Flare Pilot Detection & Ignition System
This patent, assigned to Honeywell International, describes “A system having a flame rod assembly for operation in a high temperature pilot burner.”
The patent claims that currently flame monitoring technology does not provide adequate response times, but that ionization flame rod technology could provide indications almost instantaneously.
The new system is designed to operate in temperatures from about -40 to 1,100°C. it could also operate in inclement weather. Additionally, “The system incorporates an electrical apparatus which may provide flame sensing and ignition via the flame rod assembly incorporating a quick drying insulator around a rod of the assembly to ensure proper operation of the electrical apparatus.”
Method & System for Shockwave Attenuation via Electromagnetic Arc
The Boeing Company has just been assigned a patent for a force field (technically, the methods and systems for shockwave attenuation.) Specifically, “the methods and systems for attenuating shockwaves by rapidly heating air to interpose an intermediate medium between the shockwave and a protected region.”
The system could also include a sensor that detects the shockwave-producing event, and helps calculate a firing plan based on the direction and distance of the shockwave.
Additionally, “The arc generator may create the second medium by creating an electric arc that travels along an electrically conductive path utilizing at least one of high intensity laser pulses, pellets forming a conductive ion trail, sacrificial conductors, projectiles trailing electrical wires, and magnetic induction.”
Boeing was not the only company this week to file a patent for a shockwave protection device.
Elwha LLC’s patent describes, “A method of designing a wearable air blast wave energy protection device includes computer modeling at least two candidate reflective materials for a first human-protective and primarily reflective response to a specified incident air blast wave energy.”
In an interview with Ars, an Intellectual Ventures (IV) spokesperson said, “Elwha LLC is one of the holding companies we use to help maintain our patent portfolio.”
According to IV’s website, the company files for patents on their own inventions and purchases patents “from inventors, universities, governments, and companies around the world, helping inventors realize commercial value for their inventions.”
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
