Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Hexcel Corporation

3M Innovative Properties Company

Edward M Fischer

Stephen M Sanocki

Robert G Smith

Joseph H Eaton

Venecia M Grobelny

Kevin D McVicker

Larry R Visser

Donald D Johnson

Mark Kevitt Debe

Michael Andrew Yandrasits

Andrew J L Steinbach

Krzysztof A Lewinski

Thomas Herdtle

Hamid R Mortazavi

Kim B Saulsbury

Richard L Bloom

Thomas L Tompkins

Joel H Sabean

William T Fay

Timothy J Gennrich

Alan A Allen

Steven R Paulson

Stanley P Cernohous

A fuel cell assembly includes first and second compression members. Two or more membrane electrode assembly (MEA) stacks are disposed between the compression members, each MEA stack having a positive and negative end. A first current collector is electrically coupled to a positive end of a first stack of the MEA stacks. A second current collector is electrically coupled to a negative end of a second stack of the MEA stacks. A current shunt is disposed between the compression members and electrically couples the MEA stacks.

Compact fuel cell stack with current shunt

Fluid permeable candle filter comprising a self supporting tube a filter layer and a filter layer. The self supporting tube comprises ceramic oxide fibers and silicate ceramic oxide bonding phase. The filter layer comprises non-woven ceramic oxide fibers and silicate ceramic oxide bonding phase

Candle filter

Fluid permeable filter material comprising a self supporting fluid permeable wall and a fluid permeable filter layer. The self supporting wall comprises ceramic oxide fibers, ceramic oxide particles, and silicate ceramic oxide bonding phase. The filter layer comprises non-woven ceramic oxide fibers and silicate ceramic oxide bonding phase.

Filter material

Filter material comprising fabric of ceramic oxide fibers and vermiculite particulate is disclosed. The presence of the vermiculite provides an improvement in the flexural endurance of the fabric.

Filter material of ceramic oxide fibers and vermiculite particles

A device and method for maintaining a clean gas stream includes a particulate filter comprising of support tube made from a formed textile. The formed textile is constructed from a continuous filament inorganic yarn and is porous to allow gas and particulates therein to pass through the support tube. A filtering element is disposed about the support tube to trap particulates in the exhaust gas. The formed textile which defines the support tube is relatively flexible in its natural state. To act as a supporting structure, the formed textile is made less flexible by the application of an inorganic binder. The natural flexibility of the formed textile minimizes the damaging effects of mechanical and thermal shock, while the inorganic binder stiffens the formed textile and allows the support tube to support itself and the filtering element thereon.

Self supporting hot gas filter assembly

A diesel particulate trap has a filtering element which is a mass of fibrous filter material that radially fills a tubular casing. The filtering element employs lofty yarn extending in straight lines in a repeating pattern, which lines of lofty yarn have been compacted to form a plurality of fibrous walls that intersect to form tunnels extending in the axial or longitudinal direction of the casing. Some of the tunnels are filled with plugs that afford structural integrity while others of the tunnels remain open. The ends of the filtering element are covered by endplates. Substantially one-half of the open tunnels are axially aligned with openings in the inlet endplate and with imperforate areas in the outlet endplate, and the other open tunnels are axially aligned with openings in the outlet endplate and with imperforate areas in the inlet endplate. Exhaust gases entering tunnels open to the inlet pass through the compact fibrous walls and exit through tunnels open to the outlet.

Diesel particulate trap based on a mass of fibrous filter material

A fabric for filtering particulate matter from a stream of hot gases, e.g., from a diesel engine, has an unknotted weave of flexible, incompressible, uncrimped, spaced support yarns and flexible, lofty, fully crimped, fill yarns. During the weaving process, the fill yarns are pulled tightly against the support yarns so that they do not slip or shift. For greater assurance of good filtering, a filter employs multiple layers of the fabric, with the support yarns of each layer extending orthogonally to those of adjacent layers. For uses involving prolonged exposure to high temperature, both the support yarns and fill yarns can be continuous-filament ceramic yarns such as alumina-boria-silica yarns. For lower temperatures, the yarns can be primarily glass.

Hot-gas-filtering fabric of spaced uncrimped support strands and crimped

An efficient, economical, compact diesel particulate filter comprising a casing radially filled with a bundle of tubes comprising woven, braided, or knitted inorganic yarn, wherein each tube is at least about twice the length of the bundle, and is folded at one end to prevent exhaust from traveling through the hollow of the tube without passing through its wall.

Roll-pack diesel particulate filter

A combined skirted oil-sorbing boom and oil-sorbing sweep has a buoyant inner core and an oil-sorbent outer core of a spirally wound sheet of polymeric, oleophilic, hydrophobic microfibers. Adhesively bonded to a sheet of the microfibers at the outer face of the outer core is an open-mesh netting of polymeric monofilaments that are fused at their crossings. The netting and the sheet to which it is adhered extend from the outer core to form a depending skirt which acts as a barrier to oil that is being sorbed by the microfibers. The buoyant inner core can be an open-cell foam that sorbs oil slowly, thus supplementing the oil-sorbing capability without significant loss of freeboard.

Oil-sorbing boom

A high temperature resistant flotation core and a high temperature resistant oil containment boom which allows for the in-situ burning of spilled or leaked oil during offshore oil spill cleanup operations are disclosed. The boom can also be used for precautionary fire containment during non-burn oil spill cleanups and can be easily recovered and redeployed.

High temperature resistant oil boom flotation core

A high temperature oil containment boom which allows for the in-situ burning of spilled or leaked oil during offshore oil spill cleanup operations is disclosed. The boom can be used for precautionary fire containment during non-burn oil spill cleanups and can be easily recovered and redeployed.

High temperature oil containment boom

A high temperature oil containment boom cover blanket for conventional elongated cylindrical oil containment booms is disclosed. The cover blanket, when installed onto a conventional oil containment boom effectively converts the boom into a high temperature oil containment boom which allows for in situ burning of spilled oil during cleanup operations.

High temperature oil boom cover blanket

A composite fiber sewing thread comprising a central core having one or more strands of an inorganic or organic fiber or blends thereof, and an outer jacket enclosing the core and having the form of a tubular body of braided strands of continuous ceramic fibers is disclosed. The thread is useful in very high temperature applications.

Growing community of inventors

White Bear Lake, MN, United States of America

Edward M Fischer