Patents by Inventor John D. Wilford

John D. Wilford 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: 5960051
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for moving fuel bundles in a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of a nuclear reactor are described. In one embodiment of the apparatus, a support tube facilitates the positioning of a multiple channeled magazine within the RPV, especially at locations adjacent fuel bundles. In the one embodiment, the support tube extends in the reactor pressure vessel into the area above the top guide. A magazine assembly is coupled to the support tube, and includes a magazine having a plurality of fuel bundle receiving channels. The magazine extends from the support tube so that it is adjacent the fuel bundles and the top guide. Grapples extend through the magazine channels, engage the fuel bundles, and retract the bundles into the magazine channels. The magazine and support tube, and thus the bundles, are then moved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Roy C. Challberg, David L. Faulstich, Bishara E. Kakunda, Karim-Panahi Khosrow, John D. Wilford, Richard A. Wolters, Bernt R. Gaertner, William J. Knowles