Patents Examined by Christopher J Hargitt
  • Patent number: 8807933
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a turbine-engine composite rectifier comprising a ferrule provided with a plurality of stator vanes (2), said stator vanes each comprising a blade (4) and optionally a platform (3), said method comprising at least the following steps: a) first layers of a reinforcement (6) are wound on a mandrel, said mandrel also acting as a mold and comprising protruding portions, said first reinforcement layers (6) comprising buttonholes (7) positioned facing the protruding portions; b) a prefabricated disc (9) is positioned on each of the protruding portions: c) last reinforcement layers (8) are wound above the discs (9), thereby forming a preform; d) a resin is injected into the closed mold with the preform and the resin-impregnated preform is polymerized; e) the polymerized preform is taken out of the mold and the base of the blade (4) or optionally the platform of the vane (3), if the latter comprises one of them, is added by welding on each of the discs (9
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Techspace Aero S.A.
    Inventor: Georges Duchaine
  • Patent number: 8794906
    Abstract: A turbine stator vane with an airfoil extending between an inner endwall and an outer endwall, and with a fillet formed between the airfoil and each of the endwalls, and a row of metering impingement and diffusion slots extending around the leading edge region and along the pressure side and suction side of the airfoil just below the fillet that discharges a layer of film cooling air onto the surface of the endwall. A showerhead arrangement of film cooling holes in the leading edge region of the airfoil also discharges a layer of film cooling air toward the leading edge fillet in order to form a double layer of film cooling air from the leading edge region of the endwall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: George Liang
  • Patent number: 8790079
    Abstract: An inlet for a ram air turbine. The inlet is positioned forward of a turbine shaft, which is configured to rotate about a portion of an object. The inlet has a fixed geometry that chokes airflow through the inlet to prevent overspeed of the turbine shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Trevor Andrew Tersmette, Christopher Allen Ryan
  • Patent number: 8790078
    Abstract: An abrasive coating on a rotor shaft interacts with cantilevered vanes to form an abradable air seal in a turbine engine. The abrasive coating includes a metal bond coat, and an abrasive layer containing a plurality of abrasive grit particles in a ceramic matrix. The grit particles may be selected from cubic boron nitride (CBN), zirconia, alumina, silicon carbide, diamond and mixtures thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Paul H. Zajchowski, Christopher W. Strock, Matthew E. Bintz
  • Patent number: 8777558
    Abstract: A casing for a turbomachine rotor wheel includes a plurality of circumferential grooves, each of substantially constant section, with the section areas of the circumferential grooves decreasing from upstream to downstream on going from the first groove to the last groove. By treating the casing in this way, the efficiency of the rotor wheel is optimized and its surge margin is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Antoine Robert Alain Brunet, Olivier Stephane Domercq, Laurent Jablonski, Vincent Paul Gabriel Perrot
  • Patent number: 8777556
    Abstract: The CWE Concepts are designed to extract the maximum possible wind energy passing through a given square footage area of influencing machine interface at given calculated velocities, to deliver that energy to two power take off shafts for end user's useful work (electrical power generation and other requirements). A multi-bucket “S” rotor, airfoils, baffles and cowling combined, utilize one hundred percent of that moving air volume most efficiently. Our strategies are to use smaller units, yielding more power than existing designs while being installed at much lower levels, urban friendly, less visible, nearly-enclosed rotating machinery, quieter, and safer for indigenous wildlife populations. We plan to market for commercial and residential customers, in turn providing HVAC and electrical power augmentation to utility companies—a reliable and robust addition to the national power grid. Our goals—reduce dependency on foreign oil and provide a clean alternative.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Inventor: John Lee O'Neil
