Brian James Morris

52400360, Aug 31, 1993

Jun 22, 1992

7/902265

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

F16K 1506

1375147

An inline check valve for a flow line where the valve element is guided for inline travel forward and rearward of a valve sealing member and is spring biased to a closed sealing condition. One of the guides for the valve element includes a dashpot housing with a bore and plunger member to control the rate of travel of the valve element in either direction as well as providing a guiding function. The plunger member is arranged with a dashpot ring to frictionally contact the dashpot bore and has an interior tortuous flow path from one side to the other side of the dashpot ring. The dashpot housing is not anchored to the valve body so that the valve can be functional even if the dashpot ring becomes jammed in the dashpot housing.

52320138, Aug 3, 1993

Jun 22, 1992

7/902266

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

F16K 1506

1375147

An inline check valve for a flow line where the valve element is guided for inline travel forward and rearward of a valve sealing member and is spring biased to a closed sealing condition. One of the guides for the valve element includes a dashpot bore and plunger member to control the rate of travel of the valve element in either direction as well as provided a guiding function. The dashpot is not anchored to the valve body so that the valve can be functional even if the plunger member becomes jammed in the dashpot.

52383725, Aug 24, 1993

Dec 29, 1992

7/998062

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

F04B 3500

417393

A hydraulically powered gas compressor receives low pressure gas and outputs a high pressure gas. The housing of the compressor defines a cylinder with a center chamber having a cross-sectional area less than the cross-sectional area of a left end chamber and a right end chamber, and a spool-type piston assembly is movable within the cylinder and includes a left end closure, a right end closure, and a center body that are in sealing engagement with the respective cylinder walls as the piston reciprocates. First and second annular compression chambers are provided between the piston enclosures and center housing portion of the compressor, thereby minimizing the spacing between the core gas and a cooled surface of the compressor. Restricted flow passageways are provided in the piston closure members and a path is provided in the central body of the piston assembly, such that hydraulic fluid flows through the piston assembly to cool the piston assembly during its operation. The compressor of the present invention may be easily adapted for a particular application, and is capable of generating high gas pressures while maintaining both the compressed gas and the compressor components within acceptable temperature limits.

50637347, Nov 12, 1991

Jan 26, 1990

7/470480

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

F02K 958

60204

In the representative embodiment of the new and improved methods and apparatus disclosed herein to provide effective real-time management of a spacecraft rocket engine powered by gaseous propellants, real-time measurements representative of the engine performance are compared with predetermined standards to selectively control the supply of propellants to the engine for optimizing its performance as well as efficiently managing the consumption of propellants. A priority system is provided for achieving effective real-time mangagement of the propulsion system by first regulating the propellants to keep the engine operating at an efficient level and thereafter regulating the consumption ratio of the propellants. A lower priority level is provided to balance the consumption of the propellants so significant quantities of unexpended propellants will not be left over at the end of the scheduled mission of the engine.

51486741, Sep 22, 1992

Aug 9, 1991

7/741894

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX

F02K 942

60240

In the representative embodiment of the new and improved methods and apparatus disclosed herein to provide effective real-time management of a spacecraft rocket engine powered by gaseous propellants, real-time measurements representative of the engine performance are compared with predetermined standards to selectively control the supply of propellants to the engine for optimizing its performance as well as efficiently managing the consumption of propellants. A priority system is provided for achieving effective real-time management of the propulsion system by first regulating the propellants to keep the engine operating at an efficient level and thereafter regulating the consumption ratio of the propellants. A lower priority level is provided to balance the consumption of the propellants so significant quantities of unexpended propellants will not be left over at the end of the scheduled mission of the engine.

53201361, Jun 14, 1994

Mar 19, 1993

8/038748

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX
Richard J. Bozeman - Dickinson TX

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

F16K 1502

137528

A magnetically operated check valve is disclosed having, in one aspect, a valve body and a movable poppet disposed therein, a magnet attracting the poppet to hold the valve shut until the force of fluid flow through the valve overcomes the magnetic attraction and moves the poppet to an unseated, open position; the poppet and magnet configured and disposed to trap magnetically attracted particulate and prevent it from flowing to a valve seating region.

58679316, Feb 9, 1999

Jan 28, 1997

8/789824

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX
Jerry G. Morris - Houston TX

A01K 9712

43 17

A self-contained, battery operated fishing line tension detector and alarm system that adapts to a conventional fishing rod, reel, and line assembly. The system detects the feeding activity or strike of a fish by detecting the related change in the tension of the line. Engagement and disengagement of the line takes place without the person fishing having to handle the line. The strike alarm holds the line in an offset, unnatural position until the pull of a striking fish straightens the line which rotates a sensing arm until it touches an electrical contact; thus completing an electrical circuit which provides power for audible and visible alarms. Sensitivity to line tension is adjustable. Alarming occurs whenever line tension is above a sensitivity set point. The alarms are independent of each other and can be selectively switched in or out of the circuit.

49569961, Sep 18, 1990

Aug 18, 1989

7/396726

Brian G. Morris - Houston TX

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

G01F 1700

73149

Apparatus for gauging the amount of liquid in a container of liquid and gas under low or zero gravity net conditions includes an accumulator and appropriate connector apparatus for communicating gas between the accumulator and the container. In one form of the invention, gas is removed from the container and compressed into the accumulator. The pressure and temperature of the fluid in the container is measured before and after removal of the gas; the pressure and temperature of gas in the accumulator is measured before and after compression of the gas into the accumulator from the container. These pressure and temperature measurements are used in determining the volume of gas in the container, whereby the volume of liquid in the container can be determined from the difference between the known volume of the container and the volume of gas in the container. Gas from the accumulator may be communicated into the container in a similar process as a verification of the gauging of the liquid volume, or as an independent process for determining the volume of liquid in the container.