Patents by Inventor Mary E. Howell

Mary E. Howell 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: 4699484
    Abstract: A camera system which has a wheeled rail car (20) with running gear (26) front and back connected to a chassis (40) containing a movable panning head (46) on the top, covered by an enclosure (44). The panning head (46) has a motion picture camera (58) mounted thereon and the rail car (20) is self-propelled and the head (46) rotatability tilts up and down and pans 360 degrees. The car (20) is movably installed on a track system (22) consisting of rails (64) connected together with ties (78), each rail (64) having a power strip (66) supplying electrical energy to the car (20) through a set of wipers (84). An electrical control system (24) is positioned remotely from the tracks (22) and provides control for propulsion and positioning of the panning head (46), as well as control of the camera (58). A television monitor (86) receives a signal from the camera (58), allowing the operator visual indication of the scene viewed by the camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1987
    Inventors: Mary E. Howell, Michael A. Hofstein, Murrell D. Howell
  • Patent number: 4666012
    Abstract: A vehicle utilizing a pair of counter rotating lift fans (36) driven by an air cooled internal combustion engine (34) provide compressed air into a plenum under a shell (26) moving the vehicle away from the surface upon which it is resting with the gas escape velocity evenly distributed around a peripheral skirt (28). A separate forward thrust fan (68) driven directly by a rotating pedestal mounted engine (56) provide the forward propulsion. An aileron (72) is rotatably mounted directly behind the thrust fan (68) and provides controlled response to the pitch direction of the vehicle by changing the angle of the air flow discharge. The vehicle contains a pair of movable keels (82) for operation on the water and side wings (86) to extend the effective surface of the craft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1986
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1987
    Inventors: Murrell D. Howell, Mary E. Howell