Patents by Inventor Robert A. Spencer

Robert A. Spencer 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: 6617791
    Abstract: An inductive output tube (IOT) of a multi-staged depressed collector provides improved efficiency by approximating a Brillouin electron beam flow. In one embodiment, an IOT is provided with an electron gun that generates an electron beam, a tube body, a multi-staged depressed collector for collecting the electron beam, and a magnetic solenoid. The electron beam travels through the tube body. The magnetic solenoid produces a magnetic flux that focuses the electron beam as it travels through the tube body. The magnetic flux includes a portion that threads through the electron gun. The IOT is adapted to reduce this portion of the magnetic flux in order to provide improvements in the efficiency of the IOT.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: L-3 Communications Corporation
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 6617810
    Abstract: A high-current, high-gradient, high-efficiency, multi-stage cavity cyclotron resonance accelerator (MCCRA) provides energy gains of over 50 MeV/stage, at an acceleration gradient that exceeds 20 MeV/m, in room temperature cavities. The multi-stage cavity cyclotron resonance accelerator includes a charged particle source, a plurality of end-to-end rotating mode room-temperature cavities, and a solenoid coil. The solenoid coil encompasses the cavities and provides a substantially uniform magnetic field that threads through the cavities. Specifically, the MCCRA is provided with a constant magnetic field sufficient to produce a cyclotron frequency a little higher than the RF of the accelerating electric field. A plurality of input feeds, each of which respectively coupled to a cavity, are also provided. According to an embodiment of the invention, the beam from the first cavity passes through a cutoff drift tube and is accelerated further with a cavity supporting a still lower radio-frequency electric field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: L-3 Communications Corporation
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Publication number: 20020180362
    Abstract: An inductive output tube (IOT) of a multi-staged depressed collector provides improved efficiency by approximating a Brillouin electron beam flow. In one embodiment, an IOT is provided with an electron gun that generates an electron beam, a tube body, a multi-staged depressed collector for collecting the electron beam, and a magnetic solenoid. The electron beam travels through the tube body. The magnetic solenoid produces a magnetic flux that focuses the electron beam as it travels through the tube body. The magnetic flux includes a portion that threads through the electron gun. The IOT is adapted to reduce this portion of the magnetic flux in order to provide improvements in the efficiency of the IOT.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2002
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 6462474
    Abstract: A linear beam device comprises a cathode and an anode spaced therefrom, with the anode and cathode being operable to form and accelerate an electron beam. An RF interaction region having a drift tube is arranged relative to the anode to permit the electron beam to pass therethrough. A multi-stage depressed collector of the linear beam device has a plurality of collector electrodes successively arranged to collect spent electrons of the electron beam after passing through the RF interaction region. Each one of the plurality of collector electrodes has a distinct voltage level applied thereto defining a decelerating electric field within the collector. At least one of the plurality of collector electrodes further comprises a collecting surface having a shape that is normal to a coincident trajectory of the spent electrons, whereby a substantial portion of the collecting surface is covered with a plurality of narrow grooves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corp.
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Publication number: 20020113775
    Abstract: A hand-held computer input device which can be comfortably held by the hand of a user while the thumb and fingers are associated with the track ball and keys. The overall configuration of the device is an elongated handle which can be grasped in the palm of the hand with the thumb operating a track ball and the fingers operating control switches carried by the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2001
    Publication date: August 22, 2002
    Applicant: 3Wize, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Spencer
  • Patent number: 6420822
    Abstract: An electron emissive cathode is designed based upon the triple-junction effect. The electron emitting cathode comprises a cathode body having an emitting surface for emitting electrons. A ferroelectric material is impregnated within the cathode body such that the ferroelectric material enhances the emission of electrons from the emitting surface. The cathode body may comprise a tungsten matrix material and the ferroelectric material may comprise a barium titanate, lithium niobate material and/or other known ferroelectrics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 6380803
    Abstract: A linear amplifier comprises an electron gun assembly having a cathode, and an anode spaced from the cathode. A relatively high voltage potential is applied between the anode and the cathode, and the cathode provides an electron beam in response to the relatively high voltage potential. A control grid is spaced between the cathode and the anode, and is coupled to an input port adapted to receive the input signal. The input signal causes the control grid to density modulate the beam. The control grid is also coupled to a bias voltage source to preclude transmission of the electron beam during the negative half cycle of the input signal. A plurality of collector stages are provided with a respective electric potential thereto ranging between a potential of the cathode and a potential of the anode to efficiently collect the electrons of the beam after passing the anode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2002
    Assignee: Litton Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 6360784
