Patents Examined by Christopher K. Montgomery
  • Patent number: 5508976
    Abstract: An underwater acoustic transducer for providing high amplitude low frequency acoustic output wherein a plurality of flextensional transducer ovals are formed into a mechanical transformer ring with a corresponding plurality of transducer drivers received therein. A corresponding plurality of radiating surface plates are fixed to the flextensional transducer ovals so as to form a flextensional ring which has disposed on both ends thereof an end plate. Furthermore, a sealing boot is disposed around the flextensional ring which receives the necessary power to operate the transducer drivers so as to vibrate the flextensional transducer ovals to provide the desired motion. Additionally, the flextensional rings can be configured into a tube so as to provide increased levels of acoustic energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 16, 1996
    Assignee: Loral Defense Systems
    Inventor: Lyle A. Pauer
  • Patent number: 5502913
    Abstract: A cartridge magazine for use with a firearm includes a housing arranged to enclose a plurality of cartridges. The housing has an opened end and a mouth for permitting cartridges to be loaded therein and dispensed therefrom. A follower is movably positioned within the housing and biased toward the mouth. At least one movably mounted tongue and an opposing member are associated with the mouth. The movably mounted tongue is constructed and arranged to move between a first normally biased cartridge retaining position wherein a forward-most cartridge is retained in the mouth by the tongue and the opposing member and a second cartridge loading position wherein the movably mounted tongue is moved linearly away from the mouth as a new cartridge is inserted thereinto. The tongue thereafter returns to the first cartridge retaining position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Assignee: Butler Creek Corporation
    Inventor: Terry R. Jackson
  • Patent number: 5501025
    Abstract: An improvement for retaining sling swivels on a firearm where web or narrow fabric is used in place of cord. Holes in an outer retaining piece and an inner cushioning piece can be of any shape. An extending projection may be used in the holes to conform the web or narrow fabric to the openings in the sling swivel.In another embodiment, a wire may be enclosed in a closed web loop. A tab, which is folded and stitched, is formed adjacent to an outer retaining piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1996
    Inventor: David A. Johnson
  • Patent number: 5497705
    Abstract: A zone-defense weapon system includes an attack device having at least one main launch tube having a projectile that encloses an explosive charge. At least one device for surveillance and acquisition of targets controls a surveillance zone by detecting an objective target penetrating into the surveillance zone, and by controlling firing of the main projectile in the direction of the detected objective target. The attack device is located at a remote distance from the surveillance and target-acquisition device, and the surveillance zone is within the action radius of the attack device. The surveillance device may include an auxiliary projectile fired from the attack device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 12, 1996
    Assignee: Giat Industries
    Inventors: Thierry Bredy, Herve Rodriguez, Emmanuel Marchand
  • Patent number: 5499219
    Abstract: An electro-acoustical transducer arrangement for underwater antennas comprised of a plurality of hydrophones (10) which are arranged at equal distances in a linear array, and are to be disposed vertically above each other on a support. For reasons of a simplified assembly along with good receiving properties, the hydrophones (10), together with a reflector (11) disposed behind them in the direction of incoming sound, are embedded in an acoustically transparent rigid cast enclosure (20) of an elastomer, preferably polyurethane, which can be worked in a casting process. The connecting lines (12) of the hydrophones (10) of the enclosure 20 are combined in a common plug (13), which is accessible on a front end of the rigid cast enclosure (20). The rigid cast enclosure (20) is provided with devices for fastening the enclosure to the support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 12, 1996
    Assignee: STN Atlas Elektronik GmbH
    Inventors: Axel Brenner, Peter Mertens, Wilfried Meuser, Friedrich Meyer, Horst Trense, Friedrich Weber, Wilfried Wilken
  • Patent number: 5495787
    Abstract: An anti-missile missile for preventing an incoming threat missile from impacting a target without requiring impact of the anti-missile missile with the incoming threat missile. The incoming threat missile is provided with a guidance and control system disposed for receiving a source of guidance energy from an external source for guiding the threat missile to impact with the target. The anti-missile missile includes a body having a container carried thereby and a shield device carried in the container for ejection from the container in the vicinity of the threat missile. The shield device is disposed for controlling the amount of guidance energy received by the guidance and control system thereby rendering the guidance and control system ineffective to guide the threat missile to the target. An ejection device is provided for ejecting the shield device in the vicinity of the threat missile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Inventor: Lynn L. Boyer, III
  • Patent number: 5495806
