Patents Examined by Craig Kim
  • Patent number: 11204002
    Abstract: An igniting device for igniting a mixture, in particular for an engine, comprises an energy converting device and a fluid flow injecting device. The energy converting device is configured for converting fluid flow energy of at least one fluid flow into heat, thereby igniting the mixture. The energy converting device comprises an ignition chamber for the at least one fluid flow. The fluid injecting device is configured for injecting a plurality of fluid flows into the ignition chamber. The injection takes place such that a first fluid flow is injected into the ignition chamber with a higher fluid flow velocity than a second fluid flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Inventor: Christian Bauer
  • Patent number: 11199159
    Abstract: A disclosed turbofan engine includes a gas generator section for generating a gas stream flow and a propulsor section for generating propulsive thrust as a mass flow rate of air through a bypass flow path. The propulsor section includes a fan driven by a power turbine through a speed reduction device at a second rotational speed lower than a first rotational speed of the power turbine. An Engine Unit Thrust Parameter (“EUTP”) defined as net engine thrust divided by a product of the mass flow rate of air through the bypass flow path, a tip diameter of the fan and the first rotational speed of the power turbine is between 0.05 and 0.13 during operation of the turbofan engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Jayant Sabnis
  • Patent number: 11193427
    Abstract: A bleed valve for an air plenum includes a valve body having a poppet seat, a poppet supported by the valve body and movable relative to the poppet seat, and piston slideable relative to the poppet and movable relative to the poppet between an extended position and a retracted position. Gas turbine engines and methods of bleeding fluid from gas turbine engines are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventors: Myles R. Kelly, James S. Elder, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11193379
    Abstract: A turbofan having a nacelle including a slider mobile in translation between advanced and retracted positions to open a window between a duct and the exterior, a plurality of blades, each being mobile in rotation on the slider between stowed and deployed positions, and a maneuvering system that moves each blade and includes, for each blade, a shaft mobile in rotation on the slider and on which the blade is fixed, an arm having a first end fixed to the shaft and a second end, an arc which is coaxial with the longitudinal axis and is rotatably mounted on the slider, about the longitudinal axis, a lever mounted in articulated fashion between the arc and the second end of the arm, and an actuation system which rotates the arc in one direction and in the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: AIRBUS OPERATIONS SAS
    Inventors: Pascal Gardes, Antoine Cousin, Antoine Boudou
  • Patent number: 11193672
    Abstract: An assembly is provided for a turbine engine. This turbine engine assembly includes a combustor wall. The combustor wall includes a shell, a heat shield and an annular body. The annular body extends through the combustor wall and at least partially defines a quench aperture along a centerline through the combustor wall. The shell defines a first cooling aperture radially outwards of the annular body relative to the centerline and is configured to direct air to impinge against a portion of the annular body between the heat shield and the shell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Frank J. Cunha, Stanislav Kostka, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11186383
    Abstract: A fuel pump arrangement including a housing and an impeller located within the housing configured for receiving cold fuel through an inlet of the housing, wherein the impeller includes a series of vanes for drawing fluid and a nose cone defining an axis, wherein the nose cone includes a channel therethrough for passing warm fuel to an exterior surface of the nose cone for mixing with the cold fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventor: James S. Elder
  • Patent number: 11187229
    Abstract: A fuel system for a turbomachine includes a fuel tank and a first fuel line in fluid communication with the fuel tank and one or more fuel injectors. The first fuel line includes a main fuel pump disposed on the first fuel line, and an electric metering system disposed on the first fuel line downstream of the main fuel pump configured for starting the turbomachine and metering fuel to the fuel injectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventors: William E. Rhoden, Peter J. Padykula
  • Patent number: 11174781
