PETITIONER:

National Research Corp.

Cold Cathode Gauge

STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Petitioner, National Research Corp., is a proposed subcontractor of the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, pursuant to Purchase Order No. 1473 under Prime Contract NAS 9-5964. The petition was submitted to NASA prior to contract execution for consideration of waiver of title to all inventions that may be made under the above-identified proposed subcontract, and was considered by the Inventions and Contributions Board on August 8, 1966.

The Board, having duly considered the allegations and claims of the petition, expressly makes the findings required under Section 1245.104(a) of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations (1966), (which Section, in its entirety, is hereby expressly incorporated by reference); concludes that (1) the Petitioner fully satisfies each of the criteria specifically enumerated by the indicated Section as a condition; that (2) the interests of the United States would best be served by waiving title under Section 1245.104 of the cited Regulations, and therefore RECOMMENDS THE GRANT OF THE PETITION. The reasons for the Board's findings are stated below, corresponding in each case to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection of Section 1245.104(a) of the Regulations.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(1). The primary objective of the proposed subcontract is to build a flight model of a cold cathode gauge, which will be used in the ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package) to measure the total density of the neutral constituents of the lunar environment. Structurally, the cold cathode guage will be

similar to a conventional gauge built by the Petitioner, except that the envelope will be metallic, rather than glass. The proposed subcontract, therefore, contemplates neither the development of any specific device or apparatus, nor the production of an end item, to be put into use by the general public.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(2). The sole purpose of the proposed subcontract is to design and develop a cold cathode gauge for use on the lunar surface, and as such does not directly concern the public health or welfare.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(3). The field of technology involved in this proposed subcontract is vacuum gauges. A number of companies are known to be active in this particular field, including the Petitioner. The work to be performed is merely a modi fication of the vacuum gauge described in U.S. Patent No. 3,051,868, which was patented by the NRC of Canada, and of which Petitioner is the exclusive licensee. While there appears to be significant independent work done by numerous corporations (Geophysical Corp. of America, Varian Associates, and Veeco Corp.), so that there is significant experience outside of work funded by the Government in the field of vacuum gauges, it is unknown whether or not the Government has been the principal developer of the field. However, in view of the fact that there are numerous other techniques for performing the same measurements, the acquisition of exclusive rights to the invention that might be developed under the proposed subcontract would not confer on, the Petitioner a preferred or dominant position in the field.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(4). The proposed subcontract is for the production of a cold cathode gauge at Petitioner's plant, and accordingly does not require the services of the Petitioner for the operation of a Government owned research or production facility or coordinating and directing the work of others.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(5). The proposed subcontract requires the building of a cold cathode gauge, which is a modification of the Petitioner's gauge, with the packaging changed from a glass envelope to one of metal. The bulk of the work will therefore be repackaging of a state-of-the-art item. This work will require the Petitioner to draw upon its previous knowledge and research in the vacuum-gauge art, to carry out the work under the proposed subcontract. Therefore, it is the purpose of the proposed subcontract to build upon existing knowledge and technology in developing a product for use by the Government.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(6). Petitioner is known to have performed large amounts of

work in the vacuum-gauge field, and is also the exclusive U.S. licensee of U.S. Patent No. 3,051,868 for a vacuum gauge, which is considered to be the basis for the work to be performed under the proposed subcontract. The Petitioner has previously produced and sold vacuum gauges of the type to be built under the proposed subcontract, the only difference being that they contain glass envelopes, rather than a metal envelope, which is needed for a lunar experiment. Furthermore, in view of Petitioner's attached brochures showing commercial vacuum gauges (see, for example, Model 552 vacuum-gauge brochure, which describes the Readhead gauge sold commercially by NRC; and the Model 530 Alphatron vacuum-gauge brochure, which is illustrative of Petitioner's work in the vacuum-gauge field), it is readily apparent that the work called for by the proposed subcontract is in a field of technology in which the Petitioner has technical competence directly related to an area in which it has an established nongovernmental commercial position.