    Abstract: A detonator has a transparent polycarbonate tubular casing, with an electric igniter inserted from one end to abut a constriction in the tube. The conflagration charge is deposited onto the igniter from the other tube end, and primary and secondary explosive charges respectively are added from that other end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Assignee: Altech Industries (Proprietary) Limited
    Inventor: Christopher A. Willey
  • Patent number: 5494239
    Abstract: An expandable ogive is disclosed which incorporates a plurality of sections (20, 22, 24) which move into an extended position. The ogive is locked in the extended position by mating tapered surfaces on the piston sections of an actuator (44) which are tapered at an angle of less than about 2.degree. relative to the center line axis of the missile or rocket. The mating surfaces lock sufficiently tightly to resist the aerodynamic loadings on the ogive during missile or rocket flight and therefore maintain the proper ogive configuration independent of the gas pressure in the actuator (44) which initially moves the ogive sections into the extended position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1996
    Assignee: Loral Vought Systems Corporation
    Inventor: Jeffrey A. Giacomel
  • Patent number: 5491921
    Abstract: A portable shooting stand is disclosed in which a modular seat and table assembly rides in a circular fashion on rollers over the top of a ground engaging roller track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1996
    Inventor: J. B. Allen
  • Patent number: 5483766
    Abstract: A combined handgrip and trigger guard for a firearm has a handgrip section and a trigger guard section. Preferably, the handgrip section and trigger guard section are provided as an integral one-piece polymer member. The trigger guard section extends from the handgrip section in a general cantilevered configuration. A free end of the cantilever trigger guard section has an integral pin section that is located in a hole of a frame of the firearm. Locating the free end of the trigger guard section against the frame with the pin section in the hole of the frame is the only direct connection of the trigger guard section to the frame and does not use additional fasteners directly between the trigger guard section and the frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1996
    Assignee: Colt's Manufacturing Company Inc.
    Inventors: Paul M. Hochstrate, Michael E. Gamache
  • Patent number: 5479377
    Abstract: A transducer device and method include affixing a preamplifier or other suitable circuit to a thin piezoelectric membrane. The membrane fully supports the circuit at an inactive region of the membrane. The membrane has at least one piezoelectrically active region that is connected to the circuit by a signal line. Preferably, the signal line is fabricated onto the membrane using integrated circuit fabrication techniques. In the preferred embodiment, the piezoelectrically active region has a diameter of less than one hundred microns and the membrane has a thickness of less than ten microns. A potting compound provides structural support of the membrane and insulates the on-membrane circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1995
    Inventors: Paul Lum, Michael Greenstein, Belinda Kendle
  • Patent number: 5474256
    Abstract: A combustible fin protection device (10) for protecting the fin planforms 01) on a finned projectile (100) wherein the device (10) comprises a cover member (20) fabricated from a combustible material (21) and dimensioned to envelop the fin planform (101) to protect the fin planform (101) from elevated temperatures and propellant grain impacts during the in-bore transit of the projectile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 12, 1995
    Assignee: The United States of American as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventor: James M. Garner
  • Patent number: 5469406
    Abstract: A transducer includes one or more electro-acoustic motors located on a same internal plane or as a peripheral ring of a flexible envelope to which they are interdependent by at least one-of their ends by an assembling device and to which they transmit their vibrations, the flexible envelope being in contact with the liquid and constituting the acoustic waves emitting surface. The flexible envelope is shaped such that the amplitude of the vibrations is increased in a range of very low frequency. The envelope includes at least one orifice allowing the liquid to enter the whole internal cavity delimited by the envelope and a baffle made up of alveolar material that resists the immersion pressure and fills most of the cavity volume. The external surface of the baffle is at a constant distance from that of the interior of the envelope and is interdependent to the assembling device of the acoustic motors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1995
    Assignee: L'Etat Francais represente par le Deleque General pour l'Armement
    Inventors: Alain A. Scarpitta, Didier Boucher, Gilles Grosso
  • Patent number: 5467552
    Abstract: A gun sight assembly including a body to be held against a surface of a gun, a sight carried by the body, an anchoring part received within a dovetail groove in the gun, and a threaded fastener extending through an opening in the body and threadedly connected to the anchoring part and operable to pull the anchoring part toward the body in a manner tightening the anchoring part against converging side walls of the dovetail groove and tightening the body against the surface of the gun.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1995
    Assignee: Pachmayr Ltd.
