Patents by Inventor Peter J. McConnell

Peter J. McConnell 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: 4630470
    Abstract: Apparatus and a method for determining the tire pressures of vehicles as y pass an instrumented checkpoint on a roadway. Rigid corrugations on the roadway set the tires into vibration with a waveform which is a function of tire pressure. The complex waveforms from each tire of a given vehicle are subjected to a spectral analysis and the results of such analyses are compared to each other to determine which, if any, of said tires have produced a spectrum different from the normal spectra produced by the other tires. This invention requires no apparatus mounted on the vehicles being checked.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 23, 1986
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventors: Robert L. Brooke, Peter J. McConnell, Anthony M. Testa, George B. Maksymonko
  • Patent number: 4593753
    Abstract: A heat exchanger system for utilizing the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine to heat liquid. A system for heating water to be used in a carpet and furniture cleaning system is disclosed. A pump circulates water from a holding tank through a serial circuit including copper coils wound around primary exhaust pipes from an engine to a primary heat exchanger and a secondary exhaust pipe from the heat exchanger to the remainder of the exhaust system. The circuit includes the primary heat exchanger which comprises concentric copper tubes forming a water jacket therebetween. The exhaust gases enter the inner tube adjacent opposite ends and a deflector plate adjacent each entry causes a helical passage of the exhaust gases from either end along the inner tube in a manner causing maximum turbulence so as to maximize heat transference to the wall of the inner tube and thus the water jacket. The secondary exhaust pipe exits the exhaust gases mid-way between the ends of the heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 10, 1986
    Assignee: McConnell Research Enterprises Pty. Ltd.
    Inventor: Peter J. McConnell