Patents by Inventor Bennie D. Macomber

Bennie D. Macomber has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Short pulse automatic ranging anti-ship missile fuze
    Patent number: 6617998
    Abstract: An active short pulse fuze system for arming on a true target acquisition and firing only on the loss of the acquired target signal. The sea surface is tracked by means of a sea tracking loop A target threshold is established and is coupled to the sea tracking loop so as to expand and contract with the sea tracking. A return signal will pass the target threshold only when there is an abrupt reduction in range, indicating the presence of a target. The presence of this signal will arm the firing circuit. An abrupt increase in range will indicate the loss of the target and cause immediate detonation of the warhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1970
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Richard D. Cook, Bennie D. Macomber, William F. Vizard, Eldridge A. Williamson, Anthony Estrada
  • Range dependent time delay target detecting device
    Patent number: 6166680
    Abstract: A target detecting device which measures the range to the target and genees a variable d.c. voltage that is a function of the range. The range voltage is then applied to a time delay computer, along with range rate voltage, to permit a time delay computation which is a function of both the distance to the target and the missile-target closing velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1970
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Bennie D. Macomber
  • Automatic range reducing gating system
    Patent number: 5638076
    Abstract: A target detecting device having a plurality of gate circuits for detecting he presence of sea return signals and reducing the effective target detecting range to a range less than the range to the sea surface which permits the detecting of true target signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1966
    Date of Patent: June 10, 1997
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Noel D. Gravelle, Bennie D. Macomber
  • Rotary Stirling cycle engine
    Patent number: 5335497
    Abstract: A rotary Stirling cycle engine which has a pair of hollow chambers (20) each having an elliptical rotor (30) positioned inside and rotatably sealed to the chambers inner walls. A crankshaft (40) connects the rotors in tandem to transmit rotational energy when the rotors revolve around the chambers. A cooling and a heating heat exchanger (44) and (48) are each connected through ports (26) and (28) in the chambers sidewalls one to the other. Working fluid (60) is present at a constant volume within the chambers and heat exchangers, revolving the rotors as the volume in each chamber changes due to the cyclic expansion and contraction of the working fluid as it sweeps around the chambers through the ports while being alternately heated and cooled by the heat exchangers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1994
    Inventor: Bennie D. Macomber