Recently Issued Patents

12.17.21

Patent Protection & Registration

Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. Utility and plant patents can last up to 20 years, while design patents can last up to 14 years. When a patent expires, the patented material enters the public domain, making it free to use by anyone without a license. U.S. patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

U.S. Patent No. 11,201,006 entitled “Bobbin for Edge-Mounted Magnetic Core” issued December 14, 2021 to Universal Lighting Technologies, Inc. of Madison, Alabama. Invented by Mike LeBlanc of Huntsville, Alabama; Donald Folker of Madison, Alabama; Dane Sutherland of Madison, Alabama; and Wei Xiong of Madison, Alabama. Abstract: An edge mount magnetic component includes a bobbin and two E-core halves. The bobbin is configured to receive the two E-core halves when body portions of the two E-core halves are positioned vertically. The bobbin includes a first outer flange, a second outer flange, and a passageway spanning therebetween. The bobbin further includes first, second, third, and fourth pin supports. The first and second pin supports are connected to an outer surface of the first end flange and are spaced apart by at least a width of the passageway. The third and fourth pin supports are connected to an outer surface of the second end flange and are spaced apart by at least the width of the passageway. The bobbin further includes slots for routing a winding to a pin and includes walls to ensure the winding is electrically separated from the E-core halves.

U.S. Patent No. 11,199,220 entitled “Turbocharger” issued December 14, 2021 to BMTS Technology GmbH & Co. KG of Stuttgart, Germany. Invented by Martin Berger of Oberderdingen, Germany; Rudiger Kleinschmidt of Bammental, Germany; Martin Kropp of Albershausen, Germany; and Jorg Jennes of Bockenheim, Germany. Abstract: The invention relates to an exhaust-gas-driven turbocharger having a hydrodynamic plain bearing having a rotor and a stator, the rotor being rotatable with respect to the stator, the rotor bearing surface being located opposite a counter-surface of the stator in order to generate hydrodynamic pressure in the region of a converging gap. In such a hydrodynamic plain bearing, the application properties can be improved by the fact that the rotor bearing surface and/or the counter-surface constitutes in a section view, in the context of a section along and through the rotation axis, a continuous bearing contour that is constituted from convex or concave curvatures and/or from at least two contour segments that are embodied as straight lines and/or curvatures. The invention also relates to a hydrodynamic plain bearing or bearing arrangement having such a plain bearing.