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:
Jan. 13, 2015
Filed:
Sep. 30, 2011
Robert W. Whitling, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Joseph Gundrum, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Mark D. Bardeen, Wilmington, NC (US);
Gregory A. Francisco, San Jose, CA (US);
Robert W. Whitling, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Joseph Gundrum, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Mark D. Bardeen, Wilmington, NC (US);
Gregory A. Francisco, San Jose, CA (US);
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, Wilmington, NC (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for grasping and lifting a boiling water reactor (BWR) control rod using a grapple. The grapple may grasp the control rod blade, the fuel support casting and the control rod guide tube of the control rod, to lift and move all three of these components in unison. The grapple includes a frame, a control rod blade hook, a fuel support casting hook(s) and a control rod guide tube hook(s). The control rod guide tube hook(s) may have a distal end that extends through a side flow orifice of a fuel support casting and beyond the confines of a control rod guide tube flow orifice to grasp the control rod guide tube. The distal end of the control rod guide tube hook(s) may include inner and outer landing surfaces, providing respective support for the fuel support casting and control rod guide tube.