Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8171732 | Turbocharger for a vehicle with a coanda device A device is provided. The device includes an inlet manifold configured to direct an exhaust gas flow within the device, an air inlet configured to introduce an airflow within the device and at least one surface of the device having a Coanda profile configured to ent... | 05/08/2012 |
| 8163434 | Barrier coatings for interconnects; related devices, and methods of forming A method of preparing a solid oxide fuel cell is described herein, as well as the fuel cell itself. The method comprises forming a cathode layer comprising a strontium composition on a ceramic electrolyte layer; and forming a barrier layer between the cathode layer ... | 04/24/2012 |
| 8153052 | High-temperature composite articles and associated methods of manufacture The present invention provides a method for forming a refractory metal-intermetallic composite. The method includes providing a first powder comprising a refractory metal suitable for forming a metal phase; providing a second powder comprising a silicide precursor s... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8137645 | Rare earth recovery from fluorescent material and associated method A method of recovering a rare earth constituent from a phosphor is presented. The method can include a number of steps (a) to (d). In step (a), the phosphor is fired with an alkali material under conditions sufficient to decompose the phosphor into a mixture of oxid... | 03/20/2012 |
| 8094431 | Methods for improving the dielectric properties of a polymer, and related articles and devices In one aspect of the present invention, a method for increasing the dielectric breakdown strength of a polymer is described. The method comprises providing the polymer and contacting a surface of the polymer in a reaction chamber with a gas plasma, under specified p... | 01/10/2012 |
| 8064566 | Electricity and steam generation from a helium-cooled nuclear reactor Disclosed herein is a method comprising heating helium in a core of a nuclear reactor; extracting heat from the helium; superheating water to steam using the heat extracted from the helium, expanding the helium in a turbine; wherein the turbine is in operative commu... | 11/22/2011 |
| 8057706 | Moisture-resistant phosphor and associated method A phosphor material contains encapsulated particles of manganese (Mn4+) doped fluoride phosphor. A method of encapsulating such particles is also provided. Each particle is encapsulated with a layer of a manganese-free fluoride phosphor. The use of such a... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8038764 | Rhenium recovery from superalloys and associated methods A method of recovering rhenium from rhenium-containing superalloy scrap is provided. The superalloy is usually a nickel-based superalloy. The method includes the steps of forming an oxidation feedstock of flaky morphology of the superalloy scrap, and oxidizing the o... | 10/18/2011 |
| 8034219 | System and method for the production of hydrogen Disclosed herein are a system and a method for the production of hydrogen. The system advantageously combines an independent high temperature heat source with a solid oxide electrolyzer cell and a heat exchanger located between the cathode inlet and the cathode outl... | 10/11/2011 |
| 8023296 | High voltage, high speed, high pulse repetition rate pulse generator A high voltage, high speed, and high repetition rate pulse generator solves the high pulse repetition rate limitations associated with RF power amplifiers. The pulse generator employs resonant techniques to provide current limiting features that allow for continued ... | 09/20/2011 |
| 8016552 | Stator—rotor assemblies having surface features for enhanced containment of gas flow, and related processes A stator-rotor assembly which includes at least one interface region between the stator and rotor is described. At least one stator or rotor surface in the interface region includes a pattern of concavities. The concavities restrict gas flow through a gap between th... | 09/13/2011 |
| 7989118 | System and method for manufacturing fuel cell stacks A method of manufacturing a fuel cell stack is provided. The method provides forming an inspectable preassembly of multiple fuel cell assemblies that may be termed a pseudostack. Each fuel cell in the pseudostack has permanent electrical interconnections and sealing... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7966829 | Method and system for reducing COemissions in a combustion stream Disclosed herein are systems and methods for reducing power plant CO2 emissions. In one embodiment, a method for reducing emissions in a combustion stream, comprises: combusting a gaseous stream to produce an exhaust stream comprising carbon dioxide, and ... | 06/28/2011 |
