Patents by Inventor Richard S. Skifton

Richard S. Skifton 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: 11963446
    Abstract: Methods of manufacturing thermocouples having a first thermoelement wire comprises a molybdenum-lanthanum based material and a second thermoelement wire comprises a phosphorus-doped niobium, may involve exposing a first thermoelement wire and a second thermoelement wire to a temperature in a range extending from about 50° C. to about 60° C. above an intended operational temperature of the first and second thermoelement wires and until a rate of change of a normalized voltage output of the first thermoelement wire and the second thermoelement wire is about 0.001 normalized Volts per hour or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Alma J. Palmer, Kurt Davis, Joshua Daw, Pattrick Calderoni
  • Publication number: 20230258507
    Abstract: A thermocouple may have a first thermoelement wire formed of a first material and a first sheath covering at least part of the first thermoelement wire. The first sheath may provide thermal insulation and may be formed of a third material, different from the first material, that is subject to oxidation in response to exposure to a surrounding material. The thermocouple may further have a second sheath covering at least a first portion of the first sheath. The second sheath may act as a barrier between the first portion of the first sheath and the surrounding material and may be formed of a fourth material that is resistant to oxidation in the surrounding material. The first thermoelement wire may be joined, at a junction, with one of the first sheath, and a second thermoelement wire formed of a second material different from the first material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2023
    Publication date: August 17, 2023
    Inventors: Richard S. SKIFTON, Douglas A. CORBETT
  • Patent number: 11555747
    Abstract: A multi-core thermocouple includes a plurality of wires, an insulation core surrounding the plurality of wires, a sheath surrounding the insulation core, and a plurality of electrical junctions. The plurality of electrical junctions may include a first electrical junction formed between a first wire of the plurality of wires and the sheath at a first axial mid-section of the multi-core thermocouple, the first electrical junction including a first swaged axial mid-section of the sheath and a second electrical junction formed between a second wire of the plurality of wires and the sheath at a second, different axial mid-section of the multi-core thermocouple, the second electrical junction including a second swaged axial mid-section of the sheath.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Joshua Daw, Douglas A. Corbett
  • Patent number: 11460351
    Abstract: A coaxial thermocouple includes a wire, an insulation layer surrounding the wire, a sheath surrounding the insulation layer, and an electrical junction formed between the wire and the sheath and at one longitudinal end of the coaxial thermocouple, the electrical junction including a swaged end with an outer diameter of the sheath reducing in diameter along a longitudinal length of the coaxial thermocouple until the sheath contacts the wire within the insulation layer. The wire includes a first material and the sheath includes a second material where the first material includes one of molybdenum (Mo) or niobium (Nb) and the second material includes the other of molybdenum (Mo) or niobium (Nb).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Joshua Daw
  • Publication number: 20210404884
    Abstract: A multi-core thermocouple includes a plurality of wires, an insulation core surrounding the plurality of wires, a sheath surrounding the insulation core, and a plurality of electrical junctions. The plurality of electrical junctions may include a first electrical junction formed between a first wire of the plurality of wires and the sheath at a first axial mid-section of the multi-core thermocouple, the first electrical junction including a first swaged axial mid-section of the sheath and a second electrical junction formed between a second wire of the plurality of wires and the sheath at a second, different axial mid-section of the multi-core thermocouple, the second electrical junction including a second swaged axial mid-section of the sheath.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Joshua Daw, Douglas A. Corbett
  • Patent number: 11150143
    Abstract: Temperature locale sensors include an enclosure defining a sealed volume with a phase-change material therein at a known pressure. The phase-change material is formulated to exhibit a gas-to-solid phase change, without condensing to a liquid phase, at the known pressure and a targeted temperature, i.e., the material's “deposition temperature.” The phase-change material—while at least partially in gaseous form, either initially or after sublimation—is exposed to an environment with temperatures varying by location, including a maximum temperature above the phase-change material's deposition temperature and other temperatures at or below the deposition temperature. The gaseous phase-change material, in a location at the deposition temperature, solidifies from its gaseous phase to form solid grain deposits on a surface within the enclosure of the sensor. The solid deposits precisely identify the location of the specific, targeted deposition temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Lance A. Hone
  • Publication number: 20210156747
    Abstract: A coaxial thermocouple includes a wire, an insulation layer surrounding the wire, a sheath surrounding the insulation layer, and an electrical junction formed between the wire and the sheath and at one longitudinal end of the coaxial thermocouple, the electrical junction including a swaged end with an outer diameter of the sheath reducing in diameter along a longitudinal length of the coaxial thermocouple until the sheath contacts the wire within the insulation layer. The wire includes a first material and the sheath includes a second material where the first material includes one of molybdenum (Mo) or niobium (Nb) and the second material includes the other of molybdenum (Mo) or niobium (Nb).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2019
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Joshua Daw
  • Publication number: 20200194652
    Abstract: Methods of manufacturing thermocouples may involve exposing a first thermoelement wire and a second thermoelement wire to a temperature in a range extending from about 50° C. to about 60° C. above an intended operational temperature of the first and second thermoelement wires and until a rate of change of a normalized voltage output of the first thermoelement wire and the second thermoelement wire is about 0.001 normalized Volts per hour or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Alma J. Palmer, Kurt Davis, Joshua Daw, Pattrick Calderoni
  • Publication number: 20200158577
    Abstract: Temperature locale sensors include an enclosure defining a sealed volume with a phase-change material therein at a known pressure. The phase-change material is formulated to exhibit a gas-to-solid phase change, without condensing to a liquid phase, at the known pressure and a targeted temperature, i.e., the material's “deposition temperature.” The phase-change material—while at least partially in gaseous form, either initially or after sublimation—is exposed to an environment with temperatures varying by location, including a maximum temperature above the phase-change material's deposition temperature and other temperatures at or below the deposition temperature. The gaseous phase-change material, in a location at the deposition temperature, solidifies from its gaseous phase to form solid grain deposits on a surface within the enclosure of the sensor. The solid deposits precisely identify the location of the specific, targeted deposition temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Inventors: Richard S. Skifton, Lance A. Hone