Patents by Inventor Michael Alford

Michael Alford 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).

  • Publication number: 20030044342
    Abstract: The invention provides improved burners, combustion apparatus, and methods for carbon nanomaterial production. The burners of the invention provide sooting flames of fuel and oxidizing gases. The condensable products of combustion produced by the burners of this invention produce carbon nanomaterials including without limitation, soot, fullerenic soot, and fullerenes. The burners of the invention do not require premixing of the fuel and oxidizing gases and are suitable for use with low vapor pressure fuels such as those containing substantial amounts of polyaromatic hydrocarbons. The burners of the invention can operate with a hot (e.g., uncooled) burner surface and require little, if any, cooling or other forms of heat sinking. The burners of the invention comprise one or more refractory elements forming the outlet of the burner at which a flame can be established. The burners of the invention provide for improved flame stability, can be employed with a wider range of fuel/oxidizer (e.g.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2002
    Publication date: March 6, 2003
    Inventors: J. Michael Alford, Michael D. Diener, James Nabity, Michael Karpuk
  • Patent number: 6517799
    Abstract: A method for recovering small bandgap fullerenes, including metallofullerenes, from soot by passivating individual fullerenes and/or metallofullerenes to an anionic configuration. The addition of extra electrons to a metallofullerene or small bandgap fullerene breaks the interfullerene bonding in the solid material, and the resulting anions are soluble in organic electrochemical solvents. Once dissolved, the small bandgap fullerenes can be plated out or precipitated by returning them to a neutral state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: TDA Research, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael D. Diener, John Michael Alford
  • Publication number: 20030027870
    Abstract: This invention provides novel fullerene derivatives, particularly fullerene derivatives that are water-soluble, that modulate the activity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and/or calmodulin. The invention provides methods for modulating NOS activity and particularly provides methods for inhibiting NOS activity, by contacting one or more fullerene derivatives of this invention with cells or tissue that exhibit NOS activity. In a specific embodiment, the invention provides water-soluble fullerene derivatives that are selective inhibitors of neuronal NOS or iNOS. Preferred water soluble fullerenes have substituents that contain one or more amine groups, amine cationic groups.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2002
    Publication date: February 6, 2003
    Inventors: Stephen R. Wilson, Donald J. Wolff, David I. Schuster, Christine F. Richardson, Alexandru Dragos Petru Papoiu, John Michael Alford
  • Publication number: 20020025291
    Abstract: A method for recovering small bandgap fullerenes, including metallofullerenes, from soot by passivating individual fullerenes and/or metallofullerenes to an anionic configuration. The addition of extra electrons to a metallofullerene or small bandgap fullerene breaks the inter-fullerene bonding in the solid material, and the resulting anions are soluble in organic electrochemical solvents. Once dissolved, the small bandgap fullerenes can be plated out or precipitated by returning them to a neutral state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2001
    Publication date: February 28, 2002
    Inventors: Michael D. Diener, John Michael Alford
  • Patent number: 6303016
    Abstract: A method for recovering small bandgap fullerenes, including metallofullerenes, from soot by passivating individual fullerenes and/or metallofullerenes to an anionic configuration. Thc addition of extra electrons to a metallofullerene or small bandgap fullerene breaks the interfullerene bonding in the solid material, and the resulting anions are soluble in organic electrochemical solvents. Once dissolved, the small bandgap fullerenes can be plated out or precipitated by returning them to a neutral state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: TDA Research, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael D. Diener, John Michael Alford
  • Patent number: 5796960
    Abstract: A computer system is comprised of at least one of a main bus and an attached expansion bus, a CPU connected to the main bus, peripherals connected to one of the main bus or to the expansion buses, a subsystem connected to a bus for receiving control, address and data signals from the CPU comprising a graphics controller, a data compression circuit, a video controller, a memory connected to data input ports of the circuits and controllers via a subsystem bus having a bandwidth sufficient to carry video and graphics display signals, a first arbiter for determining which controller is permitted access the memory, a link bus connecting each of the controllers, and apparatus for providing polling signals to each of the controllers and circuits on the link bus and for receiving acknowledgement signals therefrom, and thereby synchronizing and allowing exchange of control information between the controllers and circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1998
    Assignee: ATI Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert P. Bicevskis, Adrian H. Hartog, Gordon Caruk, Michael A. Alford
  • Patent number: 5793445
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a video display processor comprised apparatus for receiving digital input signal components of a signal to be displayed, apparatus for converting the components to a desired format, apparatus for scaling and blending the signals in the desired format, apparatus for outputting the scaled and blended signals for display or further processing, and an arbiter and local timing apparatus for controlling the apparatus substantially independently of a host CPU.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1998
    Assignee: ATI Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Sanford S. Lum, Keping Chen, Samuel L. C. Wong, Dwayne R. Bennett, Michael A. Alford
  • Patent number: 5696912
    Abstract: A computer system is comprised of at least one of a main bus and an attached expansion bus, a CPU connected to the main bus, peripherals connected to one of the main bus or to the expansion buses, a subsystem connected to a bus for receiving control, address and data signals from the CPU comprising a graphics controller, a data compression circuit, a video controller, a memory connected to data input ports of the circuits and controllers via a subsystem bus having a bandwidth sufficient to carry video and graphics display signals, a first arbiter for determining which controller is permitted access the memory, a link bus connecting each of the controllers, and apparatus for providing polling signals to each of the controllers and circuits on the link bus and for receiving acknowledgement signals therefrom, and thereby synchronizing and allowing exchange of control information between the controllers and circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 9, 1997
    Assignee: ATI Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Robert P. Bicevskis, Adrian H. Hartog, Gordon Caruk, Michael A. Alford