Patents Examined by Ryan H Ellis
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Patent number: 8043051Abstract: A stackable multi-stage diffuser with anti-rotation lugs utilizes cast lugs and complementary recesses in the diffuser walls. When stacked in a housing, the lugs of lower diffusers nest inside the recesses of upper diffusers. The diffuser sections interlock and are mechanically locked in the housing to prevent rotation of the diffusers. Each diffuser is sealed directly to adjacent diffusers with o-rings, but do not contact or seal to the housing.Type: GrantFiled: May 23, 2007Date of Patent: October 25, 2011Assignee: Baker Hughes IncorporatedInventor: Christopher Marvin Brunner
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Patent number: 8021116Abstract: A rotor system for a rotorcraft includes a rotor having a plurality of pitch control links and a pair of rotor blades mechanically coupled with each of the plurality of pitch control links. A rotorcraft includes a power train, a mast extending from the power train, a rotor having a plurality of pitch control links, the rotor mechanically coupled with the mast, and a pair of rotor blades mechanically coupled with each of the plurality of pitch control links.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 2007Date of Patent: September 20, 2011Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: John E. Brunken, Jr.
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Patent number: 8021104Abstract: There is provided a compressor (10) and associated method for providing a flow of recirculated air to control surging in the compressor. The compressor includes a housing (12) with a compressor wheel (16) rotably mounted therein. The housing defines at least one injection port (36) configured to receive compressed air from the compressor wheel and recirculate the compressed air to an inlet passage (20) of the compressor. In particular, each injection port defines an outlet (38) proximate to the leading edges (32) of the blades (18) of the compressor wheel such that the compressed air is delivered to the leading edges and reduces the occurence of surging.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 2004Date of Patent: September 20, 2011Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.Inventors: Ronglei Gu, Shinichiro Ohkubo, Atsushi Ishii
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Patent number: 8015788Abstract: A heat transfer system is provided for a turbine engine of the type including an annular inlet cowling. The heat transfer system includes at least one heat pipe disposed in contact with an interior of the casing. The heat pipe is thermally coupled to a heat source, such that heat from the heat source can be transferred through the heat pipe and into the inlet cowling.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2006Date of Patent: September 13, 2011Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Justin P. Stephenson, Thomas Ory Moniz, Kattalaicheri Srinivasan Venkataramani
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Patent number: 8007227Abstract: A mechanical emergency brake for a wind turbine is provided, said mechanical emergency brake comprising a spiral spring with a loop at its outer end, a cassette for accommodating said spring and a casing for receiving said cassette and said spring, wherein said casing comprises a retention pin to which the loop of the spring can be fixed.Type: GrantFiled: July 28, 2004Date of Patent: August 30, 2011Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Peter Rogall, Patrick Achenbach
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Patent number: 7997858Abstract: The invention relates to a device for sealing the space between first and second components, wherein a sealing element is placed between the sealing surface of the first component and the sealing surface of the second component, means are used for displacing the sealing element towards the first component and the sealing surface of the second component is used in the form of a guiding surface for the sealing element when it is displaced towards the first component. The means comprise a movable pressure element which is embodied in such a way that the displacement thereof generates the displacement of the sealing element.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2005Date of Patent: August 16, 2011Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventor: Vinko Mikulec
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Patent number: 7993096Abstract: The present invention concerns a wind turbine having a plurality of vertically extending airfoils forming a rotating carousel rotating about a central axis thereof. The airfoils pivot about their leading edges to adjust the pitch angle thereof to maximize energy harvest when the airfoils are rotating both in an upwind direction and in a down wind direction. This pivoting movement results from trailing edges of the airfoils being pivotally secured to rigid spokes or cables of a trailing edge hub. An adjustment mechanism is pivotally mounted between a carousel hub and the trailing edge hub and is used to control the separation between a central axis of the trailing edge hub and the axis of rotation of the carousel as they co-rotate. As the carousel rotates, the offset distance between the two axes determines the maximum achievable pitch angle of each airfoil.Type: GrantFiled: July 24, 2009Date of Patent: August 9, 2011Inventors: Donald E. Anderson, Daniel W Christian
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Patent number: 7988422Abstract: A wind turbine blade includes an upper shell member and a lower shell member defining an internal cavity therebetween. The shell members are joined with a bond paste along bond lines at the leading edge and trailing edge of the blade. A seal member is disposed between the upper and lower shell members at a designed width of the bond line along at least one of the trailing or leading edges. The seal member has a configuration such that excess flowable bond paste is prevented from migrating past the seal member and into the internal cavity upon mating the upper and lower shell members in assembly of the blade.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2010Date of Patent: August 2, 2011Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventor: Robert Andrew Dixon
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Patent number: 7988408Abstract: A two-piece bearing housing is provided for use in centrifugal pumps having or requiring multiple chambers for enclosing or confining bearings or seals, and/or providing lubricant or coolant to the bearings and seals of the pump, the two-piece housing providing several improvements including the ability to make the two pieces from different materials, the reduction in scrap castings due to imprecision achieved in the casting process and improved structures in the housing for monitoring the lubricant chambers in the housing.Type: GrantFiled: May 5, 2008Date of Patent: August 2, 2011Assignee: Envirotech Pumpsystems, Inc.Inventors: James Northrup, Kenneth Sessum, Sr.
