Patents Examined by M. Eisenberg
  • Patent number: 5059797
    Abstract: Prior to the transportation to a discharge site of a casket or flask in which has been placed a container filled with radioactive waste, through a hole formed in the flask is introduced a probe holder (32) connected by electrical connectors (76,80) to an external measuring apparatus. The probe holder (31) is provided with a handle (68) making it possible, through a mechanism (66,56,54,50), to swing a door (42) to which a probe (34) is fixed between a retracted introduction position and a measuring position in which the probe can be oriented at 90.degree. relative to the probe holder axis. After the probe holder has been coupled by a nut (40) to a container carrier in which is located the container containing the waste, a precise, reproducible measurement of the dose rate within the transportation flask can be carried out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 22, 1991
    Assignee: Cogema - Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires
    Inventor: Claude Bukowski
  • Patent number: 5059794
    Abstract: A radiation imaging sensor including laminate structure of a phosphorescent layer, a light-transmissive electrode, a photoconductor layer, an insulating layer and an electrode, an applied voltage to the photoconductor layer through the light-transmissive electrode and the electrode is increased sufficiently so that light emitted from the phosphorescent member causes avalanche multiplicaton of the electrons and/or positive holes generated in the photoconductor layer by field sweep inside the photoconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 22, 1991
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuhiko Takahashi, Kenichi Okajima, Ken Ueda
  • Patent number: 5059801
    Abstract: A radiation meter suitable for use as a personal dosemeter comprises a first photo diode having a larger effective sensitive area than a second photo diode and provided with a thin metallic shield attenuating radiation incident on the first diode. A capacitor is connected in series with the first photo diode, the first photo diode and the capacitor being connected in parallel with the second photo diode. The first diode and the capacitor provide an output which falls with incident radiation energy whereas the second photo diode provides an output which increases with radiation energy so that the combined output is substantially uniform with respect to radiation energy. Means are provided for counting pulses produced in the common output so as to obtain a measure of radiation dose monitored by the radiation detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 22, 1991
    Assignee: National Radiological Protection Board
    Inventor: Peter H. Burgess
  • Patent number: 5059799
    Abstract: A scintillation camera comprises a gantry having a plurality of detectors, and a plurality of sections which are assigned to the respective detectors, and to which a plurality of collimators are intended to be attached. A carrier simultaneously supports the collimators to attach them to their attaching-sections respectively, while the carrier simultaneously supports the collimators which have been attached to their attaching-sections, to detach them therefrom. The attaching or detaching of plural collimators can be simultaneously done by only one carrier. Therefore, the time needed to change the collimators can be decreased and the operation of changing them can be made extremely easier. As the result, the efficiency of changing them can be greatly enhanced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 22, 1991
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Tadakazu Kurakake
  • Patent number: 5055675
    Abstract: A pulse height analyzer for spectrocopy thermal multigate decay well logging systems is disclosed and has an input section comprising a peak time determining circuit locating a peak occurrence. The peak is determined relative to a threshold voltage determining circuit. On peak detection, a timing signal is formed for a control circuit. This operates a sample and hold switch at the output of an amplifier for the input. This switch inputs to an A/D converter driving a buffer. Various handshake signals cooperate with a telemetry system to transfer the peak time A/D valve for pulse height measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Assignee: Halliburton Logging Services, Inc.
