Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080305034 | STEAM REFORMING FUEL PROCESSOR, BURNER ASSEMBLY, AND METHODS OF OPERATING THE SAME - Systems and methods for producing hydrogen gas with a fuel processing system that includes a hydrogen-producing region that produces hydrogen gas from a feed stream and a heating assembly that consumes a fuel stream to produce a heated exhaust stream for heating the hydrogen-producing region. In some embodiments, the heating assembly heats the hydrogen-producing region to at least a minimum hydrogen-producing temperature. In some embodiments, the feed stream and the fuel stream both contain a carbon-containing feedstock and at least 25 wt % water. In some embodiments, at least one of the feed and fuel streams contain at least one additional component. In some embodiments, the feed and fuel streams have the same composition. In some embodiments, the feed and fuel streams are drawn or obtained from a common source or supply, and in some embodiments as a liquid stream that is selectively apportioned to form the feed and fuel streams. | 12-11-2008 |
20090205253 | STEAM REFORMING FUEL PROCESSOR, BURNER ASSEMBLY, AND METHODS OF OPERATING THE SAME - Systems and methods for producing hydrogen gas with a fuel processing system that includes a hydrogen-producing region that produces hydrogen gas from a feed stream and a heating assembly that consumes a fuel stream to produce a heated exhaust stream for heating the hydrogen-producing region. In some embodiments, the heating assembly heats the hydrogen-producing region to at least a minimum hydrogen-producing temperature. In some embodiments, the rate at which an air stream is delivered to the heating assembly is controlled to selectively increase or decrease the temperature of the heated exhaust stream. In some embodiments, the feed stream and the fuel stream both contain a carbon-containing feedstock and at least 25 wt % water. In some embodiments, the feed and fuel streams have the same composition. | 08-20-2009 |
20100040918 | METHANOL STEAM REFORMING CATALYSTS, STEAM REFORMERS, AND FUEL CELL SYSTEMS INCORPORATING THE SAME - Methanol steam reforming catalysts, and steam reformers and fuel cell systems incorporating the same. In some embodiments, the methanol steam reforming catalyst includes zinc oxide as an active component. In some embodiments, the methanol steam reforming catalyst further includes at least one of chromium oxide and calcium aluminate. In some embodiments, the methanol steam reforming catalyst is not pyrophoric. Similarly, in some embodiments, steam reformers including a reforming catalyst according to the present disclosure may include an air-permeable or air-accessible reforming catalyst bed. In some embodiments, the methanol steam reforming catalyst is not reduced during use. In some embodiments, the methanol reforming catalysts are not active at temperatures below 275° C. In some embodiments, the methanol steam reforming catalyst includes a sulfur-absorbent material. Steam reformers, reforming systems, fuel cell systems and methods of using the reforming catalysts are also disclosed. | 02-18-2010 |
20100055508 | FUEL CELL SYSTEMS WITH WATER RECOVERY FROM FUEL CELL EFFLUENT - Fuel cell systems that use a desiccant to recover water from fuel cell effluent. In some embodiments, the fuel cell system may include one or more fuel cells configured to generate electrical output from a supplied fuel and an oxidant while emitting effluent. The fuel cell system also may include a desiccant disposed downstream of the one or more fuel cells. The desiccant may bind water from at least a portion of the effluent. Heat then may be generated to release bound water from the desiccant. The heat may be generated by combustion of an exhausted fuel from the fuel cells and/or by combustion catalyzed by a combustion catalyst disposed downstream of the fuel cells. | 03-04-2010 |
20100055518 | HYDROGEN-PRODUCING ASSEMBLIES, FUEL CELL SYSTEMS INCLUDING THE SAME, METHODS OF PRODUCING HYDROGEN GAS, AND METHODS OF POWERING AN ENERGY-CONSUMING DEVICE - Hydrogen-producing assemblies, fuel cell systems including the same, methods of producing hydrogen gas, and methods of powering an energy-consuming device. Hydrogen-producing assemblies may include a monolithic body that defines at least a reforming conduit, in which a feed stream is catalyzed into a reformate gas stream containing hydrogen gas, and a burner conduit, in which a fuel-air stream is combusted. The monolithic body is constructed to conduct heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the combustion from the burner conduit to the reformer conduit. In some hydrogen-producing assemblies, the monolithic body further defines a vaporizer conduit, in which liquid portions of the feed stream are vaporized prior to being delivered to the reformer conduit. In such embodiments, the monolithic body is constructed to conduct heat from the burner conduit to the vaporizer conduit. Hydrogen-producing assemblies may be incorporated into a fuel cell system that is configured to power an energy-consuming device. | 03-04-2010 |
