Did You Know...
...Chester Carlson was a patent agent who tired of having to make multiple copies of patent applications using the only duplication method available at the time: carbon paper. In 1959 he came up with a new copying system and took it to IBM for evaluation. The "experts" at IBM determined potential sales to be only 5,000 units because people wouldn't want to use a bulky machine when they had carbon paper. Carlson's invention was the xerography process, the company founded on the system is Xerox.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6639961 | Nuclear fuel pellet loading method and machine for same An automated machine for loading nuclear reactor fuel, BP, or APSR pellets from small trays having rows of pellets into reactor rods of long length wherein the pellets are individually counted and loaded into rows of a loading tray according to the desire... | 10/28/2003 |
| 6619712 | Refueling mast retaining tool for a nuclear reactor A retaining tool for a telescoping refueling arm in a nuclear reactor, the retaining tool includes a plurality of support members coupled to a plurality of plates. The retaining tool includes a first plate having a first and a second side, a second plate ... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6459749 | Multi-functional head for spent nuclear fuel rod extraction A fuel rod extracting machine which can extract the fuel rods one by one from a Korean type 17×17 Light Water Reactor fuel assembly comprises a multi-functional rotary head including a camera for measuring the positions of the fuel rods and securing nuts... | 10/01/2002 |
| 6186568 | Core plate lifting fixture and related process A lifting fixture includes a housing; a plurality of jaws movable radially in and out of the housing to secure the fixture to a component to be lifted; at least one lifting bail extending from on end of the housing; and a screw mechanism operatively conne... | 02/13/2001 |
| 5825837 | Extraction tool for partial length fuel rods in nuclear fuel assemblies An extraction tool for removing a partial length fuel rod from a fuel bundle assembly, wherein the partial length fuel rod has an upper end plug, the tool comprising an extension rod having a pair of gripper jaws mounted at one end thereof, the gripper ja... | 10/20/1998 |
| 5284374 | Apparatus for remotely handling components The inventive apparatus for remotely handling bar-like components which define a longitudinal direction includes a gripper mechanism for gripping the component including first and second gripper members longitudinally fixedly spaced from each other and or... | 02/08/1994 |
| 5131705 | Device for remote-controlled grasping and coupling Apparatus for the remote grasping and safe transporting of an article and r remote coupling of an electrical plug connection comprises a first adapter device which is suitable for connection to a crane block and includes at least one load latch, adapted t... | 07/21/1992 |
| 5128095 | Grab for lifting and displacing an object between a position submerged in a hot liquid, such as metal, and a position emerged in gas The grab (1) comprises a tubular body (2) connected to a lifting means and a slide (3) mounted axially movably in the tubular body (2), so as to ensure the actuation of gripping pawls (20) carried by the tubular body (2). The tubular body (2) has a bell-s... | 07/07/1992 |
| 5023046 | Drive unit for inspecting nuclear fuel rods A drive unit for gripping and rotating a fuel rod during inspection of the fuel rod. A housing has a drive motor mounted at its first end with a spindle rotatably mounted in the housing and directly coupled to the drive motor. A recess at one end of the s... | 06/11/1991 |
| 5011206 | Device for extracting foreign pieces or particles from fuel assemblies of a nuclear reactor The device comprises a vertical pole (11) having a manipulating handle (14) at its upper end and a gripper (22) fastened to one end of a gripper support (20) mounted pivotally about a horizontal axis (21) at the end of the pole (11). Springs (25, 29) make... | 04/30/1991 |
| 4948187 | Crane operated lifting apparatus The crane operated lifting apparatus for safely gripping and holding obje (11) includes a plurality of movable pawls (3) which enter into a groove, aperture, or bore (14) of an object (11) which is to be transported. To move the pawls (3), a driving memb... | 08/14/1990 |
| 4900505 | Spent fuel storage rack A spent fuel rack for storing fresh fuel assemblies, or spent fuel assemblies removed from a nuclear reactor, which includes a base plate having multiple cells of modular construction welded at their bottom ends to the plate. The cells are formed of L-sha... | 02/13/1990 |
