Patents Examined by Nathan Wiehe
  • Patent number: 9085359
    Abstract: An aerofoil has a main portion of aerofoil cross section, an inner spanwise root end where the aerofoil is in use secured to a supporting structure, and at an outermost spanwise end outboard of the main portion, beyond a tip station, a tip region which includes a tip edge. The planform configuration of the tip edge lies on a first Bezier curve constructed from at least four control points, P1, P2, P3 and P4, each lying on the periphery of a polygon which bounds the tip region. Control point P1 is located on a leading edge of the aerofoil. Control point P2 is located on the second side of the polygon. Control point P3 is located on the third side of the polygon, and control point P4 is located at the outermost tip edge point at a trailing edge of the aerofoil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Agustawestland Limited
    Inventor: Alan Brocklehurst
  • Patent number: 8734104
    Abstract: A wear-free, self-contained control device for an aerodynamic emergency brake of a wind energy converter is presented that comprises multiple components in order to provide a most effective means to control the rotation of a vertical axis wind turbine by a brake, which is able to activate itself without external actuation in malfunction situations and is able to shut down the vertical axis wind turbine. Therefore, a mass element is utilized to store mechanical energy which in turn is used to deploy an aerodynamic braking operation. It also represents a means to control and limit the amount of torque, as absorbed by the turbine in high-wind conditions, and thus provides the ability to harvest electrical/mechanical energy, beyond the normal operational wind speeds of turbines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Inventor: Claus Colling
  • Patent number: 8297237
    Abstract: A high inertance liquid piston engine-compressor that is lightweight, portable and for use with pneumatically actuated devices that may have periods of inactivity between periods of pneumatic use. The engine-compressor provides a power generation system that is for use with mobile or portable devices which need a portable long lasting energy source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Vanderbilt University
    Inventors: Eric J. Barth, Joel A. Willhite
  • Patent number: 8276562
    Abstract: A balance shaft includes a housing that is disposed under an engine and a first hole is formed thereto, a balance shaft that is disposed to the housing and a second hole is formed thereto and a mounting pin that is inserted into the first hole through the second hole for mounting the balance shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motor Corporation
    Inventor: Sung Kwang Kim
  • Patent number: 8215280
    Abstract: A four-stroke, piston-powered internal explosion (“IE”) engine for providing power output through a rotating crankshaft. The IE engine includes an engine block having power cylinders formed therein for receiving working pistons, bearing means for supporting the crankshaft, and a crankshaft supported within the bearing means having an output end extending outside of the engine block and a plurality of offset power cranks. The IE engine further includes connecting rods operably coupled to the power cranks and configured to transfer power from the working pistons to rotate the crankshaft, and working pistons that are received into the power cylinders and operably coupled to the power cranks. Each working piston has a head end positioned adjacent to a cylinder head to form a compression chamber and is configured to receive power from an explosion of a compressed volume of air/fuel mixture located within the compression chamber, and to transfer the received power to the connecting rods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: DF Reserve, LC
    Inventor: Douglas K. Furr
  • Patent number: 8057159
    Abstract: This invention relates to a novel twin wind turbine power system. More particularly, this invention pertains to a twin wind turbine power system which has adjustable width blades, adjustable width wind deflectors and a telescoping erection capability. A twin wind turbine electrical power generating system comprising: (a) a first rotatable wind turbine with vertical radially extending blades around its axis; (b) a second rotatable wind turbine deployed parallel to the first turbine with vertical radially extending blades around its axis; (c) a vertical windshield positioned windwardly between the first and second wind turbines; (d) a wind direction member associated with the first and second wind turbines and directing the first and second wind turbines and windshield to face windward; (e) a rotational support upon which items (a), (b), (c) and (d) are mounted; (f) an alternator connected to the first and second wind turbines and generating electricity as the first and second wind turbines rotate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Inventor: Wun C. Chong
  • Patent number: 8047787
