Inventor's Corner
01/01/2001
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Cleanroom ceiling beams
Two beams are arranged horizontally and perpendicularly to each other and have longitudinal ducts for receiving a liquid or viscous sealants. To facilitate mounting and increase the flexibility of the beam construction, a transition piece is arranged between two beam elements, which are arranged in the longitudinal direction, forming an opening in at least one side-limiting duct wall of the first beam. A second beam is placed and sealed against the transition piece and the first beam so that the ends of the duct walls of the second beam encompass the opening.
Patent number: 6,125,606
Date granted:October 3, 2000
Inventor: Bertil Larsson, ABB Flakt AB (Stockholm, Sweden)
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Outside air conditioner
The outside air conditioner can prevent the reproduction of microorganisms by lowering the cleanroom ambient temperature in which bacteria breeds. It has a vent that draws outside air, a temperature gauge that monitors outside and cleanroom air and an adjustable heater as well as an air washer/ water sprayer that cleans air and humidifies it. Excess humidified water is stored in a circulating tank that re-supplies the air washer/water sprayer. A heat exchanger cools water and a fan blows cooled air into the cleanroom.
Patent number: 6,116,033
Date granted: September 12, 2000
Inventor: Eiji Yoshiya, NEC Corp. (Tokyo)
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Cleanroom filtering system
The cleanroom air filtering system has a make-up air-handling unit that supplies filtered air to a primary air-handling unit. Make-up air that enters the make-up air-handling unit is supplied from outside of the building containing the cleanroom. Recirculated air from the cleanroom is also supplied to the primary air-handling unit. A chemical filter cleans both the make-up air and the recirculated air prior to the make-up air and the re-circulated air entering the cleanroom. All recirculated air from the cleanroom and all make-up air pass through the chemical filter and the primary air-handling unit prior to being introduced into the cleanroom.
Patent number: 6,123,617
Date granted: September 26, 2000
Inventor: Roy P. Johnson, SEH-America Inc. (Vancouver, WA)
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Electronic component cleaning
The circuit board degreasing and cleaning apparatus has a wash sump that uses a boiling, environmentally friendly wash solution. It also has a rinse sump that contains an environmentally friendly rinse solution. The wash and rinse sumps are separated by a barrier. An anti-splash and surge control fence sits on top of the barrier to control splashing and spill-over between the sumps. The wash sump contains several spray wands, while a programmed hoist pans the circuit board carrier past the spray wands in incremental steps. After the wash cycle, the carrier is introduced into the rinse sump and then given a final vapor rinse. A 183 to 187 degree Fahrenheit temperature range yields optimum cleaning.
Patent number: 6,119,706
Date granted: September 19, 2000
Inventors: Frank X. Foederi, Carson Ray Lomax,
David Cutlar Sunderland, Lucent Technologies Inc. (Murray Hill, NJ).
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Beverage packaging system
The invention is a system and method for packaging sterile beverages in plastic containers. The system forms the plastic containers and fills them with sterile beverages in a controlled environment. The containers are formed from a blow-molding process. The containers reach high temperatures sufficient to sterilize the interior of the containers. The containers are filled with sterile beverages immediately after they are formed in the controlled environment. This process eliminates the need for sterilizing fluids, such as hydrogen peroxide and the like.
Patent number: 6,119,433
Date granted: September 19, 2000
Inventors: Nobuyo Kitahora and Osamu Aoyagi,
both of Japan, for The Coca-Cola Co. (Atlanta, GA)
Send your inventions
Information on the patents highlighted was obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Inventors who have been granted patents within the last six months for new cleanroom and contamination technology are encouraged to submit them to CleanRooms magazine for publication. Send a brief description of the invention along with a detailed drawing to Mark A. DeSorbo, associate editor, CleanRooms, 98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062, or e-mail at [email protected].