PETITIONER: Honeywell, Inc.

CONTRACT: NAS 8-5386
INVENTION:

Control Apparatus

STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Petitioner, Honeywell, Inc., is a Inc., is a contractor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, under Contract NAS 8-5386. The petition was made for waiver of title of the United States in an invention entitled "Control Apparatus," described in an attachment to the petition. The invention was made by Rolland G. Baldwin et al., employees of the Petitioner, in the performance of work required under the above-identified 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 May 28, 1965.

The Board, having duly considered the allegations and and claims claims of the petition, expressly makes the findings required under Section 1245.106(b) of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations (1964), (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 instance to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(1). The present invention, which relates to a viscous pump integral with a gyroscope for hydrostatic support of the gimbal element, was made in the performance of work under a Government contract for the development of inertial gyroscopes for use in the space program. SECTION 1245.106(b)(2). Inasmuch as the primary application of the invention will be

in highly sensitive instruments such as floated gyroscopes, it will not be required by governmental regulations for use by the general public.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(3). The invention, which relates to a viscous pump integral with a gyroscope for hydrostatic support of the gimbal element, is not a product whose use has a direct or immediate impact on the public health or public welfare.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(4).

The invention is in the field of technology of gyroscopes. Gyroscope technology is highly developed, and considerable effort has been exerted in this field by private industry. In this regard, the contractor states that it has been actively engaged in the development and manufacture of gyroscopes for more than twenty years, and that during this time it has acquired a considerable body of inhouse funded experience in the design, manufacture, and testing of gyroscopes. Moreover, the contractor asserts that much of the work in this field has been funded by private capital, and that presently more than 15 companies are actively engaged in the development of gyroscopes. The state of the art of gyroscopes is highly advanced, as is evidenced by more than 3,000 patents that have been issued to various concerns by the United States Patent Office. In view of the large number of patents pertaining to gyroscopes, and the relationship of its invention to only a small part of this highly advanced technology, the acquisition of exclusive rights to this invention would not confer on the contractor a preferred or dominant position.

The Board further expressly finds that the Contract meets the criteria of Section 1245.106(c)(1), (which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference), which Section encompasses the criteria of Section 1245.104(a), subsections (1) through (4), (which are also hereby expressly incorporated by reference). The reasons for the Board's findings are stated below, corresponding in each case to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(1). A principal purpose of the contract is to design, fabricate, and test inertial gyros of improved reliability, drift, stability, and environmental capability for use in the space program. The products likely to be developed under the contract are those that would be useful in sensitive instrumentation; consequently, they will not be required by governmental regulations for use by the general public. SECTION 1245.104(a)(2). The development effort of this contract, to design, fabricate, and test gyroscopes of ceramic construction, does not result in a product whose use has an immediate impact on the public health or public welfare.

SECTION 1245.103(a)(3). The contract is in the field of technology of gyroscopes. Gyroscope technology is highly developed, and considerable effort has been exerted in this field by private industry. In this regard, the contractor states that it has been actively engaged in the development and manufacture of gyroscopes for more than 20 years, and that during this time it has acquired a considerable body of in-house funded experience in the design, manufacture, and testing of gyroscopes. Moreover, the contractor asserts that much of the work done in this field has been funded by private capital, and that at present more than 15 companies are actively engaged in the development of gyroscopes. The state of the art of gyroscopes is highly advanced, as is evidenced by more than 3,000 patents that have been issued to various concerns by the U. S. Patent Office. Inasmuch as the

work to be performed under the contract relates to only a small portion of the highly advanced technology of gyroscopes, the acquisition of exclusive rights at the time of contracting would not confer on the contractor a preferred or dominant position.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(4). The contractor is required to furnish the necessary management, labor, facilities, materials, and equipment to perform the contract work. The contract does not provide for the services of the contractor to direct or coordinate the work of others.

Moreover, the Board expressly finds, as required by Section 1245.106(c)(1), that waiver of title would be an effective incentive to bring the invention to the point of practical application at the earliest practicable date. The contractor has acquired more than 20 years of experience and know-how in the development and manufacture of gyroscopes, and has established market outlets through which it could commercially exploit the invention. The contractor has stated that waiver of title, in addition to being the effective incentive required by this Section of the Regulations, would also be a necessary incentive to call forth private risk capital to provide funding to bring the invention to the point of practical application. In view of the contractor's capability to develop and exploit the invention, and its reluctance to do so unless commercial rights are granted, the Board finds that waiver of title would provide the contractor with the incentive to further develop and commercially exploit the invention and make its benefits reasonably accessible to the public.

