simultaneously forming the tube into a serpentine shape. The bending and fin wrapping occurs while a feed roll continues paying out ... | 04/06/2004 |