    Inventor: James R. Bridges
  • Patent number: 5053623
    Abstract: A photometric analyzer for measuring differential total reduced sulfur in a sample gas stream is provided. It includes a supply for a sulfur bearing gas sample, an oven having an inlet connected to the supply for converting TRS to SO.sub.2 and an outlet through which the gas sample is discharged. A valve is connected to the outlet of the oven. An SO.sub.2 bypass line is connected between the supply and the valve. A sample cell with transparent ends has an inlet adjacent one end connected to the valve for alternately receiving sample gas from either the oven or the bypass line and has an outlet adjacent the other end. A pump connected to the sample cell outlet draws the gas sample through the sample cell. A light source at the one end of the sample cell directs light of a predetermined wave length through the sample cell. A light sensing device at the other end detects the amount of light passing through the sample cell at any given time and provides an output signal to an analyzer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1991
    Assignee: Lear Siegler Measurement Controls Corporation
    Inventors: Gerald F. McGowan, Ronald L. Ketchum, Allan L. Budd
  • Patent number: 5049751
    Abstract: An infrared rays detecting apparatus is disclosed wherein the area of a loop provided by an element line and a grounding line formed on an inner tube is minimized to reduce an induced electromotive force to minimize production of noises so that correct detection can be accomplished. A grounding line is interposed for each arbitrary number of element lines on a surface of the inner tube, and the element lines are individually connected to output electrodes of an infrared rays sensor of the multi-element type while the individual grounding lines are connected to a common grounding electrode of the infrared rays sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 17, 1991
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Yukihiro Yoshida, Hirokazu Fukuda, Hiroyuki Tsuchida, Shigeki Hamashima, Koji Hirota
  • Patent number: 5047634
    Abstract: Device to implement the method according to claim 1, wherein it is constituted of a vessel (2) provided with an intake tube (4) and an evacuation tube (8) for the gaseous atmosphere and whose inside forms the closed sampling space, is subdivided into a large number of small elementary intercommunicating volumes so as to enable the taken gaseous sample to be homogenized, as well as to allow for the diffusion and the spatially homogeneous trapping of all the solid daughter products thus constituting a homogeneous emitting source for the spectrometry chain which examines this source from outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1991
    Assignee: Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique
    Inventors: Michel Guelin, Jacqueline Le Gac, Jean Charuau
  • Patent number: 5047645
    Abstract: A detecting or monitoring device for laser radiation is able to oeprate at room temperature and employs a thin film of semi-conductor material of non-centrosymmetric lattice structure having a substantial crystallographic texture; thin film may suitably be tellurium in a film thickness of 1 to 100 .mu.m, supported on a substrate of single crystal silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1991
    Assignee: The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning
    Inventors: Arshavir A. Gundjian, Massoud Badaye
  • Patent number: 5047643
    Abstract: A radiation image read-out apparatus comprises a sheet holding device for holding a stimulable phosphor sheet on a cylindrical surface, and a spinner having a deflection mirror for reflecting stimulating rays coming from a semi-transparent mirror to the stimulable phosphor sheet, and a condensing lens which converges the reflected stimulating rays on the stimulable phosphor sheet and which has equal focal lengths with respect to stimulating rays and light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet. The deflection mirror and the condensing lens rotate together to scan the stimulating rays on the stimulable phosphor sheet in a main scanning direction, which sheet is moved in a sub-scanning direction. A detection lens converges the emitted light, which has passed through the condensing lens and comes from the semi-transparent mirror.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1991
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1991
    Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Ogura
  • Patent number: 5045707
    Abstract: Magnesium oxide sensing material is pretreated and charged by UV radiation o identify impingement thereon of radiation from a near infrared laser source by detection of blue emissions which persist for an unusually long period of time, avoiding frequent respotting and recharging. When heated to thermoluminescence peaks above room temperature by irradiation from a far infrared laser source, the magnesium oxide exhibits green luminescence enabling wavelength discrimination between detection of near and far infrared laser sources. Such pretreated magnesium oxide also produces green emissions when irradiated by UV laser sources, to distinguish between detection of the UV laser sources and the far infrared laser sources by discrimination between different fading behaviors of the green emissions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1991
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Kishalaya Chakrabarti, Veerendra K. Mathur
  • Patent number: 5043584
    Abstract: A photon-counting type streak camera device measures by an integration operation the probability distribution of production timing of phenomenon light such as fluorescence light which a specimen produces upon reception of repeatedly generated pulse exciting light. A phenomenon streak camera system time-measures the phenomenon light, and a reference streak camera system time-measures reference light being synchronous with the exciting light. An arithmetic unit calculates the difference between outputs of the phenomenon and reference streak camera systems, so that the streak camera device can be prevented from being effected by a jitter or drift caused by a power change of a pulse light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1991
    Assignee: Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.