20110136027 | FUEL PROCESSING SYSTEMS WITH THERMALLY INTEGRATED COMPONENTRY - Hydrogen-producing assemblies, fuel cell systems including the same, methods of producing hydrogen gas, and methods of powering an energy-consuming device. Hydrogen-producing assemblies may include a monolithic body that defines at least a reforming conduit, and in some embodiments a plurality of reforming conduits, in which a feed stream is catalyzed into a reformate gas stream containing hydrogen gas, and a burner conduit, in which a fuel-air stream is combusted. The monolithic body is constructed to conduct heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the combustion from the burner conduit to the reformer conduit. In some hydrogen-producing assemblies, the monolithic body further defines a vaporizing conduit, in which liquid portions of the feed stream are vaporized prior to being delivered to the reformer conduit, and the monolithic body may be constructed to conduct heat from the burner conduit to the vaporizing conduit. | 06-09-2011 |
20110150756 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INITIATING OPERATION OF PRESSURE SWING ADSORPTION SYSTEMS AND HYDROGEN-PRODUCING FUEL PROCESSING SYSTEMS INCORPORATING THE SAME - Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) assemblies with optimized startup times, as well as to hydrogen-generation assemblies and/or fuel cell systems containing the same, and methods of operating the same. Startup and shutdown methods for a PSA assembly, and optionally an associated fuel processing system, are disclosed to provide for shortened startup times. The PSA assemblies may be in fluid communication with a hydrogen source that may be used or otherwise configured or controlled to purge the PSA adsorbent columns of adsorbents during startup and/or shutdown procedures, the hydrogen source additionally or alternatively may be used or otherwise configured or controlled to charge the columns with hydrogen for idling in a pressurized state. The use of this hydrogen source, together with specific startup and shutdown methodologies, provides for reducing the startup time of the PSA assembly. | 06-23-2011 |
20110256491 | STEAM REFORMING FUEL PROCESSOR, BURNER ASSEMBLY, AND METHODS OF OPERATING THE SAME - Systems and methods for producing hydrogen gas with a fuel processing system that includes a hydrogen-producing region that produces hydrogen gas from a feed stream and a heating assembly that consumes a fuel stream to produce a heated exhaust stream for heating the hydrogen-producing region. In some embodiments, the heating assembly heats the hydrogen-producing region to at least a minimum hydrogen-producing temperature. In some embodiments, the rate at which an air stream is delivered to the heating assembly is controlled to selectively increase or decrease the temperature of the heated exhaust stream. In some embodiments, the feed stream and the fuel stream both contain a carbon-containing feedstock and at least 25 wt % water. In some embodiments, the feed and fuel streams have the same composition. | 10-20-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090278474 | LOW-PROFILE PATHWAY ILLUMINATION SYSTEM - A luminaire to illuminate surfaces comprises a housing, a mounting fixture and a light source. The housing includes a base having a bottom surface positionable on a surface to be illuminated, an interior, and at least one window providing access between the interior and an exterior of the housing. The mounting fixture extends at least approximately perpendicularly downward with respect to the bottom surface of the base to secure the housing into a peripheral portion of the surface to be illuminated. The light source has a principal axis of emission that is directed outwardly through the window of the housing at a downwardly oriented angle with respect to the bottom surface of the base such that, when in use with the luminaire mounted to the surface to be illuminated, the principal axis of emission of the light source is directed at a portion of the surface to be illuminated. | 11-12-2009 |
20090284155 | GAS-DISCHARGE LAMP REPLACEMENT - An illumination device comprising a housing fixture, a light source, and an active heat transfer device is provided. The housing fixture includes a base adapted to be receivable in a light fixture receptacle configured to receive a gas-discharge lamp. The light source emits light with a color rendering index higher than a respective color rendering index of at least a type of gas-discharge lamp. The active heat transfer device is physically coupled to the light source and mounted to the housing fixture. The active heat transfer device receives power from a power supply to remove thermal energy from the light source. | 11-19-2009 |
20100090577 | TURBULENT FLOW COOLING FOR ELECTRONIC BALLAST - An apparatus for heat dissipation for a luminaire comprises an active heat transfer device and a thermally-conductive housing. The active heat transfer device causes turbulence in an ambient fluid. The thermally-conductive housing includes a cavity and a first end. The cavity is structured for an electronic ballast of the luminaire to be housed therein and thermally attached to an interior surface of the housing to allow the housing to absorb at least a portion of heat generated by the electronic ballast. The first end is structured for the active heat transfer device to be mountable to the first end of the housing. The housing further includes at least one thermally-conductive protrusion extending from an exterior surface of the housing and exposed to the turbulence in the ambient fluid to transfer at least a portion of the heat absorbed by the housing to the ambient fluid. | 04-15-2010 |
20100277082 | GAS-DISCHARGE LAMP REPLACEMENT WITH PASSIVE COOLING - An illumination device comprises a solid-state lighting device and a heat sink. The heat sink is configured to be attachable to a fixture for a gas-discharge lamp to retrofit existing gas-discharge fixtures. The heat sink is conductively thermally coupled to the solid-state lighting device to dissipate heat generated by the solid-state lighting device. | 11-04-2010 |
