The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 17, 1987
Filed:
Sep. 23, 1983
Frank J Formanek, West Suffield, CT (US);
Combustion Engineering, Inc., Windsor, CT (US);
Abstract
An elongated canister (86) into which the fuel rods (42) from, preferably, two nuclear fuel assemblies (32) are inserted from above, and then passively consolidated within the canister such that at the lower end (88) the effective density of the rods is approximately double that of each fuel assembly. The canister includes a straight vertical back panel (308), side panels (312) having straight upper (310) and inwardly oriented, tapered lower portions (314), and a front panel (300) having straight upper (302) and tapered lower (304) portions. Spaced apart plates (90) extending between the front and back panels, and a temporary base (320), preferably titled from front to back, in conjunction with the generally funnel-shaped canister, operate to urge the rods close together while the rod pattern is transformed from square to triangular pitch. In the preferred embodiment, the canister has a detachable base (92) which can be removed through the bottom of the canister while supporting the weight of the consolidated rods.