Patents Examined by Jason Newton
  • Patent number: 10145297
    Abstract: Disclosed is a controller for a turbocharged engine. The engine includes a supercharger configured to supercharge intake air using an exhaust gas from the engine, and including movable flaps arranged so that a boost pressure generated in an intake passage is adjustable. If a rotational speed of a turbine and compressor that constitute the supercharger has reached a first threshold lower than an endurance limit, an amount of fuel injected to the engine is reduced to a predetermined amount. If the rotational speed has reached a second threshold lower than the first threshold, the amount of fuel injected is reduced in accordance with an excess of the rotational speed over the second threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Amane Tsuda, Hiroaki Deguchi, Kenjiro Konomi, Nobuo Yunoki, Yasushi Niwa, Kazuya Niida
  • Patent number: 10138781
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for expediting light-off of a catalyst during engine cold-start conditions by inhibiting rotation of the turbocharger shaft. In one example, a method may include inhibiting rotation of the turbocharger shaft during engine cold-start conditions until the catalyst is operating at a desired efficiency. The rotation of the shaft may be inhibited via either a passive or an active shaft locking mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ray Host, Robert Andrew Wade, Anthony Morelli
  • Patent number: 10138731
    Abstract: An engine comprises a compression portion and a combustion portion. The compression portion comprises twin-screw rotors, male engaged with female. The combustion portion comprises twin-screw rotors, male engaged with female. The male compression rotor and the male combustion rotor share a same longitudinal axis, and the female compression rotor and the female combustion rotor share a same longitudinal axis. A combustion plate is disposed between the compression portion and the combustion portion, and prevents flow of gas from the compression portion to the combustion portion, except through a small orifice centrally located on the combustion plate. A valve is affixed to the male rotors adjacent to the combustion plate, covering the lobes of the male rotors and extending beyond the lobes of the male rotors. The valve controls the flow of gas from the compression portion to the combustion portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Inventor: Bret Freeman
  • Patent number: 10125675
    Abstract: An internal combustion rotary engine includes an air passage configured to allow cool air to flow through the rotor as the rotor moves relative to the housing within the engine. Some embodiments include a removable fuel cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: LiquidPiston, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander C. Shkolnik, Nikolay Shkolnik, Alex Lyubomirskiy
  • Patent number: 10125676
    Abstract: A rotary engine having an insert in a peripheral wall of the stator body, the insert being made of a material having a greater heat resistance than that of the peripheral wall, having a subchamber defined therein and having an inner surface, the subchamber communicating with the cavity through at least one opening defined in the inner surface and having a shape forming a reduced cross-section adjacent the opening, a pilot fuel injector having a tip received in the subchamber, an ignition element having a tip received in the subchamber, and a main fuel injector extending through the stator body and having a tip communicating with the cavity at a location spaced apart from the insert. The subchamber has a volume corresponding to from 5% to 25% of a sum of the minimum volume and the volume of the subchamber. A method of injecting heavy fuel into a Wankel engine is also discussed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Jean Thomassin, Nigel Davenport, Eugene Gekht
  • Patent number: 10119472
    Abstract: Electrical power systems, including generating capacity of a gas turbine, where additional electrical power is generated utilizing a separately fueled system during periods of peak electrical power demand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: POWERPHASE LLC
    Inventor: Robert J. Kraft
  • Patent number: 10113584
    Abstract: A roller finger follower includes a housing and a roller assembly. The roller assembly includes a roller positioned between a pair of sidewalls of the housing, an axle extending through opposing holes in the sidewalls of the housing and the roller, and preferably includes a plurality of needles positioned between the axle and the roller for rotatably mounting the roller on the axle. The roller assembly also includes a first bearing sleeve positioned in the first hole and a second bearing sleeve positioned in the second hole. Ends of the axle are respectively positioned in and rotatable relative to the first bearing sleeve and the second bearing sleeve such that the axle is rotatable relative to the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: SCHAEFFLER TECHNOLOGIES AG & CO. KG
    Inventor: Faheem Ahmed
  • Patent number: 10111994
    Abstract: A pump for a fluid which can be blood has a stator housing and a rotor hub with leading and trailing portions and an intermediate portion disposed therebetween. At least one impeller blade at the leading portion drives circumferential and axial components of a flow into a pump annulus or intermediate pathway portion. At least one stator blade extends radially inward from the stator housing within the intermediate pathway portion and is configured to reduce a circumferential component of the flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: HeartWare, Inc.
