ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,372,049, issued on July 29, was assigned to Raytheon Co. (Arlington, Va.).
"Vacuum insulated blast tube" was invented by John Rascon (Tucson, Ariz.), Anthony V. Formica (Oro Valley, Ariz.) and John Regis Leach (Tucson, Ariz.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vacuum insulated blast tube includes an insulating layer of a burn resistant material such as phenolic resin formed on an interior surface of the blast tube to provide the necessary erosion and thermal insulation properties to protect the blast tube and a vacuum insulated layer formed in the walls of the blast tube itself to provide the additional thermal insulation properties to prot...