Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130022163 | ENVIRONMENTALLY ROBUST ELECTROMAGNETS AND ELECTRIC MOTORS EMPLOYING SAME FOR USE IN NUCLEAR REACTORS - An electromagnet comprises a plurality of nested freestanding electrically insulating former layers, and electrically conductive wire wrapped around the outsides of the freestanding electrically insulating former layers to define a multilayer electrical coil in which adjacent layers of the multilayer electrical coil are spaced apart by intervening freestanding electrically insulating former layers. Electrically energizing the multilayer electrical coil generates a magnetic field inside the multilayer electrical coil. In some embodiments the electrically conductive wire is bare wire not having electrical insulation. In some embodiments the former layers comprise a ceramic material. In some such embodiments the electromagnet further comprises a ferromagnetic core disposed inside the multilayer electrical coil. An electric motor employing such an electromagnet as a stator pole is also disclosed. Control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) and coolant pump embodiments are also disclosed employing such a motor, for use in a nuclear reactor. | 01-24-2013 |
20130270929 | POSITIONAL ENCODER AND CONTROL ROD POSITION INDICATOR FOR NUCLEAR REACTOR USING SAME - A cam is immersed in water at an elevated temperature and/or pressure. A reciprocating cam follower also immersed in the water contacts a surface of the cam. The cam follower includes a permanent magnet. An electrically conductive coil is magnetically coupled with the permanent magnet such that movement of the cam follower induces an electrical signal in the electrically conductive coil. A sealed housing also immersed in the water contains the electrically conductive coil and seals it from contact with the water. Leads of the coil are electrically accessible from outside the sealed housing and from outside the water. Alternatively, the cam includes magnetic inserts, the cam follower is replaced by a sensor arm of magnetic material, and the sensor arm and/or the inserts are magnetized whereby rotation of the rotary element causes time modulation of the magnetic coupling and induces coil voltage. | 10-17-2013 |
20140270036 | CRDM WITH SEPARATE SCRAM LATCH ENGAGMENT AND LOCKING - A control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) configured to latch onto the lifting rod of a control rod assembly and including separate latch engagement and latch holding mechanisms. A CRDM configured to latch onto the lifting rod of a control rod assembly and including a four-bar linkage closing the latch, wherein the four-bar linkage biases the latch closed under force of gravity. | 09-18-2014 |
20140301520 | CRDM WITH SEPARATE SCRAM LATCH ENGAGMENT AND LOCKING - A control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) configured to latch onto the lifting rod of a control rod assembly and including separate latch engagement and latch holding mechanisms. A CRDM configured to latch onto the lifting rod of a control rod assembly and including a four-bar linkage closing the latch, wherein the four-bar linkage biases the latch closed under force of gravity. | 10-09-2014 |
20140334586 | CRDM DESIGNS WITH SEPARATE SCRAM LATCH ENGAGMENT AND LOCKING - A control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) includes a lifting rod supporting a control rod and a holding mechanism comprising an electromagnetic circuit with magnetic poles drawn together when the electromagnetic circuit is energized to hold the lifting rod. The hold is released upon de-energizing the electromagnetic circuit. A translation mechanism linearly translates the lifting rod held by the holding mechanism. The holding mechanism may include a non-magnetic spacer between the magnetic poles that defines a gap between the drawn together magnetic poles. The translation mechanism may include latches configured to engage an upper end of the lifting rod, and the holding mechanism draws the magnetic poles together to hold the latches engaged with the upper end of the lifting rod. A four-bar cam assembly may be used to cam the latches closed in response to a vertical actuation force applied to the cam bars. | 11-13-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090041936 | COMPOSITE REFLECTIVE BARRIER - A coated, low-emissivity aluminum film is manufactured entirely in vacuum by depositing an aluminum layer over a substrate and then immediately coating the metal layer with a very thin protective polymeric layer. The thickness of this coating is selected to minimize absorption in the 3-15 micron wavelength. In vacuum, the metal layer is coated substantially in the absence of moisture, thereby preventing the formation of hydrated oxides that promote corrosion. The aluminum layer is preferably also passivated by in-line exposure to a plasma gas containing an oxygen-bearing component. A leveling polymeric layer may also be deposited between relatively rough substrates and the aluminum layer in order to improve the reflectivity of the resulting structures. | 02-12-2009 |
20110262699 | LOW-EMISSIVITY STRUCTURES - A multilayer radiant-barrier structure is formed on one or both sides of a substrate that can be attached to an insulating layer to produce a reflective insulating material. The metallized layer is protected from environmental degradation without interfering with flammability properties that are critical for radiant and reflective insulation materials used in housing applications. The metal layer is modified to insulate enclosures without blocking cellular communications and the protective functional layer in modified to minimize emissivity, create a hydrophobic and/or oleophobic surface, and/or prevent mold, fungi and bacteria growth. Solutions are provided to solve occupational-hazard problems associated with the use of these materials in enclosures that include power wires. | 10-27-2011 |
20120003449 | NANO-STRUCTURED DIELECTRIC COMPOSITE - A multilayer dielectric structure is formed by vacuum depositing two-dimensional matrices of nanoparticles embedded in polymer dielectric layers that are thicker than the effective diameter of the nanoparticles, so as to produce a void-free, structured, three-dimensional lattice of nanoparticles in a polymeric dielectric material. As a result of the continuous, repeated, and controlled deposition process, each two-dimensional matrix of nanoparticles consists of a layer of uniformly distributed particles embedded in polymer and separated from adjacent matrix layers by continuous polymer dielectric layers, thus forming a precise three-dimensional nanoparticle matrix defined by the size and density of the nanoparticles in each matrix layer and by the thickness of the polymer layers between them. The resulting structured nanodielectric exhibits very high values of dielectric constant as well as high dielectric strength. | 01-05-2012 |
