Patents by Inventor GERALD HENDRIX

GERALD HENDRIX 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 and method for determining the integrity of a tube
    Patent number: 10302594
    Abstract: An apparatus for determining the integrity of a tube is provided. The apparatus includes: a body having an extension mechanism and configured to be inserted into the tube; and a flexible eddy current sensor including a flexible housing coupled to the body via the extension mechanism, and one or more coils disposed in the flexible housing. The flexible housing is selectively extendable via the extension mechanism between a first position and a second position. The one or more coils are farther away from the body when the flexible housing is in the second position than when the flexible housing is in the first position. The one or more coils electrically couple with an interior surface of the tube when the flexible housing is in the second position, and the flexible eddy current sensor is operative to selectively induce electrical currents within the tube via the one or more coils.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY GMBH
    Inventors: Jacques Brignac, Robert Lucas, Gerald Hendrix, Reginald Harrison
  • APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE INTEGRITY OF A TUBE
    Publication number: 20170219527
    Abstract: An apparatus for determining the integrity of a tube is provided. The apparatus includes: a body having an extension mechanism and configured to be inserted into the tube; and a flexible eddy current sensor including a flexible housing coupled to the body via the extension mechanism, and one or more coils disposed in the flexible housing. The flexible housing is selectively extendable via the extension mechanism between a first position and a second position. The one or more coils are farther away from the body when the flexible housing is in the second position than when the flexible housing is in the first position. The one or more coils electrically couple with an interior surface of the tube when the flexible housing is in the second position, and the flexible eddy current sensor is operative to selectively induce electrical currents within the tube via the one or more coils.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2016
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY GMBH
    Inventors: JACQUES BRIGNAC, ROBERT LUCAS, GERALD HENDRIX, REGINALD HARRISON