Patents Examined by David P. Olynick
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Patent number: 11988148Abstract: A gas turbine engine generates noise during use, and one particularly important flight condition for noise generation is take-off. A gas turbine engine is provided that has high efficiency together with low noise, in particular from the jet flow exiting the engine and the turbine. The combined contribution of the jet and the turbine to the Effective Perceived Noise Level (EPNL) at a take-off lateral reference point, defined as the point on a line parallel to and 450 m from the runway centre line where the EPNL is a maximum during take-off, is in the range of from 3 EPNdB and 15 EPNdB lower than the total engine EPNL at the take-off lateral reference point.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 2019Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Alastair D Moore, Robert J Telling
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Patent number: 11988159Abstract: An aircraft that includes a hybrid-electric propulsion system is provided. In one aspect, the hybrid-electric propulsion system includes at least one propulsor that includes a gas turbine engine and an electric machine mechanically coupled with a spool of the gas turbine engine. When idle operation is commanded, electrical power is provided to the electric machine to cause the electric machine to apply torque to the spool and fuel provided to the engine can be reduced. Thus, the electric machine is controlled to provide a power assist to maintain the engine at the commanded idle speed whilst reducing fuel consumption.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Gregory L. Detweiler, Thomas William Brown, Robert Charles Hon, Alan Gregory Murphy
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Patent number: 11987369Abstract: A turbomachine of an aircraft comprising an outer casing delimiting with an inner hub, a flow path of a gas stream in which is disposed a low-pressure turbine configured to rotationally drive a low-pressure shaft; said turbomachine comprising, in the direction of flow of the gas stream, a first propeller; and a second propeller downstream of the first propeller, the first propeller being rotationally driven by said low-pressure shaft and the second propeller being rotationally driven by an electric motor, the second propeller being further disposed at a distance between 1.5 and 4 cord lengths from the first propeller defined between the respective axes of shimming of each of the first and second propellers.Type: GrantFiled: October 25, 2019Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINESInventors: Nicolas Jérôme Jean Tantot, Anthony Binder, Mario Antoine Lambey
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Patent number: 11988156Abstract: A power plant assembly, including—a turbine for driving at least one rotor shaft; —a combustion chamber for generating drive energy for the turbine; —at least one electric machine which is coupled to the rotor shaft and can be operated both in a generator mode and in a motor mode; —and at least one energy storage system which is connected to the electric machine and can store energy generated by the electric machine when the electric machine is in generator mode. A set of control electronics of the power plant assembly is configured to operate the combustion chamber using a lean fuel-air mixture and, for this purpose, to selectively operate the at least one electric machine in generator mode or in motor mode, depending on the power to be applied by the power plant assembly.Type: GrantFiled: December 12, 2019Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE DEUTSCHLAND LTD & CO KGInventor: Peter Schober
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Patent number: 11988152Abstract: A turbomachine has an electric machine, and a starter-generator incorporating a second electric machine configured to operate as a starter and a generator. The electric machine and the generator-starter are arranged to transfer electric power between them. A planetary gear reduction device has a first element coupled to an accessory relay housing, a second element coupled to the starter-generator, a third element rotated by the electric machine, control means configured to modify the speed of rotation of the first electric machine and the starter-generator so as to provide the starter-generator with a maximum torque in starter mode. The planetary gear reduction device also modifies the speed of rotation of the first electric machine such that the starter-generator is driven at a constant speed in generator mode.Type: GrantFiled: July 16, 2020Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINESInventor: Huguette De Wergifosse
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Patent number: 11988385Abstract: A gas turbomachine combustion chamber includes bridges extending side by side to connect in one piece a radially inner wall and a radially outer wall towards a free end of the radially inner wall. The bridges, inner wall, and outer wall have an additive layer structure.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: SAFRAN HELICOPTER ENGINESInventors: Jean-Paul Didier Autret, Thomas Sebastien Alexandre Gresy, Stéphane Lavignotte, Nicolas Roland Guy Savary
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Patent number: 11988158Abstract: A method is provided for operating an aircraft system. During this method, an engine is operated using first fuel provided by a first fuel source. A fuel supply for the engine is switched between the first fuel source and a second fuel source, where the switching of the fuel supply includes shutting down the engine during aircraft flight. The engine is operated using second fuel provided by the second fuel source.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.Inventors: Ezzat Meshkin Fam, Xuening Lu
