Patents Represented by Attorney William R. Hinds

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  • Ore irradiator
    Patent number: 4898709
    Abstract: An irradiator (4) is provided for irradiating lumps of ore to detect the presence of gold in the lumps by neutron activation analysis. The irradiator (4) consists of a close packed array of three inner cylindrical ducts (14) and three outer cylindrical ducts (12) through which the lumps of ore are passed, with three neutron sources (16) arranged in the spaces between the inner ducts (14) and the outer ducts (12) to irradiate the ducts (12, 14) and to activate any gold by the reaction .sup.197 Au (n, n'.gamma.) .sup.197 Au. Each inner duct (14) is thus adjacent to two neutron sources (16), and is or larger cross-sectional area than the outer ducts (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 6, 1990
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventor: Colin G. Clayton
  • Paste-the-wall wallcoverings
    Patent number: 4894274
    Abstract: A paste-the-wall wallcovering has a deep emboss paper ply (10a) adhered to a flat plastics ply (16) having perforations (22). The ply (16) can restrain the ply (10a) against any significant expansion in the course of hanging and paste drying. The perforations (22) are regulated on the one hand so that weight loss from the hanging paste is not so excessive that the paper ply becomes softened and, on the other hand, so low that tacking of the wallcovering to the surface on which it is to be adhered is not unduly delayed.In making the wallcovering the paper ply is moistened and embossed and allowed to dry just below ambient humidity prior to laminating it to the plastics ply. The wallcovering may be decorated in the course of manufacture or after hanging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1990
    Assignee: Crown Decorative Products Limited
    Inventors: Thomas Graham, Philip G. Radford
  • Modification of surface properties of ceramics
    Patent number: 4894255
    Abstract: A method of treating of the surface of a body of a crystalline metal oxide ceramic material, comprising the operation of subjecting the said surface to bombardment with ions having an energy surfficient to disrupt the crystal lattice of the body, and continuing the ion bombardment until an amorphous layer formed in the body as a result of the ion bombardment extends to the surface of the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1990
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventors: Trevor F. Page, Philip J. Burnett
  • Liquid level monitoring
    Patent number: 4890490
    Abstract: Ultrasonic Lamb waves are launched into a thin-section metal plate (10) which extends generally vertically above the contents of a vessel. As long as the lower end (18) of the plate (10) is above the liquid level, the Lamb waves are reflected at the lower boundary to give a full amplitude return signal. If however the liquid level rises into contact with the plate, mode conversion occurs at the interface between the plate and the liquid resulting in a reduced amplitude return signal. The arrangement may be used as a limit switch or may be calibrated to enable the liquid level to be related to the strength of the return signal. In a more elaborate arrangement, the plate (10) is of stepped configuration so as to present a series of shoulders (20A, 20B) at different heights. Each shoulder gives rise to a respective return signal and analysis of the return signals allows the liquid level to be determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1990
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventor: David W. Telford
  • Thermally responsive trigger devices and their use in shut-down devices for nuclear reactors
    Patent number: 4889683
    Abstract: A thermally responsive trigger device comprises a closed bellows (14) having a filling a liquid metal and acting on a trigger (19) responsive to the free end of the bellows. The bellows and trigger are located at a temperature measuring location which is the coolant flow outlet (15) from a demountable sub-assembly vehicle (10) having a fuel unit (11) and a triggerable absorber unit (12). The outlet flowing coolant sweeps over the bellows (14) and once the expansion of the bellows exceeds a threshold a pin (26) and cam (28) at the free end of the bellows causes a plate (21) to move to a release the absorber unit (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1986
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1989
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventors: James Ford, John Webb
  • Method for mercerizing textile fabric webs and apparatus for carrying out the method
    Patent number: 4888840
    Abstract: After leaving the hot lye bath (2) the fabric web (1) is immediately cooled down in a cooling zone (C) and only then passed to a residence zone (5) in which the lye acts on the fabric. Stretcing of the fabric web is then effected in a widthwise stretching zone (E), wherein it is again heated, preferably by a feed of hot weak lye. That combination of method steps provides optimum mercerizing effects with careful removal of shrinkage of the fabric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1989
