Patents Examined by Courtney D Heinle
  • Patent number: 11978023
    Abstract: The present disclosure describes various embodiments of systems, apparatuses, and methods for drone-based administration of remotely located devices. One such method comprises deploying an unmanned aerial vehicle from a base station, wherein the base station assigns a maintenance order to the unmanned aerial vehicle for servicing of a remote device, traveling, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, to the location of the remote device, authenticating, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, a valid identification of the remote device; upon the remote device being authenticated by the unmanned aerial vehicle, servicing the remote device by at least charging a power supply of the remote device and transferring contents of a device log to the unmanned aerial vehicle; and after completing the servicing of the remote device; returning to the base station and transferring contents of the device log to the base station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Swarup Bhunia, Prabuddha Chakraborty, Reiner Dizon, Parker Difuntorum, Christopher Vega, Patanjali Sristi Lakshmiprasanna Sriramakumara
  • Patent number: 11970985
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a fan and a fan case assembly. The fan includes a fan rotor configured to rotate about an axis of the gas turbine engine and a plurality of fan blades coupled to the fan rotor for rotation therewith. The fan case assembly extends circumferentially around the plurality of fan blades radially outward of the plurality of the fan blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignees: Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc., Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Heeter, Daniel E. Molnar, Jr., Jonathan M. Rivers, Michael S. Krautheim
  • Patent number: 11971016
    Abstract: A wind turbine nacelle configured for mounting on a wind turbine tower and for supporting a rotor-supporting assembly, the nacelle comprising a main unit, and at least one auxiliary unit. The auxiliary unit accommodates a at least one component, e.g. a converter or transformer. To provide efficient transportation, lower costs and easier assembly, the operative component is suspended directly on the main unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventors: Torben Ladegaard Baun, Jesper Lykkegaard Neubauer, Renato Catroga
  • Patent number: 11971054
    Abstract: Damping devices, turbomachines, and methods of damping vibration are provided. For example, a damping device for damping vibration of a shaft rotatable about an axis of rotation is provided. The damping device defines radial and axial directions. The damping device comprises a bearing, a housing, and a damper element. The housing and damper element define a cavity therebetween for receipt of a damping fluid. The cavity has a length along the axial direction that is curved away from the axis of rotation. As another example, a turbomachine comprising a shaft rotatable about an axis of rotation includes a damping device positioned annularly about the shaft. The damping device comprises a housing and a damper element defining a cavity therebetween for receipt of a damping fluid that has a curved shape. The cavity is curved in a plane extending along the radial and axial directions and including the axis of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Narayanan Payyoor, Peeyush Pankaj
  • Patent number: 11965426
    Abstract: The turbine (12) for a turbine engine (100) extends around a major axis (X-X) and comprises: —a casing (4) comprising an annular hook (38), —a movably mounted impeller (16), —a ring (30) extending opposite the impeller in a direction radial to the major axis (XX), —a distributor (14) comprising a blade provided with a platform (11), the platform being extended radially outwards by a spoiler (22, 24), the spoiler (22, 24) being radially mounted on the hook (38), and —foils (40) each having a profiled trough shape in a direction circumferential to the axis, the foils extending in succession in the circumferential direction, each foil (40) extending between the spoiler (22, 24) and the hook (38). The turbine comprises stops (162) to prevent the foils (40) from moving in the circumferential direction. Each foil (40) comprises a protrusion (162) arranged so as to extend circumferentially opposite another protrusion (162) of another adjacent foil (40).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Franck Davy Boisnault, Florent Pierre Antoine Luneau, Axel Sylvain Loïc Thomas
  • Patent number: 11952901
    Abstract: A turbomachine sealing ring has an axis of revolution and includes an annular support, an annular coating made of abradable material which is carried by the support, and an annular thermal protection plate which is carried by the support. The ring is divided into sectors and has a plurality of ring sectors disposed circumferentially next to one another about the axis. Each ring sector has a support sector, a coating sector, and a plate sector. Each plate sector ling includes a flat tab that is pressed against a face of the corresponding support sector and is fixed to this face by brazing. The tab is inserted into a through-slot in the support sector in order to improve its integrity in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Etienne Gérard Joseph Canelle, Jacques Marcel Arthur Bunel, Bruno Giardini
  • Patent number: 11944805
