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A. O. SmithPatent grant

A. O. Smith was granted a patent for a redesigned tank water heater.

What happened

In September 2026 A. O. Smith patented a compact tank-heating arrangement for residential and commercial hot-water systems.

Source

patents.google.comSep 8, 2026

US patent US12729879

Tank water heater and water heating system

Abstract

A water heater includes first and second cylindrical tank portions, a water outlet stub, and a connecting pipe. The first cylindrical tank portion is capped by a first domed head at a first end of the first cylindrical tank portion and a second domed head at a second end of the first cylindrical tank portion. The water outlet stub is connected to the first domed head. The second cylindrical tank portion is capped by a third domed head at a first end of the second cylindrical tank portion and a fourth domed head at a second end of the second cylindrical tank portion. The first and second domed heads each have an inwardly facing concave surface and an outwardly facing convex surface. The third and fourth domed heads each have an outwardly facing concave surface and an inwardly facing convex surface.

patents.google.com/patent/US12729879Read the full source

Extracted by Autobound

From the Signal API record
Signal
Patent grant

What this signalsA new patent often shows where a company is putting its R&D budget.

Grant date
Sep 8, 2026
Inventors
Jianmin Yin, Stephen Memory
Patent number
US12729879
Assignee
A. O. Smith Corporation

The full record

From the Signal API record

People

  • Jianmin YinInventor
  • Stephen MemoryInventor

Details

Primary CPC class
F24H 4/04
USPTO assignee
A. O. Smith Corporation
What the invention does
A water heater that links two cylindrical tank sections with shaped end caps and connecting plumbing to manage heated-water flow.

Topics and mentions

Tags

  • Intellectual Property
  • Research & Development
  • Engineering
  • Energy / Power

Technologies named

  • tank water heaters
  • water heating systems
  • thermal plumbing

Extraction

Detected
Sep 15, 2026
signal_type
patents-company
signal_subtype
patentGrant

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This page shows a preview. The full patents-company record in the Signal API and MCP can also have these 8 fields. Some fields are empty for some signals.

Company

  • linkedin_urlValue in the API
  • industriesValue in the API
  • employee_count_lowValue in the API
  • employee_count_highValue in the API
  • revenueValue in the API
  • descriptionValue in the API

Signal

  • signal_nameValue in the API
  • associationValue in the API
Show the full JSONThe record on this page and the API request

GET /v1/signals/c0f63160-2f92-5ff0-a103-e0ec213d401b returns this record as JSON. POST /v1/companies/enrich returns every signal for aosmith.com.

{
  "signal_id": "c0f63160-2f92-5ff0-a103-e0ec213d401b",
  "signal_type": "patents-company",
  "signal_subtype": "patentGrant",
  "detected_at": "2026-09-15T03:08:49+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "A. O. Smith",
    "domain": "aosmith.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "cpc": [
      {
        "code": "F24H 4/04"
      },
      {
        "code": "F24H 1/181"
      },
      {
        "code": "F24H 9/133"
      }
    ],
    "tags": [
      "Intellectual Property",
      "Research & Development",
      "Engineering",
      "Energy / Power"
    ],
    "detail": "In September 2026 A. O. Smith patented a compact tank-heating arrangement for residential and commercial hot-water systems.",
    "summary": "A. O. Smith was granted a patent for a redesigned tank water heater.",
    "event_at": "2026-09-08",
    "inventors": [
      {
        "name": "Jianmin Yin",
        "status": "resolved",
        "is_primary": true,
        "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/jianmin-yin-b8535911"
      },
      {
        "name": "Stephen Memory",
        "status": "resolved",
        "is_primary": false,
        "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-memory-ph-d-59278513"
      }
    ],
    "event_kind": "grant_date",
    "grant_date": "2026-09-08",
    "source_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US12729879",
    "cpc_primary": {
      "code": "F24H 4/04"
    },
    "patent_title": "Tank water heater and water heating system",
    "patent_number": "US12729879",
    "uspto_assignee": "A. O. Smith Corporation",
    "patent_abstract": "A water heater includes first and second cylindrical tank portions, a water outlet stub, and a connecting pipe. The first cylindrical tank portion is capped by a first domed head at a first end of the first cylindrical tank portion and a second domed head at a second end of the first cylindrical tank portion. The water outlet stub is connected to the first domed head. The second cylindrical tank portion is capped by a third domed head at a first end of the second cylindrical tank portion and a fourth domed head at a second end of the second cylindrical tank portion. The first and second domed heads each have an inwardly facing concave surface and an outwardly facing convex surface. The third and fourth domed heads each have an outwardly facing concave surface and an inwardly facing convex surface.",
    "precision_class": "structural",
    "invention_explanation": "A water heater that links two cylindrical tank sections with shaped end caps and connecting plumbing to manage heated-water flow.",
    "technologies_mentioned": [
      "tank water heaters",
      "water heating systems",
      "thermal plumbing"
    ]
  }
}

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