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Patent number: 11988169Abstract: A gas turbine engine for an aircraft having an engine core configured with a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor. A fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades, with a nacelle surrounding the gas turbine engine, and a bypass duct outlet guide vane extending radially across the bypass duct between an outer surface of the engine core and the inner surface of the nacelle. An outer wall axis is defined joining the radially outer tip of the trailing edge of the bypass duct outlet guide vane and the rearmost tip of the inner surface of the nacelle. An outer bypass duct wall angle is defined as the angle between the outer wall axis and the centreline, and the outer bypass duct wall angle is in a range from ?15 to ?2.5 degrees.Type: GrantFiled: February 12, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLCInventors: Richard G Stretton, Michael C Willmot
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Patent number: 11988150Abstract: A bypass turbine engine includes a fixed casing, a first shaft (low-pressure shaft), a second shaft (high-pressure shaft), at least one accessory to be driven by a motor powered with electrical energy, a first intermediate shaft tapping mechanical power off the low-pressure shaft, a second intermediate shaft tapping mechanical power off the high-pressure shaft, and an electrical energy generator assembly coupled to the first and second intermediate shafts so as to receive mechanical power from the first and second intermediate shafts. The generator assembly converts the mechanical power received from the first and second intermediate shafts into electrical energy to power the motor or motors, which comes simultaneously from the mechanical power tapped off the low-pressure shaft and the mechanical power tapped off the high-pressure shaft. The generator assembly is housed in an arm in the lower part of the turbine engine and extending vertically into a bypass flow duct.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINESInventor: Claire Alexia Bergo
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Patent number: 11988154Abstract: A direct drive electrically-geared turbofan is provided via a first magnetic gearbox assembly connected to a fan of a turbofan engine; a second magnetic gearbox assembly connected to a spool shaft of the turbofan engine; and a speed controller configured to adjust a rotational speed of the fan based on a rotational speed of the spool shaft by selectively coupling and decoupling the first magnetic gearbox assembly with the second magnetic gearbox assembly. In various aspects, the first or second magnetic gearbox assembly includes a permanent magnet array, while a different one of the first or second magnetic gearbox assemblies includes a rotor winding separated from the permanent magnet array by an air gap; and the speed controller is configured to selectively couple and decouple the first and second magnetic gearbox assemblies with each other via controlling a switch in a winding circuit with the rotor winding.Type: GrantFiled: November 24, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANYInventors: Lijun Gao, Shengyi Liu
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Patent number: 11988098Abstract: In a gas turbine engine of the type having a high-pressure (HP) spool and a low-pressure (LP) spool, methods of increasing surge margin and compression efficiency at a given thrust are provided. One method increases compression efficiency and includes transferring mechanical power from the HP spool to the LP spool to reduce a corrected speed of a HP compressor therein and raise a working line of a LP compressor therein. Another method increases surge margin and includes transferring mechanical power from the LP spool to the HP spool to increase a corrected speed of a HP compressor therein and lower a working line of a LP compressor therein.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2023Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventor: Caroline L Turner
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Patent number: 11988387Abstract: Annular combustion chamber for an aircraft turbomachine, said chamber having two coaxial annular walls, an inner annular wall and an outer annular wall, respectively, which are connected upstream by an annular bottom wall of the chamber, wherein an injection device passes through an axis and comprises an air injection system and a frustoconical bowl which is flared downstream and has air passage openings, the chamber further having an annular deflector placed downstream of the bottom wall substantially parallel to the latter; and wherein the air injection system, the bottom wall, the deflector and the bowl are integrally formed.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINESInventors: Haris Musaefendic, Romain Nicolas Lunel, Jean-François Cabre
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Patent number: 11988136Abstract: A turbomachine having a contrarotating turbine for an aircraft, the turbomachine including a contrarotating turbine of which a first rotor is configured to rotate in a first direction of rotation and is connected to a first turbine shaft, and a second rotor configured to rotate in an opposite direction of rotation and connected to a second turbine shaft. The first rotor includes turbine wheels interleaved between turbine wheels of the second rotor, the turbomachine further including a planetary-type epicyclic mechanical reduction gear which has a sun gear driven in rotation by the second shaft, a ring gear driven in rotation by the first shaft, and a planet carrier attached to a first stator casing of the turbomachine located upstream of the contrarotating turbine with respect to a direction of flow of gas in the turbomachine. The turbomachine includes bearings for guiding the first and second shafts.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2020Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignees: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES, SAFRAN TRANSMISSION SYSTEMSInventors: Paul Ghislain Albert Levisse, Olivier Belmonte, Romain Truco, Olivier Formica, Fabrice Joel Luc Chevillot, Clement Paul Rene Niepceron