Petitioner. Harmonic-drive units are considered to be specialized transmission systems, which fall within the broader field of technology of power transmission systems. Furthermore, it is the opinion of cognizant NASA technical personnel that there has been significant experience in this field outside of work funded by the Government, and that the Government is not the principal developer of the field. The acquisition of exclusive rights to any inventions that might be made under this proposed subcontract is highly unlikely to confer a preferred position on the Petitioner in the field, since the harmonicdrive unit to be fabricated is only an adaptation of known harmonic drives.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(4). NASA cognizant personnel have indicated that the proposed subcontract is not for the services of Petitioner for (i) the operation of a Government-owned research or production facility, or (ii) coordinating and directing the work of others.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(5). The principal purpose of the proposed subcontract is to deliver a transmission system adapted from the harmonic-drive principle developed and exploited by Petitioner. A technical publication of Petitioner discusses at great length the various harmonic-drive units that Petitioner has developed heretofore for use in various applications. The present state of knowledge in the field of power transmission systems is very advanced, as is evidenced by the many transmission systems that are employed in various types of motor vehicles. Furthermore, even the more limited area or field of mechanical power transmission systems employing the harmonic-drive principle is in a very advanced state, as is evidenced by the various applications thereof described and illustrated in the technical publication. It is therefore clear that the

purpose of the proposed subcontract is to build upon existing knowledge or technology, to develop information and products for use by the Government.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(6). The Petitioner has acquired technical competence in the field of technology to which the proposed subcontract relates; this is demonstrated by the opinion of cognizant NASA personnel and by the Petitioner's technical publication attached to the petition which describes the many applications of harmonic-drive units developed by Petitioner. For example, the publication shows that Petitioner's, harmonic-drive units are used commercially as actuators for automatic garage-door opening, remote control for road vehicles, milling machine operation, winches, hand-cranked generators and as actuators for rotating the headlight closures of the Dodge "Charger". Petitioner claims that several million dollars of its funds have been expended over the past 10 years in research and development efforts to understand and apply the harmonic-drive principle and that it has created a separate division of the United Shoe United Shoe Machinery Corp. whose mission it is to further this principle. Petitioner has established a distributor organization having the primary purpose of selling harmonic-drive products to the general public. Petitioner also claims that the Harmonic Drive Division of the United Shoe Machinery Corp. maintains an engineering and manufacturing capability for the adaptation of the harmonicdrive principle to special commercial and governmental applications. Therefore, it is clear that the work called for by the proposed subcontract is in a field of technology, mechanical power transmission systems, in which Petitioner has acquired technical competence, and in which the Petitioner has an established nongovernmental commercial position.

PETITIONER: TRW, Inc.

CONTRACT: INVENTION:

NAS 3-4188

STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Petitioner, TRW, Inc., is a contractor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, under Contract NAS 3-4188. The petition was made for waiver of title of the United States in an invention entitled "Polydiene Cyclized Polybutadiene-Urethanes, Methods of Manufacture and Uses," described in an attachment to the petition. The invention was made by Hyman R. Lubowitz, E. A. Burns, and W. B. Kendrick, employees of the Petitioner, in the performance of work required under the aboveidentified contract, and in the manner specified in Section 305(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as determined by the Administrator. The petition was considered by the Inventions and Contributions Board on August 29, 1966.

The Board, having duly considered the allegations and claims of the above-identified petition, expressly makes the findings required under Section 1245.106(b) of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations (1966), (which Section, in its entirety, is hereby expressly incorporated by reference), and concludes that the invention does not fall within the enumerated proscriptions of the cited Section. The reasons for the Board's findings are stated below, corresponding in each case to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(1). The invention relates to a class of thermosetting plastics called cyclized polybutadiene-urethane resins, which are characterized as being rich in hydrocarbons, thermally stable at 400 degrees C, transparent, tough, resistant to impact, stiff, and which exhibit a high modulus elasticity. Hydrocarbon resins are

needed as matrices in the preparation of chemically stable ablative materials for use with H2/F2 rocket engine exhaust gases. The invention was conceived in the course of laboratory studies conducted for NASA for use of matrix materials in ablative composites for liquid rocket engine thrust chambers. As such, it is not directly related to a governmental program for the development of products for use by the general public.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(2). The invention relates to a thermoset plastic that is intended for use as a matrix material in ablative compositions for liquid rocket engine thrust chambers. High-impact, high-temperature resistant plastics are neither Governmentprogrammed nor Government-regulated; accordingly, the invention will not be required by governmental regulations for use by the general public.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(3). The invention is not directly related to the public health or public welfare. It is a thermoset resin having particular application in ablative compositions for liquid rocket engine thrust chambers.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(4). The invention is in the field of technology relating to thermoset plastics. The Petitioner states that this field, and, more particularly, the area dealing with impact high-temperature resistant resins and end products therefrom, has been the subject of very extensive R&D programs of many companies and institutions for many years. Petitioner also points out that TRW Systems Group has the ability to commercialize the subject