    Abstract: A turbine rotor blade for use in an industrial gas turbine engine in which the blade includes a root section with a fillet region formed between the root and the platform of the blade. The platform region includes a diamond shaped root slot to discharge cooling air from the internal cooling passage out through the trailing edge of the blade. The diamond shaped cooling slot of the present invention comprises a smaller radius at the upper and lower corners and a much larger radius at the mid section of the slot. The cooling slot is positioned in the trailing edge root section where the upper corner is positioned above the fillet run out location. The diamond shaped cooling slot thus minimizes the high stresses induced by the stress concentration from the cooling slot and the fillet run out location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: George Liang
  • Patent number: 7896610
    Abstract: A three-dimensionally vibration-preventing buffering mechanism is proposed, which is designed for use in conjunction with a dynamic module for the purpose of buffering the three dimensional vibrations of the dynamic module during operation, and which is characterized by the use of a group of specially-designed chained elastic members, each being composed of at least three integrally-linked flexure hinges whose axes of concavity are oriented respectively in parallel with the three axes of a three-dimensional rectangular coordinate system, so that the vibrations of the dynamic module in all three dimensional directions can be respectively buffered by these flexure hinges to provide a three-dimensional vibration-preventing buffering effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: Inventec Corporation
    Inventor: Cheng-Shen Kao
  • Patent number: 7374405
    Abstract: An apparatus for handling rotor blades of wind power installations. An apparatus for simplified handling of rotor blades is afforded by a carrier element and at least one rotor blade receiving means fixedly connected thereto. A rotor blade is received in the apparatus during a blade fitting procedure. The apparatus may reduce the effect of the wind and the effect of mass inertia on during the blade fitting procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Inventor: Aloys Wobben
  • Patent number: 7374397
    Abstract: A mounting device, for mounting a plurality of fans (50) to a server chassis (70), includes a tray (20), a plurality of brackets (30), and a plurality of fasteners (40). The tray includes a plurality of pairs of mounting sections each pair fixed with a corresponding bracket. Each bracket is U-shaped and includes a pair of side plates (32) for sandwiching a corresponding fan therebetween. Each bracket defines a pair of coaxial locking holes (35?) in the side plates. Each fastener includes a pair of locking ends (42) received in the locking holes of a corresponding bracket to thereby sandwich the corresponding fan in the bracket. Each side plate defines an outlet (34) having a contour corresponding to a contour of an outlet of a corresponding fan, and each mounting section of the tray has a contour corresponding to a contour of the outlet of a corresponding fan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignees: Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd., Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hsieh Kun Lee, Wanlin Xia, HeBen Liu
  • Patent number: 7371043
    Abstract: Fabricating a refractory component for a gas turbine engine, such as a turbine shroud ring segment, by arranging refractory fiber tows (24) in a flaired tubular geometry (20) comprising a stem portion (21) and a funnel-shaped portion (22); impregnating the refractory fibers (24) with a ceramic matrix to form a flaired tube (20) of ceramic composite matrix material; at least partially filling the funnel-shaped portion (22) with a ceramic core (30) extending beyond the end of the funnel-shaped portion to provide a working gas containment surface (31); curing the flaired tube (20) and the ceramic core (30) together; cutting the funnel-shaped portion (22) to provide rectangular edges (27); and providing an attachment mechanism (34, 36, 38, 40) on the stem portion (21) for attaching the component to a surrounding support structure. Additional tows (24) may be introduced at intermediate stages to maintain a desired fabric density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Siemens Power Generation, Inc.
    Inventor: Douglas A. Keller
  • Patent number: 7371044
    Abstract: This invention relates to a seal plate system adapted to fit between axially adjacent turbine blades and turbine vanes to seal a rim cavity. The seal plate system may be formed from a seal plate supported by a plurality of extended disk lugs extending from a disk. The seal plate system may also include one or more extended disk lug receiving cavities adapted to receive protrusions extending from the disc. One or more ribs may extend from the seal plate for increasing the structural integrity of the seal plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Siemens Power Generation, Inc.