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Patent number: 11988097Abstract: The invention relates to an aircraft power architecture comprising a power transmission gearbox (12), located in a first compartment (30), a gas turbine (14), located in a second compartment (32) comprising a gas generator (18) and a free turbine (22) connected to the power transmission gearbox (12) by a power shaft (26) of the gas turbine (14), and an accessory gearbox (16), the gas turbine (14) being set into the main transmission gearbox (12), characterized in that the gas turbine (14) comprises a first electric machine (38), and in that the accessory gearbox (16) is placed in the first compartment (30) and comprises a second electric machine (42) configured to supply energy to the accessory equipment and to receive electrical energy transmitted via the first electric machine (38).Type: GrantFiled: May 9, 2019Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: SAFRAN HELICOPTER ENGINESInventors: Olivier Lafargue, Thomas Klonowski
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Patent number: 11988112Abstract: An aircraft turbomachine having a centrifugal compressor, an annular combustion chamber, an annular casing extending around the chamber and delimiting an annular space (E) in which the chamber is situated, and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger can include a first circuit supplied with exhaust gas from the turbomachine, and a second circuit connected by first and second volutes respectively to an outlet of the compressor and to the annular space. The first and second volutes can be positioned at an axial distance from one another, and the second volute can be connected to the annular space by a straightener which is situated at least in part outside the casing and which is integrated into an annular connecting pipe which connects the second volute to this casing.Type: GrantFiled: June 15, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: Safran Helicopter EnginesInventors: Bernard Claude Pons, Alphonse Puerto, Laurent Pierre Tarnowski, Loïs Pierre Denis Vive
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Patent number: 11988113Abstract: A system may include a first duct including an air inlet end and an air outlet end, and a valve within the first duct and configured to open to allow or close to prevent fan duct air from the air inlet end to pass through to the air outlet end of the first duct. The system may also include a second duct including a first end and a second end. The first end of the second duct may be coupled to a sidewall of the first duct and configured to allow the fan duct air to flow from the first duct to the second duct. The system may also include a resonance chamber coupled to the second end of the second duct and configured to allow the air in the resonance chamber to act as a spring causing the air in the second duct to oscillate at a predefined frequency.Type: GrantFiled: October 19, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: The Boeing CompanyInventor: Zachariah B. VanDeMark
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Patent number: 11988138Abstract: The present disclosure provides air cooling systems and methods for propulsion systems (e.g., aviation or aerospace propulsion systems). More particularly, the present disclosure provides integrated air cooling systems and methods utilizing air cycle machine cooling for hybrid-electric aircraft or aerospace propulsion systems or the like. The present disclosure provides integrated air cycle machine cooling into the hybrid propulsion system (e.g., into the wing-mounted hybrid propulsion system). As such, the air cooling systems and methods of the present disclosure can minimize weight while improving electric motor/generator cooling.Type: GrantFiled: September 13, 2022Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATIONInventors: Viktor Kilchyk, Debabrata Pal
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Patent number: 11988141Abstract: An aircraft comprises a machine body. The machine body encloses a turbofan gas turbine engine and a plurality of ancillary systems. The turbofan gas turbine engine comprises, in axial flow sequence, a heat exchanger module, a fan assembly, a compressor module, a turbine module, a combustor module, and an exhaust module. The machine body comprises either one or two fluid inlet apertures. The or each fluid inlet aperture is configured to allow a fluid flow to enter the machine body and to pass through the heat exchanger module. The heat exchanger module is configured to transfer a waste heat load from the gas turbine engine and the ancillary systems to the fluid flow prior to an entry of the fluid flow into the fan module, and thence into the compressor module, the turbine module, the combustor module, and the exhaust module.Type: GrantFiled: October 5, 2021Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Natalie C Wong, Thomas S Binnington, David A Jones, Daniel Blacker
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Patent number: 11988137Abstract: A steam injected turbine engine includes a core engine section that generates a first gas flow, a burner where an inlet flow is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate thermal energy, and an evaporator where thermal energy from at least the first gas flow is used to transform water into a first steam flow. The first steam flow is injected into a core flow through the core engine.Type: GrantFiled: January 13, 2023Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: RTX CORPORATIONInventors: Jacob C. Snyder, Jon Erik Sobanski
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Patent number: 11970974Abstract: A gas turbine engine and engine mount structure includes a core engine including a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section mounted within a core engine housing. The fan, the compressor section and the turbine section rotate about an axis of rotation. An outer nacelle surrounds the fan, and is spaced from the core engine housing to define a bypass duct. The fan delivers air into the bypass duct and into the core engine housing. The nacelle is formed with camber so as to be curved in a first plane away from the axis of rotation in a first lateral direction. An engine mount structure extends from the nacelle at an angle that is non-parallel and non-perpendicular to the first plane, and has a component in a lateral direction that is opposed to the first lateral direction. An aircraft is also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: January 7, 2022Date of Patent: April 30, 2024Assignee: RTX CorporationInventors: Robert E. Malecki, Andrew Hahn, Marc J. Muldoon, Jesse M. Chandler, Joseph B. Staubach