Patents by Inventor Gary E. Abell

Gary E. Abell 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).

  • Apparatus for aligning an inspection or repair device with a selected tube in a heat exchanger
    Patent number: 4188167
    Abstract: Apparatus including a portable manipulator for the axial alignment of an inspection or repair device with a selected tube in a heat exchanger. The manipulator is angularly positionable about a center toward and away from an arbitrarily chosen axis and radially toward and away from the center by remotely controlled servomotors. Incorporated in the manipulator are position feedback devices whereby the manipulator is positioned to the predetermined polar coordinates of the selected tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 1978
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1980
    Assignee: The Babcock & Wilcox Company
    Inventor: Gary E. Abell
  • Apparatus for the in situ inspection of tubes while submerged in a liquid
    Patent number: 4172492
    Abstract: Apparatus for the in situ inspection of tubes which are submerged in a liquid such as the primary coolant of a nuclear reactor, wherein a sensor is withdrawn from a tube by a cable, including means for removing the liquid from and drying the cable and returning the liquid to the tubes thus preventing the spread of deleterious liquids to otherwise benign environments and the fouling of the drive mechanism used to control cable movements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 1977
    Date of Patent: October 30, 1979
    Assignee: The Babcock & Wilcox Company
    Inventors: Gary E. Abell, Louis Plavsity, Frank J. Sattler