Patents by Inventor Donald Robert Howard

Donald Robert Howard 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: 20080105055
    Abstract: A system for locating a failure event in a sample is disclosed. The system includes at least one sensor configured to detect acoustic energy corresponding to the failure event in the sample. The system also includes an infrared camera configured to detect a thermal release of energy corresponding to the failure event in the sample.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2006
    Publication date: May 8, 2008
    Inventors: Harry Israel Ringermacher, Donald Robert Howard, Bryon Edward Knight, Yury Alexeyevich Plotnikov, Mark John Osterlitz, Jian Li, Jeffry Lynn Thompson, Gulperi Nuzhet Aksel
  • Patent number: 7015473
    Abstract: A method for reconstructing internal surface geometry of a part includes registering a thickness map for the part with external surface data for the part. The thickness map has a number of thickness data. Internal surface data is generated using the thickness map and the external surface data to reconstruct the internal surface geometry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Kevin George Harding, Alexander Bernard Flavian Rebello, Donald Robert Howard
  • Patent number: 6394646
    Abstract: An IR transient thermography imaging system includes high-power flash lamps fitted with spectrally tuned optical filters and a focal-plane array camera for IR image data acquisition. The image data processing control computer analyzes acquired IR image data frames and provides a color-keyed display of an imaged object that correlates to object thickness over the imaged surface area. Acquisition of IR data is initiated at a firing of flash lamps used to heat a surface of the object along with a reference standard. A predetermined number of IR image frames are acquired and recorded over a predetermined period of time after firing of the lamps to develop a temperature-time (T-t) history of the object surface and the reference standard. A contrast curve is calculated for each pixel in the image frame, each pixel corresponding to an elemental region on the object surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Harry Israel Ringermacher, Donald Robert Howard, Ravindra Kumar Pandey