G21C 3/33
Supporting or hanging of elements in the bundle
Official title: Supporting or hanging of elements in the bundle (spacer grids G21C3/34); Means forming part of the bundle for inserting it into, or removing it from, the core; Means for coupling adjacent bundles
G21C3/33 (Supporting or hanging of elements in the bundle) appears on 263 US grants and 170 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in G21C- Granted patents
- 263
- Published applications
- 170
- Assignees
- 84
- Inventors
- 535
- Latest grant
- 14 Jul 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 8 | 0 |
| 1977 | 4 | 0 |
| 1978 | 8 | 0 |
| 1979 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | 4 | 0 |
| 1981 | 4 | 0 |
| 1982 | 5 | 0 |
| 1983 | 3 | 0 |
| 1984 | 4 | 0 |
| 1985 | 6 | 0 |
| 1986 | 8 | 0 |
| 1987 | 22 | 0 |
| 1988 | 7 | 0 |
| 1989 | 7 | 0 |
| 1990 | 4 | 0 |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 |
| 1992 | 6 | 0 |
| 1993 | 8 | 0 |
| 1994 | 4 | 0 |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 |
| 1996 | 4 | 0 |
| 1997 | 2 | 0 |
| 1998 | 5 | 0 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 3 | 4 |
| 2004 | 3 | 2 |
| 2005 | 2 | 2 |
| 2006 | 1 | 2 |
| 2007 | 0 | 4 |
| 2008 | 1 | 7 |
| 2009 | 3 | 7 |
| 2010 | 2 | 7 |
| 2011 | 3 | 9 |
| 2012 | 5 | 10 |
| 2013 | 9 | 11 |
| 2014 | 5 | 6 |
| 2015 | 7 | 3 |
| 2016 | 6 | 8 |
| 2017 | 6 | 10 |
| 2018 | 4 | 9 |
| 2019 | 9 | 9 |
| 2020 | 8 | 10 |
| 2021 | 10 | 7 |
| 2022 | 12 | 13 |
| 2023 | 9 | 13 |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 |
| 2025 | 7 | 5 |
| 2026 | 5 | 6 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
Recent patents
- Debris filtering arrangement for nuclear fuel assembly bottom nozzle and bottom nozzle including same14 Jul 2026US 12,683,033 B2Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- Passive heat removal system for nuclear reactors14 Jul 2026US 12,683,034 B2TerraPower, LLC
- Fuel bundle with twisted ribbon fuel rodlets for nuclear thermal propulsion applications, structures for manufacture, and methods of manufacture12 May 2026US 12,626,829 B2BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC
- Bottom nozzle with internal debris filter20 Jan 2026US 12,531,164 B2Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- Carbide-based fuel assembly for thermal propulsion applications20 Jan 2026US 12,531,166 B2BWXT Nuclear Energy, Inc.
- Fuel Assembly24 Sep 2026US 2026/0290631 A1Hitachi, Ltd.
- Fuel bundle with twisted ribbon fuel rodlets for nuclear thermal propulsion applications, structures for manufacture, and methods of manufacture6 Aug 2026US 2026/0229376 A1BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC
- Bottom nozzle with internal debris filter28 May 2026US 2026/0148868 A1Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- Inserts and methods for controlling fuel assembly coolant flow rates30 Apr 2026US 2026/0120896 A1
- Curvilinear electromagnetic pump30 Apr 2026US 2026/0121503 A1TerraPower, LLC
Most cited
By later US patents
- Nuclear fuel assembly58US 4,560,532 AWestinghouse Electric Corp. · 1985
- Fuel assembly bottom nozzle with integral debris trap56US 4,684,495 AWestinghouse Electric Corp. · 1987
- Dashpot construction for a nuclear reactor rod guide thimble42US 5,068,083 AWestinghouse Electric Corp. · 1991
- Nuclear fuel assembly41US 3,954,560 ACommissariat A L' Energie Atomique · 1976
- PWR Integral tie plate and locking mechanism37US 4,219,386 AExxon Nuclear Company, Inc. · 1980