Patents Represented by Attorney Clifton E. Clouse, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4476574
    Abstract: A radio communication system for use in tunnels, mines, buildings or other shielded locations in which a pair of radiating transmission lines (30), (31) extend through such location in spaced coextensive relation to each other. Each transmission line (30), (31) has at least one unidirectional amplifier (32), (33) interposed therein with the sense of the unidirectional amplifier (32) of one transmission line (30) being opposite to the sense of the unidirectional amplifier (33) of the other transmission line (31). Each of the amplifiers (32), (33) has a gain which is less than the coupling loss between the transmission lines (30), (31). Two or more mobile transceivers (35) in the location served by the system are coupled to the transmission lines (30), (31) by electromagnetic wave propagation in space in order to communicate directly with each other at a given radio frequency within the frequency range of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1982
    Date of Patent: October 9, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventor: Warren C. Struven
  • Patent number: 4473749
    Abstract: In brief, the invention is a tomograph modified to be in a clamshell configuration so that the ring or rings may be moved to multiple sampling positions. The tomograph includes an array of detectors arranged in successive adjacent relative locations along a closed curve in a first position in a selected plane, and means for securing the detectors in the relative locations in a first sampling position. The securing means is movable in the plane in two sections and pivotable at one pThe U.S. Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. W-7405-ENG-48 between the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of California.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1982
    Date of Patent: September 25, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Stephen E. Derenzo, Thomas F. Budinger
  • Patent number: 4465933
    Abstract: A wire chamber radiation detector (11) has spaced apart parallel electrodes (16) and grids (17, 18, 19) defining an ignition region (21) in which charged particles (12) or other ionizing radiations initiate brief localized avalanche discharges (93) and defining an adjacent memory region (22) in which sustained glow discharges (94) are initiated by the primary discharges (93). Conductors (29, 32) of the grids (18, 19) at each side of the memory section (22) extend in orthogonal directions enabling readout of the X-Y coordinates of locations at which charged particles (12) were detected by sequentially transmitting pulses to the conductors (29) of one grid (18) while detecting transmissions of the pulses to the orthogonal conductors (36) of the other grid (19) through glow discharges (94). One of the grids (19) bounding the memory region (22) is defined by an array of conductive elements (32) each of which is connected to the associated readout conductor (36) through a separate resistance (37).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1982
    Date of Patent: August 14, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Victor Perez-Mendez, Terrence A. Mulera
  • Patent number: 4460218
    Abstract: Method and system for characterizing a vertical modified in situ oil shale retort prior to ignition of the retort. The retort is formed by mining a void at the bottom of a proposed retort in an oil shale deposit. The deposit is then sequentially blasted into the void to form a plurality of layers of rubble. A plurality of units each including a tracer gas cannister are installed at the upper level of each rubble layer prior to blasting to form the next layer. Each of the units includes a receiver that is responsive to a coded electromagnetic (EM) signal to release gas from the associated cannister into the rubble. Coded EM signals are transmitted to the receivers to selectively release gas from the cannisters. The released gas flows through the retort to an outlet line connected to the floor of the retort. The time of arrival of the gas at a detector unit in the outlet line relative to the time of release of gas from the cannisters is monitored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1982
    Date of Patent: July 17, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Thomas F. Turner, Dennis F. Moore
  • Patent number: 4459430
    Abstract: A high voltage feedthrough assembly (10) having a tubular insulator (15) extending between the ground plane ring (16) and the high voltage ring (30). The insulator (15) is made of Pyrex and decreases in diameter from the ground plane ring (16) to the high voltage ring (30), producing equipotential lines almost perpendicular to the wall (27) of the insulator (15) to optimize the voltage-holding capability of the feedthrough assembly (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1982
    Date of Patent: July 10, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: David L. Vanecek, Chester D. Pike
  • Patent number: 4456339
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for testing the deviation of the face of an object from a flat smooth surface using a laser beam having two plane-polarized components, one of a frequency greater than the other to produce a difference frequency with a phase to be used as a reference. The beam also is split into its two components which are directed onto spaced apart points on the face of the object. The object is rotated on an axis coincident with one component as a reference. The other component follows a circular track on the face of the object as the object is rotated. The two components are recombined after reflection to produce a difference frequency having a phase that is shifted in an amount that is proportional to the difference in path length as compared to the reference phase to produce an electrical output signal proportional to the deviation of the height of the surface along the circular track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1982
    Date of Patent: June 26, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventor: Gary E. Sommargren
  • Patent number: 4455277
