Patents by Inventor Cesare M. Bartoli

Cesare M. Bartoli 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).

  • Field-emission ion source and ion thruster apparatus comprising such sources
    Patent number: 4328667
    Abstract: A field-emission ion source in which, under the influence of an electric field, ions are released from a metal or metal alloy present in an enclosed space in the liquid state. The ions are emitted from this space through a very narrow slit. This slit may be straight or curved. The field-emission ion source can be used in an ion thruster apparatus comprising an emitter module, an electrode system, and a power supply unit. A plurality of emitter modules can be combined to form an ion thruster apparatus having a greater ion current output. Instead of a liquid metal as the propellant, a metal in the solid phase can be supplied to the emitter module, which metal is melted in the emitter module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1979
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1982
    Assignee: The European Space Research Organisation
    Inventors: Dominique R. Valentian, Cesare M. Bartoli, Heinrich A. Pfeffer, Hans-Joachim Herhudt V. Rohden, Duncan Stewart