Did You Know...
...that power steering was invented by independent inventor Francis W. Davis? As chief engineer in the 1920s of the truck division of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, he saw how hard it was to steer heavy vehicles. So that he would be able to keep the profits from his future invention, Davis left his job, rented a small engineering shop in Waltham, Mass., and developed a hydraulic power steering system that led to power steering.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8134066 | Electric power generator In one embodiment, a vortex tube has a gas inlet port, a cold gas outlet port and a hot gas outlet port. A thermoelectric potential generator having hot gas inlet port coupled to the hot gas outlet port of the vortex tube, a cold gas inlet port coupled to the cold g... | 03/13/2012 |
| 8039728 | Glass-ceramic thermoelectric module The invention is directed to a thermoelectric module that utilizes a glass-ceramic material in place of the alumina and aluminum nitride that are commonly used in such modules. The glass-ceramic has a coefficient of thermal expansion of | 10/18/2011 |
| 8039726 | Thermal transfer and power generation devices and methods of making the same A device includes a first thermally conductive substrate having a first patterned electrode disposed thereon and a second thermally conductive substrate having a second patterned electrode disposed thereon, wherein the first and second thermally conductive substrate... | 10/18/2011 |
| 8039727 | Method and apparatus for shunt for in vivo thermoelectric power system One embodiment of the present subject matter includes an apparatus with a first housing portion which is thermally conductive and which has a first case opening; a second housing portion which is thermally conductive and which has a second case opening, the second c... | 10/18/2011 |
| 8013235 | Thermoelectric device A thermoelectric device, an intermediate, a module, and a method for manufacturing the same are provided, wherein productivity is high, material costs are comparatively low, and there is a low environmental load. A thermoelectric device, wherein a block body has at ... | 09/06/2011 |
| 8008571 | Thermoelectric composite semiconductor Heat transfer to refrigerate or heat uses a thermoelectric semiconductor structure including a P-type composite of dices of semiconductor material alloyed with P-type material forming spaced collector regions at junctions with a P-type conductive material for flux o... | 08/30/2011 |
| 8003880 | Method and devices for generating energy from photovoltaics and temperature differentials A method for generating power is provided. The method including: providing a heat source with an output of radiation in a predetermined spectrum; generating a first portion of the power from the absorption of the radiation; and generating a second portion of the pow... | 08/23/2011 |
| 8003879 | Method and apparatus for in vivo thermoelectric power system The present subject matter includes a first housing portion which is thermally conductive and which has a first housing opening, a second housing portion which is thermally conductive and which has a second housing opening, the second housing opening being hermetica... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7999172 | Flexible thermoelectric device A flexible thermoelectric device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. Flexible substrates are formed by using LIGA process, micro-electro-mechanical process or electroforming technique. The flexible substrates are used to produce thermoelectric device. T... | 08/16/2011 |
| 7964785 | Heating apparatus comprising a thermoelectric module Disclosed is a thermoelectric module (100) which rests against a housing (12) via an elastic connection (26, 40, 42). Alternatively or additionally, a mechanical connection is provided with a heat-insulating material (50) between a housin... | 06/21/2011 |
| 7964784 | Thermogenerator A thermogenerator with a first electrical voltage source (20) having a first voltage output (30) and a second electric voltage source (40) having a second voltage output (50). The first electrical voltage source (20) is formed of a... | 06/21/2011 |
| 7939743 | Computer with thermoelectric conversion A computer with thermoelectric conversion uses a thermoelectric conversion module that connects between a heat generating device and a low temperature device to fully utilize the redundant heat generated by the computer. The thermoelectric conversion module converts... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7935882 | Self powered electric generating food heater A self-powered food heater. The food heater includes a burner with an electric fuel pump and an electric blower, a fire box, a water tank and electronic controls. The food heater also includes a set of thermoelectric modules compressed against a heat transfer surfac... | 05/03/2011 |
| 7919709 | Temperature power generation device and temperature power generation method A temperature power generation device includes a temperature reactive layer made of high thermal energy absorbing material and a thermal electron generation layer made of low work function material. A temperature power generation method by using the temperature reac... | 04/05/2011 |
| 7880079 | Dual gap thermo-tunneling apparatus and methods Method and apparatus for improved thermal isolation for thermoelectric devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, a thermoelectric device includes a first substrate portion having a first p-type conductive portion electrically coupled to a first n-type conductive por... | 02/01/2011 |
| 7846602 | Thermoelectric conversion apparatus A thermoelectric conversion apparatus has an evaporator for heating a working medium in liquid-phase to evaporate the working medium, an electric generator for forming a concentration cell for electric power generation when it is supplied with a reactive gas and the... | 12/07/2010 |
| 7834263 | Thermoelectric power source utilizing ambient energy harvesting for remote sensing and transmitting A method and apparatus for providing electrical energy to an electrical device wherein the electrical energy is originally generated from temperature differences in an environment having a first and a second temperature region. A thermoelectric device having a first... | 11/16/2010 |
| 7812245 | Self powered heat transfer fan A self-powered fan for circulating air for use in cooperation with a heat source, such as a wood stove, and having a first heat transfer member thermally and physically connected with the heat source. The fan blades operably create a first or warm air flow and a sec... | 10/12/2010 |
| 7723606 | Method of manufacturing a thermoelectric generator and thermoelectric generator thus obtained A thermoelectric generator (TEG) and a method of fabricating the TEG are described. The TEG is designed so that parasitic thermal resistance of air and height of legs of thermocouples forming a thermopile can be varied and optimized independently. The TEG includes a... | 05/25/2010 |
| 7687704 | Thermoelectric generator for internal combustion engine A thermoelectric generator that reduces the size of an entire exhaust apparatus for an internal combustion engine, while ensuring the amount of electric power generated by a thermoelectric generation element and the purging effect of a catalyst device. The thermoele... | 03/30/2010 |
