Patents by Inventor William A. Mueller

William A. Mueller 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: 5932042
    Abstract: Automatic process control of the optical disc bonding process is achieved by tacking the adhesive and deforming the composite prior to final bonding. A separator chuck is used to maintain the separation of the disc halves through tack curing and a disc deforming jig is used during final bonding to compensate for any tendency of the disc halves to deform during the bonding operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Inventors: Lewis Gensel, Edward Misewicz, William Mueller, Edward Pickutoski, Peter Van Hoof
  • Patent number: 5932058
    Abstract: The warping of the surface of a composite compact disc occurring during the bonding of two surfaces together to form the disc is reduced by the use of a curing filter that modulates the intensity of the ultraviolet light used to set the bonding agent. The curing filter may be in the form of a disc having a greater density near the periphery of the disc than at the center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignee: WEA Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventor: William Mueller
  • Patent number: 5218853
    Abstract: An apertured part is pressed in a single cycle with no separate slug shearing operation. The press ram and bolster each contain fixed aperture forming punches which extend coaxially and slidably through piston like die supports, each of which is backed by a hydraulic fluid chamber. Separate systems control the fluid pressure in the two chambers so as to cause the dies supports to slide in one direction relative to the punches initially, then quickly in the other direction to shear the slug formed between the ends of the punches away from the part. The ram chamber is maintained at a high pressure throughout the first half of the stroke, while the bolster chamber begins at a low pressure and is allowed to rise to a higher, intermediate pressure that is still lower than the bolster chamber. Thus, the ram die support pushes the bolster die support down. However, when the pressure differential is removed, the two die supports quickly move up together over the fixed punches, shearing the slug out of the part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 15, 1993
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: William A. Mueller, Ranny J. Nunley
  • Patent number: 4796459
    Abstract: An accumulator system for establishing a clamping force on dies in a closed die forging device. The accumulator system includes an accumulator having a differential piston and a free piston. The small end of the differential piston forms a wall of the accumulator oil chamber hydraulically connected to variable volume oil chambers behind the dies. The big end of the differential piston and one side of the free piston form a low pressure gas chamber of the accumulator. The other side of the free piston forms a wall of a high pressure gas chamber of the accumulator. As the dies of the forging apparatus close, oil in the chambers behind the dies moves the differential piston against only the gas pressure in the low pressure gas chamber so that closure is essentially without impact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1989
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: William A. Mueller, Wolfgang Hoffmann
  • Patent number: 4373039
    Abstract: The impact resistance of flame retardant composites, especially thermoplastic molding compounds containing over 60% hydrated mineral filler such as Al(OH).sub.3 or Mg(OH).sub.2 is improved by coating the filler with 1 to 20% of an elastomer. The composite will fail by crazing or shearing rather than by brittle fracture. A well bonded elastomeric interphase results by utilizing acidic substituted resins such as ethyl-hexyl acrylate-acrylic acid copolymers which bond to and are cross-linked by the basic filler particles. Further improvement in impact resistance is provided by incorporating 1 to 10% of a resin fiber reinforcement such as polyvinyl alcohol fibers that decompose to yield at least 30% water when heated to decomposition temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1980
    Date of Patent: February 8, 1983
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventors: William A. Mueller, John D. Ingham, William W. Reilly
  • Patent number: 4351878
    Abstract: A thin, uniform, firmly adherent coating of metal gasification catalyst is applied to a carbon-graphite fiber by first coating the fiber with a film-forming polymer containing functional moieties capable of reaction with the catalytic metal ions. Multivalent metal cations such as calcium cross-link the polymer such as a polyacrylic acid to insolubilize the film by forming catalytic metal macro-salt links between adjacent polymer chains. The coated fibers are used as reinforcement for resin composites and will gasify upon combustion without evolving conductive airborne fragments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration
    Inventors: Jan Harper-Tervet, Warren L. Dowler, Shiao-Ping S. Yen, William A. Mueller
  • Patent number: 4209393
    Abstract: In a raw sewage treatment process of the type where settling tanks are used for the purpose of permitting the suspended matter in the raw sewage to be settled as well as to permit adsorption of the dissolved contaminants in the water of the sewage. The sludge, which settles down to the bottom of the settling tank is extracted, pyrolyzed and activated to form activated carbon and ash which is mixed with the sewage prior to its introduction into the settling tank, for the purposes mentioned. Because the sludge does not provide all of the activated carbon and ash required for adequate treatment of the raw sewage, it is necessary to add carbon to the process. In accordance with this invention, instead of expensive commercial carbon, coal is used to provide the carbon supplement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1976
    Date of Patent: June 24, 1980
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: John J. Kalvinskas, William A. Mueller, John D. Ingham
  • Patent number: 4171542
    Abstract: A single-use, nonwoven surgical gown having a bib at the chest area configured to provide a sterile hand support pocket in the aseptic zone and an additional barrier layer in the critical chest area to guard against microbial transmission. The bib may also be configured to provide a belt tunnel within which a wraparound belt may be attached and stored and which will allow for vertical adjustment of the belt while providing the surgical gown with a clear and unencumbered front. The bib is attached to the inside of the gown front with access to the hand support pocket and bib tunnel through appropriately located slits in the gown front.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 23, 1979
    Assignee: Buckeye Cellulose Corporation
    Inventors: Lloyd A. Cox, Doyle R. Johnson, Donald F. Maskey, William A. Mueller
  • Patent number: 4094775
