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:
Oct. 16, 2001
Filed:
Jul. 06, 2000
Dwight Douglas Back, Palm City, FL (US);
Charlie Ramos, Melbourne, FL (US);
Mainstream Engineering Corporation, Rockledge, FL (US);
Abstract
This invention provides a noble gas storage and delivery system for ion propulsion using an adsorption bed coupled with a primary storage vessel containing compressed gas or two-phase fluid to control the flow and pressure to a thruster component. The adsorption bed component is lighter weight than conventional flow and pressure control devices, and the system can provide in situ gas cleanup and stable flow from two-phase storage. The use of the adsorption bed allows for independent and isolated operation of multiple thruster components such as refill from the primary storage vessel, throttling, and multiple setpoint flow rates. The pressure and flow is controlled using a flow restrictor and low wattage heat. Flow rates of about 2-50 sccm can be controlled to within about 1.2% or less, and the flow can be throttled by varying the pressure. This noble gas storage and delivery system can be used for earth orbit satellites, and lunar or planetary space missions.