    Inventors: Carl J. Cupp, Ronald L. Plue
  • Patent number: 5469166
    Abstract: This invention provides a means of providing a continuous signal which corresponds in phase and frequency to a brief instruction signal. The instruction signal is analyzed and the average frequency is determined. The average frequency is used as a basis for synthesis in a direct digital synthesizer or is substituted for the head to tail phase increment in a head to tail repeat synthesizer. The process can be carried out when only a fraction of a cycle is present in the instruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1995
    Inventor: Zvi Y. Regev
  • Patent number: 5469408
    Abstract: A geophone is disclosed that has a cylindrical housing closed at one end by a bottom and the other end by a top. A magnet assembly of a rare earth magnet with pole pieces at each end of the magnet is centrally mounted in the housing providing an annular space between the magnet assembly and the housing. A coil form is located in the annular space. Springs support the coil form for axial movement relative to the magnet assembly along the longitudinal axis of the housing. The rare earth magnet produces a magnetic field sufficiently strong that the pole pieces can be made longer than the coils on the coil form thereby provided a uniform magnetic field in which the coils move thereby reducing the amount of harmonic distortion produced by the geophone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1995
    Assignee: Shaw Industries Limited
    Inventor: Daniel M. Woo
  • Patent number: 5467323
    Abstract: In an electroacoustic transducer, the opening portion of a casing body which contains therein a magnetic driving portion for converting an electric signal into a sound is closed by a casing cap to form a resonance space (resonance chamber) which resonates in response to an acoustic vibration generated by the magnetic driving portion, wherein a plurality of slender projections to be entered into said casing body are projected from the casing cap to position said casing cap relative to said casing body. As a result, it is possible to enlarge the capacity of the resonance chamber and improve the assembling accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 14, 1995
    Assignee: Star Micronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takahiro Sone
  • Patent number: 5465645
    Abstract: A recoil buffer for a semi-automatic pistol having conventional, relatively moveable slide and frame with opposing abutment surfaces limiting rearward movement of the slide in response to firing the pistol. The recoil buffer is a layer of firmly resilient material mounted in covering, contacting relation to the frame abutment surface. The layer of material is disclosed in the form of a washer mounted upon a portion of the slide return spring guide rod. In one embodiment, the washer has a through cut to permit its radial insertion over a stem portion extending between flange and head portions, and the recoil buffer may include a second, resilient washer axially inserted on the guide rod to be positioned against the forward surface of the flange, for contact by the slide abutment surface in the rearward position of the slide. In a further embodiment, the washer is axially inserted on a stem extending rearwardly from the guide rod flange.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 14, 1995
    Inventor: Joseph E. Cominolli
  • Patent number: 5467092
    Abstract: A radar system includes a stabilization calibration arrangement wherein a module stores particular parameters for relating the radar system to a gyro which provides stabilizing data for the radar system. The storage module, the radar system and the gyro are mounted on the same mounting platform so that the particular calibration features remain with the mounting platform. With the arrangement described, the radar system is independent of the gyro and can be of a generic configuration as is advantageous for stabilization calibration purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 14, 1995
    Assignee: AlliedSignal Inc.
    Inventors: Mark G. Roos, Terry K. Michie
  • Patent number: 5464321
    Abstract: A marine propeller using the circulation control principle of blowing tantially over a Coanda surface at the trailing edge of each blade to develop high blade lift (thrust). Each blade has internal chambers and two blowing slots so that blowing is controllable for forward and for reverse thrust without reversing rotational direction of the propeller. This propeller is capable of generating much greater thrust and ship speed at lower RPM and noise levels than conventional propellers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 7, 1995
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Robert M. Williams, Ernest O. Rogers, Maurice M. Sevik