    Abstract: A device and method for aseptically filling high pressure reservoirs in medicament pumps is disclosed. The device preferably includes a filter, a connector having a one-way valve and a filling tube with a terminal needle. The filter is connectable to a pharmacy prepared syringe containing a drug to be transferred to the reservoir of the IDIP. The filter is connected to the connector. The connector has a first and a second inlet port fluidly connected to an outlet port. A one-way valve is located in the connector “upstream” of the point where the two inlet ports connect to the outlet port. The filling tube is connectable to the outlet port. In use, a pharmacy syringe is connected to the first inlet port. A filling syringe is connected to the second inlet port. The filling tube is connected to the outlet port. The terminal needle of the filling tube is passed through the patient's skin and into the IDIP.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2002
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Frans Philippens, Craig F. Borchard, Jill Guimont, Tim Hauch, Dan Sheehan, Robert Spencer, Mary Robischon, Joanna Pierce, Patrick Johnson
  • Patent number: 6326730
    Abstract: A low-power wide-bandwidth klystron comprises a cathode having an electron emitting surface capable of emitting an electron beam and a collector spaced from said cathode and designed to collect the electron beam emitted from the cathode. An anode is disposed between the cathode and the collector in order to channel the electron beam into a series of drift tubes that define the electron beam path between the anode and the collector. The drift tubes define gaps in which the input cavity and output cavity interact with the electron beam. The input cavity velocity modulates the electron beam by way of a radio frequency input signal and the output cavity extracts the amplified radio frequency signal from the electron beam. The drift tubes may define additional gaps between the input cavity and output cavity for intermediate cavities that would provide additional amplification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Litton Systems, Inc,
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 6262536
    Abstract: A linear beam device having a multi-stage depressed collector is provided with a single crowbar circuit that quickly removes all voltages from the collector electrodes upon detection of an arc between the collector electrodes. The linear beam device comprises a cathode and an anode spaced therefrom that are operable to form and accelerate an electron beam. A collector having a plurality of successive collector electrodes is arranged downstream from the anode to collect electrons of the electron beam. At least one power supply is coupled to the collector and provides a plurality of distinct voltage levels to respective ones of the collector electrodes. The power supply comprises a plurality of serially coupled filter capacitors, with each one of the filter capacitors being charged to a respective difference between adjacent ones of the distinct voltage levels. A crowbar circuit is coupled across the plurality of filter capacitors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2001
    Assignee: Litton Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 6257023
    Abstract: The present invention provides an improvement to a fiber optic draw furnace having a heating element (22) arranged inside a furnace shell (20) for drawing an optical fiber (F) from a preform (P). The fiber optic draw furnace (10) has one or more pieces of fiber draw furnace insulation (14, 16, 18) to separate the heating element (22) from the furnace shell (20) for reducing the thermal transfer therebetween. At least one of the pieces of fiber draw furnace insulation (14, 16, 18) is made from rigidified high purity graphite felt that provides highly efficient thermal insulation between the heating element (22) and the outer furnace shell (20). The rigidified high purity graphite felt insulation (14), (16, 18) includes either a bottom insulation ring (14), a cylindrical insulation insert (16) or a cylindrical insulation canister (18).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: Alcatel
    Inventors: Daniel D. Uhm, Robert A. Spencer
  • Patent number: 6177944
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for a computer graphics rendering system which slices the traditional geometry pipeline into two phases to improve overall graphics system utilization is described. The graphics system consists of a host processor and a graphics adapter. The host creates work items and feeds them to the graphics adapter. In the two phase method, the first phase computes the clipping status and immediately returns this status information, before completion of the actual clipping, to the application running on the host processor to minimize stalling the host processor and hence the application. The second phase performs the rest of the work necessary to draw the objects on the screen. The advantage of two phase method is that the host processor minimizes its wait (but only for model/view transformation and clipping status determination) for a return status from the graphics adapter for the current work item and gets to create the next work item from the application sooner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Christopher Fowler, Kirk Steffen Haskell, Robert Spencer Horton, Thomas Yu-Kiu Kwok, Steve Mastrianni, Chandrasekhar Narayanaswami, Bengt-Olaf Schneider, Mark van Horn, James Lewis van Welzen
  • Patent number: 6133786
    Abstract: A linear beam amplification device includes an axially centered electron emitting cathode and an anode spaced therefrom. The cathode provides an electron beam in response to a relatively high voltage potential defined between the cathode and the anode. A control grid is spaced between the cathode and anode for modulating the electron beam in accordance with an input signal. A signal input assembly of the linear beam amplification device comprises an axial input cavity into which the input signal is inductively coupled. The grid-cathode region is electrically connected to the input cavity. A low impedance grid-anode cavity is disposed coaxially with the input cavity and is in electrical communication with an interaction region defined between the grid and the anode. The low impedance of the grid-anode cavity is provided by constructing the cavity of a material having a relatively high surface resistivity, such as iron.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignee: Litton Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 6057839
