Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7359166 | Method and control system for controlling electric motors There is described a method for controlling an electric motor comprising an operating relay having relay windings with respective first and second relay contacts and a control means, which motor via current conductors is connected to said relay and a power source wh... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7258606 | Modular retrofit heating, ventilating and air conditioning system A modular heating, ventilation and air conditioning system including a rectangular sleeve that can be secured through an exterior wall of a building for moving air between an exterior of the building and the interior of the building, an electrical outlet fitted with... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7059400 | Dual-compartment ventilation and air-conditioning system having a shared heating coil An HVAC system has two variable-air-volume (VAV) systems, a first VAV system for moving fresh air and a second VAV system for moving recycled air. Both the fresh air and recycled air are cooled and dehumidified by a single heat-exchanging coil. The fresh and recycle... | 06/13/2006 |
| 6993922 | Apparatus and method for controlling the temperature of an electronic device under test An apparatus for controlling the temperature of an electronic device under test includes a thermal head having a temperature controlled surface for making thermal contact with the electronic device. The thermal head defines a flow channel for passage of a refrigeran... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6668570 | Apparatus and method for controlling the temperature of an electronic device under test An apparatus for controlling the temperature of an electronic device under test includes a thermal head having a temperature controlled surface for making thermal contact with the electronic device. The thermal head defines a flow channel for passage of a... | 12/30/2003 |
| 6478084 | Energy saving thermostat with a variable deadband An apparatus for, and a method of, reducing cycling of heating and cooling systems by varying the deadband of a thermostat. The deadband is varied such that it does not impact human comfort significantly. The deadband is kept narrow (at its current normal... | 11/12/2002 |
| 6205790 | Efficient thermoelectric controller The temperature of a thermo-electric cooler that is used to cool a laser is effectively controlled using a monitor which accurately and continuously measures the temperature of the thermo-electric cooler and using apparatus that determines the difference ... | 03/27/2001 |
| 5983989 | Method and apparatus for controlling discharged-air temperature for vehicular air-conditioning system Disclosed is a system for controlling discharged-air temperature for a vehicular air-conditioning system, comprising a duct, a cooling medium circuit, a heating medium circuit, an air-mixing unit, and an automatic air-conditioning ECU. The automatic air-c... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5924486 | Environmental condition control and energy management system and method An indoor environmental condition control and energy management system includes a plurality of inputs. A user input receives user input parameters including a desired indoor environmental condition range for at least one energy unit price point. An indoor... | 07/20/1999 |
| 5878811 | Apparatus and method for the controlled cooling of chemical tanks An apparatus for the controlled cooling of chemical tanks containing a chemical which must be kept at a first prescribed temperature includes at least one heat-exchanger coil immersed inside a chemical tank and through which there is made to circulate a f... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5850873 | Method for reducing vapor generation in a temperature controlled liquid holding tank A method is provided for reducing vapor generation in a temperature controlled fuel tank in a motor vehicle. The method cooperates with an apparatus having hot and cold fluid sources (20, 22), a heat exchanger (18) having hot and cold valves (26, 24) and ... | 12/22/1998 |
| 5848640 | Apparatus for controlling the temperature of fuel in a motor vehicle fuel tank An apparatus for controlling the temperature of fuel in a motor vehicle fuel tank is described. The apparatus includes a cold valve (24) fluidly interposed between a cold fluid source (20) and a cooling portion (50) of a heat exchanger (18) and a hot valv... | 12/15/1998 |
| 5730216 | Air conditioning and refrigeration units utilizing a cryogen Air conditioning and refrigeration apparatus for controlling the temperature of a conditioned space to a predetermined temperature band adjacent to a predetermined set point temperature via cooling and heating cycles utilizing a supply of pressurized cryo... | 03/24/1998 |
| 5544697 | Differential temperature control The difference between the zone temperature and the scheduled setpoint, or Ɗt, is the basic data from each zone. Communication between the air handler control and the air terminal control is provided via the air system control so that the system is tempe... | 08/13/1996 |
| 5501268 | Method of energy load management using PCM for heating and cooling of buildings A method of energy load management for the heating and cooling of a building. The method involves utilizing a wallboard as a portion of the building, the wallboard containing about 5 to about 30 wt. % a phase change material such that melting of the phase... | 03/26/1996 |
| 5490556 | Off-road air conditioning control Apparatus for heating and cooling an enclosed operator space in an off-road vehicle controlling evaporator fan speed, compressor clutch and condenser fan operation, and having sensors for detecting operator space temperature and an evaporator freezing con... | 02/13/1996 |
| 5320162 | Single pole double throw thermostat for narrow range temperature regulation A thermostat is disclosed having a bimetallic strip actuating a single pole, double throw switch, one throw to sense temperatures below the lower limit of a set point range and the other throw to sense temperatures above the upper limit of the set point r... | 06/14/1994 |
| 5076346 | Air conditioner A duct type of air conditioner wherein temperature in a plurality rooms are controlled independently, and which after having controlled opening and closing of dampers for the rooms, is capable of controlling air volume, controlling the opening and closing... | 12/31/1991 |
| 5038851 | Electronic programmable thermostat for a heating and cooling system with an oscillation control mechanism The programmable thermostat includes a sensor for sensing the ambient temperature within the predetermined volume of space, a timer for generating the current time of day, and a memory for storing a plurality of program times, and a heating and a cooling ... | 08/13/1991 |