    Abstract: Apparatus for forming and utilizing a sequence of electron beam segments, each of the same temporal length (substantially 15 nsec), with consecutive beams being separated by a constant time interval of the order of 3 nsec. The beam sequence is used for simultaneous inputs to a plurality of wiggler magnet systems that also accept the laser beams to be amplified by interaction with the co-propagating electron beams. The electron beams are arranged substantially in a circle to allow proper distribution of and simultaneous switching out of the beam segments to their respective wiggler magnets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1982
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventor: Leland G. Schlitt
  • Patent number: 4453077
    Abstract: A thin freestanding oil film is produced in vacuum by directing an oil stream radially inward to the hollow-ground sharp outer edge of a rotating disc. The sides of the edge are roughened somewhat to aid in dispersing oil from the disc. Oil is removed from the surface of disc to prevent formation of oil droplets which might spin off the disc and disrupt the oil film. An ion beam is directed through the thin oil film so that electrons are stripped from the ions to increase their charge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1982
    Date of Patent: June 5, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Beat T. Leemann, Roland B. Yourd
  • Patent number: 4447732
    Abstract: A magnetic filter for an ion source reduces the production of undesired ion species and improves the ion beam quality. High-energy ionizing electrons are confined by the magnetic filter to an ion source region, where the high-energy electrons ionize gas molecules. One embodiment of the magnetic filter uses permanent magnets oriented to establish a magnetic field transverse to the direction of travel of ions from the ion source region to the ion extraction region. In another embodiment, low energy 16 eV electrons are injected into the ion source to dissociate gas molecules and undesired ion species into desired ion species.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1982
    Date of Patent: May 8, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Ka-Ngo Leung, Kenneth W. Ehlers
  • Patent number: 4436796
    Abstract: Alkali metal based electrochemical cells offer a great deal of promise for applications in many areas such as electric vehicles and load leveling purposes in stationary power plants. Lithium is an attractive candidate as the electroactive species in such cells since lithium is very electropositive, abundant and light weight. One type of lithium-based cell utilizes a molten salt electrolyte and normally is operated at elevated temperatures. The subject invention provides an electrochemical cell in one embodiment of which lithium is the electroactive species. The cell comprises an electrolyte, a positive electrode, and a negative electrode, either or both of which is an all-solid, composite microstructural electrode containing both a reactant phase and a mixed ionic-electronic conducting phase. The cells of the subject invention exhibit improved kinetic features, current and power densities. Repeated charging and discharging of these cells can be accomplished without appreciable loss of capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1981
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1984
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Robert A. Huggins, Bernard A. Boukamp
  • Patent number: 4421995
    Abstract: A discriminator circuit to recover timing information from slow-rising pulses by means of an output trailing edge, a fixed time after the starting corner of the input pulse, which is nearly independent of risetime and threshold setting. This apparatus comprises means for comparing pulses with a threshold voltage; a capacitor to be charged at a certain rate when the input signal is one-third threshold voltage, and at a lower rate when the input signal is two-thirds threshold voltage; current-generating means for charging the capacitor; means for comparing voltage capacitor with a bias voltage; a flip-flop to be set when the input pulse reaches threshold voltage and reset when capacitor voltage reaches the bias voltage; and a clamping means for discharging the capacitor when the input signal returns below one-third threshold voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1981
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1983
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventor: Bernard Gottschalk
  • Patent number: 4409643
    Abstract: A long-lifetime light source with sufficiently low intensity to be used for reading a map or other writing at nighttime, while not obscuring the user's normal night vision. This light source includes a diode electrically connected in series with a small power source and a lens properly positioned to focus at least a portion of the light produced by the diode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1982
    Date of Patent: October 11, 1983
    Inventors: Alan M. Frank, William R. Edwards
  • Patent number: 4404470
    Abstract: Apparatus for improved sensitivity and time resolution of a neutron measurement. The detector is provided with an electrode assembly having a neutron sensitive cathode which emits relatively low energy secondary electrons. The neutron sensitive cathode has a large surface area which provides increased sensitivity by intercepting a greater number of neutrons. The cathode is also curved to compensate for differences in transit time of the neutrons emanating from the point source. The slower speeds of the secondary electrons emitted from a certain portion of the cathode are matched to the transit times of the neutrons impinging thereupon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1981
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1983
    Inventor: Ching L. Wang
  • Patent number: 4398156
