Patents by Inventor Richard M. Pell

Richard M. Pell 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: 7921938
    Abstract: A system having a number of land units [100, 4000, 5000] is disclosed which operates to efficiently find and create boreholes [5] to one or more underground targets [1]. Each of the land units [100, 4000, 5000] may be remotely controlled from a central command unit [6000]. The land unit also may be self-controlled, or partially controlled by the central command unit [6000]. The system [10] is reconfigurable to reallocate tasks to functional land units [100, 4000, 5000] which were originally allocated to land units which have been destroyed and are now non-functional.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: The University of Scranton
    Inventors: W. Andrew Berger, Robert A. Spalletta, Jerry A. Carter, Richard M. Pell, Marian Mazurkiewicz
  • Patent number: 7828078
    Abstract: The present invention is a self-contained, high-energy liquid rock-boring system that will bore a small-diameter access hole [5] several hundred meters through hard granite and other obstacles within minutes of deployment. It employs a land unit [100] platform subsystem [1000] with an energetic fluid fuel reservoir [1300] and a boring subsystem [3000] having a plurality of pulsejets [3100]. Each pulsejet [3100] repeatedly ignites the energetic fluid [7] causing a plurality of rapidly-expanding gas bubbles [3250] which create and force a plurality liquid slugs [10] ahead of them rapidly out through a nozzle [3260] causing the slugs [10] to impact against materials ahead of the nozzles [3260], boring an access hole [5]. The system also employs an umbilical subsystem [2000] connecting the boring [3000] and the platform subsystems [1000]. The system can be used to rapidly bore an access hole [5] to provide air and resources to trapped miners.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: The University of Scranton
    Inventors: Wojciech Andrew Berger, Robert A. Spalletta, Jerry A. Carter, Richard M. Pell, Marian Mazurkiewicz, Christopher Davey
  • Patent number: 7584807
    Abstract: A method and device for boring a hole [5] through a material along a desired path includes an umbilical subsystem [2000] connected to a boring subsystem [3000] having a plurality of pulsejets [3100]. These pulsejets [3100] repeatedly receive and ignite a combustible fluid [7] in a combustion chamber [3230] causing a portion of the fluid [7] to be forced out of a nozzle [3260] at high speeds as a fluid slug [10] that impacts materials ahead of the pulsejet [3100]. A controller [3310] controls the amount of fluid provided to each pulsejet [3100], and the firing timing, thereby controlling the intensity in which each slug [10] impacts the material. By modulating the intensity and firing sequence of each of the pulsejets [3100], material ahead of the boring subsystem [3000] is differentially bored thereby allowing steering of the boring subsystem [3000].
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2009
    Assignee: The University of Scranton
    Inventors: W. Andrew Berger, Robert A. Spalletta, Jerry A. Carter, Richard M. Pell, Marian Mazurkiewicz
  • Publication number: 20090090553
    Abstract: A system having a number of land units [100, 4000, 5000] is disclosed which operates to efficiently find and create boreholes [5] to one or more underground targets [1]. Each of the land units [100, 4000, 5000] may be remotely controlled from a central command unit [6000]. The land unit also may be self-controlled, or partially controlled by the central command unit [6000]. The system [10] is reconfigurable to reallocate tasks to functional land units [100, 4000, 5000] which were originally allocated to land units which have been destroyed and are now non-functional.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2006
    Publication date: April 9, 2009
    Inventors: Wojciech Andrew Berger, Robert A. Spalletta, Jerry A. Carter, Richard M. Pell, Marian Mazurkiewicz
  • Publication number: 20090071713
    Abstract: The present invention is a self-contained, high-energy liquid rock-boring system that will bore a small-diameter access hole [5] several hundred meters through hard granite and other obstacles within minutes of deployment. It employs a land unit [100] platform subsystem [1000] with an energetic fluid fuel reservoir [1300] and a boring subsystem [3000] having a plurality of pulsejets [3100]. Each pulsejet [3100] repeatedly ignites the energetic fluid [7] causing a plurality of rapidly-expanding gas bubbles [3250] which create and force a plurality liquid slugs [10] ahead of them rapidly out through a nozzle [3260] causing the slugs [10] to impact against materials ahead of the nozzles [3260], boring an access hole [5]. The system also employs an umbilical subsystem [2000] connecting the boring [3000] and the platform subsystems [1000]. The system can be used to rapidly bore an access hole [5] to provide air and resources to trapped miners.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2006
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Applicant: UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON
    Inventors: Wojciech Andrew Berger, Robert A. Spalletta, Jerry A. Carter, Richard M. Pell, Marian Mazurkiewicz, Christopher Davey
  • Publication number: 20090057017
    Abstract: A method and device for boring a hole [5] through a material along a desired path includes an umbilical subsystem [2000] connected to a boring subsystem [3000] having a plurality of pulsejets [3100]. These pulsejets [3100] repeatedly receive and ignite a combustible fluid [7] in a combustion chamber [3230] causing a portion of the fluid [7] to be forced out of a nozzle [3260] at high speeds as a fluid slug [10] that impacts materials ahead of the pulsejet [3100]. A controller [3310] controls the amount of fluid provided to each pulsejet [3100], and the firing timing, thereby controlling the intensity in which each slug [10] impacts the material. By modulating the intensity and firing sequence of each of the pulsejets [3100], material ahead of the boring subsystem [3000] is differentially bored thereby allowing steering of the boring subsystem [3000].
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2006
    Publication date: March 5, 2009
    Inventors: W. Andrew Berger, Robert A. Spalletta, Jerry A. Carter, Richard M. Pell, Marian Mazurkiewicz