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a powerplant of an aircraft including at least one twin-spool gas generator of longitudinal axis (XX), at least one main fan arranged upstream of the gas generator on the longitudinal axis (XX) and driven in rotation by the gas generator, the main fan being shrouded with a main fan housing; and at least one auxiliary fan with axis (XY, XY?) offset relative to the longitudinal axis (XX) and driven by the gas generator, the auxiliary fan being shrouded with an auxiliary fan housing, the gas generator including at least one low-pressure compressor and a low-pressure turbine connected by a low-pressure shaft, the low-pressure turbine driving in rotation the main fan and the auxiliary fan via at least one power transmission system including a differential gear system incorporating a bevel gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Laurent Soulat, Kevin Morgane Lemarchand, Tewfik Boudebiza, Gilles Alain Charier, Nathalie Nowakowski, Augustin Marc Michel Curlier, Adrien Pierre Jean Pertat, Pierre-Alain Jean Philippe Reigner
  • Patent number: 11175045
    Abstract: A method and structure for operating a combustion system of a gas turbine engine to mitigate low frequency combustion acoustics is generally provided. The method includes flowing an oxidizer through a fuel nozzle passage defining an inner wall and an outer wall, in which each of the inner wall and the outer wall are contoured from a first radius to a second radius smaller than the first radius; flowing the oxidizer at a higher axial velocity at the inner wall relative to the outer wall upstream of a fuel injection port; flowing a fuel through the fuel injection port to the fuel nozzle passage to mix with the flow of oxidizer to produce a fuel-oxidizer mixture; and igniting the fuel-oxidizer mixture downstream of the fuel injection port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Michael Anthony Benjamin, Girish Venkata Satya Sesha Goda, Habeeb Kunnummal Manat, Karthikeyan Sampath
  • Patent number: 11168610
    Abstract: A constant-volume combustion system for a turbomachine includes a plurality of combustion chambers distributed in an annular manner about an axis defining an axial direction, each combustion chamber including an intake port and an exhaust port; a selective closure member rotationally movable about the axis with respect to the combustion chambers, the selective closure member including a ferrule facing the intake and exhaust ports of the combustion chambers, the ferrule containing at least one intake aperture intended to cooperate with the exhaust port of each chamber and at least one exhaust aperture intended to cooperate with the exhaust port of each chamber. Each intake aperture and each exhaust aperture are segmented by at least one segment extending in each aperture in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: SAFRAN
    Inventors: Matthieu Leyko, Pierre Jean-Baptiste Metge, Eric Conete, Gautier Mecuson
  • Patent number: 11168644
    Abstract: A turbofan including a motor, nacelle and a secondary duct therebetween. The nacelle includes a fan casing with front and rear parts, a fixed assembly including a fixed structure and the front part, a mobile assembly with an openwork frame, a mobile cowl and the rear part and mobile between advanced and retracted positions in which a window is open between the secondary duct and the exterior of the nacelle, inner doors articulated between stowed and deployed positions, a first actuator for moving the frame and a second actuator for moving each inner door. The rear part is divided into outer flaps mobile between lowered and raised positions and is moved by an electric motor. A jet engine accordingly serves to increase retraction distance by freeing up part of the fan cowl and improve orientation of flow of air passing through the window by orienting the outer flaps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Airbus Operations (S.A.S.)
    Inventors: Laurent Presseq, Julie Cazalis, Lionel Sillieres, Bastian Sabathier, José Goncalves, Frédéric Piard, Lionel Czapla, Thierry Gaches, Frédéric Ridray, Pascal Gardes
  • Patent number: 11161603
    Abstract: The invention relates to an architecture of a propulsion system of a multi-engine helicopter comprising turboshaft engines connected to a power transmission gearbox, characterised in that it comprises: at least one hybrid turboshaft engine (20) capable of operating in at least one standby mode during a stable cruise flight of the helicopter; at least two systems (30; 40) for controlling each hybrid turboshaft engine (20), each system (30; 40) comprising an electric machine (31; 41) connected to the hybrid turboshaft engine (20) and suitable for rotating the gas generator thereof, and at least one source (33; 43) of electrical power for said electric machine (31; 41), each reactivation system (30; 40) being configured such that it can drive said turboshaft engine (20) in at least one operating mode among a plurality of predetermined modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignees: SAFRAN HELICOPTER ENGINES, SAFRAN ELECTRICAL & POWER
    Inventors: Philippe Vallart, Jean-Michel Bazet, Loïc Le Duigou
  • Patent number: 11149564
    Abstract: An aircraft nacelle arrangement includes a compression rod disposed between a first nacelle half and a second nacelle half, wherein the first nacelle half and the second nacelle half are rotatable about a hinge between a closed position and an open position, a compression rod disposed between the first nacelle half and the second nacelle half, and a mounting bracket coupled to an exhaust nozzle flange of the aircraft engine, wherein the compression rod extends through the mounting bracket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Rohr, Inc.
