Patents by Inventor Donald W. Blincow

Donald W. Blincow 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: 5509622
    Abstract: A cover for a pressure sensor for indicating cracks in a hollow aircraft blade, the sensor having a shaft carrying a radiation source, with the shaft sliding in a housing between a first position with the radiation source within the housing and a second position with the radiation source external of the housing, the cover including a sleeve for positioning around the sensor and having an open end for engaging a shoulder of the sensor and having a closed end spaced from the sensor when the open end is engaging the sensor shoulder, and a plunger slidably mounted in the closed end and movable between an outer position and an inner position, with the plunger out of engagement with the sensor shaft when in the outer position and engaging the sensor shaft when in the inner position to move the shaft into the sensor and reset the sensor, with the sleeve being of a material absorbing the radiation of the source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1996
    Assignee: General Nucleonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald W. Blincow, John J. Mahoney, Jerold H. McCormick
  • Patent number: 4755677
    Abstract: A tank content gauging system including a plurality of radiation sources and a radiation detector mounted at a fuel tank, with the radiation detector positioned for receiving radiation from the sources and for producing an output which is an electrical analog of the detected radiation, a register for storing the detector output, a telemetry-on-demand switching unit for starting and stopping the detector operation from a point distant from the tank, a transceiver for sending "on" and "off" commands to the switching unit and receiving telemetry data from the register, a computer having the telemetry data and reference data as inputs for producing an output representing the quantity of fuel in the tank, and a display for indicating the quantity of fuel in the tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 1985
    Date of Patent: July 5, 1988
    Assignee: General Nucleonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald W. Blincow, John J. Mahoney, Jerold H. McCormick
  • Patent number: 4727251
    Abstract: A system for indicating cracks in a hollow aircraft blade, such as a helicopter blade. A system wherein a pressure differential is maintained within the blade with respect to the ambient atmosphere and including a pressure sensor for mounting on the blade in communication with the interior of the blade and having a member which moves in response to pressure changes within the blade, a beta radiation source mounted on the member and disposed for radiation transmission to a detector, a beta radiation detector for mounting on a nonrotating portion of the aircraft for receiving radiation from the source, and circuitry having the output of the detector as an input and providing an output which varies as a function of the position of the pressure sensor member for indicating the pressure condition within the blade. An improved beta radiation detector housing which substantially eliminates detector sensitivity to radar transmissions while maintaining sensitivity to nuclear radiation in the beta range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1988
    Assignee: General Nucleonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald W. Blincow, John J. Mahoney, Jerold H. McCormick
  • Patent number: 4356874
    Abstract: Apparatus for determining weight of a container moving along a path past a weighing zone with radioactive source and detector mounted on opposite sides of the path for directing a radiation beam through the container passing through the weighing zone. Counters for counting radiation detector output pulses and reference timing pulses, with position sensors providing a gating for the counters so as to count when a container is moving past the radiation beam. The quotient of the two counts provides a measure of weight of a container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1980
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1982
    Assignee: General Nucleonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald W. Blincow, Robert G. Parks
  • Patent number: 4296321
    Abstract: Apparatus for measuring pressure on a well drilling bit which bit is connected to the drilling platform at the surface by a string of drill pipe, typically in a slant drilling configuration. The apparatus is inserted in the drill string and includes first and second sections of drill pipe with telescoping ends and a spring positioned therebetween urging one section away from the other. A radioactive source is mounted in one of the sections and a probe carrying a radioactive detector is positioned within the drill pipe, with a window in the other section of pipe providing a radiation path between the source and detector. Pressure on the drill bit varies the compression force on the spring permitting one section of pipe to move relative to the other and thereby vary the position of the window in the path between the radiation source and detector. The output of the detector varies as a function of window position and hence as a function of pressure on the drilling bit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 1980
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1981
    Assignee: Tyco Laboratories
    Inventors: Donald W. Blincow, Kevin H. Cassedy, Samuel C. Dominey, Jr.