    Inventors: Jingchun Wu, Michael Ricci, David Paden, Shaun Snyder
  • Patent number: 10107184
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for controlling a wastegate coupled to a turbine. In one example, a method may include during steady engine operation, actuating a wastegate to introduce an oscillation in boost pressure, and updating gain of a wastegate feedback controller responsive to the oscillation in boost pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Hamid-Reza Ossareh, Baitao Xiao, Mrdjan J. Jankovic, David G. Hagner, Julia Helen Buckland
  • Patent number: 10107181
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes: a cylinder block including multiple cylinders; a cylinder head; and a turbocharger including an inlet port connected to an exhaust outlet of the cylinder head. The inlet port includes a first wall portion located between one cylinder out of the two outermost cylinders and the central axis of the inlet port in the cylinder array direction, and a second wall portion located on the opposite side of the central axis of the inlet port from the first wall portion. The first wall portion includes a thick-walled portion that is greater in thickness than the second wall portion, and a thin-walled portion that is smaller in thickness than the thick-walled portion and is located upstream of the thick-walled portion in the direction of exhaust gas flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, AISIN TAKAOKA CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Osamu Maeda, Tatsuo Iida, Koichi Yonezawa, Tomoya Kato
  • Patent number: 10107215
    Abstract: Synergistic induction and turbocharging includes the use of one or more throttles in close proximity to each cylinder intake valve to control air flow in each intake port delivering air to combustion cylinders in an internal combustion engine system. A turbocharger may also be affixed in close proximity to each cylinder exhaust valve to enable a synergistic combination of hyper-filling cylinders with combustion air and immediate harvesting of exhaust gas by adjacent turbochargers. In some implementations the turbochargers may be low-inertia turbochargers. The combination of individual throttles per intake port and a turbocharger in close proximity to each cylinder enables faster ramp-up of an engine in the early stages of acceleration. Various implementations thus provide improved fuel economy and improved engine performance in tandem, instead of one at the expense of the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Bright Acceleration Technologies LLC
    Inventors: James R. Clarke, Richard J. Fotsch, C. Thomas Sylke
  • Patent number: 10100756
    Abstract: A method for determining atmospheric pressure AMP during operation in a partial load state of a turbocharged engine (1) including an air intake line (2) incorporating a butterfly valve (16), and an exhaust line (3) including a bypass duct (20) incorporating an exhaust gas discharge valve (21), the method includes measuring the air pressure PUT upstream of the butterfly valve (16), and for a given speed of N rpm of the engine (1), when the boost pressure PUT corresponds substantially to the natural boost pressure, determining the atmospheric pressure AMP=AMP(0)+PUT?PUT(0), wherein AMP(0) is the atmospheric pressure previously measured, and PUT(0) is boost pressure naturally obtained for the speed N rpm of the engine (1) for the atmospheric pressure AMP(0).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignees: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE FRANCE, CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventor: Laurent Cuvelier
  • Patent number: 10100742
    Abstract: A helicopter engine collector includes an external longitudinal wall and two closed end walls, a longitudinal symmetry axis inclined ascendingly, couplings configured to be connected to purge drains, and a connection connected to a gas ejection pipe and connected to the bottom end wall. The collector also includes, in its internal space, a chamber with its symmetry axis substantially parallel to the axis of the collector. The chamber includes a longitudinal wall and two transverse end walls. The chamber is connected to the purge coupling of the injection wheel via a radial connection emerging on its longitudinal wall, the symmetry axis of the chamber being inclined, with respect to the horizontal reference ground when the helicopter is in a ground position, by a reference angle such that this axis is situated parallel to the reference ground when the helicopter is in an acceleration phase. The collector prevents formation of fumes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: SAFRAN HELICOPTER ENGINES
    Inventors: Simon Pearce, Bernard Lavie-Cambot, Hubert Moebs
  • Patent number: 10094573
    Abstract: A gas turbine combustor includes a liner and a transmission piece. Fuel injected in the liner from a fuel nozzle of a gas turbine mixes with compressed air. High temperature gas produced in the liner is transmitted through the transmission piece. The liner is disposed in a flow sleeve in which cooling holes are formed. The transition piece is disposed in a perforated sleeve. Compressed air supplied through holes formed in the perforated sleeve collides with the transition piece. The liner includes a cooling sleeve disposed thereon that divides the air supplied through the cooling holes of the flow sleeve and the compressed air flowing to a space portion between the liner and the flow sleeve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: DOOSAN Heavy Industries Construction Co., LTD
    Inventors: Young Bong Kim, Jinhoon Choe, Ujin Roh
  • Patent number: 10087823