    Abstract: A switching system for delivering pulses of power from a source (10) to a load (20) using a storage capacitor (C3) charged through a rectifier (D1, D2), and maintained charged to a reference voltage level by a transistor switch (Q1) and voltage comparator (12). A thyristor (22) is triggered to discharge the storage capacitor through a saturable reactor (18) and fractional turn saturable transformer (16) having a secondary to primary turn ratio N of n:l/n=n.sup.2. The saturable reactor (18) functions as a "soaker" while the thyristor reaches saturation, and then switches to a low impedance state. The saturable transformer functions as a switching transformer with high impedance while a load coupling capacitor (C4) charges, and then switches to a low impedance state to dump the charge of the storage capacitor (C3) into the load through the coupling capacitor (C4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 1980
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1983
    Inventor: Kristian Aaland
  • Patent number: 4398211
    Abstract: A solid state optical microscope wherein wide-field and high-resolution images of an object are produced at a rapid rate by utilizing conventional optics with a charge-coupled photodiode array. A galvanometer scanning mirror, for scanning in one of two orthogonal directions is provided, while the charge-coupled photodiode array scans in the other orthogonal direction. Illumination light from the object is incident upon the photodiodes, creating packets of electrons (signals) which are representative of the illuminated object. The signals are then processed, stored in a memory, and finally displayed as a video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1983
    Inventor: Ian T. Young
  • Patent number: 4393512
    Abstract: An apparatus utilizing filter-fluorescer combinations is provided to measure short bursts of high fluence x-rays above 120 keV energy, where there are no practical absorption edges available for conventional filter-fluorescer techniques. The absorption edge of the prefilter is chosen to be less than that of the fluorescer, i.e., E.sub.PRF <E.sub.F, contrary to the prior art technique E.sub.PRF >E.sub.F. In this way, the response function is virtually zero between E.sub.PRF and E.sub.F and well defined and enhanced in an energy band of less than 1000 keV above the 120 keV energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1981
    Date of Patent: July 12, 1983
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventor: Ching L. Wang
  • Patent number: 4376901
    Abstract: An improved magnetocumulative generator is described that is useful for producing magnetic fields of very high energy content over large spatial volumes. The polar directed pleated magnetocumulative generator has a housing (100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105) providing a housing chamber (106) with an electrically conducting surface. The chamber (106) forms a coaxial system having a small radius portion and a large radius portion. When a magnetic field is injected into the chamber (106), from an external source, most of the magnetic flux associated therewith positions itself in the small radius portion. The propagation of an explosive detonation through high-explosive layers (107, 108) disposed adjacent to the housing causes a phased closure of the chamber (106) which sweeps most of the magnetic flux into the large radius portion of the coaxial system. The energy content of the magnetic field is greatly increased by flux stretching as well as by flux compression.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1981
    Date of Patent: March 15, 1983
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Joseph S. Pettibone, Paul C. Wheeler
  • Patent number: 4371774
    Abstract: A high power pulsed electron beam is produced in a system comprised of an electron gun having a heated cathode, control grid, focus ring, and a curved drift tube. The drift tube is maintained at a high positive voltage with respect to the cathode to accelerate electrons passing through the focus ring and to thereby eliminate space charge. A coil surrounding the curved drift tube provides a magnetic field which maintains the electron beam focused about the axis of the tube and imparts motion on electrons in a spiral path for shallow penetration of the electrons into a target. The curvature of the tube is selected so there is no line of sight between the cathode and a target holder positioned within a second drift tube spaced coaxially from the curved tube. The second tube and the target holder are maintained at a reference voltage that decelerates the electrons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 1980
    Date of Patent: February 1, 1983
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Michael D. Strathman, Devendra K. Sadana, Richard B. True
  • Patent number: 4364029
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for sequentially scanning a plurality of target elements with an electron scanning beam modulated in accordance with variations in a high-frequency analog signal to provide discrete analog signal samples representative of successive portions of the analog signal; coupling the discrete analog signal samples from each of the target elements to a different one of a plurality of high speed storage devices; converting the discrete analog signal samples to equivalent digital signals; and storing the digital signals in a digital memory unit for subsequent measurement or display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1981
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Energy
    Inventor: Francesco Villa
  • Patent number: 4353650
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for testing the deviation of the face of an object from a flat smooth surface using a beam of coherent light of two plane-polarized components, one of a frequency constantly greater than the other by a fixed amount to produce a difference frequency with a constant phase to be used as a reference. The beam also is split into its two components with the separate components directed onto spaced apart points onthe face of the object to be tested for smoothness. The object is rotated on an axis coincident with one component which is directed to the face of the object at the center which constitutes a virtual fixed point. This component also is used as a reference. The other component follows a circular track on the face of the object as the object is rotated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1980
    Date of Patent: October 12, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventor: Gary E. Sommargren