    Abstract: The approach presented here concerns a pump for delivering a fluid. The pump comprises an impeller, a drive device with a shaft, a shaft housing and a sealing device. The impeller is shaped to deliver the fluid. The drive device with the shaft is designed to drive the impeller. The shaft housing is shaped to receive the shaft and/or the drive device. The sealing device comprises at least one casing sealing element and/or an impeller sealing element which is received between the drive device and the impeller and which is designed to prevent fluid from entering the drive device and/or the shaft casing during operation of the pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Inventor: Ingo Stotz
  • Patent number: 11946386
    Abstract: Various embodiments include a turbine blade having an airfoil with a tip shroud having a forwardmost tip rail having one or more pressure side and suction side bevel surfaces and pressure side and suction side scallop surfaces. The surfaces have a nominal profile substantially in accordance Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in various tables herein. The Cartesian coordinate values are non-dimensional values of from 0% to 100% convertible to distances by multiplying the values by a tip rail length expressed in units of distance. The X, Y and Z values are connected by smooth continuing arcs that are joined smoothly with one another to form the nominal profile that defines the suction side scallop surface, the pressure side scallop surface, the suction side bevel surface, or the pressure side bevel surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: GE Infrastructure Technology LLC
    Inventors: William Scott Zemitis, Robert Tomasz Liskiewicz
  • Patent number: 11946388
    Abstract: A turbine engine with an outer rotor that circumscribes an inner rotor. The outer rotor includes circumferentially arranged components with a radial outer end and radial inner end. Inner ends of confronting sides of adjacent components include at least one damper element to dampen the relative motion of the components or to provide at least a partial seal between adjacent components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: GE Avio S.r.l.
    Inventors: Antonio Giusseppe D'Ettole, Andrea Depalma, Roberto Maddaleno, Matteo Renato Usseglio
  • Patent number: 11946387
    Abstract: A turbine blade, including a root, a vane including a leading edge and a trailing edge and a pressure-side wall and a suction-side wall, and including cooling vents at the trailing edge, this vane also including first and second serpentine circuits; each serpentine circuit including several ducts extending in the span direction, being connected to each other by angled portions; each serpentine circuit being supplied with air by its duct that is closest to the leading edge; and wherein the vents are supplied by the first and by the second serpentine circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Erwan Daniel Botrel, Kevin Yannick Garles, Laurent Patrick Robert Coudert
  • Patent number: 11946446
    Abstract: A wind turbine nacelle configured for mounting on a wind turbine tower and for supporting a rotor-supporting assembly, the nacelle comprising a main unit, and at least one auxiliary unit. To increase flexibility and improve assembly and maintenance procedures of the wind turbine, the auxiliary unit comprises at least two sub units each accommodating at least one wind turbine component, e.g. a converter or a transformer. The sub units are attached individually to the main unit or they are joined and attached as one component to the main unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventors: Torben Ladegaard Baun, Jesper Lykkegaard Neubauer
  • Patent number: 11946389
    Abstract: A turbine rotor blade includes a blade body and a tip shroud on a tip of the blade body. The tip shroud has a contact block configured to face a tip shroud of an adjacent turbine rotor blade, and the contact block includes a base material, an oxidation resistant coating on the surface of the base material, and a hard wear resistant coating on the surface of the oxidation resistant coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Okajima, Masahiko Mega, Taiji Torigoe
  • Patent number: 11939879
    Abstract: This blade repair method has: a first welding step in which overlay welding in which a first welding material is used is performed to form a notched part and a bury a first region positioned on a blade-body side with a first welding material; and a second welding step in which, after the first welding step, overlay welding in which a second welding material is used is performed to form a notched part and bury a second region positioned on a front-surface side of a platform with the second welding material. The high-temperature strength of the second welding material is higher than the high-temperature strength of the first welding material, the weldability of the first welding material is higher than the weldability of the second welding material, and the second region is located in a range from 1.0 mm to 3.0 mm (inclusive) from the front surface of the platform toward the blade body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Osamu Ueda, Hiroshi Murai, Ryoji Fushino
  • Patent number: 11933313
