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...During the Civil War, the Confederacy established its own Patent Office which issued 266 patents, a third of which concerned implements of war.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7204123 | Accuracy enhancement of a sensor during an anomalous event A method for enhancing the accuracy of a sensor is provided. The method includes determining a measure of the output of the sensor, determining whether the measure falls outside of an acceptable range for the output of the sensor, and, when the measure falls outside... | 04/17/2007 |
| 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 |
| 7127330 | Business management system and method for a deregulated electric power market using consumer site anomaly detection A business management method for remote detection of anomalies with interaction between an electric distribution company and a plurality of customer energy consumers with respective electric metering systems, comprises the steps of: the consumers providing respectiv... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7117105 | Method and apparatus for ground fault protection A method and apparatus for monitoring a centrally controlled power distribution system is provided. The method includes sampling an electrical current flow in the centrally controlled power distribution system, transmitting the sampled current signals to a central c... | 10/03/2006 |
| 6862329 | In-cycle shuffle According to the method, a reactor core is shut down during the operation cycle. One or more fuel bundles of the reactor core are then moved to new positions within the reactor core to increase a total energy, output of the reactor core as compared to continuing ope... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6707870 | Method for determining friction forces occurring on an object moving in a guide on an inaccessible site With this method it is possible to evaluate opposing friction forces occurring after a certain operating time on a mobile object in a guide. The method consists of measuring the variations in the speed of movement of the mobile object, of calculating the theo... | 03/16/2004 |
| 6631176 | Fuel assembly A fuel assembly for a pressurized water reactor having control rod guide thimbles (5) each having a dashpot (12) for protecting against flexural deformation which may impair insatiability of a control rod. The fuel assembly includes, a plurality of contro... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6574295 | Boiling water type nuclear reactor use control rod In order to provide a boiling water type nuclear reactor use control rod with a guide use roller which improves corrosive environment at a clearance in the guide use roller and suppresses a generation of stress corrosion cracking while maintaining sliding... | 06/03/2003 |
| 6553090 | Control system of nuclear power plant, and control method thereof A method of controlling a nuclear power plant includes determining a first maximum linear heat generation rate and a first minimum critical power ratio by a core monitoring system, and determining a second maximum linear heat generation rate and a second ... | 04/22/2003 |
| 6477218 | Control system of nuclear power plant, and control method thereof A control system, and a control method, of a nuclear power plant capable of easily executing automatic output regulation by an automatic power regulator system even when a lower-accuracy maximum linear heat generation rate and a lower-accuracy minimum cri... | 11/05/2002 |
| 6246741 | Fuel assembly A fuel assembly for a pressurized water reactor having control rod guide thimbles (5) each having a dashpot (12) for protecting against flexural deformation which may impair insertability of a control rod The fuel assembly includes, a plurality of control... | 06/12/2001 |
| 5978429 | Method and device for operating a reactor in an unstable state A transiently unstable state of a boiling-water reactor is damped by measuring the oscillating neutron flux and, after a first threshold value is exceeded over a plurality of oscillation periods, the rate of increase of the oscillation is determined. Depe... | 11/02/1999 |
| 5621776 | Fault-tolerant reactor protection system A reactor protection system having four divisions, with quad redundant sensors for each scram parameter providing input to four independent microprocessor-based electronic chassis. Each electronic chassis acquires the scram parameter data from its own sen... | 04/15/1997 |
| 5586156 | Reactor protection system with automatic self-testing and diagnostic A reactor protection system having four divisions, with quad redundant sensors for each scram parameter providing input to four independent microprocessor-based electronic chassis. Each electronic chassis acquires the scram parameter data from its own sen... | 12/17/1996 |
| 5581586 | Drive device for control rod drive mechanisms In a drive device of control rod drive mechanisms, a large number of control rod drive mechanisms are divided into a plurality of groups, and there are provided, for each group, a control rod changeover device, and an inverter power source and inverter co... | 12/03/1996 |
| 5517536 | Magnetic coupling device for control rod drive A control rod drive having a magnetic coupling device which eliminates the need for packing-type seal assemblies for preventing leakage from the reactor pressure vessel adjacent the spindle. The magnetic coupling device includes a driving rotor and a driv... | 05/14/1996 |
| 5373539 | Safety system grade apparatus and method for detecting a dropped control rod and malfunctioning exit thermocouples in a pressurized water reactor A safety system grade dropped rod detection system for a pressurized water reactor (PWR) utilizes core exit thermocouples arranged in multiple trains and hot and cold leg RTDs to generate a safety system grade rod stop signal. The system generates from th... | 12/13/1994 |
| 5200139 | Method and apparatus for protecting a nuclear reactor A temperature regulation system of a pressurized water nuclear reactor is inhibited when a combination of the nuclear and the axial power difference exceeds a predetermined inhibit threshold.... | 04/06/1993 |
| 5137682 | Antieject device for control members of nuclear reactors A nuclear reactor includes a pressure vessel enclosing a plenum, a core in the pressure vessel, a pressure-tight encapsulation in the pressure vessel communicating with the plenum, and control members passing through the encapsulation and having first and... | 08/11/1992 |
| 5131510 | Brake assembly for a control rod drive A brake assembly is disclosed for selectively preventing rotation of a shaft, such as a shaft used in a control rod drive for a nuclear reactor. The brake assembly includes a stationary base, a rotor disc fixedly connected to the shaft for rotation therew... | 07/21/1992 |