20110026264 | ELECTRICALLY ISOLATED HEAT SINK FOR SOLID-STATE LIGHT - An illumination device comprises a solid-state light source and a heat transfer structure. The solid-state light source is thermally conductively coupled to the heat transfer structure to dissipate heat thereby. The heat transfer structure includes a first thermally conductive element and a second thermally conductive element. The first thermally conductive element is configured to transfer at least a portion of the heat from the light source to an external ambient environment. The second thermally conductive element is electrically non-conductive and electrically isolates the first thermally conductive element from the light source. | 02-03-2011 |
20110175518 | APPARATUS, METHOD TO CHANGE LIGHT SOURCE COLOR TEMPERATURE WITH REDUCED OPTICAL FILTERING LOSSES - The efficiency and color temperature of a lighting device may be improved by using wavelength shifting material, such as a phosphor, to absorb less desired wavelengths and transmit more desired wavelengths. A reflective filter (e.g., dichroic or dielectric mirror material) may pass desired wavelengths while returning or reflecting less desired wavelengths away from an optical exit back toward wavelength shifting material which may either be disposed in the optical path or on the periphery of the light source. | 07-21-2011 |
20110310605 | SOLID STATE LIGHTING DEVICE AND METHOD EMPLOYING HEAT EXCHANGER THERMALLY COUPLED CIRCUIT BOARD - An illumination device comprises a circuit board that carries solid-state light sources and a heat transfer structure to which the circuit board is intimately physically coupled such that the circuit board is curved along at least one of a longitudinal dimension or a lateral dimension thereof. Such may allow less fasteners to be used than would otherwise be possible, while maintaining close contact over a large portion of the surface area. Some embodiments may employ a clamp, for example a peripheral clamp such as a cover or bezel clamp. | 12-22-2011 |
20130062637 | APPARATUS, METHOD TO ENHANCE COLOR CONTRAST IN PHOSPHOR-BASED SOLID STATE LIGHTS - The efficiency and color contrast of a lighting device may be improved by using wavelength shifting material, such as a phosphor, to absorb less desired wavelengths and transmit more desired wavelengths. A double-notch reflective filter may pass desired wavelengths such as red and green, while returning or reflecting less desired wavelengths (blue and yellow) away from an optical exit back toward wavelength shifting material and re-emitted as light of more desirable wavelengths. | 03-14-2013 |
20150078005 | SOLID-STATE LIGHTING DEVICES AND SYSTEMS - A solid-state lighting device for use in lieu of a gas discharge lamp, includes a housing; a lens coupled to the housing; a circuit board; and a plurality of solid-state light emitters carried by the circuit board and arranged to generate light to pass through the lens. An entirety of a form factor of the solid-state lighting device may be located within a cylindrical envelope having a length less than or about equal to an overall length of the gas discharge lamp and a diameter less than or about equal to the overall diameter of the gas discharge lamp. In addition, a light center length of the solid-state lighting device may be about equal to the light center length of the gas discharge lamp. Solid-state light emitters are arrayed with principal axes of emission radially spaced at least partially around and extending from a central axis of the lens. | 03-19-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20150117707 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING MOTION SALIENCY - Techniques for determining motion saliency in video content using center-surround receptive fields. In some implementations, images or frames from a video may be apportioned into non-overlapped regions, for example, by applying a rectilinear grid. For each grid region, or cell, motion consistency may be measured between the center and surround area of that cell across frames of the video. Consistent motion across the center-surround area may indicate that the corresponding region has low variation. The larger the difference between center-surround motions in a cell, the more likely the region has high motion saliency. | 04-30-2015 |
20150120733 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVED COVERAGE OF INPUT MEDIA IN CONTENT SUMMARIZATION - The disclosed technology includes techniques for improved content coverage in automatically-generated content summaries. The technique may include clustering a set of input content, determining diffusion for each cluster, and selecting representatives of each cluster to optimize other secondary metrics. Various types of input content may be used, including groups of images, video clips, or other multimedia content. Contiguous content may be manually or programmatically divided into discrete portions before clustering, for example, a lengthy video divided into a number of short clips. In some implementations, the disclosed technique may be implemented effectively on a mobile device. In other words, the processing required may be computationally feasible for execution on a smartphone or similar device. | 04-30-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090061089 | Mechanically Integrated and Closely Coupled Print Head and Mist Source - A deposition apparatus comprising one or more atomizers structurally integrated with a deposition head. The entire head may be replaceable, and prefilled with material. The deposition head may comprise multiple nozzles. Also an apparatus for three dimensional materials deposition comprising a tiltable deposition head attached to a non-tiltable atomizer. Also methods and apparatuses for depositing different materials either simultaneously or sequentially. | 03-05-2009 |
