Patents Represented by Attorney W. C. Townsend
  • Patent number: 5430380
    Abstract: A sensor for sensing the location of objects buried in the loose sediment in the bed of the sea. A hollow, cylindrically symmetric, conductive shell is used to inject current into seawater at its tips along its axis. A sensor coil oriented along the axis ignores all magnetic fields except those along the axis, and is used to measure return signals. This is particularly useful in detecting dielectric objects buried in the sediment and in rejecting motion relative to the seabed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1995
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: William M. Wynn, John T. Bono
  • Patent number: 5351623
    Abstract: A device is provided which safely simulates the loud noise and bright flash of light of an explosion. This device consists of an ordnance case which encloses a battery, an electronic control module, a charging circuit board, a bridge head, and a shock tube dusted with aluminum and an explosive. The electronic control module provides a time delay between initial activation of the device and the time when the device is ready to create a shock wave. Further, this electronic control module provides a central control for the electronics in the simulator. The charging circuit board uses the battery to charge a capacitor. Passing the voltage stored in the capacitor through the wires of the bridge head causes the explosive and the aluminum in the shock tube to react. This reaction produces a loud noise and bright white flash of light which simulates an explosion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1994
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Robert P. Kissel, Eric P. Johnson, Alan L. Gehl
  • Patent number: 5268877
    Abstract: A beamformer system is disclosed which includes an array of sensors such as ydrophones which produce signals from which information relating to a target is to be determined. The beamformer system includes a channel for each sensor, the channel including a varable length shift register which provides bulk delay to received signals, a FIR interpolation filter which provides vernier delay and shading. The system also includes a summation tree which adds the received signals and a sign extension/bit reversal filter to avoid authmetic overflow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1993
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Douglas L. Odell
  • Patent number: 5188171
    Abstract: A liquid-crystal heat valve is constructed to be controlled with multiple ectrode pairs. So constructed, it is controllable by alternating electric potentials in different phases applied to corresponding electrode pairs, thus increasing the maximum heat-transfer rate of the heat valve by increasing its duty cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1993
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Michael E. Stefanov, Rand R. Biggers, Jeff W. Rish, III, Girardeau L. Henderson, Chuong N. Pham
  • Patent number: 5114630
    Abstract: Fluid products, particularly highly filled materials, are manufactured and cast in a continuous system utilizing feedforward composition quality control and plug flow. Liquid and solid raw are supplied to, and combined in, a continuous fluid flow system in which plug flow is established. Quantities of materials supplied are measured and averaged over time to determine composition proportions, which are compared to specification. Running averages are maintained for successive serial portions of the continuous plug flow stream. In-specification product is diverted to casting and off-specification to waste, after a time delay so that appropriate diversion is accomplished for each particular, composition-determined serial portion of the product flowstream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1992
    Assignee: The United of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Kirk E. Newman, James A. Gusack, John A. Zehmer, III
  • Patent number: 4862735
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for determining the viscosity of fluids and for termining the point of gelation during the curing of a material. Attached to one end of an oscillating lever, a disposable probe is immersed in a small fluid specimen, while a strain gauge and a displacement transducer are attached to the lever for monitoring its movement. The viscosity of fluids is correlated with the strain measurement, while the gelation point of a material during its curing cycle is determined by monitoring the phase angle between the strain gauge output and the lever displacement transducer output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 5, 1989
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: John G. Williams, Thomas M. Donnellan, Ronald E. Trabocco
  • Patent number: 4755829
    Abstract: An antenna array for combining in space microwave energy from a number of cillators, such as IMPATT diodes, which are controllable by injection locking. The array has elements individually driven by the oscillators, but an injection locking signal is provided in the usual manner only to the oscillator of a central element. The other oscillator are injection locked through mutual coupling between the central element and the other elements so that coherent radiation is output by the array. The radiation may be steered by phase shifters between the elements and their oscillators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 5, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Robert J. Dinger, David J. White, Donald R. Bowling
  • Patent number: 4754040
    Abstract: A method of preparing 4,6-dinitro-5,7-diaminobenzofuroxan from 4,6-dichloenzofuroxan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Andrew P. Chafin, Ronald L. Atkins
  • Patent number: 4747673