| 7946467 | Braze material and processes for making and using A braze material and processes for making and using the material, such as for use in the manufacturing, coating, repair, and build-up of superalloy components. The braze material is composed of particles with melt-modifying constituents that are limited to the surfa... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7946335 | Ceramic cores for casting superalloys and refractory metal composites, and related processes A rare earth-based core for use in the casting of a reactive metal is described. The core contains a ceramic composition which includes at least about 10% by weight of monoclinic rare earth aluminate (RE4Al2O9), wherein RE represents... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7912334 | Harsh environment temperature sensing system and method A gasification distributed temperature sensing system is disclosed. The sensing system includes a gasification vessel and a harsh environment fiber sensing cable package disposed within the gasification vessel, the sensing cable package includes a thermally conducti... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7910158 | Method for fabricating an array of electrode and electrolyte materials for use in solid oxide fuel cells The present invention provides high-throughput systems and methods for the fabrication and evaluation of electrode and electrolyte materials for solid oxide fuel cells. The present invention includes systems and methods for synthesizing and optimizing the performanc... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7906746 | Laser shock peening system with time-of-flight monitoring A system and method for monitoring a laser shock peening process includes a sensor connected to a controller. The controller includes an input and a processor. The input is connected to the sensor to receive a signal indicative of a laser shock event at a workpiece.... | 03/15/2011 |
| 7906092 | Methods for preparing compositions which comprise magnesium borohydride, and related materials Disclosed herein is a method for preparing magnesium borohydride. The method includes the step of reacting a metal borohydride with a metal salt composition in a solvent, to form a reaction mixture. The metal salt composition comprises at least one magnesium salt. T... | 03/15/2011 |
| 7901549 | Gas evolving electrolysis system A gas evolving bipolar electrolysis system is provided which includes multiple cells. Each cell further includes a cathode, an anode, at least one inlet and at least one outlet for flow of electrolyte and the cathode and the anode are configured to maintain a variab... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7901491 | Hydrogen storage material and related system Disclosed herein is a hydrogen storage material comprising a metal hydride and an organic hydrogen carrier. Also disclosed herein is a hydrogen storage/fuel cell system which employs the hydrogen storage material. ... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7896962 | Aluminizing slurry compositions free of hexavalent chromium, and related methods and articles A slurry coating composition is described, which is very useful for enriching the surface region of a metal-based substrate with aluminum. The composition includes colloidal silica and particles of an aluminum-based powder, and is substantially free of hexavalent ch... | 03/01/2011 |
| 7895822 | Systems and methods for power generation with carbon dioxide isolation A power generation system includes at least one turbine system. The turbine system includes a compressor section comprising at least one stage, configured to supply a compressed oxidant and a combustion chamber configured to combust the compressed oxidant and a fuel... | 03/01/2011 |
| 7888540 | Integrated system and method for producing fuel composition from biomass A method of producing a fuel composition from a bio-oil feedstock is provided, wherein the bio-oil feedstock is subjected to a step of oil extraction to produce a bio-oil and deoiled residue. At least a portion of the deoiled residue is gasified to produce a hydroge... | 02/15/2011 |
| 7884504 | Transmission line based high voltage pulse generator A high voltage, fast pulse rise/fall time, and high repetition rate pulse generator solves the high pulse repetition rate limitations associated with RF power amplifiers and gap switch type pulse generators. The pulse generator employs a transmission line architectu... | 02/08/2011 |
| 7852006 | Ceramic lamp having molybdenum-rhenium end cap and systems and methods therewith A lamp comprising an arc envelope and a molybdenum-rhenium end structure coupled to the arc envelope. ... | 12/14/2010 |
| 7828546 | Naturally aspirated fluidic control for diverting strong pressure waves A pulse detonation device for dividing a pulse detonation shock wave into an primary and control portion to reduce the strength of a propagating shock wave and/or change its direction. The device contains a flow separator which directs a portion of the shock wave in... | 11/09/2010 |
