Did You Know...
...that the Slinky toy was the result of a failed attempt by engineer Richard James to produce an antivibration device for ship instruments? His goal was to develop a spring that would instantaneously counterbalance the wave motion that rocks a ship at sea. Instead, he developed the Slinky.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8177544 | Selective lockout in a fuel-fired appliance A control system for a fuel-fired appliance and methods of operating are disclosed. When a failed ignition of a burner is detected, the control system is configured to enter a soft lockout state if the voltage level of a burner of the fuel-fired appliance is low dur... | 05/15/2012 |
| 8016589 | Method of starting up a direct heating system for the flameless combustion of fuel and direct heating of a process fluid Included is a method of starting up a direct heating device having a fuel introduction zone, a combustion zone and a process zone that is in heat exchange relationship with said combustion zone. Prior to the introduction of a fuel fluid into said combustion zone, an... | 09/13/2011 |
| 7618254 | Method for igniting a burner A method for igniting a fuel/oxidant mixture in an industrial furnace. At least one fuel supply conduit and at least one oxidant supply conduit is provided, each conduit having an opening that opens on a side of the burner head that faces the furnace interior space.... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7476098 | Fuel cell power plant warm up In a fuel cell power plant, carbon monoxide contained in reformate gas which is produced by a reformer (3) by means of a catalytic fuel reaction is removed by the respective catalytic reactions of a shift converter (4) and a preferential oxidation reac... | 01/13/2009 |
| 7291010 | Combustion light-emitting device and corresponding method of fabrication A light-emitting device comprises a structure defining an orderly and periodic series of cavities of nanometric dimensions, in which a process of catalytic combustion is confined. The dimensions and/or the distance between the micro-cavities are selected to obtain a... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7290502 | System and methods for controlling a water heater A control for a water heater is provided that comprises a pressure switch for sensing a predetermined level of airflow sufficient for maintaining proper burner operation, and a temperature sensing means for sensing the temperature of the water in the tank. The contr... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7261061 | Water heater with lint collection detection A low NOx water heater including a water container; a combustion chamber adjacent the water container; and a burner associated with the combustion chamber and arranged to combust fuel to heat water in the water container, the burner comprising a plenum ch... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7255285 | Blocked flue detection methods and systems The present invention is directed at systems and methods for detecting flue blockages in an HVAC system without the addition of numerous additional sensor elements, wiring, and connections that can unduly increase the cost and possibly reduce the reliability of the ... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7241135 | Feedback control for modulating gas burner A modulating gas burner control system using closed loop feedback from a flame rod which provides a signal that varies with gas pressure and which provides combustion air fan control to accurately control the heat from the system without use of expensive control val... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7168677 | Motor-operated valve apparatus When a fluid flow channel is interrupted while an electronic circuit unit 50 including a microcomputer 51 and the like receives electric source power, a flow control valve is displaced to a predetermined position closer to a first end of both ends of a... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7150626 | Method for operating a cooking hob, and cooking hob A gas cooking hob and a method of operating the hob including at least two physical cooking points and at least one electronic control component. A second one of the two cooking points located at a greater distance from the electronic control component than the firs... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7140363 | Gas burner crown for kitchen hobs The present invention refers to a gas burner crown for kitchen hob, of the type with a radial series of notches, composed of shallower notches alternated with deeper notches, which act as small burner nozzles, from which small radial flames originate; the crown is c... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7138093 | Heat exchanger device A heat exchanger device is configured for use with a catalytic heater having a planar heat radiating surface. The device includes an inlet header, an outlet header and heat exchanger tubes communicating therebetween. A frame supports the headers and the heat exchang... | 11/21/2006 |
| 7112059 | Apparatus and method for shutting down fuel fired appliance An apparatus is provided for controlling the operation of a gas fired appliance having a gas valve circuit for enabling the flow of gas to the burner. The apparatus comprises a sensor capable of detecting the presence of flammable vapor, a switching means in series ... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7083408 | Apparatus and method for shutting down a fuel fired appliance An apparatus comprising a switch, a fuse, and a sensor that is capable of detecting the presence of flammable vapors and responsively changing in resistance, wherein the sensor enables the switch to supply current to the fuse which opens to shut down an appliance bu... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7073530 | Storage tank de-inventorying A method for emptying a liquid storage tank that has a floating roof which becomes stationery a finite distance above the tank bottom, wherein, after the roof becomes stationery, liquid is continued to be withdrawn from inside the tank while vapor is removed from wi... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7065956 | Two piece jet engine igniter assembly A two-piece jet engine igniter assembly includes a front section and a rear section. When the igniter assembly is installed in an aircraft, either the front section or the rear section is removable for service or replacement. The front section includes a detachable ... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7044729 | Gas burner control for a bake oven The system (1) for controlling the combustion (7) of a cooking oven burner (2), comprises in combination a thermostat valve (3) with a rotary hand knob (4) and a non-electric temperature sensor (6) for modulating the burner ... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7029271 | Flameless oxidation burner A device including a burner (6) for directing a fuel/air mixture into a reaction chamber (2) for flameless oxidation of fuels. The burner (6) discharges a fuel/air jet transversely to a longitudinal axis (A) of the burner and an exhaust gas chan... