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. 14, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 09, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:
Karl F Kiefer, Woodlands, TX (US);
Donald L Chaffee, Park City, UT (US);
Assignee:
Gas Research Institute, Chicago, IL (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01H / ; H04B / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
73-182 ; 73DI / ; 36457101 ;
Abstract
An ultrasonic scan assembly is adapted to efficiently and accurately scan a surface and cross-section of a wall of an underground gas pipe with ultrasonic energy transmitted and received by an ultrasonic transducer provided therein. The input pulse applied to the ultrasonic transducer is calibrated so that its width matches the natural mechanical resonant frequency of the ultrasonic transducer. As a result, the energy efficiency of the transducer is maximized and the accuracy of the scan is improved.