Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated

The Vollrath Company, LLC

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.

Jeremiah Kopiness

Andrew Amrhein

Patrick E Ozimek

John Balcerak

Vinod Bhansali

Magesh Subbarao Rengabashyam

Shailendra Shukla

Jill E Hundley

Paul Jerome Grosskreuz

Peter Roever

Rui Zhou

Kelly James Bronk

Rebecca J Schreiber-Pethan

Ahmed Mohamed Sayed Ahmed

Jih-Sheng Lai

Raymond G Sladky

Nicholas Lemberg

Megan Raspel

Brian Hedlund

Moonhyun Lee

Jong-Woo Kim

Ahmed S Mohamed Sayed Ahmed

An induction warmer station includes a housing, a cooktop coupled to the housing, an induction coil positioned in the housing adjacent the cooktop, and a controller configured to adjust the frequency of a current input to the induction coil based on an indication of a response of an output current from the induction coil to a change in surface area of load material placed on the cooktop.

Induction warmer station

A temperature regulation device for food items includes a food pan, a heating device configured to provide regulated heating of the food pan, a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the food pan, and a control system. The control system is configured to control the heating device in response to at least the temperature of the food pan detected by the temperature sensor by providing a gradual warming control mode in response to the temperature sensor detecting the temperature of the food pan below a minimum preset temperature and providing a normal control mode in response to the temperature sensor detecting the temperature of the food pan above the minimum preset temperature.

Systems and methods for thermal soft start control

The present disclosure describes devices and methods for improving the power efficiency and control of an induction heating system. In particular, the induction heating system includes a series resonant bridge inverter circuit and a control circuit. The inverter circuit includes one or more induction coils that are structured to inductively couple to the cookware to heat the cookware and a current sensor structured to sense a coil current signal across the one or more inductor coils. In particular, the current sensor is structured to generate a positive sensed voltage signal corresponding to a positive portion of the coil current signal and a negative sensed voltage signal corresponding to a negative portion of the coil current. The control signal is structured to control switching of a first and a second set of switches based on the positive and negative sensed voltage signals.

Induction cooking system

A temperature regulation device for positioning in a well of food service equipment, the temperature regulation device including a housing and a support coupled to the housing. The housing includes a top surface and a bottom surface and the support includes a connector having a connector axis, an outer surface, and an inner surface. The support is rotatable about the connector axis between an extended position and a retracted position. In the extended position of the support, the housing is positioned in a first position relative to the well, and in the retracted position of the support, the housing is positioned in a second position relative to the well.

Temperature regulation device

A probe used with food preparation, rethermalization, storage, transportation, and/or service includes a head portion with a display, and a shaft portion that is coupled to the head portion and is configured to be at least partially immersed in a foodstuff. The probe further includes a sensing unit configured to collect data including the temperature of the foodstuff and a wireless device configured to transmit data collected by the sensing unit to a supervisory control device.

Wireless temperature probe

An improved system for connecting a DC bus cable and a remote motor drive includes a capacitance module and an extension module that may each be mounted adjacent to the remote motor drive. The capacitance module includes a first DC bus connector and a second DC bus connector. The first DC bus connector includes a terminal block configured to receive a pair of conductors for the DC bus. The first DC bus connector further includes a pair of intermediate bus bars where each of the intermediate bus bars are connected at a first end to the terminal block and at a second end to a circuit board contained within the capacitance module. Traces on the circuit board are routed between the second ends of the intermediate bus bars and the second DC bus connector. The second DC bus connector is configured to be connected to DC bus bars.

Method and apparatus for increasing current capacity of a distributed drive system

A temperature regulation device for warming or maintaining the temperature of food items includes a food pan configured to hold a food item, an induction coil configured to warm the food item via inductive heating of the food pan, a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the food pan, a temperature control system coupled to the induction coil and the temperature sensor. The temperature control system is configured to control the induction coil in response to at least the temperature of the food pan detected by the temperature sensor and initiate a soft start control mode in response to pan placement on the device and detecting the temperature of the food pan below a minimum preset temperature.

A system includes a heat sink, a semiconductor device, a layer of thermal interface material (TIM) disposed between the heat sink and the semiconductor device, and a fastener system that couples the semiconductor device, the layer of TIM, and the heat sink together. The TIM may facilitate dissipation of heat generated by the semiconductor device via the heat sink during operation of the semiconductor device. The fastener system includes a first Belleville-type washer configured to cooperate with the TIM, which flows when heated beyond a threshold temperature, to maintain a substantially constant coupling force between the semiconductor device and the heat sink during operation of the semiconductor device.

Systems and methods for coupling a semiconductor device of an automation device to a heat sink

A system includes a heat sink, a semiconductor device, and a layer of thermal interface material (TIM) disposed between the heat sink and the semiconductor device. The TIM may facilitate dissipation of heat generated by the semiconductor device via the heat sink. The system also includes a fastener system that couples the semiconductor device to the heat sink about the layer of TIM. The system also includes one or more washers of the fastener system that maintain a coupling force between the semiconductor device and the heat sink after the TIM flows.

A method for pre-charging a motor drive system includes: pre-charging a motor drive through a motor DC bus where desired, pre-charging an add-on capacitive module through a resistor after a time delay, pre-charging the add-on capacitive module and bypassing the resistor, and disconnecting the add-on capacitive module from the motor DC bus when a fault condition has been detected.

Motor drive add-on pre-charge capacitive module and method

Integrated AC regenerative motor drives and operating methods are presented in which a precharging circuit is provided with an IGBT, a diode and a parallel current limiting component in an intermediate DC circuit between a switching rectifier and an output inverter, and the drive is operated in one of three modes for motoring, regenerating and precharging.

Integrated regenerative AC drive with solid state precharging

Motor drives, signal conditioning systems and configurable circuit boards are presented in which diode blocking circuits are provided for contemporaneous opening of programming fuses in multiple programmable impedance circuits using a single configuration input signal during manufacturing and for mitigating interference between impedance circuits during system operation.

Growing community of inventors

Saukville, WI, United States of America

Jeremiah Kopiness