| 7667132 | Electric power generating apparatus and control method for electric power generating apparatus When electric power is obtained from a thermoelectric element, a value of electric current is changed, and two combinations of the electric current value and a voltage value (i1, V1) and (i2 and V2) are obtained. An electr... | 02/23/2010 |
| 7663053 | System and method for using pre-equilibrium ballistic charge carrier refraction A method and system for using a method of pre-equilibrium ballistic charge carrier refraction comprises fabricating one or more solid-state electric generators. The solid-state electric generators include one or more of a chemically energized solid-state electric ge... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7655858 | Thermoelectric device having an energy storage device located between its hot and cold sides A thermoelectric device (100, 342) that includes at least one thermoelectric couple (118, 304) that contains a thermoelectric junction (156) between two dissimilar materials (P, N) that allow exploitation of either the Seebeck effect or Peltier ... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7649138 | Thermoelectric device with surface conforming heat conductor A quickly attachable electric generator device for producing electric power from surfaces of hot or cold pipes. The invention provides a thermoelectric unit which includes a pedestal comprised of a material with high thermal conductivity on which a thermoelectric mo... | 01/19/2010 |
| 7629531 | Low power thermoelectric generator A thermoelectric generator has a top plate disposed in spaced relation above a bottom plate. A series of foil segments are electrically and mechanically connected end-to-end to generate a foil assembly that is spirally wound and in thermal contact with the bottom an... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7629530 | Energy recovery system An energy recovery system for hybrid automobile. The energy recovery system generates electricity by utilizing the temperature difference between a high temperature thermal medium and a low temperature thermal medium. As the high temperature thermal medium, engine c... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7626114 | Thermoelectric power supply A thermoelectric power supply converts thermal energy into a high power output with voltages in the Volt-range for powering a microelectronic device and comprises an in-plane thermoelectric generator, a cross-plane thermoelectric generator, an initial energy managem... | 12/01/2009 |
| 7601909 | Power generation method using thermoelectric element, thermoelectric element and fabrication method thereof, and thermoelectric device The invention provides a power generation method using a thermoelectric element, a thermoelectric element, and a thermoelectric device that excel in thermoelectric performance and are applicable to a wider range of applications over conventional counterparts. The el... | 10/13/2009 |
| 7569763 | Solid state energy converter A solid-state energy converter with a semiconductor or semiconductor-metal implementation is provided for conversion of thermal energy to electric energy, or electric energy to refrigeration. In n-type heat-to-electricity embodiments, a highly doped n* emitter regio... | 08/04/2009 |
| 7498507 | Device for solid state thermal transfer and power generation A solid state thermal transfer device includes first and second electrically conductive substrates that are positioned opposite from one another. The solid state thermal transfer device also includes a sealing layer disposed between the first and second electrically... | 03/03/2009 |
| 7435896 | Thermoelectric conversion material, thermoelectric conversion element using the material, cooling device and electric apparatus using the element, and electric power generation method and cooling method using the element With conventional thermoelectric conversion materials, their thermoelectric conversion performance has been insufficient, and a problem has been to achieve stable performance in an oxidizing atmosphere and an air atmosphere. In view of this, according to the present... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7426910 | Engine system having improved efficiency A propulsion system for a vehicle, comprising of an internal combustion engine, a thermoelectric device in thermal communication with the engine, and a control system for controlling the engine and the thermoelectric device during a first mode, supply electrical ene... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7400050 | Quantum well thermoelectric power source A quantum well thermoelectric module providing very high conversion of heat energy in to electrical energy. In prefered embodiments the module provides electric power for monitoring, measuring or detecting any of a variety of things (such as temperature, smoke, othe... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7370480 | Solid state thermal apparatus A solid state thermal device for conducting heat from a source and transferring the heat to an exhaust tunnel or converter for controlling the current flow passing through the solid state device. The device includes a plurality of diode arrays which interface betwee... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7371960 | Figure of merit in Ytterbium-Aluminum-Manganese intermetallic thermoelectric and method of preparation This invention provides novel thermoelectric compounds comprising: a) atomic percent Ytterbium b) between 50 and 74.999 atomic percent Aluminum c) between 0.001 and 25 atomic percent Manganese and ... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7367196 | Spinning cold plasma apparatus and methods relating thereto Disclosed herein is an apparatus for generating a spinning cold plasma. A preferred embodiment of the spinning cold plasma apparatus is portable and includes a vortex tube having an inner wall to form a vortex reaction chamber. The vortex tube preferably has a cold ... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7365956 | Plasma driven, N-type semiconductor, thermoelectric power superoxide ion generator with critical bias conditions A plasma is generated inside a barrier enclosure made specifically of N-Type semiconductive material, said plasma thus generating a thermal gradient across said barrier which drives electrons through said barrier via the thermoelectric power of said N-Type semicondu... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7365264 | Thermoelectric converter and manufacturing method thereof A thermoelectric converting device includes a P type thermoelectric element, an N type thermoelectric element, the N type thermoelectric element connected with the P type thermoelectric element alternately to be electrically in series, an electrode circuit contactin... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7362889 | Elastomeric actuator devices for magnetic resonance imaging The present invention is directed to devices and systems used in magnetic imaging environments that include an actuator device having an elastomeric dielectric film with at least two electrodes, and a frame attached to the actuator device. The frame can have a plura... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7358658 | Amorphous diamond materials and associated methods for the use and manufacture thereof An electroluminescence device having improved luminescence per volt input is provided. The device can include a first electrode, a second electrode, a diamond-like carbon layer electrically coupled to at least one of the first electrode or the second electrode, and ... | 04/15/2008 |