| 5102613 | Radial brake assembly for a control rod drive A radial brake assembly is disclosed for selectively preventing rotation of a shaft, such as a shaft used in a control rod drive for a nuclear reactor. The brake assembly includes a stationary housing, a rotor disc fixedly connected to the shaft for rotat... | 04/07/1992 |
| 5089211 | Control rod drive A drive for moving a control rod in a pressure vessel containing a pressurized fluid includes a spindle disposed solely within the pressure vessel, which spindle is effective for moving the control rod upon rotation thereof. A driven rotor is fixedly join... | 02/18/1992 |
| 5085823 | Latch assembly for a control rod drive A latch assembly is disclosed for selectively preventing rotation of a shaft, such as a shaft used in a control rod drive for a nuclear reactor. The latch assembly includes a stationary housing for receiving the shaft, and a gear fixedly joined to the sha... | 02/04/1992 |
| 5076994 | Lock assembly for a control rod drive A lock assembly is disclosed for selectively preventing rotation of a shaft, such as a shaft used in a control rod drive for a nuclear reactor. The lock assembly includes a stationary housing for receiving the shaft, and a gear fixedly joined to the shaft... | 12/31/1991 |
| 5069860 | Rotary lock for a control rod drive A rotary lock is disclosed for preventing rotation of a shaft, such as a shaft used in a control rod drive for a nuclear reactor. The lock includes a stationary housing for receiving the shaft, and an arm extending outwardly from the shaft. At least one p... | 12/03/1991 |
| 4990304 | Instrumentation tube features for reduction of coolant flow-induced vibration of flux thimble tube A nuclear fuel assembly has mechanical elements which constrain the flux thimble tube within the instrumentation tube to maintain physical contact with the interior surface of the instrumentation tube at a plurality of points staggered on a single-diametr... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4844856 | Process for automatic regulation of the soluble boron content of the cooling water of a pressurized water nuclear reactor A process for automatic regulation of the soluble boron content of the cooling water of a pressurized water nuclear reactor in which operating regions (2, 3) of the means of boration and of the means of dilution respectively are determined a priori, corre... | 07/04/1989 |
| 4769208 | Automatic safety rod for reactors An automatic safety rod for a nuclear reactor containing neutron absorbing material and designed to be inserted into a reactor core after a loss-of-core flow. Actuation is based upon either a sudden decrease in core pressure drop or the pressure drop decr... | 09/06/1988 |
| 4716009 | Dropped rod protection insensitive to large load loss A protection system such for a nuclear power plant shuts down the reactor in response to the detection of a negative flux rate characteristic of a dropped rod, but inhibits the trip if the specified negative flux rate is preceded within a selected time in... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4707324 | Controlling the response of a pressurized water reactor to rapid fluctuations in load The setpoints for control systems in a pressurized water reactor are adjusted by an amount corresponding to the expected change in the controlled process variable resulting from rapid fluctuations in load to reduce the duty time of the control system comp... | 11/17/1987 |
| 4699749 | Controlling a nuclear reactor with dropped control rods In a pressurized water reactor in which a dropped control rod is detected by a negative rate of change of neutron flux which exceeds a preset negative limit, the reactor is only shutdown if the axial offset exceeds a preselected limit, so that it is possi... | 10/13/1987 |
| 4686077 | Nuclear reactor installation The reactor has a pressure vessel receiving a coolant and a reactor core. The core has vertically movable control rods to which absorber rods are secured. Each tubular control rod extends, with the interposition of an annular gap, around an immobile guide... | 08/11/1987 |
| 4624826 | Control rod velocity limiter A velocity limiting device providing greater resistance to motion through a fluid in one direction than in the opposite direction. The device includes a toroidally shaped control member having a smooth generally conical surface on one side for low resista... | 11/25/1986 |
| 4282061 | System for preventing erroneous operation of control rods System for preventing erroneous operation of control rods for securing a safety control of a nuclear reactor. The erroneous operation preventing system is comprised of a control rod objective position setting means for setting an objective position of a c... | 08/04/1981 |
| 4184514 | Valve system incorporating single failure protection logic A valve system incorporating single failure protective logic. The system consists of a valve combination or composite valve which allows actuation or de-actuation of a device such as a hydraulic cylinder or other mechanism, integral with or separate from ... | 01/22/1980 |
| 4129475 | Method of operating a nuclear reactor A method of controlling a nuclear power generating station in the event of a malfunction of particular operating components which minimizes the number of hypothecated occurrences where tripping the reactor might become necessary. Upon identification of su... | 12/12/1978 |
| 4126767 | Bottom actuated reactor control system A bottom actuated hydraulic reactor control system including absorber element blow-out protection means and wherein cooling flow for neutron absorber elements is derived from the pressure vessel coolant via an external system.... | 11/21/1978 |
| 4080251 | Apparatus and method for controlling a nuclear reactor A control system and method for a nuclear steam supply system for calculating the appropriate operating limits of the system based on the system's design limits. The control system monitors the appropriate parameters of the nuclear steam supply system, mo... | 03/21/1978 |
| 4075059 | Reactor power reduction system and method A method of operating a nuclear power reactor is disclosed which enables an accelerated power reduction of the reactor without completely shutting the reactor down. The method includes monitoring the incidents which, upon their occurrence, would require a... | 02/21/1978 |
| 4066497 | Abnormal state detecting apparatus utilizing control rod for use in nuclear reactor A control rod position immediately after the application of an operation common for a control rod of the nuclear reactor and a mean value of outputs of a plurality of neutron detectors near its control rod are calculated. The control rod position at the t... | 01/03/1978 |