    Abstract: An attenuator for high power laser beams, the attenuator has an annular b dump through which the beam passes diametrically and in which the beam passes successively through a pair of pivoting transmissive and reflective element. These elements are individually mounted on intermeshed gears so that the elements are adjustable through equal and opposite angles. At each element a portion of the beam is reflected toward the dump and a portion transmitted, the relative energy in each portion being determined by the angle of the elements to the beam so that adjustment of this angle determines the amount of attenuation. The beam is offset oppositely by refraction at each element so that the attenuator does not change the beam path. The elements are, preferably, elements commonly used as edge filters, that is, interference filters having an abrupt monotonic transition with wavelength from reflection to transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 31, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: C. Denton Marrs, William N. Faith
  • Patent number: 4738412
    Abstract: A sensor is disposed within a missile housing upon a mount that permits the ensor to pivot about a first axis, orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the missile, and about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis. A first set of opposing fins is disposed externally of the housing and is coupled to the mount at its first axis by a pair of pivots that extend through and are pivotally mounted to the housing. The sensor is aligned about the first axis with an airflow that impinges upon the first set of fins. A second set of opposing fins is disposed externally of the housing and is mounted thereto for pivotal movement about a third axis orthogonal to the first axis and longitudinal axis by another pair of pivots that extend through the housing. A guide member is attached to these pivots internally of the housing. A follower is attached to the sensor and engages the guide member so that the sensor is aligned about the second axis with the airflow impinging upon the second set of fins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1987
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Gary A. Ozunas
  • Patent number: 4736175
    Abstract: A rotary solenoid providing opposite direction pivotal movement on opposite olarity d.c. energization. The solenoid has a pivoting shaft from which a permanent magnet armature having ends of opposite magnetic polarity extends transversely and oppositely. The armature is disposed between a pair of pole pieces each of which extends along the armature between its ends. The pole pieces are oppositely electromagnetically magnetized by a d.c. winding so that reversing the electrical polarity of the winding reverses the polarity of each pole piece and its attraction or repulsion of the armature ends. The pole pieces are opposite arms of a U-shaped ferromagnetic structure on which the winding is centrally wound, and the shaft is supported by a bearing in a nonferromagnetic bridge between the pole pieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1987
    Date of Patent: April 5, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: George E. Cooksey
  • Patent number: 4736439
    Abstract: Preprocessing of a noisy image, such as is obtained by a raster scan, by tracting the median of the pixel values of one or more lines from the medians of predetermined pixel neighborhoods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 5, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Bruce O. May
  • Patent number: 4728682
    Abstract: Metal ternary sulfides of the general formula MM'.sub.2 S.sub.4 are synthesized by introducing stoichiometric amounts of nitrate precursors in concentrated nitric acid and heating to approximate dryness to yield a homogeneous powder mixture. The mixture is then exposed to a gaseous H.sub.2 S atmosphere under controlled conditions to produce the desired sulfide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 1, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Josephine Covino, Marian E. Hills
  • Patent number: 4675414
    Abstract: Aliphatic polyethers having at least two N-methylmaleimide groups chemica joined thereto by a carbonate linkage are provided and a method for making such compounds. The hydroxy-terminated aliphatic polyether, such as polypropylene glycol, is initially reacted with carbonyl chloride to form the chloroformate. The polyether chloroformate derivative is then reacted with N-hydroxymethylmaleimide yielding the bis or tris(maleimidomethyl)carbonate of said polyether.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Albert A. DeFusco, Eugene C. Martin
  • Patent number: 4656918
    Abstract: An improved electromagnetic induction method and apparatus therefor for simultaneously collapsing and propelling a deformable annular-shaped workpiece of relatively lightweight construction in a direction outwardly of the apparatus and along its axis wherein the apparatus is made up of seven different embodiments for carrying out the method. Each apparatus is generally comprised of a framework. The framework includes at least one pulse coil means; and a power supply circuit is connected to the pulse coil means. Annular-shaped surface portions of various embodiments of the apparatus define part of an aperture or passageway for receiving a workpiece and function to position the workpiece in mutual inductance relation to the coil means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1987
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Millard F. Rose, Osa E. Fitch
  • Patent number: 4650137
    Abstract: A thermal blast shield (64) is located on an aircraft (10) between two adent seats (20 and 22) to be stored in a housing (62) during normal aircraft operation. The thermal blast shield includes cables (84 and 86) passing through fairleads attached to the aircraft and then connected to the seats to pull the shield out of the housing and fully deploy it as the seat is ejected. A break-away mechanism (100, 102) causes the cables to break/separate after the thermal blast shield is fully deployed and jamming/locking mechanisms (104, 106) further control deployment of the thermal blast shield and preclude its post-deployment retraction. The thermal blast shield can be stowed window-shade like or accordianfold-like, and can be formed of a variety of flexible thermal resistant, blast resistant materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1987
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Frederick C. Guill