| 7827778 | Power plants that utilize gas turbines for power generation and processes for lowering COemissions Power plants and process for lowering CO2 emissions generally includes extracting a portion of the recirculated CO2-rich flue gas mid-way through the compression pathway of a gas turbine and removing the CO2 in a separation unit. The... | 11/09/2010 |
| 7817396 | High efficiency and high bandwidth plasma generator system for flow control and noise reduction A plasma generation system includes a pulse generator having at least one switch and that is configured to convert a DC voltage to a desired high frequency, high breakdown voltage pulse sufficient to break down a high-breakdown voltage gap, wherein all pulse generat... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7803493 | Fuel cell system with separating structure bonded to electrolyte A fuel cell assembly comprises a separating structure configured for separating a first reactant and a second reactant wherein the separating structure has an opening therein. The fuel cell assembly further comprises a fuel cell comprising a first electrode, a secon... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7803426 | Appliance having a container including a nanostructured material for hydrogen storage An appliance that uses a substantially carbon-free hydrogen is disclosed. The appliance includes a converter, a hydrogen storage container including a carbon-based nanostructured material, a charger, a discharger and, optionally, a controller is disclosed. The hydro... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7802434 | Systems and processes for reducing NOemissions A system for reducing NOx emissions, includes a reformer configured to receive a fuel and produce a hydrogen-enriched stream, a combustion system configured to burn the hydrogen enriched-stream and produce electricity and an exhaust stream, and a recuperator configu... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7798201 | Ceramic cores for casting superalloys and refractory metal composites, and related processes A rare earth-based core for use in the casting of a reactive metal is described. The core contains a ceramic composition which includes at least about 10% by weight of monoclinic rare earth aluminate (RE4Al2O9), wherein RE represents... | 09/21/2010 |
| 7780832 | Methods for applying mitigation coatings, and related articles A method for protecting a thermal barrier coating (TBC) which comprises voids is described. The method involves the step of electrophoretically depositing a mitigation coating material such as alumina to fill at least a portion of the voids. The TBC is often applied... | 08/24/2010 |
| 7755210 | System and method for controlling wind turbine actuation A wind turbine includes a plurality of wind turbine blades attached to a rotor positioned atop a tower affixed to a tower foundation. At least one blade pitch sensor is configured to measure blade pitch angles for one or more of the wind turbine blades. A rotor/gene... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7754641 | Hydrogen storage material and related processes Disclosed herein is a composition comprising a complex hydride and a borohydride catalyst wherein the borohydride catalyst comprises a BH4 group, and a group IV metal, a group V metal, or a combination of a group IV and a group V metal. Also disclosed her... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7749304 | Method for storing hydrogen, and related articles and systems A method for storing hydrogen is described. The hydrogen is infused into hollow spheres. The spheres are made from a polymer which has a tensile strength sufficient to contain hydrogen under selected internal pressure conditions; and has a permeation coefficient whi... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7748259 | Systems and methods for solid oxide fuel cell surface analysis Systems and methods for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) surface analysis. Exemplary embodiments include systems and methods for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) surface analysis, including a SOFC having a ceramic surface, a scanner adjacent the ceramic surface for collecti... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7745029 | Ferritic steels for solid oxide fuel cells and other high temperature applications Oxidation-resistant ferritic steel alloys for high temperature applications consist essentially of chromium (Cr) in an amount from about 18 to about 25 atom percent, tungsten (W) in an amount from about 0.5 to about 2 atom percent, manganese (Mn) in an amount less t... | 06/29/2010 |
| 7732526 | Silicone binders for investment casting A green product for use in fabricating a ceramic article comprises a ceramic powder immobilized within a silicone matrix, wherein the silicone matrix comprises one or more cross linked or polymerized silicone monomers and/or oligomers, wherein the one or more cross ... | 06/08/2010 |
