Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7340387 | Control rod driving simulator for verification of control rod driving mechanism control system of atomic power plant A control rod driving simulator has a control rod driving unit having a plurality of coil members vertically mounted therein, a control rod mounted vertically movably through the centers of the coil members, a cart having a reserve tank storing cooling water, a cool... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7239683 | Fuel assembly nozzleless handling tool and method A device and method to move a fuel assembly of a nuclear reactor, wherein the device eliminates the potential for dropping the fuel assembly due to stress corrosion cracking of the upper guide thimble sleeves that attach the top nozzle to guide thimbles. ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7177383 | Method and system for safety regulation in nuclear power regulating systems A system and method for monitoring rod moving coils in nuclear power system. The system ensures that these coils are each functioning properly, and thus prevent movement of the other coils when a dysfunctional coil is detected. The method for accomplishing this moni... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7139352 | Reactivity control rod for core A reactivity control rod adapted to be used in a reactor core of a fast reactor and disposed at a substantially central portion of the reactor core for controlling a reactivity therein. The reactivity control rod includes a wrapper tube surrounded by a plurality of ... | 11/21/2006 |
| 7107287 | Method, system and storage medium for automated independent technical review An exemplary embodiment is a method and system for performing an automated independent technical review. The method includes receiving an assay result of a radioactive waste container, determining whether the assay result is within a predetermined parameter, determi... | 09/12/2006 |
| 6278757 | Fuel assembly and nuclear reactor A resistance member (e.g., fuel holding portion of the lower tie plate) is provided at the lower end of the fuel assembly. Provision is made of a coolant ascending path in which said water rods have coolant inlet ports that are open in a region lower than... | 08/21/2001 |
| 6026136 | Seed-blanket reactors Seed-blanket type nuclear reactor cores are employed to burn thorium fuel with conventional reactor fuels, including nonproliferative enriched uranium, and weapons or reactor grade plutonium. In a first embodiment, the core is completely nonproliferative ... | 02/15/2000 |
| 5386439 | Spectral shift nuclear reactor with improved efficiency During operation of a light water moderated and cooled nuclear reactor, rods varying the neutron energy spectrum are introduced into the core of the reactor in the course of a first phase of the cycle in order to reduce the ratio of the volume of moderato... | 01/31/1995 |
| 5200138 | Spectral shift-producing subassembly for use in a nuclear fuel assembly A spectral shift-producing subassembly is composed of a plurality of sealed empty water displacement rodlets incorporating a spectral shift-producing capability. Each of the rodlets includes an elongated tube sealed at its opposite ends and having an axia... | 04/06/1993 |
| 5192496 | Fuel assembly and upper tie plate thereof The fuel assembly has fuel arrangement of a square lattice of 10 lines by 10 rows. Four water rods having a large diameter are arranged in central region of horizontal cross section wherein arrangement of 12 fuel rods is possible. The four water rods havi... | 03/09/1993 |
| 5185120 | Liquid affected spectral shift reactor A method for affecting neutron spectral shift in a reactor core includes providing a liquid poison in a hollow control blade extending into the core, displacing the liquid poison with a first fluid for obtaining a hard neutron spectra during a beginning i... | 02/09/1993 |
| 5167906 | Apparatus for increasing fuel efficiency in nuclear reactors An apparatus for achieving increased fuel efficiency in a nuclear reactor wherein spectral shift is utilized to adjust for excess reactivity. This feature is achieved by stationary displacer rods within the fluid moderator of the reactor, with these stati... | 12/01/1992 |
| 5124113 | Nuclear reactor with improved efficiency The invention relates to a nuclear reactor with improved efficiency. The nuclear reactor comprises a massive partition (18) of material reflecting high energy neutrons at the circumference of the core (7) of the reactor, two layers (19 and 20) of material abso... | 06/23/1992 |
| 5100609 | Enhancing load-following and/or spectral shift capability in single-sparger natural circulation boiling water reactors The present invention discloses an improved methodology for achieving the desirable feature of recirculation flow control in a sparger-type natural-circulation BWR, enabling reactors utilzing the method to perform in load-following and/or spectral shift m... | 03/31/1992 |
| 5075069 | Method and apparatus for increasing fuel efficiency in nuclear reactors A method and apparatus for achieving increased fuel efficiency in a nuclear reactor wherein spectral shift is utilized to adjust for excess reactivity. This feature is achieved by stationary displacer rods within the fluid moderator of the reactor, with t... | 12/24/1991 |
| 5072387 | Method for determining a transit time for a radioactive tracer An improved method for deteriming the transit time of a radioactive tracer for steam injection profiles in steam injection wells is disclosed. Radiation decay data is collected at two detectors at different depths. The data is then transformed into a new ... | 12/10/1991 |
| 4832899 | Mechanical spectral shift reactor The mechanical spectral shift reactor comprises a reactive core having fuel assemblies accommodating both water displacer elements and control rods for selectively changing the volume of water-moderator in the core. The fuel assemblies are arranged in alt... | 05/23/1989 |
| 4826647 | Spectral shift reactor A mechanical spectral shift reactor comprises apparatus for inserting and withdrawing water displacer elements having differing neutron absorbing capabilities for selectively changing the water-moderator volume in the core thereby changing the reactivity ... | 05/02/1989 |
| 4770840 | Spectral shift light water nuclear reactor For operating a PWR with spectral shift during all combustion cycles and with undermoderation during some cycles only, the reactor structure is designed for receiving either one of two types of fuel assemblies, having the same geometry. All fuel assemblie... | 09/13/1988 |
| 4762661 | Upper end piece for nuclear fuel assemblies A nuclear fuel assembly for a spectral shift reactor has an upper end piece and a lower end piece secured to a structural element belonging to the upper end piece by guide tubes arranged for receiving a cluster of control elements. The upper end piece fur... | 08/09/1988 |