| 4969508 | Wireless thermostat and room environment control system An environment control system permitting the occupant of a room or space in a multi-room building sharing a common air supply conduit with other rooms to control the environment in his or her room selectively and/or automatically. The system =includes a s... | 11/13/1990 |
| 4919196 | Three-stage mercury switch for operation between the heating and cooling mode There is disclosed a thermostat controlled apparatus which controls the operation of a heating system and a cooling system in response to temperature variations in a given environment. The thermostat has a three-electrode mercury switch which is coupled t... | 04/24/1990 |
| 4917174 | Supply airflow control for dual-duct system Two variable position supply air valves, one for modulating warm airflow to a comfort zone and the other for modulating cool airflow, each have a constant intermediate open position to provide at least a desired minimum airflow, and both can be controlled... | 04/17/1990 |
| 4881591 | Oven for the burn-in of integrated circuits Over for the burn-in of integrated circuits (12), comprising: a chamber (B) for receiving such circuits (12); first means (4), for heating such integrated circuits (12) in the chamber (B) with the circuits (12) fed with supply voltages; and control means ... | 11/21/1989 |
| 4687050 | Dual thermostat controlled outlets A housing contains two thermostats which thermostats are interwired so as to enable one thermostat to control a heating operation and the other thermostat to control a cooling operation. The housing contains at least one AC power receptacle coupled to the... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4683939 | Electronic thermostat with selectable mode to control heating only, cooling only or both heating and cooling A programmable electronic thermostat having selectable modes to control heating only, cooling only or both heating and cooling. This electronic thermostat enables an operator to program a series of desired temperatures over a repetitive heating or cooling... | 08/04/1987 |
| 4663725 | Microprocessor based control system and method providing better performance and better operation of a shipping container refrigeration system A microprocessor based system monitors and controls a transport refrigeration system having a two speed compressor coupled to a condenser and an evaporator and further having two speed condenser and evaporator fans, a refrigerant modulating valve, and hea... | 05/05/1987 |
| 4638850 | Electronic thermostat An electronic thermostat for controlling multiple temperature altering apparatus of an animal enclosure or the like. A voltage divider to produce a plurality of temperature sensor signals which are used to produce primary or override actuation signals. Th... | 01/27/1987 |
| 4635708 | Electronic thermostat for heating and cooling system A programmable electronic thermostat for use in a building having a furnace and an air conditioning system adapted to generate energizing signals for the furnace and the air conditioner. An operator programs the thermostat with a series of desired tempera... | 01/13/1987 |
| 4632177 | Clock operated thermostat having automatic changeover and optimum start A clock operated thermostat having both automatic heat-cool changeover and optimum start is disclosed. Programs for the optimum start and automatic changeover are incorporated in a microcomputer based clock thermostat and eliminate any possibility that a ... | 12/30/1986 |
| 4552205 | Dual storage heating and cooling system A solar heating and cooling system is disclosed which provides substantially consistent levels of temperature within a preselected range in an air space of an enclosed structure. The system includes a first store which functions as a heat source and a sec... | 11/12/1985 |
| 4534406 | Thermostat An electronic thermostat with a mode selection switch for selective application of actuation signals to different output control terminals for connection with control of either cooling or heating apparatus in accordance with sensed temperature. Circuitry ... | 08/13/1985 |
| 4446913 | Auto changeover thermostat with means for handling temperature entry errors A thermostat used to control a temperature conditioning system to heat or cool a comfort zone to a heating setpoint and a cooling setpoint. The thermostat is microcomputer based and includes both a digital keypad and display for setpoint entry by an opera... | 05/08/1984 |
| 4325427 | Dual thermostat control apparatus with dead band response A dual thermostat apparatus includes two thermostats which generate fluid control signals proportional to room air temperature. The thermostats are matched leakport pressure sensors having a signal orifice and a bimetal lid element to generate back pressu... | 04/20/1982 |
| 4323112 | No energy band temperature control A system for controlling the temperature of an enclosed volume includes a pneumatic thermostat, heating means and cooling means. The thermostat has two entirely independent controls: a heating control and a cooling control. Both controls remain independen... | 04/06/1982 |
| 4296795 | Pneumatically operated control system and unit therefor and methods of making the same A pneumatically operated system having a control unit provided with a single inlet interconnected to a one pressure level pneumatic source and having an outlet arrangement interconnected to a pneumatically operated heating and cooling heat exchanger to co... | 10/27/1981 |
| 4136732 | Method and apparatus for controlling air-conditioning systems An air conditioning system controlled for automatically heating and/or cooling a multiple zone building is disclosed wherein each zone includes a zone temperature responsive load transmitter. Each load transmitter produces an output command signal for con... | 01/30/1979 |
| 4044823 | Method and apparatus for controlling air-conditioning systems An air conditioning system controlled for automatically heating and/or cooling a multiple zone building is disclosed wherein each zone includes a zone temperature responsive load transmitter. Each load transmitter produces an output command signal for con... | 08/30/1977 |
| 3973618 | Electronic capacity control or direct expansion refrigeration of air conditioning systems The invention relates to the air conditioning of a storage compartment and is especially significant for a transport system. Air is circulated between an air tempering zone and the storage compartment, said air tempering zone having air cooling means and ... | 08/10/1976 |
| 3952796 | Temperature control system An automatic temperature responsive control valve is disclosed for use in combination heating and cooling systems including two concentric valve sleeves each rotating individually in the valve body under the control of respective bimetallic transducers on... | 04/27/1976 |