    Inventors: Jinqiu Lu, Frank Zabatta, Travis Michael Frazier, Karina Alejandra Hernandez
  • Patent number: 11149650
    Abstract: A turbofan engine according to an example of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a fan including a circumferential array of fan blades, a compressor in fluid communication with the fan, the compressor including a first compressor section and a second compressor, the second compressor section including a second compressor section inlet with a second compressor section inlet annulus area, a fan duct including a fan duct annulus area outboard of the second compressor section inlet, a shaft assembly having a first portion and a second portion, a turbine in fluid communication with the combustor, the turbine having a first turbine section coupled to the first portion of the shaft assembly to drive the first compressor section, and a second turbine section coupled to the second portion of the shaft assembly to drive the fan, an epicyclic transmission coupled to the fan and rotatable by the second turbine section through the second portion of the shaft assembly to allow the second turbine to turn fa
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Paul R. Adams, Shankar S. Magge, Joseph B. Staubach, Wesley K. Lord, Frederick M. Schwarz, Gabriel L. Suciu
  • Patent number: 11136901
    Abstract: A monolithic combustor apparatus comprises an outer casing comprising a forward flange, a fuel manifold disposed on the outer casing and defining an annular chamber extending perimetrically around the outer casing, a combustor liner disposed within the outer casing, the combustor liner defining an annular combustion chamber, a first annular plenum disposed between the outer casing and the combustor liner, an inner liner disposed radially from the combustor liner, a first inner flange extending forward from the combustor liner, and a second inner flange extending radially inward from the first inner flange.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Binek, Jesse R. Boyer, Evan J. Butcher, Dmytro Mykolayovych Voytovych
  • Patent number: 11136938
    Abstract: A bypass turbofan engine with a nacelle comprising a fan case and a thrust-reversal system. The fan case comprises an exterior wall, and the reversal system comprises a slider having an upstream frame, a downstream frame and a plurality of spars fixed between the upstream frame and the downstream frame, in which the slider is able to move between a forward position and a retracted position. The fan case comprises, at a rear edge of its exterior wall, a support. Each support comprises, for each spar, a shoe fixed to the exterior wall and positioned radially about the spar, and a skirt secured to the shoes and extending the rear edge, in which, in a forward position, the skirt bears around the downstream frame, and in which in a forward/retracted/intermediate position, the shoes are distant from the spars from the upstream frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: AIRBUS OPERATIONS SAS
    Inventors: Pascal Gardes, Frédéric Ridray, José Goncalves
  • Patent number: 11131457
    Abstract: A combustor includes a combustion chamber; a nozzle supplied with fuel and air to produce a mixed gas of the fuel and the air and configured to inject the mixed gas into the combustion chamber; a fuel supply section coupled to the nozzle casing and configured to supply the fuel to the nozzle; a fuel conditioner that includes a fuel flow path having a serpentine shape and is disposed between the fuel supply section and the nozzle, the fuel conditioner configured to guide the fuel supplied from the fuel supply section to the nozzle along the fuel flow path; and a nozzle casing having an opening into which the nozzle is inserted. The fuel conditioner extends from a first side of the nozzle casing toward a second side. The fuel conditioner and the nozzle casing form a first passage through which fuel may flow to the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Inventor: Jong Ho Uhm
  • Patent number: 11125494
    Abstract: A method for starting and operating a plant for the liquefaction of a gaseous product comprising the steps of electrically connecting a variable frequency drive to a motor of a first machine string; increasing the speed of the motor of the first machine string up until a first predefined threshold; electrically disconnecting the variable frequency drive from the motor of the first machine string; electrically connecting the variable frequency drive to a motor of a second machine string; the first predefined threshold is function of said frequency of the power supply grid. The variable frequency drive can be switched during operation of the plant among the strings according to process requirements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: NUOVO PIGNONE SRL
    Inventors: Antonio Pelagotti, Annunzio Lazzari, Andrea Alfani, Oriano Zucchi
  • Patent number: 11125161
    Abstract: An air-oil cooler for a gas turbine engine includes an air cooling structure and a lubricant channel. The lubricant channel extends between a lubricant inlet and a lubricant inlet and is bounded by the air cooling structure. The air cooling structure has an arcuate shape for circumferentially spanning a portion of a gas turbine engine core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventor: Richard A. Weiner
  • Patent number: 11125165
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a turbomachine and a thermal management system. The thermal management system includes a heat source heat exchanger configured to collect heat from the turbomachine during operation; a heat sink heat exchanger; and a thermal transport bus having a heat exchange fluid configured to flow therethrough at a pressure within an operational pressure range. The thermal management system defines an operational temperature range for the heat exchange fluid, the operational temperature range having a lower temperature limit less than about zero degrees Fahrenheit at a pressure within the operational pressure range and an upper temperature limit of at least about 1000 degrees Fahrenheit at a pressure within the operational pressure range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Daniel Alan Niergarth, Adon Delgado, Jr., Brandon Wayne Miller, Hendrik Pieter Jacobus de Bock