| 4755346 | Device for displacing and latching a cluster of control elements in a nuclear reactor The device comprises a vertical shaft (36) movable along its axis under the action of a fluid pressure difference and having means for supporting at least one head (28) of the cluster and a first resilient finger (42) for securing and retaining the head o... | 07/05/1988 |
| 4728480 | Apparatus and method for refurbishing a spectral shift mechanism for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly A fuel assembly in a nuclear reactor has a spectral shift apparatus including a plurality of displacer rods for controlling reactivity in the assembly and an apparatus for refurbishing the displacer rods for reuse. Each displacer rod contains a quantity o... | 03/01/1988 |
| 4717527 | Fuel assembly A fuel assembly for a pressurized water nuclear reactor incorporating fluid moderator spectral shift control means. During the first part of the fuel cycle when there is excess reactivity, neutron moderation may be decreased by replacing a portion of the ... | 01/05/1988 |
| 4716016 | Universal fuel assembly construction for a nuclear reactor The universal fuel assembly has a plurality of elongated corner posts extending longitudinally between and releasably and rigidly interconnecting top and bottom nozzles so as to form a rigid structural skeleton of the fuel assembly. Additionally, a plural... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4716008 | Device for control of the core of a nuclear reactor A control device for a PWR includes a plurality of clusters arranged for insertion into and removal from the core and each having a plurality of rods connected to a common carrier vertically slidable in a stationary guide structure and connectable to a dr... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4716006 | Spectral shift reactor control method A method of operating a pressurized water nuclear reactor comprising determining the present core power and reactivity levels and predicting the change in such levels due to displacer rod movements. Groups or single clusters of displacer rods can be inser... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4716007 | Spectral shift reactor A mechanical spectral shift reactor comprises apparatus for inserting and withdrawing water displacer elements having differing neutron absorbing capabilities for selectively changing the water-moderator volume in the core thereby changing the reactivity ... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4714582 | Actuating device for linearly moving a cluster of control elements in a nuclear reactor A device for moving a cluster of nuclear reactor control elements, more especially usable for changing the moderation rate of a nuclear reactor, comprising a vertical shaft having nippers cooperating with grabs integral with sub-clusters. Each grab compri... | 12/22/1987 |
| 4710340 | Mechanical spectral shift reactor The mechanical spectral shift reactor provides a method and apparatus for controlling a nuclear reactor comprising inserting a plurality of reactor coolant displacer members into the reactor at the beginning of the core life. The displacer members reduce ... | 12/01/1987 |
| 4708842 | Fluid moderator control system fuel assembly seal connector Apparatus comprising a seal connector is disclosed for sealingly connecting flow channels in the core support plate with flow channels in fuel assemblies for use in a spectral shift pressurized water nuclear reactor. Spectral shift is obtained by displaci... | 11/24/1987 |
| 4693862 | Gas displacement spectral shift reactor and control method A method and apparatus for extending the life of a core of a water moderated nuclear reactor by spectral shift comprising the displacement of a portion of the moderator in the core by a gas having a low neutron cross-section during the initial stage of th... | 09/15/1987 |
| 4692296 | Mechanical spectral shift reactor The mechanical spectral shift reactor comprises apparatus for inserting and withdrawing water displacer elements from the reactor core for selectively changing the water-moderator volume in the core thereby changing the reactivity of the core. The apparat... | 09/08/1987 |
| 4687627 | Water displacer rod with hollow annular support pellets having sealed internal voids An improved water displacer rod includes an elongated hollow thin-walled tube with a pair of end plugs attached to opposite ends of the tube to hermetically seal the tube and a plurality of support pellets disposed in a stacked relationship within the tub... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4687620 | Spectral shift reactor control method A method of operating a pressurized water nuclear reactor comprising determining the present core power and reactivity levels and predicting the change in such levels due to displacer rod movements. Groups or single clusters of displacer rods can be inser... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4687621 | Nuclear fuel assembly with improved spectral shift-producing rods An improved spectral shift-producing rod in a fuel assembly of a nuclear reactor has an elongated hollow tubular body with a pair of end plugs attached to its opposite ends to hermetically seal the rod. A burnable poison material is contained in the hollo... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4683103 | Spectral shift apparatus and method for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly A fuel assembly in a nuclear reactor has a spectral shift apparatus including a plurality of displacer rods for controlling reactivity in the assembly and an apparatus for refurbishing the displacer rods for reuse. Each displacer rod contains a quantity o... | 07/28/1987 |
| 4683102 | Device for operating a cluster of neutron absorber elements in a pressurized water nuclear reactor Device for operating a cluster of neutron absorber elements in a pressurized water nuclear reactor, comprising two coaxial control shafts (2, 3), the central shaft (3) being rigidly joined to the cluster of absorber elements. A widened part (22) of this s... | 07/28/1987 |
| 4681728 | Nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor including, in the upper internals, a guide structure capable of effectively accommodating and guiding without binding the large number of neutron-absorber rods included in modern reactors of improved efficiency. The neutron-absorber rods... | 07/21/1987 |
| 4666653 | Fuel assembly with cooled guide tubes for a nuclear reactor The invention relates to a fuel assembly with cooled guide tubes for a nuclear reactor. It consists of a bundle of parallel fuel tubes (1) held in a structure comprising spacer grids, guide tubes (6) and end plates. At least a part of the guide tubes (10)... | 05/19/1987 |
| 4664878 | Light water moderator filled rod for a nuclear reactor A non-boron moderator filled rod for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly has a tubular body with a pair of end plugs sealing the opposite ends thereof and defining a chamber within the body. A liquid moderator, such as light water, is contained witin the cham... | 05/12/1987 |