    Inventor: Musubu Koishi
  • Patent number: 5043585
    Abstract: The subject of the present invention consists of a method and an apparatus for measurement of the fluorescence relaxation period of the radiation of a fluorescent substance whose fluorescence relaxation period is a function of at least one physical parameter. The fluorescence radiation is fed back to the output radiation in a regulating circuit, whose regulating parameter is a parameter for the physical parameter. This is accomplished by advancing the fluorescence radiation to a photoelectric receiver whose output signals are supplied to a voltage controlled oscillator following phase-sensitive rectification and integration. The fluorescence radiation is alternately phase-sensitively rectified only during the relaxation phase. The total durations of the different rectification periods in the two directions are identical. The alternatingly rectified signals are integrated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1991
    Assignee: Degussa Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Gustav Fehrenbach, Wolfgang Schaefer
  • Patent number: 5038042
    Abstract: High resolution scintillation counters comprise a flat-faced photomultiplier tube 10 optically coupled to a long scintillator rod 30 having reduced internal light reflectance 45 and a medium 55 between the photomultiplier tube and the scintillator, said medium having both an index of refraction less than that of the scintillator and the capacity to attenuate light traveling from the scintillator to the photomultiplier on the basis of the light's point of origin within the scintillator. In preferred embodiments, the medium comprises air. The scintillation counters disclosed are useful in the detection of electromagnetic radiation, especially gamma rays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1991
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: J. Richard Hansen, John Bartko
  • Patent number: 5038039
    Abstract: The presence of anomalies in biological tissues and cells in natural and cultured form (e.g. cancerous tissues or cells) is detected by infrared spectroscopy. A beam of infrared light is directed at a sample of tissues or cells in natural or cultured form containing the cells to be tested, and the anomaly is detected at at least one range of frequencies by determining whether changes in infrared absorption have occurred due to the vibration of at least one functional group of molecules present in the sample which is characteristic of the anomaly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1991
    Assignees: Cornell Research Foundation, Inc., National Research Council of Canada
    Inventors: Patrick T. T. Wong, Basil Rigas
  • Patent number: 5032730
    Abstract: In an immunoassay apparatus, a washing liquid containing a substrate is applied to a labeled antigen or a labeled antibody. The fluorescent substance formed from the substrate is exposed to stimulating rays, which cause it to produce the fluorescene, and the amount of the fluorescence is measured, whereby the amount of a specific antigen or a specific antibody in a liquid sample carried on a support is determined. A stimulating ray irradiating device guides stimulating rays from a stimulating ray source to the support. A first photodetector monitors the amount of the stimulating rays, and a monitor optical device guides part of the stimulating rays thereto. A second photodetector detects the amount of fluorescence produced by the fluorescent substance, and a fluorescence receiving device guides the fluorescence from the support to the second photodetector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1991
    Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Osamu Iwasaki
  • Patent number: 5032728
    Abstract: A single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system for producing transaxial images in a plurality of transaxial planes through a body. The SPECT system includes a detector system with an in-plane spatial resolution that is determined by the in-plane spatial resolution of collimator modules disposed in a ring around the body to be imaged. Photon detectors and related circuits merely determine a position in a photon detector matrix having discrete azimuthal positions that correspond to the physical size of a collimator module. Axial spatial resolution or slice thickness for the detector system is determined either by collimator modules or by collimator modules in conjunction with the intrinsic resolution of the photon detectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1991
    Assignee: The University of Iowa Research Foundation
    Inventors: Wei Chang, Peter Kirchner
  • Patent number: 5030829
    Abstract: Latch-up propagation is periodically triggered and the intensity of infrared radiation emanating from a CMOS circuit is successively detected at a plurality of measuring points covering the circuit in a grid-like manner at prescribed points in time after the appearance of the trigger signal which triggers latch-up and a measured value representing the intensity of infrared radiation is recorded in a location-dependent manner. The measured values are monitored with a display and the intensity thereof is utilized as the brightness control for the picture elements. Also, the measured values are stored in an image store.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1991
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Erich Plies, Joerg Quincke
  • Patent number: 5028793
    Abstract: An imaging screen for detecting and storing information corresponding to the pattern of emission from an electrophoresis gel containing radioactively labelled, dye-tagged or chemiluminescent labelled DNA, RNA, or protein fragments. The imaging screen is coated with an electron trapping material which releasably stores energy from the impingement of the emission from the electrophoresis gel in the form of energy corresponding the pattern and flux of the emission. When subjected to optical energy of a first wavelength, the electron trapping material releases the stored energy in the form of optical energy of a second wavelength corresponding the flux and pattern of the emission from the electrophoresis gel. The released optical energy of a second wavelength is then detected and coverted to electrical signals representative of the flux and pattern of emission from the electrophoresis gel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 2, 1991
    Assignee: Quantex Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Lindmayer, Charles Y. Wrigley, George M. Storti
  • Patent number: 5026992
    Abstract: An instrument for determining the concentration of a particular gas that might be present in a sample has no moving parts and is extremely compact. The instrument uses as a source of radiation a device that has a radiating element whose temperature is alternated between T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 and whose spectrum approximates that of a blackbody. Radiation from this source is passed through a dual pass band filter that has two non-overlapping pass bands, one of which is centered at a wavelength at which the gas absorbs and the other of which is centered at a wavelength at which the sample does not absorb radiation. After passing through this filter, the radiation passes through the sample chamber and then is intercepted by a detector which produces an electrical signal determined by the radiation intercepted. The electrical signal is processed to provide an indication of the concentration of the gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Assignee: Gaztech Corporation
    Inventor: Jacob Y. Wong