    Abstract: Synergistic induction and turbocharging includes the use of one or more throttles in close proximity to each cylinder intake valve to control air flow in each intake port delivering air to combustion cylinders in an internal combustion engine system. A turbocharger may also be affixed in close proximity to each cylinder exhaust valve to enable a synergistic combination of hyper-filling cylinders with combustion air and immediate harvesting of exhaust gas by adjacent turbochargers. In some implementations the turbochargers may be low-inertia turbochargers. The combination of individual throttles per intake port and a turbocharger in close proximity to each cylinder enables faster ramp-up of an engine in the early stages of acceleration. Various implementations thus provide improved fuel economy and improved engine performance in tandem, instead of one at the expense of the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Bright Acceleration Technologies LLC
    Inventors: James R. Clarke, Richard J. Fotsch, C. Thomas Sylke
  • Patent number: 10082070
    Abstract: Use of the hydraulically driven device in a series configuration with a minimally restrictive turbocharger is defined which will allow a very responsive and powerful boosting system to reach boost levels of 4-5 pressure ratio (PR) to support and enable OEM engine downsizing trends. An electric supercharger is also considered. A hydraulic drive assists to increase the acceleration rate of a turbocharger impeller/turbine shaft assembly and provide a secondary means of driving the compressor impeller at lower engine speeds where exhaust gases alone does not generate adequate shaft speeds to create significant induction boost. The hydraulic circuit includes a dual displacement motor, which provides high torque for acceleration yet converts to a single motor for high-speed operation. When the exhaust driven turbine function allows compressor speeds, beyond which the hydraulic system can contribute, a slip clutch allows disengagement of the hydraulic drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Inventors: Jeffrey J. Buschur, Richard S. Leemhuis, Donald G. Shiloff
  • Patent number: 10082029
    Abstract: A rotary engine where the rotor cavity has a peripheral inner surface having a peritrochoid configuration defined by a first eccentricity and the rotor has a peripheral outer surface having a peritrochoid inner envelope configuration defined by a second eccentricity larger than the first eccentricity. Also, a rotary engine where the rotor cavity has a peripheral inner surface having a peritrochoid configuration defined by an eccentricity, and a rotor with a peripheral outer surface between adjacent ones of the apex portions being inwardly offset from a peritrochoid inner envelope configuration defined by the eccentricity. The engine may have an expansion ratio with a value of at most 8. The rotary engine may be part of a compound engine system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Jean-Gabriel Gauvreau, David Gagnon-Martin, Andre Julien
  • Patent number: 10077707
    Abstract: An apparatus or system includes a component that generates or transfers noise having a frequency within a noise frequency range. The component may include a boundary. The apparatus or system may be an engine in some examples. The engine may additionally include a micro-perforated sheet positioned a distance from the boundary. The micro-perforated sheet may include a plurality of micro-perforated holes, and may be configured to absorb sound within an absorption frequency range based on parameters of the micro-perforated sheet. The parameters may include the distance from the boundary and dimensions of the micro-perforated holes, and may be set such that the absorption frequency range overlaps the noise frequency range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Inventors: Tyler W. Le Roy, Todd A. Baumann, Dale D. Snyder, Amy Adams
  • Patent number: 10072667
    Abstract: The present invention provides a supercharger with an electric motor having improved cooling performance for bearings, in the case of employing a grease lubrication system as a lubrication system of the bearings. A supercharger with an electric motor includes: a rotary shaft; a compressor wheel; a compressor housing for housing the compressor wheel; an electric motor including a motor rotor and a motor stator, and giving rotation force to the rotary shaft; a motor housing, for housing the electric motor; a first grease-sealed bearing for rotatably supporting the rotary shaft; and a bearing housing for housing the first grease-sealed bearing, and disposed between the compressor housing and the motor housing. Inside the bearing housing, a cooling passage through which a cooling medium flows is provided in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential side of the first grease-sealed bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES ENGINE & TURBOCHARGER, LTD.
    Inventors: Byeongil An, Hiroshi Suzuki, Noriyuki Hayashi, Naomichi Shibata
  • Patent number: 10072559
    Abstract: A method of operating an internal combustion engine having pilot subchambers communicating with main combustion chambers, the internal combustion engine configured in use to deliver a main fuel injection of a maximum quantity of fuel to the main combustion chambers when the internal combustion engine is operated at maximum load. The method includes delivering a pilot fuel injection of at most 10% of the maximum quantity to the pilot subchambers, igniting the pilot fuel injection within the pilot subchambers, directing the ignited fuel from the pilot subchambers to the main combustion chambers, and delivering a main fuel injection of a main quantity of fuel to at least one of the main combustion chambers receiving the ignited fuel, with the main quantity being at most 10% of the maximum quantity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Edwin Schulz, Michael Lanktree