  • Patent number: 8770926
    Abstract: An abrasive coating is formed on a rotor shaft that rotates with respect to cantilevered vanes. The coating is formed by thermal spray techniques and comprises a ceramic layer on a metal bond coat. The coating surface is roughened by crush grinding or by grit blasting to increase the abradability of the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Changsheng Guo, Christopher W. Strock, Thomas W. Stowe, Paul W. Baumann
  • Patent number: 8770927
    Abstract: A seal for a gas turbine engine component having an airfoil with a radial outward end and a radial inward end, one of which is bare metal. A seal member is adjacent to the bare metal end of the airfoil wherein the seal member is coated with a abrasive layer having a laser engraved surface with the top of the surface has less than about 5% of the surface area of the base of the abrasive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher W. Strock, Changsheng Guo
  • Patent number: 8753075
    Abstract: A method for suspending a fan case and a fan case assembly in which a fan case is suspended are disclosed herein. The fan case assembly includes an inner ring encircling an axis. The fan case assembly also includes a first outer ring encircling the axis and having an annular flange. The fan case assembly also includes a plurality of struts each extending radially outward from an inner end engaged with the inner ring to an outer end engaged with the first outer ring. The fan case assembly also includes a second outer ring abutting the first outer ring along the axis. The fan case assembly also includes a plurality of leaves each fixed to the second outer ring and extending along the axis. The leaves are slid over an outer surface of the first outer ring to engage the first and second outer rings together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Edward Claude Rice, Daniel E. Molnar, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8753072
    Abstract: A turbojet engine nacelle includes an air intake structure having a longitudinal outer panel incorporating an air intake lip, a middle structure to which the air intake structure is attached, at least one inner panel including an acoustic shroud, rails guiding the outer panel able to allow a rectilinear movement of the outer panel, and a reinforcing member to react the mechanical loads of the guide rails. In particular, the reinforcing member reacts the loads of the guide rails beyond a predetermined deformation of the guide rails.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Aircelle
    Inventors: Guy Bernard Vauchel, Jean-Philippe Dauguet, Stephanie Beilliard
  • Patent number: 8747053
    Abstract: A method for producing a lubricant feed in an axial bearing, wherein the lubricant feed is designed as a channel guiding lubricant from a lubricant pocket of the axial bearing, includes the following steps: preparing an initial axial bearing mold, stamping a groove in the area of the initial mold in which the channel is planned; embossing and putting through material on at least one or both sides of the groove along at least one segment of the groove; stamping the material on the side of the groove toward the groove so that the material and the groove form the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Dirk Frankenstein, Dag Hauschild, Johann Hauser, Jochen Held, Stefan Nowack, Konrad Viessmann
  • Patent number: 8747057
    Abstract: A variable geometry turbine comprising: a turbine wheel mounted for rotation about a turbine axis within a housing, the housing defining an annular inlet surrounding the turbine wheel and defined between first and second inlet sidewalls; a cylindrical sleeve axially movable across the annular inlet to vary the size of a gas flow path through the inlet; the annular inlet divided into axially adjacent annular portions by at least one annular baffle which is axially spaced from the first and second inlet sidewalls; inlet formations extending axially across at least two of said annular portions defined by the or each baffle so as to divide said annular inlet into at least two axially offset inlet passages; the baffle(s) and inlet formations forming part of a nozzle assembly located within said annular inlet; wherein first and second components of the nozzle assembly define complementary features which co-operate to connect together said first and second components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Cummins Ltd.