On the basis of all the above-enumerated findings, the Inventions and Contributions Board concludes that the interests of the United States would best be served by waiving title under Section 1245.106 of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations of August 27, 1964, and therefore RECOMMENDS THE GRANT OF THE PETITION.

PETITIONER: Laboratory for Electronics, Inc.

CONTRACT: INVENTION:

NAS 9-2522

Digital Operational Computer

STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Petitioner, Laboratory for Electronics, Inc., is a contractor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, under Contract NAS 9-2522. The petition was made for waiver of title of the United States in an invention entitled "Digital Operational Computer," described in an attachment to the petition. The invention was made by Claude P. Battarel, an employee of the Petitioner, in the performance of work required under the above-identified 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 June 25, 1965.

The Board, having duly considered the allegations and claims of the petition, expressly makes the findings required under Section 1245.106(b) of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations (1964), (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 data-processing apparatus for continuously calculating the attitude of a moving object, such as a spacecraft, by the digital operational technique, and as such is intended for use solely in the governmental space program.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(2). The invention involves a computer designed to convert gyro and accelerometer signals to inertial attitude and velocity data, in calculating the attitude of a high-speed moving body; accordingly, it appears certain that the Government will not require its public use. SECTION 1245.106(b)(3). The invention is obviously unrelated to public health or welfare, since it involves only data processing for calculating by digital computation the attitude of a moving object. SECTION 1245.106(b)(4). The invention may be considered to be either in the broader field of special-purpose digital computers, or in the narrower field of special-purpose guidance computers; in either event, the Petitioner has indicated its own substantial contribution in the still-broader field of data processing, which encompasses such computers, commencing with early theoretical work dating from 1953, leading to the development of special logical elements and the eventual construction and testing of the experimental machine used in work under the present contract. The Petitioner further indicates that its expenditures during the above-mentioned development period, extending over several years, amounted to several times the expenditures under the present contract. The NASA technical evaluator provides additional support for a favorable finding under this subsection, by indicating in an unequivocal statement that "special-purpose digital computers have been developed largely without Government funding, and, in the narrower field of

special-purpose guidance computers, MIT is doing work utilizing the same technique as in the subject invention"; he concludes that considerable experience has been achieved, without Government funding, in the special-purpose guidance computer field.

Finally, it is noted that alternative methods and apparatus are available for solving the same problem, which, when considered in conjunction with the highly competitive nature of of the market involved, clearly establishes that acquisition of exclusive rights to the invention would not confer preference or dominance on Petitioner.

The Board further expressly finds that the contract meets the criteria of Section 1245.106(c)(1), (which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference), which Section encompasses the criteria of Section 1245. 104(a), subsections (1) through (4), (which are also hereby expressly incorporated by reference). The reasons for the Board's findings are stated below, corresponding in each case to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(1). The present contract has the objective of investigating the application of digital operational computation techniques to the direction-cosine coordinate conversion problem, as it relates to a strap-down guidance system, and, as such, involves an application intended solely for use in the space program, with no relation to the public.

SECTION 1245,104(a)(2). The instant contract is concerned with a study of the application of digital operational techniques to determining the attitude of a moving object, and, at most, it might indirectly concern the health or welfare of the astronauts, but not that of the public.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(3). The contract under which the present invention was made is considered to be in the field of science or technology of special-purpose guidance computers, and, in this field, the NASA

technical evaluator, in noting that there have been many types of such computers developed independently of Government funding, supports a finding both of significant non-Government-funded experience in the contract field, and, also, that the Government has not been the principal developer thereof. However, in view of the many types of special-purpose guidance computers already developed, alternatives are clearly available to competitors to solve the same problem; accordingly, it is not considered likely that acquisition of the exclusive rights requested in the present petition would give the Petitioner a preferred or dominant business position.

SECTION 1245.104(a) (4). The present contract requires only that the Petitioner itself perform an engineering study of the application of the digital operational technique to the cosine coordinate conversion problem.

Moreover, the Board expressly finds, as required by Section 1245.106(c)(1), that the Petitioner's considerable experience and technical know-how offers substantial promise and interest in the early practical development of the invention, and that waiver of title would be an effective incentive to this end. This finding is considered supported by the Petitioner's indication of a lack of interest in developing any generalpurpose computer, or, for that matter, any other computing machine except the particular special-purpose computer involved in the present invention, which invention has resulted from the Petitioner's concentrated efforts, commencing with theoretical work in 1953, following by continued development to date, and culminating in the present machine.

On the basis of all the above-enumerated findings, the Inventions and Contributions Board concludes that the interests of the United States would best be served by waiving title under Section 1245.106 of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations of August 27, 1964, and therefore RECOMMENDS THE GRANT OF THE PETITION.