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:
Dec. 01, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 14, 1997
Donald L Edberg, Irvine, CA (US);
David J Schenck, Los Alamitos, CA (US);
McDonnell Douglas Corporation, St. Louis, MO (US);
Abstract
An umbilical and follower assembly for preventing unwanted movements of a frame from being transmitted by an umbilical cord to a microgravity platform as may be utilized on an orbiting space vehicle. The follower assembly includes a plurality of actuators capable of moving an umbilical attachment in directions which are opposite to the unwanted movements of the frame. The attachment engages a portion of the umbilical and thus maintains the umbilical in a predetermined position relative to the platform, preventing the unwanted frame movements from being transmitted past the attachment and to the platform. The umbilical preferably includes a portion having three separate loop portions, with each loop extending in a different orthogonal plane and capable of absorbing rotational motion in that plane by deformation of the loop portion.