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7025810 | Method and apparatus for shutting down a fuel-fired burner of an emission abatement assembly A method of operating a fuel-fired burner of an emission abatement assembly includes supplying a reduced amount of fuel to the fuel-fired burner in response to detection of a burner shutdown request. Such a reduced fuel supply continues for a predetermined time peri... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7008217 | Safety device for boiler comprising a time delay protected by an electronic circuit A safety device for an industrial boiler (CHA) including electromechanical relays (REn, RS), which are connected in series in order to form an electromechanical safety chain (CH1), and at least one shunt relay (RTn) which is normally ope... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6966769 | Gaseous oxygen resonance igniter A gaseous oxygen resonance igniter includes a body with a first inlet for gaseous oxygen incorporating a supersonic nozzle. An outlet from the body incorporates an orifice of predetermined size to maintain a desired pressure in the body. An aperture in the body oppo... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6955066 | Method and system for coating a glass contacting surface with a thermal barrier and lubricous coating A method and system for coating a glass contacting surface with a thermal barrier and lubricious coating. The system uses a novel exterior surface mixing tip device wherein oxygen is supplied through a predetermined portion of one supply line, and a predetermined ga... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6932593 | Method of preheating catalytic heater The invention provides a method of preheating a catalyst in a catalytic heater comprising the steps of preparing a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen in a volume ratio of between about 95% hydrogen to about 5% nitrogen and about 5% hydrogen to about 95% nitrog... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6920377 | Self-sustaining control for a heating system A self-sustaining control for a heating system, having conventional operational modes and pilot burner assembly, is disclosed. A controller directs operation in accordance with a need-based protocol and monitors the condition of a storage device, which provides syst... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6908301 | Control for catalytic combustor A fuel injector (11) supplies liquid fuel to a catalytic combustor (9) of a fuel reforming device during startup of a fuel reforming device. A controller sets the injection amount (Qf) for liquid fuel to a first injection amount (Qf1) during a p... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6908300 | Apparatus and method for shutting down a fuel fired appliance An apparatus comprising a switch, a fuse, and a sensor that is capable of detecting the presence of flammable vapors and responsively changing in resistance, wherein the sensor enables the switch to supply current to the fuse which opens to shut down an appliance bu... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6881052 | Device and method for heating hydrogen storage canister A device for heating hydrogen storage canister includes a canister containing chamber for accommodation of at least one hydrogen storage canister, a catalyst bed arranged in the canister containing chamber for catalysis. A blowing device provides an air flow through... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6805550 | Method of operating a furnace The method of the invention concerns operation of a furnace utilizing a hydrogen-rich gas as furnace fuel. The furnace has multiplicity of burners for burning fuel supplied thereto. The method comprises providing ignition means for lighting a flame at at least one b... | 10/19/2004 |
| 6781703 | Wireframe algorithm and non-contact gauging apparatus A non-contact gauging system and method profiles a workpiece to accurately determine cylindrical surface profiles. The system includes a sensor head for performing reflected light measurements. The sensor head couples to a sensor arm that is movable in longitudinal,... | 08/24/2004 |
| 6776608 | Method and means for a security control of burners A method for a security control of a burner, provided with a body comprising a diffuser in which apertures for the flow of a mixture of air and fuel are made, comprises detecting a temperature representative of the temperature of said diffuser in at least one zone o... | 08/17/2004 |
| 6722876 | Flammable vapor control system A safety device for shutting off the flow of gas to a gas-fired appliance in the presence of flammable vapors. The resistance of a variable resistance flammable vapor sensor is monitored by a microprocessor that controls the operation of a gas flow valve. When the m... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6712601 | Low power starter for catalytic heaters A catalytic heater 10 has an insulation pad 36 and a catalyst pad 34 mounted in face-to-face relation within an enclosure 11 having an open front face 20. A starter 48 is mounted within the catalyst pad and is effective for ... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6676402 | Laser ignition Sequenced pulses of light from an excitation laser with at least two resonator cavities with separate output couplers are directed through a light modulator and a first polarzing analyzer. A portion of the light not rejected by the first polarizing analyz... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6652265 | Burner apparatus and method A burner apparatus is operated in a plurality of distinct modes. In a startup mode, flows of oxidant and primary fuel are ignited by an igniter and are provided simultaneously with a flow of secondary fuel until a process chamber reaches the auto-ignition... | 11/25/2003 |
| 6572363 | System and method for detecting flame rollout in a furnace A method and system for detecting flame rollout is disclosed. The detection system includes a processor programmed to execute a furnace lockout when the flame proving signal is lost three times after successful burner ignition has been established on each... | 06/03/2003 |
| 6554608 | Apparatus and method for sensing flammable vapor An apparatus and method for operating a pilot burner apparatus and a main burner apparatus of a gas-fired appliance. The pilot burner apparatus draws combustion air from a first environment. The main combustion apparatus draws air from a second environmen... | 04/29/2003 |
| 6514069 | Laser ignition In the apparatus of the invention, a first excitation laser or other excitation light source is used in tandem with an ignitor laser to provide a compact, durable, engine deployable fuel ignition laser system. Reliable fuel ignition is provided over a wid... | 02/04/2003 |
| 6494707 | Limited recycle for primary controls An oil burner control system is disclosed in which recycling between a loss of combustion to re-establishment of combustion is limited by counting the number of times recycling occurs and causing a the system to stop recycling and go to lockout after the ... | 12/17/2002 |
| 6488495 | Lantern with improved choke A gas operated lantern includes a control mechanism whereby a user may start gas flow through the lantern, operate a choke, and ignite the lantern. The user may perform these operations using the same control in an easy, simple series of motions. The user... | 12/03/2002 |
