Patents by Inventor Richard T. Hodges

Richard T. Hodges 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: 5791825
    Abstract: An apparatus for building a horizontal underground barrier by cutting through soil and depositing a slurry, preferably on which cures into a hardened material. The apparatus includes a digging means for cutting and removing soil to create a void under the surface of the ground and injection means for inserting barrier-forming material into the void. In one embodiment, the digging means is a continuous cutting chain. Mounted on the continuous cutting chain are cutter teeth for cutting through soil and discharge paddles for removing the loosened soil. This invention includes a barrier placement machine, a method for building an underground horizontal containment barrier using the barrier placement machine, and the underground containment system. Preferably the underground containment barrier goes underneath and around the site to be contained in a bathtub-type containment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1998
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company
    Inventors: Bradley M. Gardner, Ann M. Smith, Richard W. Hanson, Richard T. Hodges
  • Patent number: 5788422
    Abstract: An apparatus for building a horizontal underground barrier by cutting through soil and depositing a slurry, preferably one which cures into a hardened material. The apparatus includes a digging means for cutting and removing soil to create a void under the surface of the ground, a shield means for maintaining the void, and injection means for inserting barrier-forming material into the void. In one embodiment, the digging means is a continuous cutting chain. Mounted on the continuous cutting chain are cutter teeth for cutting through soil and discharge paddles for removing the loosened soil. This invention includes a barrier placement machine, a method for building an underground horizontal containment barrier using the barrier placement machine, and the underground containment system. Preferably the underground containment barrier goes underneath and around the site to be contained in a bathtub-type containment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company
    Inventors: Bradley M. Gardner, Ann Marie Smith, Richard W. Hanson, Richard T. Hodges