ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 31 -- United States Patent no. 12,510,180, issued on Dec. 30, was assigned to AEROJET ROCKETDYNE INC. (Melbourne, Fla.).
"Thermally activatable valve" was invented by Robert Matevossian (Tarzana, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A valve includes a valve body that defines a flow passage, a valve seat in the flow passage, a valve element that is initially in a closed position with respect to the valve seat to block flow through the flow passage, a bonding material that secures the valve element in the closed position, and at least one heater adjacent the valve seat and operable to heat the bonding material at least to a temperature at which the bonding material releas...