Patents by Inventor William R. Crain, Jr.

William R. Crain, Jr. 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: 8963553
    Abstract: A charge detection device includes a dielectric member, a base plate coupled to the dielectric member, and a processing unit coupled to the plate. The dielectric member is representative of at least one material on a location of a vessel and the dielectric member induces an electrostatic potential energy when charged. The plate channels the induced energy through at least a portion of the device. The plate further receives at least one signal that is representative of an electrostatic discharge from a different location of the vessel. The processing unit generates at least one first output of a measurement for the induced energy. The processing unit further generates at least one second output of the presence of the electrostatic discharge to facilitate a correlation between the first and second outputs such that a user is enabled to determine the presence of at least one hazardous charging condition on the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: The Aerospace Corporation
    Inventors: William R. Crain, Jr., Wayne E. Kooker, Dan J. Mabry, Susan Crain, James L. Roeder, Joseph F. Fennell, Joseph E. Mazur
  • Publication number: 20140118008
    Abstract: A charge detection device includes a dielectric member, a base plate coupled to the dielectric member, and a processing unit coupled to the plate. The dielectric member is representative of at least one material on a location of a vessel and the dielectric member induces an electrostatic potential energy when charged. The plate channels the induced energy through at least a portion of the device. The plate further receives at least one signal that is representative of an electrostatic discharge from a different location of the vessel. The processing unit generates at least one first output of a measurement for the induced energy. The processing unit further generates at least one second output of the presence of the electrostatic discharge to facilitate a correlation between the first and second outputs such that a user is enabled to determine the presence of at least one hazardous charging condition on the vessel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2012
    Publication date: May 1, 2014
    Applicant: THE AEROSPACE CORPORATION
    Inventors: William R. Crain, Jr., Wayne E. Kooker, Dan J. Mabry, Susan Crain, James L. Roeder, Joseph F. Fennell, Joseph E. Mazur
  • Patent number: 7223979
    Abstract: An improved radiation dosimeter device in an improved radiation dosimeter system provides a DC analog output voltage that is proportional to the total ionizing dose accumulated as a function of time at the location of the dosimeter in a host spacecraft, so as to operate in a system bus voltage range common to spacecraft systems with the output being compatible with conventional spacecraft analog inputs, while the total dose is measured precisely by continually monitoring the energy deposited in a silicon test mass accumulating charge including charge contribution prior to radiation threshold detection for improved measurement of the total accumulated charge with the dosimeters being daisy-chained and distributed about the spacecraft for providing a spacecraft dose profile about the spacecraft using the improved radiation dosimeter system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: The Aerospace Corporation
    Inventors: William R. Crain, Jr., Dan J. Mabry, John Bernard Blake, Norman Katz
  • Patent number: 7157715
    Abstract: An improved radiation dosimeter device in an improved radiation dosimeter system provides a DC analog output voltage that is proportional to the total ionizing dose accumulated as a function of time at the location of the dosimeter in a host spacecraft, so as to operate in a system bus voltage range common to spacecraft systems with the output being compatible with conventional spacecraft analog inputs, while the total dose is measured precisely by continually monitoring the energy deposited in a silicon test mass accumulating charge including charge contribution prior to radiation threshold detection for improved measurement of the total accumulated charge with the dosimeters being daisy-chained and distributed about the spacecraft for providing a spacecraft dose profile about the spacecraft using the improved radiation dosimeter system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: The Aerospace Corporation
    Inventors: William R. Crain, Jr., Dan J. Mabry, John Bernard Blake, Norman Katz