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:
Aug. 21, 2001
Filed:
Aug. 26, 1998
John F. Asmus, La Jolla, CA (US);
Environmental Surface Technologies, Norcross, GA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for the removal of coatings from surfaces utilizing UV energy. Preferably, the use of a laser-guided gas-embedded pinchlamp is utilized to remove paint coatings from aircraft surfaces. In a preferred form, the present invention provides a gas-embedded laser-guided pinchlamp device that, in operation, reduces toxic waste bi-products and can remove surface paint, in particular aircraft surface paint, or other coatings at a higher efficiency than all other alternative methods implemented or investigated to date. The present invention may preferably comprise eight distinct support systems; a plasma pinchlamp chamber, a power supply, a laser system, a gas supply system and coolant system, an optical reflector, a debris collection system for containing and catching toxic effluvients, an encasement device to contain effluvium in conjunction with the collection system, and a pinchlamp positioning system. It should be noted that the present invention need not incorporate all these systems in an operable embodiment. A gas-embedded laser-guided pinchlamp device is generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,568 to Asmus which patent and description of a pinchlamp device are incorporated herein by reference as if fully described herein.