Patents by Inventor Gerardus J. A. N. Kester

Gerardus J. A. N. Kester 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).

  • System for breaking a tensioned connecting element
    Patent number: 4540873
    Abstract: A system for releasing parts of a spacecraft construction that are contained by the use of a tensioned cable, made of a material that will degrade or decompose under the influence of heat, and stretched between two supporting elements of the construction. At least one heating element is connected to an electrical power source mounted into a frame that is attached to the spacecraft structure, in a manner such that the heating element and the opposed cable section are pressed towards each other. The tension in the cable is of sufficient degree to displace the ruptured ends of the cable, when broken, out of contact with the heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 1984
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1985
    Assignee: Fokker B.V.
    Inventor: Gerardus J. A. N. Kester