Patents by Inventor Conor Nixon

Conor Nixon 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).

  • Patent number: 11774355
    Abstract: A methane alert station for detecting methane gas in an environment. The methane alert station comprises a casing, at least one window opening formed in the casing, a infrared transmitting window disposed in the at least one window opening, an infrared light source disposed adjacent to the infrared transmitting window, a hyperbolic mirror disposed in the casing coaxially with a central axis, a Winston cone disposed coaxially with the central axis and spaced from the hyperbolic mirror along the central axis, and a filter-detector arranged coaxially with the central axis and so that the Winston cone is disposed between the hyperbolic mirror and the filter-detector. The infrared light source is configured to emit an outgoing infrared light from the casing. The filter-detector is configured to measure a methane gas concentration in the environment by measuring an absorption of infrared radiation of the methane gas at specific wavelength bandwidths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Administrator of NASA
    Inventors: Shahid Aslam, Gerard Quilligan, Nicolas Gorius, Conor Nixon