    Abstract: The improved hemodialysis system utilizes a second polymeric membrane having dialyzate in contact with one surface and a urea decomposition solution in contact with the other surface. The membrane selectively passes urea from the dialyzate into the decomposition solution, while preventing passage of positively charged metal ions from the dialyzate into the solution and ammonium ions from the solution into the dialyzate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1977
    Date of Patent: June 13, 1978
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventor: William A. Mueller
  • Patent number: 4041233
    Abstract: A novel aldehyde-containing polymer (ACP) is prepared by reaction of a polysaccharide with periodate to introduce aldehyde groups onto the C.sub.2 - C.sub.3 carbon atoms and by introduction of ether and ester groups onto the pendant primary hydroxyl to modify solubility characteristics. The ACP is utilized to absorb nitrogen bases such as urea in vitro or in vivo.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1976
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1977
    Inventors: James C. Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with respect to an invention of Fletcher, William A. Mueller, George C. Hsu, Harold E. Marsh, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4006360
    Abstract: A system for discriminating between the fluorescent emission from dye molecules bound to biological particles and the background emission from free molecules of the dye in the solution suspending the particles, where the quantum efficiency of the bound dye molecules because of their bound state, differs from the quantum efficiency of the unbound dye so that the emission from the bound dye exhibits a longer statistical decay lifetime. The system involves irradiating the particles in the solution with a mode locked laser, and measuring fluorescent intensity in delayed synchronism with the mode locking frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 1976
    Date of Patent: February 1, 1977
    Assignee: Block Engineering, Inc.
    Inventor: William A. Mueller
  • Patent number: 3994804
    Abstract: Raw sewage may be presently treated by mixing screened raw sewage with activated carbon. The mixture is then allowed to stand in a first tank for a period required to settle the suspended matter to the bottom of the tank as a sludge. Thereafter, the remaining liquid is again mixed with activated carbon and the mixture is transferred to a secondary settling tank, where it is permitted to stand for a period required for the remaining floating material to settle as sludge and for adsorption of sewage carbon as well as other impurities to take place. The sludge from the bottom of both tanks is removed and pyrolyzed to form activated carbon and ash, which is mixed with the incoming raw sewage and also mixed with the liquid being transferred from the primary to the secondary settling tank. It has been found that the output obtained by the pyrolysis process contains an excess amount of ash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 1976
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1976
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: John J. Kalvinskas, William A. Mueller
  • Patent number: 3976377
    Abstract: A method of obtaining a distribution profile of electrically active ions, of one type conductivity, implanted into a semiconductor, of an opposite type conductivity, is carried out with the aid of an integral target of the semiconductor. The integral target is formed with a plurality of doped regions of different background impurity concentrations, respectively, therein. Each of the operations of annealing, angle-lapping, and staining the doped regions to determine P-N junction depths therein is carried out on all of the doped regions simultaneously. An enlarged photograph of the stained angle-lapped portions of the doped regions provides directly a histogram of the distribution profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1975
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1976
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventors: Chung Pao Wu, Edward Curtis Douglas, Charles William Mueller
  • Patent number: 3974560
    Abstract: A planar bipolar transistor is made by the successive ion implantations of selected atoms into selected regions of a layer of doped single-crystal silicon on an insulating substrate, such as sapphire or spinel. The silicon layer is epitaxially grown, has a thickness of between 0.5 and 5 .mu.m, and is formed in two strata of different resistivities. A collector contact well is ion implanted into the upper stratum and annealed to diffuse it into the lower stratum of lower resistivity. The transistor is isolated, as a mesa, on the substrate; and an edge-guard region is ion implanted through the periphery of the mesa, except in the region of the emitter-base junction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1975
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1976
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventors: Charles William Mueller, Edward Curtis Douglas
  • Patent number: 3943555
    Abstract: A planar bipolar transistor is made by the successive ion implantations of selected atoms into selected regions of a layer of doped single-crystal silicon on an insulating substrate, such as sapphire or spinel. The silicon layer is epitaxially grown, has a thickness of between 0.5 and 5 .mu.m, and is formed in two strata of different resistivities. A collector contact well is ion implanted into the upper stratum and annealed to diffuse it into the lower stratum of lower resistivity. The transistor is isolated, as a mesa, on the substrate; and an edge-guard region is ion implanted through the periphery of the mesa, except in the region of the emitter-base junction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 1974
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1976
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventors: Charles William Mueller, Edward Curtis Douglas
  • Patent number: 3933530
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a semiconductor device, such as an insulated-gate-field-effect-transistor (IGFET), is simultaneously radiation hardened with Al ions and its threshold voltage stabilized with halide ions, such as Cl ions, by bombarding a silicon dioxide gate insulator of the device with molecular ions of an aluminum halide, such as AlCl.sub.2 .sup.+ ions. In another embodiment, a surface (target) of silicon is bombarded with molecular AlCl.sub.2 .sup.+ ions to ion implant separate Al ions and Cl ions. There, an oxide layer subsequently thermally grown on the bombarded surface includes the Al ions and the Cl ions, and the oxide layer is radiation hardened and gettered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1975
    Date of Patent: January 20, 1976
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventors: Charles William Mueller, Edward Curtis Douglas, Chung Pao Wu