    Inventor: Brian D. Nereim
  • Patent number: 7364407
    Abstract: The invention relates to a wind turbine blade and a transitional shell blank for the manufacture of the shell of a wind turbine blade, the blade or the transitional shell blank being made of fibre-reinforced polymer including a first type of fibres (1, 3, 6) of a first stiffness and a first elongation at breakage, and a second type of fibres (2, 5, 7) of a different stiffness and a different elongation at breakage. According to the invention the two types of fibres are distributed in the polymer matrix. When seen in a sectional view perpendicular to longitudinal direction of the blade or the transitional shell blank, the quantitative ratio of the two types of fibres varies continuously in the longitudinal direction of the blade or of the transition shell blank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: LM Glasfiber A/S
    Inventors: Peter Grabau, Lars Fuglsang Andersen
  • Patent number: 7364402
    Abstract: A turbine module for a gas turbine engine includes at least one turbine disk and a disk-shaped component mounted on the turbine disk upstream relative to the gas flow. The module can be assembled to the compressor of the engine, wherein the component is preassembled to the turbine disk, before the module is assembled to the compressor, by bolting to an attachment flange fixedly attached to the turbine disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Michel Gilbert Roland Brault, Maurice Guy Judet, Thomas Langevin, Patrick Claude Pasquis
  • Patent number: 7360991
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus of fabricating a gas turbine engine component are provided. The method includes selecting a surface of a component to apply a wear-resistant material, applying a formed wear pad fabricated from a wear-resistant alloy and a braze material, and vacuum brazing the component and applied wear pad wherein the wear-resistant alloy is bonded to the component surface using the braze material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Gregory M. Ford, Eric Keith, Joshua Miller, David E. Budinger, Glenn H. Nichols
  • Patent number: 7360990
    Abstract: A method enables a variable vane assembly for a gas turbine engine including a casing and an inner shroud to be assembled. The method comprises providing at least one variable vane including a radially inner spindle that has a substantially circular cross-sectional shape, and coupling the variable vane radially between the casing and the inner shroud such that the radially inner spindle is rotatably coupled within an opening extending through the inner shroud, wherein the opening has a non-circular cross-sectional profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Roger Owen Barbe, Mitchell Jay Headley, Scott Howard Pelletier, David N. Rosenow
  • Patent number: 7360988
    Abstract: A method facilitates the assembly of a gas turbine engine. The method comprises providing a turbine nozzle including an inner band, an outer band, and at least one vane extending between the inner and outer bands, wherein the vane includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall connected together at a leading edge and a trailing edge and coupling the turbine nozzle to a combustor that includes a plurality of circumferentially-spaced cooling openings that are oriented with respect to the turbine nozzle such that cooling air discharged therefrom during engine operation is biased towards the vane leading edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ching-Pang Lee, Wenfeng Lu, Douglas Marti Fortuna, Jakub Roniewicz, Robert Andrzej Gniazdowski
  • Patent number: 7360997
    Abstract: A coated fan rotor blade and method for coating a fan rotor blade. The coated fan rotor blade includes a fan rotor blade; and a coating disposed on said fan rotor blade. The coating comprises a binder; and a filler made up of a plurality of particles. The filler material is incorporated into the binder material, and the particles in the filler interact to produce vibrational damping. In particular, the coating includes small, dense, flattened particles or plates that are incorporated into a thin layer of visco-elastic material, such as rubber, silicone, fluoro-elastomer, or urethane and bonded to the surface of the rotor blade to provide damping of high frequency excitation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: William Kent Wagner, John Frederick Ackerman, Kenneth Lee Johnson
  • Patent number: 7357622
    Abstract: Turbine farm comprising at least a first turbine and at least a second turbine for energy extraction from a flowing fluid, wherein when the second turbine is on the lee side of the first turbine, under nominal power, the axial induction of the first turbine is lowered with respect to the second turbine, to reduce turbulence mainly at the location of the at least second turbine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Stichting Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland
    Inventors: Gustave Paul Corten, Pieter Schaak
  • Patent number: 7357624
    Abstract: The invention concerns a rotor blade of a wind power installation and a wind power installation. One advantage of the present invention is to provide a rotor blade having a rotor blade profile, and a wind power installation, which has better efficiency than hitherto. A rotor blade of a wind power installation, wherein the rotor blade has a thickness reserve approximately in the range of between 15% and 40%, preferably in the range of between about 23% and 28%, and wherein the greatest profile thickness is between about 20% and 45%, preferably between about 32% and 36%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Inventor: Aloys Wobben