    Abstract: A pump comprises: at least one rotor rotatable about an axis of rotation; a pump housing surrounding the rotor, wherein a pump channel is formed between a radially inner surface of the pump housing and a radially outer surface of the rotor; and a seal assembly that seals the pump channel to an end surface of the rotor. The seal assembly comprises: a sliding surface which is provided on one of the rotor and the pump housing and which extends perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotor; a static surface provided on the other of the rotor and the pump housing; and a first elastomer element attached to the static surface and pressed against the sliding surface in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Watson Marlow GmbH
    Inventors: Sven-Eric Will, Florian Walter, Eric Mayer
  • Patent number: 11926906
    Abstract: A process for producing compressed hydrogen gas, said process comprising electrolysing water to produce hydrogen gas and compressing said hydrogen gas in a multistage compression system to produce compressed hydrogen gas. The multistage compression system comprises at least one centrifugal compression stage, and the hydrogen gas is fed to the centrifugal compression stage at a pre-determined feed temperature and pressure and having a pre-determined relative humidity. The process further comprises adding water and heat to the hydrogen gas upstream of the centrifugal compression stage, as required, to humidify the hydrogen gas to the pre-determined relative humidity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph Gerard Wehrman, Paul Higginbotham, Vincent White
  • Patent number: 11927464
    Abstract: Computer-implemented methods are disclosed for determining a flow rate of fluid flow at a target time through a pump, such as a centrifugal pump, the pump being driven by a pump motor. An illustrative method includes, in some aspects: receiving at least one set of previous parameter values including a first previous parameter value indicative of a first operational parameter of the pump motor at a previous time, earlier than the target time, and a second previous parameter value indicative of a second operational parameter of the pump motor at the previous time, and receiving a current set of parameter values including a first current parameter value indicative of the first operational parameter of the pump motor at the target time and a second current parameter value indicative of the second operational parameter of the pump motor at the target time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Grundfos Holding A/S
    Inventors: Peter Elvekjær, Jesper Thørring Damgaard, Carsten Christensen
  • Patent number: 11926519
    Abstract: A dispensing pump for fuel vending systems, comprising a pump body which forms internally a pumping chamber, which rotatably accommodates an impeller, functionally connected to a motor, and provided with an intake connector and a delivery connector, which communicate with the pumping chamber and can be connected to a fuel dispensing line; the pump body has at least one coupling portion for at least one auxiliary device of the dispensing line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: PIUSI S.P.A.
    Inventor: Otto Varini
  • Patent number: 11927255
    Abstract: A blade assembly for a torque converter includes a shell defining an inner surface and a plurality of blades arranged around the inner surface of the shell. The plurality of blades each include a curved portion contacting the inner surface. The plurality of blades each further include a curved region axially spaced from the respective curved portion. The plurality of blades each further include an end extending from the respective curved portion to the respective curved region. Each end includes a notch arranged radially closer to the respective curved region than to the respective curved portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventor: Baylor Hartzler
  • Patent number: 11927111
    Abstract: A blade for a turbine engine with a wall separating a cooling fluid flow and a hot gas fluid flow and having a heated surface along which the hot gas fluid flow flows and a cooled surface facing the cooling fluid flow. A plurality of cooling holes each having a passage extending between an inlet at the cooled surface and an outlet at the heated surface. The outlet extending between an upstream end and a downstream end with respect to the hot gas fluid flow to define a distance, the passage defining a centerline forming a first angle (?) with the heated surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jonathan Michael Rausch, Zachary Daniel Webster, Kevin Robert Feldmann, Andrew David Perry, Kirk Douglas Gallier, Daniel Endecott Osgood
  • Patent number: 11920606
    Abstract: Fuel pump for an aircraft engine, comprising an inducer and a centrifugal impeller fixed together and having an axis of rotation, an annular space spacing axially the inducer and the impeller, and two contact portions between the inducer and the impeller disposed radially outside the annular space, a first plenum chamber and a second plenum chamber, in which the inducer and the impeller are spaced axially from each other, each being disposed between the two contact portions, the plenum chambers being symmetrical to each other with respect to the axis of rotation and in fluid communication with the annular space, the centrifugal impeller comprising a plurality of axial balancing holes distributed about the axis of rotation and opening out into the annular space at one end, and into a downstream space of the impeller at the other end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Petar Dimitrov Tomov, Loïc Pora, Sébastien Christophe Loval