Patents Examined by Christopher J Hargitt
  • Patent number: 8696314
    Abstract: A gear set is disclosed. The gear set includes a bearing including an inner race and an outer race, one of the inner race and the outer race being a ring gear including a plurality of first teeth having a first hardness; and a pinion meshable with the ring gear, and including a plurality of second teeth having a second hardness. The second hardness is no greater than the first hardness. A wind turbine incorporating such a gear set and a method of servicing a wind turbine are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Aaron John Mashue, Bradley Graham Moore, Kurt Goodwin
  • Patent number: 8696308
    Abstract: According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided 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, the annular inlet being divided into at least two axially offset inlet portions; a cylindrical sleeve axially movable across the annular inlet to vary the size of a gas flow path through the inlet; and a guide for guiding the movement of the cylindrical sleeve, the guide being at least partially located within the inlet at a radially extent of the inlet portions, and extending in an axial direction parallel to the turbine axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Cummins Ltd.
    Inventors: Tim Denholm, James Alexander McEwen, Tom J. Roberts, Robert L. Holroyd, Christopher Normington, Arun Vijayakumar, Stephen Edward Garrett
  • Patent number: 8684693
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for adjusting the angle of attack of a rotor blade of a wind power plant, comprising a flexible clad drive train that can be moved by a driving wheel, wherein the rotor blade can be rotated about the longitudinal axis thereof by said drive train in opposite directions. According to the invention, the clad drive train can be moved only in a single plane perpendicular to the rotational axis of the driving wheel and engages on a pivot bearing ring forming an end piece of the rotor blade, and the driving wheel is connected to a motor/transmission unit, which is mounted on the hub of the rotor blade, for the individual adjustment of the rotor blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Vensys Energy AG
    Inventors: Andreas Mascioni, Jürgen Rinck
  • Patent number: 8678762
    Abstract: A cone-shaped air flow system has improved efficiency, increased plenum chamber exit air flow speeds and reduced noise levels in comparison to box-shaped and triangular air flow systems. The heater may be of half or full cone configuration for perimeter or central plenum locations, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Inventor: Michael J. Baker
  • Patent number: 8662846
    Abstract: A bidirectional centrifugal fan having a self-adjusting vane. In one embodiment, the fan includes a driving disc having a pivot pin extending therefrom; a vane pivotably attached to the pivot pin, the vane including an aperture extending at least partially therethrough; and a trailing disc including a guide arm for receiving the aperture of the vane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Subbiah Natarajan
  • Patent number: 8657580
    Abstract: A blade retention system for retaining a foot of a turbine blade in a shoe of a turbine disc of a turbine wheel includes: a hook on a heel end of the blade foot that protrudes from a bottom of the blade foot to engage a heel end of the turbine disc shoe; and a compound fillet that engages the hook with the bottom of the blade foot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney
    Inventors: Xinwen Xiao, Venkata S. Bandaru, Shiv C. Gupta, Gordon F. Jewess
  • Patent number: 8622692
    Abstract: A high temperature resistant turbine stator vane with an airfoil section made from oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) material extruded through a die, an internal cooling circuit is machined into the airfoil section after the extrusion, and then two endwalls are formed separately and then secured to the airfoil section ends to form the stator vane. Film cooling holes can be drilled into the airfoil section and the endwalls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: George Liang
  • Patent number: 8622693
    Abstract: A blade outer air seal (BOAS) of a gas turbine engine has a segmented support ring to support a segmented turbine shroud. The support ring has a cooling air distribution system which includes a plurality of inlet cavities extending axially and inwardly to communicate with an inner cooling air passage within the respective support segments. The inlet cavities each are formed with two recesses defined in respective adjacent two support segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp
    Inventors: Franco Di Paola, Bruno Chatelois
  • Patent number: 8608448
    Abstract: A shroudless blade for use in a compressor or fan of an axial flow gas turbine engine includes a treatment to the tips of the blades to improve the surge margin of the compressor. A series of cross bleed holes are formed at the tip of the blade, which may be a stator or rotor component, extending between the pressure and suction sides of the blades. Notches are provided at the tip of the blades to provide initiation sites for any fatigue cracks such that the cracks propagate from the base of these slots or notches and radially inwards into the body of the blades. The present invention provides an arrangement, which by provision of the cross bleed holes the propagation of the cracks is arrested. A preferred placement and orientation for the holes for best mechanical and aerodynamic performance is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventors: Neil William Harvey, Stephane Michel Marcel Baralon
  • Patent number: 8608440
    Abstract: A system for controlling propeller blade pitch in a turboshaft engine, including: a first track connected to a propeller blade, of which the rotation provides for the setting of the incidence of this blade; a second track; a member actuating the first track, arranged between the first and second tracks, and having a recessed angular portion; and at least one locking member provided between the first and second tracks, housed in the recessed angular portion and in the notch. The locking member can occupy a normal over-center position rendering the first and second tracks integral in rotation, and a release position authorizing the displacement in rotation of a unit including the first track, the locking member, and the actuating member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventor: Francois Gallet
  • Patent number: 8596975
    Abstract: A system for controlling pitch of a propeller blade of a turboshank engine, including two automatic locking members making it possible, depending on their controlled position, to lock rotation of a blade root in both directions of rotation, or to allow the rotation of the blade root support in either of the two directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventor: Francois Gallet
