Patents by Inventor Susan G. Delmedico

Susan G. Delmedico 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).

  • Pulsed plasma thruster having an electrically insulating nozzle and utilizing propellant bars
    Patent number: 5924278
    Abstract: A thruster includes a body having a cavity with a discharge end, an apparatus for generating an electric arc having a current path through the cavity between first and second locations, and a non-gaseous, non-liquid propellant material (26) that forms an ionized gas as an incident of being heated. The propellant material (26) is heated by the electric arc to produce an ionized gas in the cavity. The cavity is configured to cause the ionized gas to be expelled from the cavity through the discharge end of the cavity in a flow path that is substantially parallel to the electric arc and current path within the cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
    Inventors: Rodney L. Burton, Susan G. Delmedico, Michael Wilson