    Inventors: Robert L. Holroyd, Tom J. Roberts
  • Patent number: 8740551
    Abstract: A blade outer air seal (BOAS) segment has a plurality of cooling passages axially extending through a platform of the BOAS segment. The passages each have an inlet defined in a radially outer surface and an exit defined on a leading edge of the platform. At least one of the passages positioned close to respective circumferential sides of the platform extends linearly from one of the inlets and is skewed away from the axial direction to cool a corner area of the platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
    Inventors: Franco Di Paola, Kapila Jain
  • Patent number: 8734109
    Abstract: A foldable electric fan, comprising: a fan head, a support tube and a base, a turnover mechanism for turning the fan head up or down is provided between the top of the support tube and the fan head, is disclosed. Further, the base is foldable, and the electric fan can be arranged into a desk fan or a floor fan by turning the fan head up or down, and can be used for several different purposes in more broad fields. The fan head and the base of the electric fan can be folded-up, which reduces the space it occupies and cuts down the cost of package and transportation. Moreover, the foldable electric fan effectively reduces the inconvenience of traditional electric fans which need to be detached into several parts during package and transportation, and then assembled together for use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Jiangmen Keye Electrical & Mechanical Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Xiangming He, Guanglian Lin
  • Patent number: 8727712
    Abstract: An abradable coating for interaction with tips of airfoils (such as vanes or blades of a compressor of a gas turbine engine) includes a metal bond coat thermal, a ceramic layer, and an abradable layer. The ceramic layer on the metal bond coat provides insulation and acts as a fuse that is adapted to spall off upon high rub interaction. The abradable coating on the ceramic layer contacts the tips of the airfoils during operation of the compressor. The abradable coating is sufficiently abradable to roundup the coating by contact with the airfoil tips.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher W. Strock, Matthew E. Bintz
  • Patent number: 8721288
    Abstract: This member (4) can be attached to the crown (12) of a wheel (1) of a hydraulic machine. It is provided with a skin (42) of which a surface (421) is able to be arranged in the continuation of a wet surface (121) of the crown. This member is equipped with at least one fun (43) arranged radially inside the skirt (42) and projecting axially (h) from the skirt (42) in the downward direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Alstom Hydro France
    Inventors: Claude Beral, Jean-François Bertea, Rachel Chiappa, Daniéle Bazin, Eric Gaudin
  • Patent number: 8721275
    Abstract: A heat dissipation device includes an axial-flow fan and an air guider. The axial-flow fan has an air inlet and air outlet. The air guider is connected to the air outlet and includes an air input section, an air output section, at least an air divider and at least an arc air divider. The air input section has an area smaller than that of the air outlet. The air output section has an area smaller than that of the air input section. The air divider is located within the air output section to divide the air output section into a plurality of air output channels. The arc air divider is located within the air guider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Delta Electronics, Inc.
    Inventor: Yu-Ho Tsao
  • Patent number: 8721268
    Abstract: A variable geometry turbine comprises a turbine wheel mounted for rotation about a turbine axis within a housing, the housing defining an annular inlet surrounding the turbine wheel and defined between first and second inlet sidewalls; and a cylindrical sleeve axially movable across the annular inlet to vary the size of a gas flow path through the inlet; wherein the annular inlet is divided into at least three axially offset annular inlet portions by two or more axially spaced annular baffles disposed between the first and second inlet sidewalls; inlet vanes extending axially into at least one of the inlet portions and defining circumferentially adjacent inlet passages; and wherein each of at least two of said baffles extends radially inboard of inlet vanes which extend into at least one of the inlet portions axially adjacent the respective baffle, and wherein a distance between an inner diameter of a first baffle of said at least two of said baffles and a trailing edge of a radially innermost vane in one of
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Cummins Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Moore, Tom J. Roberts, Robert L. Holroyd, James Alexander McEwen
  • Patent number: 8714920
    Abstract: A turbine airfoil (31) with an end portion (42) that tapers (44) toward the end (43) of the airfoil. A ridge (46) extends around the end portion. It has proximal (66) and distal (67) sides. A shroud platform (50) is bi-cast onto the end portion around the ridge without bonding. Cooling shrinks the platform into compression (62) on the end portion (42) of the airfoil. Gaps between the airfoil and platform are formed using a fugitive material (56) in the bi-casting stage. These gaps are designed in combination with the taper angle (44) to accommodate differential thermal expansion while maintaining a gas seal along the contact surfaces. The taper angle (44) may vary from lesser on the pressure side (36) to greater on the suction side (38) of the airfoil. A collar portion (52) of the platform provides sufficient contact area for connection stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: Siemens Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian X. Campbell, Jay A. Morrison, Allister W. James, Raymond G. Snider, Daniel M. Eshak, John J. Marra, Brian J. Wessell
  • Patent number: 8708644
    Abstract: A device for fixing two fans includes a chassis, a limiting member mounted in the chassis, and a blocking member. A receiving space is bounded by the chassis and by the limiting member. The blocking member is sandwiched between the fans, and includes two angled plates which may concertina towards or away from each other as the fans are repositioned to seal the space between the fans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Xiao-Feng Ma, Zi-Xuan Zhang