Patents by Inventor Victor E. Pritchett, II

Victor E. Pritchett, II 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).

  • Method and system for weakening shock wave strength at leading edge surfaces of vehicle in supersonic atmospheric flight
    Patent number: 9016632
    Abstract: A method and system are provided to weaken shock wave strength at leading edge surfaces of a vehicle in atmospheric flight. One or more flight-related attribute sensed along a vehicle's outer mold line are used to control the injection of a non-heated, non-plasma-producing gas into a local external flowfield of the vehicle from at least one leading-edge surface location along the vehicle's outer mold line. Pressure and/or mass flow rate of the gas so-injected is adjusted in order to cause a Rankine-Hugoniot Jump Condition along the vehicle's outer mold line to be violated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventors: Endwell O. Daso, Victor E. Pritchett, II, Ten-See Wang, Rebecca Ann Farr, Aaron Howard Auslender, Isaiah M. Blankson, Kenneth J. Plotkin
  • Method and system for control of upstream flowfields of vehicle in supersonic or hypersonic atmospheric flight
    Patent number: 8251312
    Abstract: The upstream flowfield of a vehicle traveling in supersonic or hypersonic atmospheric flight is actively controlled using attribute(s) experienced by the vehicle. Sensed attribute(s) include pressure along the vehicle's outer mold line, temperature along the vehicle's outer mold line, heat flux along the vehicle's outer mold line, and/or local acceleration response of the vehicle. A non-heated, non-plasma-producing gas is injected into an upstream flowfield of the vehicle from at least one surface location along the vehicle's outer mold line. The pressure of the gas so-injected is adjusted based on the attribute(s) so-sensed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventors: Endwell O. Daso, Victor E. Pritchett, II, Ten-See Wang, Rebecca Ann Farr