Patents by Inventor Merrill G. Robinson

Merrill G. Robinson 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: 4425218
    Abstract: A gas distribution system for use with a sputtering cathode mounted in a vacuum chamber and provided with a planar target formed of the material to be sputtered upon planar substrates passing therebeneath, in which two divergent streams of gas are introduced into the vacuum chamber, one of the gases being an inert gas directed into the upper portion of the chamber adjacent the target and the other gas being a reactive gas directed into the lower portion of the chamber adjacent the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1982
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1984
    Assignee: Shatterproof Glass Corporation
    Inventor: Merrill G. Robinson
  • Patent number: 4394236
    Abstract: A magnetron cathode sputtering apparatus for operation within an evacuable chamber for coating planar substrates, such as glass sheets, that are also contained in said chamber. The cathode comprises an elongated substantially U-shaped support member mounted in said chamber and provided with a concavo-convex bottom wall. Magnetic means is mounted within the support member and includes an array of permanent magnets extending lengthwise thereof to provide a magnetic field which establishes the zone or region in which sputtering of the target material takes place. The target comprises a replaceable continuous band or foil of the material to be sputtered. The foil is mounted on a feed roll at one side of the cathode and is advanced across said support member in contact with the convex surface of the bottom wall thereof for sputtering as it passes through the sputter zone, and subsequently wound onto a take-up roll at the opposite side of said cathode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1982
    Date of Patent: July 19, 1983
    Assignee: Shatterproof Glass Corporation
    Inventor: Merrill G. Robinson
  • Patent number: 4323420
    Abstract: An ICF target comprising a spherical pellet of fusion fuel surrounded by a concentric shell; and a process for manufacturing the same which includes the steps of forming hemispheric shells of a silicon or other substrate material, adhering the shell segments to each other with a fuel pellet contained concentrically therein, then separating the individual targets from the parent substrate. Formation of hemispheric cavities by deposition or coating of a mold substrate is also described. Coatings or membranes may also be applied to the interior of the hemispheric segments prior to joining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1978
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Nino A. Masnari, Walter B. Rensel, Merrill G. Robinson, David E. Solomon, Kensall D. Wise, Gilbert H. Wuttke