Patents by Inventor Donald G. Funderburk

Donald G. Funderburk 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: 6724589
    Abstract: A method and apparatus including indicators and a Ground Fault Current Interrupter (GFCI) are provided to test the marina's power and the boats electrical system load to make sure that both are proper and safe to be inter-connected. A low voltage high impedance ground current path including an oppositely connected pair of typically four silicon diodes in series in each of the pairs, sufficient to raise the voltage to a safe level encompassing the typical combined AC ground fault and DC galvanic currents in a Marina is incorporated. This protects against low level AC ground faults present in the marina, as well as DC current due to the harbor safety ground interconnect between boats in the harbor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Inventor: Donald G. Funderburk
  • Patent number: 4931740
    Abstract: A sensor for measuring disturbances to an electrostatic field caused by the intrusion of a charged body or a charge producing body. The sensor employs at least two probes displaced from each other which have attached beads of radioactive material to provide free ions in the vicinity of the probe. The free ions enhance the signal created by each probe when it is affected by a disturbance in the electrostatic field in which it resides. The signals thus created are conditioned for transmission to a differential amplifier which combines them and produces an output signal which represents the detection of an intruding charged body, its distance, and its characteristics. The sensor can be configured with more than two probes seeded or placed in an array and a computer for real-time selection of the two yielding optimum signals for charged body location, velocity, direction of travel, and electrostatic signature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 5, 1990
    Assignee: McDonnell Douglas Corporation
    Inventors: Reza Hassanzadeh, Donald G. Funderburk, Steven A. Schwartz, Edward T. Rock