Patents Represented by Attorney Wayland H. Riggins
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Patent number: 3958553Abstract: An apparatus is provided for trapping solar energy emitted from the sun for heating a fluid that could be subsequently used in turbines and the like. The apparatus includes an elongated vertical light pipe having an open end through which the visible spectrum of electromagnetic radiation from the sun passes to strike a tubular absorber carried adjacent the other end thereof. The light pipe has a coated interior surface of a low absorptivity and a high reflectivity at the visible wave lengths and a high absorptivity/emissivity ratio at infrared wave lengths. The tubular absorber has a coating on the surface thereof for absorbing visible wave lengths so as to heat the fluid passing therethrough. Infrared wave lengths are radiated from the tubular absorber back into the light pipe for heating fluid passing through a tubular coil wound thereon.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 1974Date of Patent: May 25, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventor: Lott W. Brantley, Jr.
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Patent number: 3952980Abstract: A translatory shock absorber is provided for mounting an attitude sensor thereon for isolating a sensor from translatory vibrations. The translatory shock absorber includes a hollow block structure formed as one piece to form a parallelogram. The absorber block structure includes a movable top plate for supporting the attitude sensor and a fixed base plate with opposed side plates interposed therebetween. At the junctions of the side plates, and the base and top plates, there are provided machined-out grooves which act as flexible hinges for attenuating translatory vibrations. A damping material is supported on a pedestal which is carried on the base plate between the side plates thereof. The top of the damping material rests against the bottom surface of the top plate for eliminating the resonant peaks of vibration.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 1974Date of Patent: April 27, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventors: George L. VON Pragenau, Irvin T. Morgan, Jr., Clifton A. Kirby
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Patent number: 3952590Abstract: An apparatus for reducing the background noise produced by the porous walls of the test section of a wind tunnel includes a finely meshed screen member placed over the perforations in the test section walls. The mesh wire screen attached to the interior wall provides a smoother surface for the air stream to flow against reducing the vorticies produced by the edges of the perforations in the test section walls.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 1975Date of Patent: April 27, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventors: Paul W. Howard, Luke A. Schutzenhofer
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Patent number: 3951366Abstract: An improved hanger for resiliently supporting delicate instrumentation charactrized by an elongated elastic body, having omnidirectional rigidity, adapted to be supported at each of its opposite ends and connected in supporting relation with a mounting block disposed midway between the opposite ends thereof. The body includes a plurality of mutually spaced flexure plates disposed in substantially parallel planes and interconnected through a plurality of abaxially aligned flexure pins spaced in sequential helical progression about a common axis normally related to said planes for serially interconnecting the plates for imparting a predetermined coefficient of elasticity to the body.Type: GrantFiled: December 23, 1974Date of Patent: April 20, 1976Inventors: William J. Abernathy, Lowell G. Snoddy
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Patent number: 3951129Abstract: A solar energy absorber including a tubular absorber surface through which a fluid passes for transferring thermal energy from the absorber to other devices. Positioned above the tubular absorber surface are a plurality of spaced glass layers. Positioned between an upper layer and the next layer is vacuum or air for minimizing thermal energy losses through convection. A clear liquid passes between two intermediate layers of glass for transferring by means of conduction the thermal energy absorbed therein by either the initial passage of the visible spectrum of electromagnetic rays or by infrared radiation radiated from an absorber positioned therebelow.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 1974Date of Patent: April 20, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventor: Lott W. Brantley, Jr.