| 4886635 | Gripping tool for a device for the remote-controlled removal of samples from a container, in particular from a pressure vessel of a reactor A gripping tool for a device for the remote-controlled removal of samples in housings with heads from a container includes a mast having a first coupling part. A second coupling part is opposite and associated with the first coupling part. A guide bar ela... | 12/12/1989 |
| 4885123 | Apparatus for handling constituent elements of reactor core The present invention provides an apparatus for handling core constituent elements of a reactor that comprises a core having as core constituent elements control rod assemblies each containing a control rod and fuel assemblies each containing nuclear fuel... | 12/05/1989 |
| 4863672 | Absorber rod An absorber rod for nuclear reactors with a pile of spherical fuel elements, which is inserted directly into the pile, in order to affect the prevailing neutron flux by absorber material located in an annular gap between two concentric cylindrical rod ele... | 09/05/1989 |
| 4863204 | Article handling tool A tool for gripping a remotely located article includes an elongated tubular housing, a tool actuating assembly connected to one end of the housing, and a jaw support member connected to the other end of the housing. A first jaw member having a gripping s... | 09/05/1989 |
| 4858306 | Apparatus for pulling a plurality of fuel rods from a fuel element The invention is directed to an apparatus for pulling a plurality of fuel ds out of a fuel element structure and has a gripping device which is capable of clamping the fuel rods. To reliably pull the fuel rods from an irradiated nuclear reactor fuel eleme... | 08/22/1989 |
| 4834934 | Thimble grip fuel assembly handling tool A thimble grip fuel assembly handling tool (20) for transporting fully loaded fuel assemblies (52) is disclosed. The tool (20) comprises an elongated mast (23) slidingly disposed within an elongated cylinder (113), the cylinder being of a length less than... | 05/30/1989 |
| 4797248 | Gripping apparatus for a group of rods of nuclear fuel assembly During the dismantling of a nuclear reactor fuel assembly, there is a simultaneous gripping of all the rods (a) arranged in square grid form in said assembly using a device (10) which effects a clamping or locking at the end of the rows of rods. For this ... | 01/10/1989 |
| 4772446 | Gripper assembly for inserting and removing burnable absorber rods and thimble plugs in a nuclear reactor fuel assembly Apparatus for releasably engaging an elongated member that is releasably connected to the top nozzle of a nuclear reactor fuel assembly. The top nozzle has an adapter plate disposed at its lower end having at least one passageway therethrough through whic... | 09/20/1988 |
| 4772056 | Static latching arrangement and method A latching assembly for use in latching a cable to and unlatching it from a given object in order to move an object from one location to another is disclosed herein. This assembly includes a weighted sphere mounted to one end of a cable so as to rotate ab... | 09/20/1988 |
| 4762664 | Method and apparatus for compacting spent nuclear reactor fuel rods A method and apparatus for withdrawing spent fuel rods from a nuclear fuel rod assembly into a different nuclear fuel rod container wherein the spent fuel rods have a higher fuel rod density, whereby a greater number of spent fuel rods can be stored in a ... | 08/09/1988 |
| 4759903 | Apparatus for automatically starting the drop of an absorbing member into a nuclear reactor core In order to automatically initiate without any intermediate instrumentation chain the drop of absorbing members into the core of a nuclear reactor, in the of a drop in the cooling liquid level to below a given threshold and, optionally, a rise in the pres... | 07/26/1988 |
| 4747997 | Nuclear fuel rod loader for pulling fuel rods into a fuel assembly skeleton A nuclear fuel rod loader for pulling fuel rods into a fuel assembly skeleton has a rod gripper with slots defining fingers. The rod gripper passes through the grids of the skeleton on its way to a fuel rod magazine. An inner shaft of the rod gripper spre... | 05/31/1988 |
| 4744940 | Apparatus for compacting nuclear reactor fuel rods An apparatus for withdrawing spent fuel rods from a nuclear fuel rod assembly into a different nuclear fuel rod container wherein the spent fuel rods have a higher fuel rod density, whereby a greater number of spent fuel rods can be stored in a water-stor... | 05/17/1988 |
| 4735766 | Method and apparatus for testing vertically extending fuel rods of water-cooled nuclear reactors which are combined in a fuel rod cluster A method for testing vertically disposed fuel rods combined in fuel rod clusters or fuel assemblies in rack positions of a fuel assembly rack of a water-cooled nuclear reactor includes inserting a holding device into first and second unoccupied rack posit... | 04/05/1988 |
