Invalidity dossier
US 6301913
Anti-sweat heater improvement for commercial refrigeration
Current assignee: Individual
Added 9/23/2026, 10:25:31 PM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 6,301,913 B1
Title: Anti-sweat heater improvement for commercial refrigeration
Patent number: US 6,301,913 B1
Application number: US09/567,286
Inventors: Edward R. Schulak; Roland Ares
Assignee: Listed as "Individual" (original assignee Individual; a 2000-07-27 reassignment to Schulak, Edward R. appears in the record)
Priority/filing date: 2000-05-08
Publication (grant) date: 2001-10-16
Status as listed: Expired – Fee Related (anticipated expiration 2020-05-08)
Purpose. The patent addresses condensation and frost on commercial refrigerated display cases. Per the background, electric heater strips in door frames reduce condensate but are often left on continuously, and a more efficient, less costly alternative is desired. The invention replaces electric anti-sweat heating with warm fluid circulated through tubing embedded in the glass door frame and along the cabinet's door-opening area (the "door jam").
Plain-language scope. A refrigeration unit has a casing with walls, one wall having an opening, and a glass door pivotally attached to cover it. A first warm fluid passage runs along at least part of the opening in the casing; a second warm fluid passage runs along a perimeter of the door where it engages the casing, preferably adjacent the door gasket. The refrigeration circuit is a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator in series. The condensing section has a liquid cooling system; the passages are supplied with warmed fluid from that system, used for spot containment heating near the gaskets. The door passage may use a fluid coupling extending along the door's pivot axis, with an outlet passage concentric within an inlet passage, and flow through door and jam is arranged in parallel. A pump circulates the fluid.
Not established by this excerpt. The excerpt is partial and does not include the full claims, the complete description, or the drawings' content. It also does not establish claim scope as allowed, the enforceability or current legal status, any litigation, or prior-art analysis. Classifications listed include A47F3/04 and related subgroups.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:33:24 PM
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Litigation summary
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
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Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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