  • Patent number: 8579594
    Abstract: A wind turbine blade having a longitudinal direction with a root end and a tip end as well as a chord extending in a transverse direction between a leading edge and a trailing edge is described. The blade comprises a flow control surface with a suction side and a pressure side. A number of boundary layer control means is formed in the flow control surface. The boundary layer control means include a channel submerged in the flow control surface with a first end facing towards the leading edge and a second end facing towards the trailing edge of the blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: LM Glasfiber A/S
    Inventors: Peter Fuglsang, Stefano Bove
  • Patent number: 8568085
    Abstract: A turbine vane for a gas turbine engine with an airfoil portion including a perimeter wall having first, second, third and fourth sets of cooling holes defined therethrough, including the holes numbered HA-1 to HA-13, HB-1 to HB-13, PA-1 to PA-9, and SA-1 to SA-3, respectively, and located such that a central axis thereof extends through the respective point 1 and point 2 having a nominal location in accordance with the X, Y, Z Cartesian coordinate values set forth in Table 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp
    Inventors: Franco Di Paola, Larry Lebel, François Doyon
  • Patent number: 8568088
    Abstract: An arrangement for damping blade vibrations in a turbomachine is provided. The blade vibrations are due to an arrangement made of magnets and multiple induction plates and the undesired vibrations of the blade are damped by creating turbulent flows, wherein the induction plates are directed parallel to the rotation axis, and the magnetic field caused by the magnets is formed homogenously in the circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Christoph Hermann Richter
  • Patent number: 8562284
    Abstract: A propulsive fan system comprises a fan unit comprising a first stage array of rotatable blades upstream of a second stage array of rotatable blades. The first stage is coupled to a first drive means. The second stage is coupled to a second drive means. The first drive means is independently operable of the second drive means during operation of the fan system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventor: Stephen J. Bradbrook
  • Patent number: 8556583
    Abstract: A blade cooling structure of a gas turbine, which can reduce the pressure loss of a cooling medium without decreasing the heat transfer coefficient, is provided. The blade cooling structure comprises a cooling passage (15) for flowing cooling air (A) from a proximal end portion (12) toward a blade portion (14) of a moving blade (11), a plurality of turbulators (21) arranged, on both wall surfaces of the cooling passage (15) opposing each other, in such a manner as to be inclined with respect to the flowing direction of the cooling air (A), and a plurality of dimples (22) formed in a downstream region (N) downstream of a center position (O) in the flowing direction of the cooling air (A) on the wall surface of the cooling passage (15) between the adjacent turbulators (21).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daigo Fujimura, Hideaki Sugishita, Masaaki Matsuura, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Shunsuke Torii, Satoshi Hada, Kiyoshi Suenaga, Yuko Suenaga
  • Patent number: 8540487
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an actuatable seal (14) for an aerofoil blade tip, for providing a seal between the blade tip (12) and an adjacent surface (10) over which the blade tip passes in use. The seal comprises a flexible member that is arranged in use to be mounted on the tip of a rotating aerofoil blade and to flex towards the surface under the action of centrifugal force when the blade rotates. The seal further comprises an actuator means provided on the flexible member and operably arranged in use to deflect at least a portion of the flexible member away from the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventors: Kristofer J. Bottome, Matthew P. Jevons
  • Patent number: 8534988
    Abstract: A fan assembly includes a mounting bracket, a fan, and a baffle. The mounting bracket includes two side plates bounding an outlet, and each side plate defines a through hole. An inner side bounding the through hole defines an arc-shaped cutout, communicating with the through hole. The baffle includes two pins rotatably received in the through holes of the side plates. A protrusion protrudes out from each pin, and is engaged in the corresponding cutout. When the fan operates, the baffle is pushed to rotate to open the outlet, to allow air from the fan to flow out through the outlet. When the fan ceases operation, the baffle rotates back under force of gravity to a position to cover the outlet, where the protrusion resists against one end of the cutout such that further rotation is prevented, to prevent air intake into the mounting bracket through the outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Guang-Yi Zhang, Zhe Zhang
  • Patent number: 8523523
    Abstract: Providing cooling within hollow blades such as high pressure turbine blades in a gas turbine engine is important to maintain these components within operational margins for the materials from which they are formed. Traditionally, coolant flows in hollow passages have been used along with impingement apertures towards a leading passage for cooling effectiveness. It is known that opposed undulations or ribs can create rotational vortices within the passage. By shaping shaped portions between the opposed undulations and possibly providing undulations upon these shaped portions themselves it is possible to generate stronger more powerful vortices within the passage. These vortices are coupled with the impingement orifices to create proportionally greater impingement jet flow and pressure and therefore cooling effectiveness within the leading passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventors: Roderick M. Townes, Ian Tibbott, Edwin Dane, Caner H. Helvaci
  • Patent number: 8480365
    Abstract: An article of headwear having a body with a hole extending completely through bottom and top surfaces thereof and a cooling device mounted to the article of headwear. The cooling device is mounted via a mounting ring received at the hole which mounts the cooling device to the body at the through hole to permit selective manipulation of the cooling device about a horizontal axis in a range between 0 to 360 degrees relative to the headwear body and the mounting ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Inventor: Robert Ochoa