Readers who wish to announce conferences and meetings in Initiatives as well as the availability of minutes or proceedings should address correspondence to the editor. DOE Swing-Free Crane and the NIST Robotic Crane technology are entirely different systems. The NIST robotic crane system provides a triangular load platform dampened by the use of six wire cables thereby controlling movement by controlling cable length. The DOE swing-free crane technology provides a retrofit system that uses existing AC crane overhead transporters. The system provides computer control of crane motion and works by sensing the period of pendulum swing, then dampening the effects of that motion.
Invention disclosures are the first step in filing for patents.
If the concept has not already been filed, patent applications are processed. If the concept or process is patentable, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues a patent. A recent DOE provision allows the Office of Environmental Management to access background intellectual property or data from small businesses for environmental cleanup applications. Industry can mark information it submits to DOE or its management and operating contractors as business sensitive or proprietary. It also is appropriate for a company to require a management and operations company employee to sign a nondisclosure agreement as long as the information to be protected is appropriately marked.