Patents by Inventor Gary A. Hallock

Gary A. Hallock 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).

  • Free charge carrier diffusion response transducer for sensing gradients
    Patent number: 8681586
    Abstract: Devices for sensing gradients are constructed from material whose properties change in response to gradients. One embodiment of the device is a transducer (200) for sensing gradients that includes the material (210) and two or more electrodes (240, 270) coupled to the material. In one embodiment, gradients in a surrounding medium (110) modify the energy gap of the material in the transducer (130) producing a diffusion current density (150). The material is configured to connect to a current or voltage measurement device (520, 530, 540) where a measurement is used to determine the gradient in the medium (160). The devices can be used to measure pressure, temperature, and/or other properties. The transducer can be built on the same substrate as complementary circuitry. A transducer made of Indium. Antimonide is used in marine seismology to measure pressure gradients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Gary A. Hallock, Mark A. Meier
  • Free Charge Carrier Diffusion Response Transducer For Sensing Gradients
    Publication number: 20110194376
    Abstract: Devices for sensing gradients are constructed from material whose properties change in response to gradients. One embodiment of the device is a transducer (200) for sensing gradients that includes the material (210) and two or more electrodes (240, 270) coupled to the material. In one embodiment, gradients in a surrounding medium (110) modify the energy gap of the material in the transducer (130) producing a diffusion current density (150). The material is configured to connect to a current or voltage measurement device (520, 530, 540) where a measurement is used to determine the gradient in the medium (160). The devices can be used to measure pressure, temperature, and/or other properties. The transducer can be built on the same substrate as complementary circuitry. A transducer made of Indium. Antimonide is used in marine seismology to measure pressure gradients.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2009
    Publication date: August 11, 2011
    Inventors: Gary A. Hallock, Mark A. Meier