    Assignee: Benninger AG
    Inventor: Hans Weber
  • Bearings having upper and lower halves of different materials
    Patent number: 4889435
    Abstract: Journal bearings comprising two half bearings are described. Only one half bearing, in the highest loaded position, has an overlay coating. Preferably the non-overlay coated half comprises a silicon containing aluminum alloy which exerts a polishing action on the shaft journal thus decreasing the degree of abrasiveness of the journal. The non-overlay coated half may also be profiled to allow accelerated polishing of the shaft journal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1989
    Assignee: The Glacier Metal Company Limited
    Inventor: Roger L. Gojon
  • Downhole valve for use when drilling an oil or gas well
    Patent number: 4889199
    Abstract: A downhole drilling device utilizing a spring-loaded sleeve within the casing for controlling circulation of fluid material. A plastic, i.e., deformable ball is used to block a flow opening in the sleeve for positioning the sleeve and aligning flow ports. Subsequently, the ball is deformed and the drilling operation continues. In one form, an expandable packer may be operated to close off the annulus about the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1989
    Inventor: Paul B. Lee
  • Coating improvements
    Patent number: 4885069
    Abstract: A coating is formed on a substrate by sputter ion plating wherein a DC glow discharge is generated under soft vacuum conditions in the presence of the substrate and of a cathode constituted by the coating material thereby to release material at the cathode by ion bombardment, which released material diffuses to the substrate to form the coating thereon, and wherein a potential is applied to the substrate during coating.In order to control the coating, for example when it is an alloy containing Al and when the substrate has sharp edges, the potential is applied in the form of an AC bias of e.g. 20 to 200 volts wherein ion polishing occurs in the negative part of the cycle and retention of coating material in the positive part thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 5, 1989
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventors: Joseph P. Coad, David S. Rickerby, Philip Warrington
  • Method and apparatus for applying liquid chemicals to plants
    Patent number: 4884362
    Abstract: An apparatus for applying a liquid chemical to plants includes an elongate hollow body which contains a liquid chemical. In use, the hollow body is transported through the plants in a direction transverse to the length of the elongate body. The elongate body includes a row of bottom holes and a row of side holes positioned along the leading side of the elongate body. A canvas cover is tightly wrapped around the elongate body in a double layer and the peripheral side edges of the canvas are sealed. The elongate body is filled with the chemical and an air valve is adjusted to bleed air into the interior of the elongate body. The elongate body is then moved through the field and, by adjusting the position of the elongate body above the ground, the chemical which has seeped into the canvas is wiped onto the plants. In a preferred embodiment, the elongate body is circular and made of a plastic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 5, 1989
    Inventor: Steven W. Speidel
  • Respirator air guide
    Patent number: 4881538
    Abstract: Air inhaled into a respirator encounters an air guide positioned inside the face-piece of the respirator which acts as a baffle for the air. The passage between the two contains elongate ridges which are shaped to impede and direct the air and to maintain the spacing of the air guide relative to the face-piece. Because of this, the air guide and face-piece can be made symmetrical, with an air inlet canister and a secondary speech outlet module being applied, in either orientation, to laterally symmetrically disposed apertures in the face-piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1989
    Assignee: Avon Industrial Polymers Limited
    Inventor: Cyril N. E. Angell
  • Liquid metal cooled nuclear reactors
    Patent number: 4879089
    Abstract: In a liquid metal cooled fast breeder nuclear reactor of the pool type, the hot and cold pools (13, 19) are separated by an intermediate plenum (24) which, under steady state conditions, encloses a volume of substantially stagnant liquid metal to form a thermal barrier between the hot and cold pools (13, 19). To avoid undesirably large temperature differentials developing for example in the event of large temperature excursions within the hot pool (13) as a result of a reactor trip, the intermediate plenum (24) is designed to permit, in such circumstances, rapid interchange of liquid metal coolant between the hot pool and the intermediate plenum, for example by way of a thermal siphon arrangement (30).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 7, 1989
    Assignee: National Nuclear Corporation Ltd.
