Patents by Inventor Richard A. Gudmundsen

Richard A. Gudmundsen 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: 5267883
    Abstract: This is a water-jet propulsion system employing a cyclic air-pump to induce a cyclic reduced-pressure inside a vacuum-chamber which has front and rear valves, the front facing the predominant direction of travel. The front valve opens near the start of a "pump down" portion of the cycle to allow a jet of water to be admitted at the bottom of said boat from the "rest system" outside, into the less-than-atmospheric-pressure interior, the front or intake valve closing after the "jet-slug" is fully formed. The internal pressure changes so that when said jet-slug reaches said exit port, said chamber pressure is atmospheric and the opened exit port valve allows the water-slug to exit the chamber just prior to the beginning of a new cycle. Friction and pumping losses are minimal as the water jet is not in contact with walls over most of its trajectory, and said pump is pumping air. Low final water-velocity with respect to the rest system, high volume flow, leads to high propulsion efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1993
    Inventor: Richard A. Gudmundsen
  • Patent number: 4909044
    Abstract: An automobile air conditioning system for controlling the inside temperature of an automobile to maintain the inside temperature in a comfortable range or to protect the contents of the automobile from becoming overheated on excessively hot days or to prevent freezing on cold days when the automobile is parked or not in use is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1990
    Inventor: Richard A. Gudmundsen
  • Patent number: 4285569
    Abstract: A CCD driven integrated optical modulator array including an array of chirp grating optical lenses implemented on the surface of an electro-optical crystal such as LiNbO.sub.3 or LiTaO.sub.3, a plurality of channel waveguides and a thin metal film pattern on the surface of the waveguides for modulating the optical waveform in each channel. The thin metal film form planar capacitors, each of the capacitors being electrically connected to the output circuit of a corresponding semiconductor device, such as a CCD array. The CCD array is implemented on a semiconductor wafer bonded to the electro-optical crystal. Signals in each optical channel in the electro-optical crystal are thereby modulated by corresponding circuit elements associated with corresponding CCD channels implemented on the major surface of the semiconductor wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1981
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Shi-Kay Yao, Richard A. Gudmundsen
  • Patent number: 4257111
    Abstract: A digital-to-analog optical recorder incorporating both CCD and integrated optics technologies which is fabricated as a single integral unit including an electro-optical layer portion and a semiconductor layer portion. Sampling circuits and digital-to-analog converters are implemented on the semiconductor layer portion using CCD technology, and a plurality of optical channel waveguides and electro-optical modulators are implemented on the electro-optical layer portion. Each digital signal is converted into two complementary light spots at the output of the recorder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1979
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1981
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Jack E. Soohoo, Michael J. McNutt, Shi-Kay Yao, Cecil L. Hayes, Richard A. Gudmundsen