Patents by Inventor Charles Gartrell

Charles Gartrell 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).

  • Patent number: 4936528
    Abstract: Method and appartus are provided for mitigating orbital debris by using a collision medium to promote hyper-velocity collisions with orbital debris, and to trap any debris remaining after said collision in a manner whereby the remaining debris is retrievable. In a first embodiment, the collision medium comprises streams of liquid droplets which are directed proximate the interior of an intake cone (30) toward a collector (34). As hyper-velocity orbital debris collides with the stream or droplets comprising the collision medium, the orbital debris is substantially vaporized. The stream further serves to entrain any residual debris remaining after the collision, and to usher the residual debris to the collector (34) wherein both the stream and the residual debris are collected. In another embodiment, the collision medium comprises a plurality of filaments (430, 434, 436, 438) mounted on a substrate (414).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 26, 1990
    Assignee: General Research Corporation
    Inventors: Cyrus L. Butner, Charles Gartrell