Patents by Inventor Douglas K. Ethridge

Douglas K. Ethridge 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: 5400499
    Abstract: A tool for removal of the internal bushings from a piston coupling of a CRD. The tool incorporates a spring-loaded and hardened collet supported on one end of a ram. The collet has a pair of arms with shoulders or projections which latch inside the internal bushing ring to be removed. The tool is inserted into the piston coupling from either end, depending on which internal bushing is to be removed. The tool is inserted until the latching shoulders or projections snap behind the radially inwardly projecting internal bushing, with the contact surfaces of the shoulders or projections in contact with a radial end surface of the bushing. The bushing can then be dislodged, from the inside out, by impacting the other end of the ram with a hammer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1995
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert S. Tsukida, Douglas K. Ethridge, Frank Ortega, Vincent R. Cantacessi
  • Patent number: 5375458
    Abstract: A multi-port tool which tests for leaks in the seals of a control rod drive that has been removed from its housing. The fixture is attached to the flange of the control rod drive using quick-release clamps. Two ports of the fixture are respectively coupled to the insert and withdraw ports of the control rod drive. A source of demineralized water at a constant pressure is applied to an inlet port of the leak test fixture. The pressurized water is applied to the control rod drive while the index tube is restrained by a restraining rig. A number of valves are selectively opened or closed to provide a flow path for the pressurized water to either the insert port or the withdraw port. The leakage rate at each of a number of leakage points is determined when the pressurized water is applied at the insert port only and again when the pressurized water is applied at the withdraw port only.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1994
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Dale M. Oliver, Robert S. Tsukida, Frank Ortega, Herbert B. Dela Rosa, Douglas K. Ethridge, Harry I. Russell, Bettadapur N. Sridhar