    Abstract: A visualization tool for creating graphic displays of trace data produced by a parallel computer program execution monitoring system. The visualization tool contains a display monitor, possible input devices, a mass storage device, and a computer system. Trace data is converted into data structures and later pixel maps to ultimately generate processing activity diagrams for each processor in the computer system. If more than one processor is present, more than one processing activity diagram can be generated and simultaneously displayed on the same screen in form of strip graphs and for certain indicated time intervals. An average processor utilization diagram is then calculated and plotted on every processor activity diagram for comparison purposes. Browsing through these strip graphs all at the same time while comparing them against the average utilization graph will allow a user to easily redistribute workload if necessary and/or locate problem situations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Deepak Mohan Advani, Michael Justin Byron, Steven Robert Hansell, Todd Ming Chun Li, John Paul Marino, Rajendra Datta Panda, James Andrew Pierce, Ko-Yang Wang, Dennis George Weinel, Robert Spencer Welch
  • Patent number: 6052129
    Abstract: While executing the standard graphics processing steps, problem polygons (i.e., those outside of a defined clip volume) are buffered for later processing, while the standard graphics processing continues, without the need for periodically reformatting data and performing clipping. After either a predefined number of polygons have been stored at the buffer location, or at such time as a change in the rendering state occurs, the buffered polygons are clipped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2000
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Christopher Fowler, Kirk Steffen Haskell, Robert Spencer Horton, Thomas Yu-Kiu Kwok, Chandrasekhar Narayanaswami, Bengt-Olaf Schneider, Mark Van Horn, James Lewis van Welzen
  • Patent number: 6044663
    Abstract: The present invention provides an improvement to a fiber optic draw furnace for drawing an optical fiber from a preform. The fiber optic draw furnace has a heating element having a shape for enclosing and heating the preform, and has a graphite liner having a corresponding shape to the shape of the heating element for providing a barrier between the heating element and the preform. In the fiber optic draw furnace, either the graphite liner is a high density extruded graphite liner that is impregnated with vitreous carbon completely through its entire graphite liner matrix, or the heating element is a high density extruded graphite heating element that is impregnated with vitreous carbon completely through its entire graphite heating element matrix, or both.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2000
    Assignee: Alcatel
    Inventors: Daniel D. Uhm, Robert A. Spencer
  • Patent number: 5974838
    Abstract: An optical fiber furnace having an access port for a preform is disclosed. The access port includes a gas pressure generation and sensing device and an automatic shutter door assembly. The gas pressure generation and sensing device responds to a sensed gas pressure built up around a new preform being inserted into the optical fiber furnace, for providing an automatic shutter door opening signal. The gas pressure generation and sensing device also responds to a sensed outwardly flowing purge gas pressure escaping around an exhausted preform being removed from the optical fiber furnace, for providing an automatic shutter door closing signal. The automatic shutter door assembly responds to the automatic shutter door opening signal, for opening the automatic shutter door assembly for inserting the new preform into the optical fiber furnace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Assignee: Alcatel
    Inventors: Daniel D. Uhm, Robert A. Spencer
  • Patent number: 5932972
    Abstract: An electron gun provides multiple convergent beamlets in a rectilinear flow for use in multiple drift tubes of a multiple beam klystron. The electron gun comprises a cathode having a concave emitting surface and an anode having a concave surface defined by respective ends of a plurality of hollow drift tubes. The anode surface is spaced from the cathode surface and has a positive voltage potential applied thereto to define a series of equipotential contour surfaces between the cathode and the anode. A plurality of grids are located between the cathode and the anode, with each one of the grids being disposed coincident with a respective one of the equipotential contour surfaces with a first one of the grids located closely adjacent to the cathode surface. Each one of the grids further has a plurality of perforations extending therethrough in substantial registration with each other and with respective openings of the plurality of drift tubes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignee: Litton Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Spencer Symons
  • Patent number: 5887716
    Abstract: A method for delivering liquids is disclosed wherein a quantity of the liquid is provided within a cell within a cassette. The cassette is received within a sleeve having an open end. A flap at the open end of the sleeve extends inwardly through the open end between the sleeve and cassette to abut a lip on the cassette and hold the cassette therein. Impingement of the flap pushes the flap away from the lip to allow the cassette to move out of the sleeve. A label mounted within the sleeve rotates between a viewable position where it is visible through a window in the sleeve and a retracted position away from the window. Extraction and reinsertion of the cassette into the sleeve moves the label from the viewable to the nonviewable position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1999
    Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc.
    Inventors: Hal Williams, Robert Spencer, Alfredo Choperena
  • Patent number: 5882611
    Abstract: A method for delivering liquids is disclosed wherein a quantity of the liquid is provided within a cell within a cassette. The cassette is received within a sleeve having an open end. A flap at the open end of the sleeve extends inwardly through the open end between the sleeve and cassette to abut a lip on the cassette and hold the cassette therein. Impingement of the flap pushes the flap away from the lip to allow the cassette to move out of the sleeve. A label mounted within the sleeve rotates between a viewable position where it is visible through a window in the sleeve and a retracted position away from the window. Extraction and reinsertion of the cassette into the sleeve moves the label from the viewable to the non-viewable position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1999
    Assignee: Ethicon, Inc.
    Inventors: Hal Williams, Robert Spencer, Alfredo M. Choperena, Jed Kendall