20120184165 | SELF-ASSEMBLED FUNCTIONAL LAYERS IN MULTILAYER STRUCTURES - Functionalized multilayer structures are manufactured by a process whereby a substrate material is treated with a reactive-gas plasma to form an activated layer on the surface thereof, and then by depositing a liquid functional monomer on the activated layer to form a self-assembled functional layer. Any excess liquid monomer must be allowed to re-evaporate in order to obtain optimal functionality on the surface of the resulting structure. The deposition of the liquid layer is preferably carried out with high kinetic energy to ensure complete penetration of the monomer throughout the body of the substrate. For particular applications, prior to formation of the reactive layer the substrate may be coated with a high glass-transition temperature polymer or a metallic layer. | 07-19-2012 |
20120270020 | POLYMER-BASED OPTICALLY VARIABLE DEVICES - A polymer-based optically-variable device for security applications has a high degree of color uniformity over the device area. The uniformity of thickness of the structure used in such devices is optimized by controlling previously neglected process parameters such as the temperature distribution of the deposition nozzle, the substrate and the deposition drum, their emissivities, the micro-roughness of the substrate, and the rate of monomer re-evaporation. Re-evaporation is minimized by initiating radiation-curing within two seconds of monomer deposition. The equipment is carefully monitored to eliminate all sources of emissivity non-homogeneities, such as surface blemishes in the surface areas exposed to the substrate. Substrates with haziness less than 5% and gloss greater than 90% are preferred. As a result, a maximum thickness variation of less than 5% over the transmissive layer of the optically variable device is found to ensure that no appreciable color-shift variation is visible to the naked eye. | 10-25-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080313011 | Online marketing platform - Online marketing platforms are disclosed that harness user generated content to encourage the viral sharing and tracking of online marketing campaigns. One embodiment includes a campaign hosting system including a database connected to a network, a campaign creation device connected to the network and a plurality of user devices connected to the network. In addition, the campaign creation device is configured to provide campaign information to the campaign hosting system via the network, the campaign hosting system is configured to automatically create an online campaign that is customized according to the campaign information and to store the campaign as one of a plurality of online campaigns in the database, at least one of the user devices is configured to provide profile information to the campaign hosting system via the network, the campaign hosting system is configured to automatically create a user profile using the profile information and to store the user profile as one of a plurality of user profiles in the database, each user device is configured to engage with the online campaign by communicating with the campaign hosting system via the network and each user device is configured to access the user profile by communicating with the campaign hosting system via the network. | 12-18-2008 |
20080313040 | Content distribution system including cost-per-engagement based advertising - Content distribution systems that support Cost-Per-Engagement (CPE) based advertising are disclosed. One embodiment includes a server connected to a network and a plurality of user computers connected to the network. In addition, the server is configured to host an interactive web site that enables the uploading of pieces of content in response to the online marketing campaign and the distribution of pieces of uploaded content, each user computer is configured to interact with the web site, the server is configured to track the number of pieces of content uploaded to the website in response to the online marketing campaign, the number of pieces of uploaded content distributed to user computers and the number of other interactions between the user computers and the website, and the server is configured to determine a cost to charge for hosting the marketing campaign based upon at least the number of pieces of content uploaded to the website in response to the online marketing campaign, the number of pieces of uploaded content distributed to user computers and the number of other interactions between the user computers and the website. | 12-18-2008 |
20090271730 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONDUCTING ONLINE CAMPAIGNS - Systems and methods for generating displays showing interactions with a piece of content accessible via a number of unrelated websites are described. One embodiment of the invention includes storing a piece of content within a database and providing access to the piece of content via a website hosted by a server associated with the database, receiving a request from a user to propagate the piece of content to a 3 | 10-29-2009 |
20100094849 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREATING USER GENERATED CONTENT INCORPORATING CONTENT FROM A CONTENT CATALOG - Systems and methods for creating user generated content incorporating content from a content catalog are described. One embodiment of the invention includes a user generated content creation system, which includes a database, and is connected to a network, and a plurality of user devices that are connected to the network. In addition, the database contains a content catalog, the user generated content creation system is configured to dynamically create a user interface accessible via a user device, where the user interface enables a user device to create user generated content incorporating at least one piece of content from the content catalog, the user generated content creation system is configured to store a file containing user generated content created via the user interface on a storage device, and the user generated content creation system is configured to record information concerning content from the content catalog incorporated within the stored user generated content. | 04-15-2010 |