    Inventors: Gordon Kenworthy, Colin H. Mitchell, Keith S. Hawkins
  • Pistons with bearing lands
    Patent number: 4876947
    Abstract: Pistons are discribed comprising a crown portion which also includes a piston ring belt and gudgeon-pin bosses and which crown portion comprises a ferrous allow and a seperate articulated skirt portion comprising a casting of aluminum alloy, steel or cast iron which also includes gudgeon-pin bores, the crown portion and the skirt portion having a common gudgeon-pin about which the articulated skirt portion is freely able to move relative to the crown portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1989
    Assignee: AE PLC
    Inventor: Michael L. P. Rhodes
  • Flasks for radioactive materials
    Patent number: 4877969
    Abstract: A flask for the transport of radioactive material comprises a hollow body containing a number of substantially identical members which cooperate to define a plurality of channels to receive radioactive waste containers. Each member is shaped to define substantially a half of an outer channel and a portion of a central channel. The members, conveniently aluminium bodies, are releasably secured to and in good thermal contact with the wall of the hollow body to provide for the conduction of heat generated within the waste containers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1989
    Assignee: British Nuclear Fuels Plc
    Inventors: Leslie G. James, Michael J. Old
  • Flow measurement
    Patent number: 4876056
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus are provided for measuring the flow rate of a fluid in a duct, for example in an under-sea crude oil pipeline, in which samples of a radioactive tracer are injected, at intervals, into the duct and the passage of the samples of tracer detected by a scintillator. The tracer is generated by irradiating a large volume of a liquid obtained from the environment of the duct with a neutron source, so that the sample has been irradiated for a prolonged period prior to injection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1989
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventors: Colin G. Clayton, Ramon Spackman
  • Vehicle drive
    Patent number: 4875535
    Abstract: Apparatus for driving and steering an invalid chair, or other light wheeled vehicle, comprises a transverse drive transmission shaft (8) with end cones (9 and 10) which contact across the periphery respectively of each of a pair of road wheels (11 and 12). By transverse axial movement of the drive transmission shaft the contact diameter of the cones can be varied and thus the relative speed of the road wheels controlled for differential steering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1989
    Assignee: Autokraft Limited
    Inventor: Robert H. Parker
  • Temperature measurement
    Patent number: 4876059
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring temperature at different localized zones within a fluid medium, for example parts of the tops of fuel sub-assemblies in a reactor core, in which a continuous stress wave signal is transmitted from a remote location to targets at the zones, the frequency of the transmitted signal is progressively changed, waves reflected from the targets are received and multiplied with a reference signal, whose frequency changes at the same rate as the transmitted signal, to produce output signals wich are analyzed to derive values for the temperatures at points between the targets. A transmitter 10, target 12, receiver 14 are arranged so that oscillator 24 sweeps the transmitted signal and provides the reference signal to detector 28 which multiplies the received and reference signals and the beat frequency output signals from different targets are fed to a computer 38 for analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1989
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventor: Peter J. Conroy
  • Method for the treatment of waste matter
    Patent number: 4874485
    Abstract: An electrochemical method for treating matter particularly waste matter in which AgII ions are primary oxidising species in an aqueous nitric acid electrolyte at about 50.degree. C., produce secondary oxidising species through interaction with the electrolyte and which decompose the waste matter.AgI ions produced in the course of the decomposition are converted back to AgII electrochemically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1989
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventor: David F. Steele
  • Apparatus for handling bodies of generally cylindrical configuration
    Patent number: 4872545
    Abstract: Cylindrical bodies 12 are brought into end-to-end relationship on a conveyor 30 (FIG. 7) by means of a second conveyor 42 running at a different speed, which may be greater than or less than the speed of conveyor 30. The conveyor 42 serves to flip misorientated bodies (see FIGS. 6C, 6D) into an orientation in which their axes are parallel to the feed direction C of the conveyor 30. A modified arrangement (FIG. 10) is described for bodies with length to diameter ratios of the order of 0.8:1. Other handling devices are also described for effecting single streaming of bodies starting from a randomly distributed array (FIG. 1), for separating bodies of different sizes from each other (FIGS. 2 and 3) and for transferring bodies from one conveyor to another (FIGS. 4 and 5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1989
    Assignee: British Nuclear Fuels plc
    Inventors: Stephen C. N. Brown, Andrew W. Ashley
  • Radome-lens EHF antenna development
    Patent number: 4872019
    Abstract: A radome-lens comprises a shell of dielectric material having an outer surface in the form of a small circle defined by a sphere and a plane intersecting the sphere, an opening at one end of the shell for reception of an antenna therein, the surface having a central axis which is normal to the plane and extends through the center of the sphere, and an inner surface having a spherical portion centered at a second center disposed along the axis adjacent the first mentioned center but spaced toward the outer surface. When so constructed, the invention functions as a radome in the sense that it houses and protects an antenna in the usual manner and also functions as a lens in the sense that it amplifies the scan angle of the antenna from an angle of less than 90.degree. to 90.degree. or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 3, 1989
    Assignee: Her Majesty The Queen in right of Canada as represented by the Minister of National Defence
    Inventors: Yung L. Chow, Sujeet K. Chaudhuri