| 4734251 | Multi-gripper handling apparatus with individual force limiter A handling apparatus which is intended primarily for operations involving pulling and pushing nuclear fuel rods which are carried out when dismantling assemblies, comprising a handling head in which there are provided a plurality of cylinders (6) in which... | 03/29/1988 |
| 4728217 | Gripper apparatus and method A gripper with leaf springs having fingers near their ends to engage and disengage work. The springs are respectively connected in an annular array to the end of a cylindrical support. The springs are diverged or expanded to cause the fingers to engage th... | 03/01/1988 |
| 4721597 | Method and apparatus for compacting spent nuclear reactor fuel rods A method and apparatus for withdrawing spent fuel rods from a nuclear fuel rod assembly into a different nuclear fuel rod container wherein the spent fuel rods have a higher fuel rod density, whereby a greater number of spent fuel rods can be stored in a ... | 01/26/1988 |
| 4716018 | End plug with truncated tapered leading end configuration An improved end plug for attachment on an end of a cladding tube of a nuclear fuel rod facilitates using a gripper tool for loading the fuel rod into a nuclear fuel assembly. The end plug includes an inner portion adapted to be inserted into the end of th... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4714583 | Method and apparatus for compacting spent nuclear reactor fuel rods A method and apparatus for withdrawing spent fuel rods from a nuclear fuel rod assembly into a different nuclear fuel rod container wherein the spent fuel rods have a higher fuel rod density, whereby a greater number of spent fuel rods can be stored in a ... | 12/22/1987 |
| 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 |
| 4713210 | Control rod driveline and grapple A control rod driveline and grapple is disclosed for placement between a control rod drive and a nuclear reactor control rod containing poison for parasitic neutron absorption required for reactor shutdown. The control rod is provided with an enlarged cyl... | 12/15/1987 |
| 4699750 | Apparatus for storage, retrieval and deployment of drag gages used in fuel assembly inspection In a system for inspecting fuel assembly guide thimbles, an apparatus for handling drag gages insertable within the guide thimbles includes a spider rotatably mounted to an upright support structure and supporting drag gages in a series of angularly-displ... | 10/13/1987 |
| 4687245 | Tool for pulling multiple rods from a nuclear fuel assembly A tool (78) for grasping a multiplicity of nuclear fuel rods (42) to remove them from a nuclear fuel assembly (32) and relocate them, preferably, into a fuel consolidation device (86). The tool has a gripper head (200) reciprocably guided within a shroud ... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4673545 | Remotely controlled apparatus for removing clips from irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies Apparatus for removing irradiated clips from an irradiated fuel assembly comprises a remotely operated tool including hydraulic or pneumatic jaws operable for withdrawing a clip from fuel rods, while supporting the portions of the fuel rods both above and... | 06/16/1987 |
| 4666658 | Refueling of nuclear reactors During unrodded refueling, the drive rods and the control rods and coolant-displacement rods, attached to the drive rods, are removed from a fuel assembly, preliminary to the transfer of the fuel assembly, and are reinserted in the reactor after a replace... | 05/19/1987 |
| 4663114 | Apparatus for handling nuclear fuel assemblies and assembly adapted to such an apparatus The invention relates to an apparatus for handling nuclear fuel assemblies, as well as to an assembly for use with such an apparatus. The apparatus comprises a vertically axed guide tube in which is displaced a grapnel, suspended on a flexible connection such ... | 05/05/1987 |
| 4651400 | Multiple fuel rod gripper Both an apparatus and a process for removing fuel rods from spent fuel assemblies is disclosed herein. The apparatus of the invention includes a locking plate having a plurality of tapered holes registrable with the rods of a fuel rod assembly, a pluralit... | 03/24/1987 |
| 4645256 | Gravity actuated gripper A gravity actuated gripper includes two concentrically interleaved shells ich are displaceable with respect to one another in two positions for gripping molds containing radioactive material, with the fill opening or upper edge of the molds being provided... | 02/24/1987 |