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Patent number: 3948470Abstract: An improved system for use in imposing directional stability on a rocket-propelled vehicle. The system includes a pivotally supported engine-mounting platform, a gimbal ring mounted on the platform and adapted to pivotally support a rocket engine, an hydraulic actuator connected to the platform for imparting thereto selected pivotal motion, an accelerometer and a signal comparator circuit for providing error intelligence indicative of aberration in vehicle acceleration, and an actuator control circuit connected with the actuator and responsive to error intelligence for imparting pivotal motion to the platform, whereby a relocation of the engine's thrust vector is achieved for imparting directional stability to the vehicle.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 1974Date of Patent: April 6, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventor: Harold Perkins
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Patent number: 3941355Abstract: A device for mixing foam ingredients. The device comprises an arrangement of lands situated about a cylindrical elongated shaft-like member with each land having a slot therein. The slots of alternate lands are positioned 180.degree. from each other so that as the ingredients flow through the mixing chamber it flows from adjacent one side of the housing to the other dividing as such passes around the shaft-like member.Type: GrantFiled: June 12, 1974Date of Patent: March 2, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventor: William G. Simpson
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Patent number: 3939816Abstract: A self-energized plasma compressor which compresses plasma discharged from coaxial plasma generator. The device includes a helical shaped coil which is coaxially aligned with the center axis of the coaxial plasma generator. The plasma generator creates a current through the helical coil which, in turn, generates a time varying magnetic field that generates a force which acts radially upon the plasma. A seal is carried on the end of the coaxial plasma generator for containing gas therein. As the plasma is accelerated out the outer end of the generator, it forces the gas outwardly also compressing such. Beads are carried adjacent the small end of the helical shaped coil for being accelerated to hypervelocities by the plasma and gas. As a result of utilizing gas in the coaxial plasma generator, such minimizes ablation of the beads as well as accelerates such to higher velocities.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 1974Date of Patent: February 24, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of General Counsel-Code GPInventor: Patrick N. Espy
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Patent number: 3940621Abstract: An improved heat transfer device particularly suited for use as an evaporator plate in a diffusion cloud chamber. The device is characterized by a pair of mutually spaced heat transfer plates, each being of a planar configuration, having a pair of opposed surfaces defining therebetween a heat pipe chamber. Within the heat pipe chamber, in contiguous relation with the pair of opposed surfaces, there is disposed a pair of heat pipe wicks supported in a mutually spaced relationship by a foraminous spacer of a planar configuration. A wick including a foraminous layer is contiguously related to the external surfaces of the heat transfer plates for uniformly wetting these surfaces.Type: GrantFiled: January 21, 1975Date of Patent: February 24, 1976Inventors: James C. Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with respect to an invention of Fletcher, Larry R. Eaton
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Patent number: 3937055Abstract: An improved portable peening gun characterized by a pneumatic motor, an axially reciprocable hammer supported to be driven by the motor from an initial position along a linear path, and an improved peening head including an axially reciprocable rod bundle coaxially aligned with the hammer and disposed within the path thereof. The improved head includes a plurality of peening rods, each being characterized by an anvil defined at one end thereof for receiving the hammer in impacting engagement, and a peening surface defined at the other end of a configuration substantially conforming to a segment of a sphere having a radius substantially equal to one-half the thickness of the rod, a barrel for supporting the rod bundle for axial reciprocation, and a helical spring disposed within the barrel for urging the bundle in displacement toward its initial position.Type: GrantFiled: November 6, 1974Date of Patent: February 10, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventors: Vincent P. Caruso, Elbert J. Minter
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Patent number: 3936942Abstract: An optical pantograph for directing light beams and the like from a source to a receiver according to the movement of a pointer. The device can be used for, among other things, directing a laser beam and the like to a target for etching patterns on a target according to the movement of a pointer relative to a pattern trace.Type: GrantFiled: December 11, 1974Date of Patent: February 10, 1976Assignee: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of General Counsel-Code GPInventors: Robert R. Belew, Donald E. Davis
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Patent number: 3938037Abstract: A device is provided for measuring the ferrite content of austenitic stainless steel weld material. The device includes a base plate for rotatably mounting a mechanical vernier member thereupon; the mechanical vernier member supports a cantilever beam in a manner to provide vertical positioning of the beam. Suspended from the free end of the beam is a permanent magnet below which is positioned the specimen of austenitic weld material which is to be tested. Strain gauges are provided on the top surface of the beam for measuring the magnetic force between the magnet and weld material by measuring the amount of downward deflection of the beam. The measurement is then converted into a reading which indicates the percentage of ferrite of the weld material in the joint.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 1974Date of Patent: February 10, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventors: Wayman N. Clotfelter, Benjamin F. Bankston
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Patent number: 3933050Abstract: An apparatus for measuring the velocity of a vehicle traveling between first and second measured points. The apparatus includes a cylindrical housing having an open top for receiving a transparent disk. Indicia representing speed calibrations is circumferentially spaced adjacent an outer perimeter of the disk. A stopwatch is carried in the housing below said disk and has a rotatable hand which rotates at a predetermined rate under the indicia. A lamp is carried below the stopwatch for illuminating the indicia carried on the transparent disk. The stopwatch is started when the vehicle passes a first reference point and stopped when the vehicle passes the second reference point. Thus, when the hand is stopped, such points to the calibrated indicia on said disk indicating the velocity of a vehicle.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 1974Date of Patent: January 20, 1976Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of General Counsel-Code GPInventors: John L. Burch, James C. Billions