Patents by Inventor Beth A. Mikulka

Beth A. Mikulka 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).

  • Publication number: 20110302905
    Abstract: Eyeball seals for a gimbaled rocket engines, and associated systems and methods are disclosed. A system in accordance with a particular embodiment includes a rocket body, an engine carried by and movable relative to the rocket body, and a seal assembly. The seal assembly can include a sealing surface carried by one of the rocket body and the engine, and a seal element carried by the other of the rocket body and the engine. The seal element is in contact with the sealing surface. The seal assembly can further include a cylinder and a piston slideably received in the cylinder, with one of the piston and the cylinder carrying the seal element. The cylinder includes ports that are in fluid communication with a region external to the rocket body. Accordingly, pressures external to the rocket body can force the seal element and/or the sealing surface into contact with each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2010
    Publication date: December 15, 2011
    Applicant: Blue Origin, LLC
    Inventors: Erich K. Weinberg, Beth A. Mikulka, Kip Carver