Other

Avanex Corporation

The United States of America As Represented by the Department of Energy

Hubert Joachim Vollmer

Simon X F Cao

Otis Raymond Walton

Olga Gorbounova

Kenneth John Bystrom

Earl R Ault

Brian J Comaskey

Karl F Scheibner

George F Albrecht

J Philip Brady, Jr

An improved feeder/conveyor includes a flexible rotating open helix screw inside a cylindrical sheathing. A motor drive is attached to the flexible rotating open helix screw above at a delivery end, and such provides the rotational speeds necessary to generate the centrifugal and lifting forces necessary. The improvements include a conical bullnose tip as a feeder that attaches to the flexible rotating open helix screw with a curved and tapered support feeder gusset. Such attachment mechanically supports and aligns the conical bullnose tip to the distal end of the flexible rotating open helix screw and a central turning axis. A nose opening in the conical bullnose tip allows either exit or entry of material freely to or from the supply bed, depending on the conveying conditions.

Dry granular material feeder/conveyor for near-vertical lifting

An integrated granular-material scoop and near-vertical lifting feeder/conveyor includes special connections and skirts between a bullnose rotating scoop and an open-helical screw that provides the rotations and material lift and evacuation. A conical working-face of the bullnose rotating scoop has symmetrically distributed graters and vents to break loose and force-in granular material from natural deposits and cargo holds. The bullnose rotating scoop and the open-helical screw its attached to move the material into a continuous layer on the inside surface of an outer stationary sheathing. A motor drive attached to the open-helical screw above at the delivery end provides the lifting force necessary.

Granular material scoop and near-vertical lifting feeder/conveyor

A conical feeder is attached to a vertically conveying screw auger. The feeder is equipped with scoops and rotated from the surface to force-feed regolith the auger. Additional scoops are possible by adding a cylindrical section above the conical funnel section. Such then allows the unit to collect material from swaths larger in diameter than the enclosing casing pipe of the screw auger. A third element includes a flexible screw auger. All three can be used in combination in microgravity and zero atmosphere environments to drill and recover a wide area of subsurface regolith and entrained volatiles through a single access point on the surface.

Vertical-screw-auger conveyer feeder

An apparatus and method for transferring thermal energy from a heat load is disclosed. In particular, use of a phase change material and specific flow designs enables cooling with temperature regulation well above the fusion temperature of the phase change material for medium and high heat loads from devices operated intermittently (in burst mode). Exemplary heat loads include burst mode lasers and laser diodes, flight avionics, and high power space instruments. Thermal energy is transferred from the heat load to liquid phase change material from a phase change material reservoir. The liquid phase change material is split into two flows. Thermal energy is transferred from the first flow via a phase change material heat sink. The second flow bypasses the phase change material heat sink and joins with liquid phase change material exiting from the phase change material heat sink. The combined liquid phase change material is returned to the liquid phase change material reservoir. The ratio of bypass flow to flow into the phase change material heat sink can be varied to adjust the temperature of the liquid phase change material returned to the liquid phase change material reservoir. Varying the flowrate and temperature of the liquid phase change material presented to the heat load determines the magnitude of thermal energy transferred from the heat load.

Phase change based cooling for high burst mode heat loads with temperature regulation above the phase change temperature

The present invention provides an improved wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) which utilizes a grating-based channel separator. The WDM includes an interleaved channel separator; and at least one channel separator optically coupled to the interleaved channel separator. The channel separator includes a grating. In a preferred embodiment, the channel separator also includes an alignment surface of the grating, a sleeve comprising a mount, the mount capable of contacting the grating, and an alignment plate coupled to an outer surface of the sleeve, wherein the alignment plate is capable of contacting the alignment surface of the grating. This grating-based channel separator affords a quick, easy, precise and reproducible positioning and alignment of grating block. Thus, the WDM is minimized in size while also reproducibly assembled with perfect alignment in a minimal amount of time.

WDM utilizing grating-based channel separators

The present invention provides an improved wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). The WDM includes a birefringent plate; a reciprocal optical rotator optically coupled to the birefringent plate; and a diffraction grating optically coupled to the reciprocal optical rotator at a side opposite to the birefringent plate. This grating-based WDM provides very low polarization-dependent loss, and therefore, greatly reduces insertion loss. This increases the reliability of the data carried by the channels.

WDM utilizing diffraction gratings with polarization dependent loss compensation

The present invention provides a package for a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). The package includes a grating comprising an alignment surface; a first sleeve comprising a mount, the mount capable of contacting the grating; and an alignment plate coupled to an outer surface of the first sleeve, where the alignment plate is capable of contacting the alignment surface of the grating. The preferred embodiment of the package also includes a second sleeve with a holding mechanism in contact with the grating. This packaging affords a quick, easy, precise and reproducible positioning and alignment of grating. Thus, the WDM is minimized in size while also reproducibly assembled with perfect alignment in a minimal amount of time.

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Tracy, CA, United States of America

Hubert Joachim Vollmer