20090114151 | Apparatuses and Methods for Maskless Mesoscale Material Deposition - Apparatuses and processes for maskless deposition of electronic and biological materials. The process is capable of direct deposition of features with linewidths varying from the micron range up to a fraction of a millimeter, and may be used to deposit features on substrates with damage thresholds near 100° C. Deposition and subsequent processing may be carried out under ambient conditions, eliminating the need for a vacuum atmosphere. The process may also be performed in an inert gas environment. Deposition of and subsequent laser post processing produces linewidths as low as 1 micron, with sub-micron edge definition. The apparatus nozzle has a large working distance—the orifice to substrate distance may be several millimeters—and direct write onto non-planar surfaces is possible. | 05-07-2009 |
20100192847 | Miniature Aerosol Jet and Aerosol Jet Array - A miniaturized aerosol jet, or an array of miniaturized aerosol jets for direct printing of various aerosolized materials. In the most commonly used embodiment, an aerosol stream is focused and deposited onto a planar or non-planar target, forming a pattern that is thermally or photochemically processed to achieve physical, optical, and/or electrical properties near that of the corresponding bulk material. The apparatus uses an aerosol jet deposition head to form an annularly propagating jet composed of an outer sheath flow and an inner aerosol-laden carrier flow. Miniaturization of the deposition head facilitates the fabrication and operation of arrayed deposition heads, enabling construction and operation of arrays of aerosol jets capable of independent motion and deposition. Arrayed aerosol jets provide an increased deposition rate, arrayed deposition, and multi-material deposition. | 08-05-2010 |
20100255209 | Aerodynamic Jetting of Blended Aerosolized Materials - Method and apparatus for direct writing of passive structures having a tolerance of 5% or less in one or more physical, electrical, chemical, or optical properties. The present apparatus is capable of extended deposition times. The apparatus may be configured for unassisted operation and uses sensors and feedback loops to detect physical characteristics of the system to identify and maintain optimum process parameters. | 10-07-2010 |
20110129615 | Apparatuses and Methods for Maskless Mesoscale Material Deposition - Apparatuses and processes for maskless deposition of electronic and biological materials. The process is capable of direct deposition of features with linewidths varying from the micron range up to a fraction of a millimeter, and may be used to deposit features on substrates with damage thresholds near 100° C. Deposition and subsequent processing may be carried out under ambient conditions, eliminating the need for a vacuum atmosphere. The process may also be performed in an inert gas environment. Deposition of and subsequent laser post processing produces linewidths as low as 1 micron, with sub-micron edge definition. The apparatus nozzle has a large working distance—the orifice to substrate distance may be several millimeters—and direct write onto non-planar surfaces is possible. | 06-02-2011 |
20130029032 | Mechanically Integrated and Closely Coupled Print Head and Mist Source - A deposition apparatus comprising one or more atomizers structurally integrated with a deposition head. The entire head may be replaceable, and prefilled with material. The deposition head may comprise multiple nozzles. Also an apparatus for three dimensional materials deposition comprising a tiltable deposition head attached to a non-tiltable atomizer. Also methods and apparatuses for depositing different materials either simultaneously or sequentially. | 01-31-2013 |
20130260056 | Apparatuses and Methods for Maskless Mesoscale Material Deposition - Apparatuses and processes for maskless deposition of electronic and biological materials. The process is capable of direct deposition of features with linewidths varying from the micron range up to a fraction of a millimeter, and may be used to deposit features on substrates with damage thresholds near 100° C. Deposition and subsequent processing may be carried out under ambient conditions, eliminating the need for a vacuum atmosphere. The process may also be performed in an inert gas environment. Deposition of and subsequent laser post processing produces linewidths as low as 1 micron, with sub-micron edge definition. The apparatus nozzle has a large working distance—the orifice to substrate distance may be several millimeters—and direct write onto non-planar surfaces is possible. | 10-03-2013 |
20140342082 | Forming Structures Using Aerosol Jet .RTM. Deposition - Method and apparatus for direct writing of passive structures having a tolerance of 5% or less in one or more physical, electrical, chemical, or optical properties. The present apparatus is capable of extended deposition times. The apparatus may be configured for unassisted operation and uses sensors and feedback loops to detect physical characteristics of the system to identify and maintain optimum process parameters. | 11-20-2014 |