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Patent number: 7985051Abstract: A gas turbine vane, especially a vane pertaining to an aircraft engine, comprising a blade and a vane footing. The blade is defined by a flow inlet edge or a front edge, a flow outlet edge or a rear edge, and a blade surface extending between the front edge and the rear edge and forming a suction side and a pressure side. The suction side of the blade includes at least one microprofiled or microstructured region for optimizing the flow around the blade.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 2005Date of Patent: July 26, 2011Assignee: MTU Aero Engines GmbHInventors: Joachim Bamberg, Franz Heitmeir, Axel Rossmann
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Patent number: 7976282Abstract: A spar cap for a wind turbine rotor blade. The spar cap may include multiple preform components. The multiple preform components may be planar sheets having a swept shape with a first end and a second end. The multiple preform components may be joined by mating the first end of a first preform component to the second end of a next preform component, forming the spar cap.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2007Date of Patent: July 12, 2011Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Jamie T. Livingston, Howard D. Driver, Sjef van Breugel, Thomas B. Jenkins, Jan Willem Bakhuis, Andrew J. Billen, Amir Riahi
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Patent number: 7976271Abstract: A rotary blood pump includes a casing defining a pumping chamber. The pumping chamber has a blood inlet and a tangential blood outlet. One or more motor stators are provided outside of the pumping chamber. A rotatable impeller is within the pumping chamber and is adapted to cause blood entering the pumping chamber to move to the blood outlet. The impeller has one or more magnetic regions. The impeller is radially constrained in rotation by magnetic coupling to one or more motor stators and is axially constrained in rotation by one or more hydrodynamic thrust bearing surfaces on the impeller.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2007Date of Patent: July 12, 2011Assignee: Heartware, Inc.Inventors: Jeffrey A. LaRose, Charles R. Shambaugh
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Patent number: 7972110Abstract: A centrifugal blower having a fan including a blade. A scroll casing houses the fan and has a first axial wall portion, a second axial wall portion, and a side wall extending between the first and second axial wall portions. The scroll casing includes a suction port in the first axial wall portion. The scroll casing also defines a scroll start portion and a scroll finish portion. The scroll casing has a scroll radius measured transverse to the rotation axis that changes from the scroll start portion to the scroll finish portion. Also, a maximum radius of the scroll radius is closer to the second axial wall portion than the first axial wall portion.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2007Date of Patent: July 5, 2011Assignees: Denso Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.Inventors: Hideki Seki, Masaharu Sakai, Toshinori Ochiai, Yasushi Mitsuishi
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Patent number: 7963745Abstract: A composite turbine blade for use in a gas turbine engine under high gas flow temperature. The blade includes a root and platform portion formed out of the standard high temperature resistant metallic material of the prior art blades and with a near wall cooled metallic spar extending along the suction side wall of the blade and wrapping around the leading edge and the trailing edge portions of the blade. The wrap around spar forms a concave opening in which a ceramic or carbon fiber mid chord section of the blade is secured to form the composite blade. The solid ceramic or carbon fiber mid-chord blade is exposed to the pressure side hot gas flow and requires no cooling. Radial cooling channels with pin fins extend along the blade spar on the leading and trailing edges and on the suction side wall to provide cooling for the metallic portions of the composite blade.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 2007Date of Patent: June 21, 2011Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.Inventor: George Liang
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Patent number: 7959412Abstract: A rotor blade for a wind turbine is provided, the rotor blade comprising an acoustically porous surface layer at least partially covering at least one surface of the rotor blade, at least one reactive acoustic element located below said acoustically porous surface layer, and a resistive acoustic layer located between said acoustically porous surface layer and said at least one reactive acoustic element.Type: GrantFiled: September 29, 2006Date of Patent: June 14, 2011Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventor: Laurent Bonnet
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Patent number: 7950898Abstract: A fuel pump includes a housing including an internally-large cylindrical portion coaxial with an internally-small cylindrical portion. A press-inserted portion is press-inserted to the internally-small cylindrical portion. An accommodating cylindrical portion is located in the internally-large cylindrical portion. An accommodating disc portion is opposed to the impeller. A cover is in contact with the accommodating cylindrical portion on the opposite side of the accommodating disc portion. The accommodating disc portion has an impeller-side surface abutted to the accommodating cylindrical portion via an accommodating corner. The outer circumferential periphery of the press-inserted portion has an axial end defining a press-inserted corner on the side of the accommodating cylindrical portion. The accommodating corner is distant from the press-inserted corner for a first distance.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2007Date of Patent: May 31, 2011Assignee: Denso CorporationInventor: Atsushige Kobayashi
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Patent number: 7942625Abstract: A housing is incorporated as part of a compressor having blades that impart to a fluid a momentum along a main gas flow direction and a swirl. The housing includes a channel that has at least one channel wall and defines an axis substantially aligned with the main gas flow direction. The channel is configured to duct at least some of the fluid. The channel wall defines an internal cavity that extends axially within the channel wall. A bleed passage connects and provides fluid communication between the channel and the cavity. The channel wall defines a plurality of injection passages providing fluid communication between the cavity and the channel at a location spaced in a direction opposite the main gas flow direction from both the bleed passage and the blades. The injection passages have a portion configured to direct fluid from the cavity into the channel with a component along the main gas flow direction and a component opposed to the swirl.Type: GrantFiled: April 4, 2007Date of Patent: May 17, 2011Assignee: Honeywell International, Inc.Inventors: Borislav Sirakov, Nicolas Deschairattes, Junfei Yin, Nick Nolcheff, Gary Vrbas, Dennis Thoren
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Patent number: 7942628Abstract: A first compression stage and a second compression stage being arranged at positions adjacent to each other. The first centrifugal impeller and the second centrifugal impeller are arranged in such an orientation that back sides of the first centrifugal impeller and the second centrifugal impeller face to each other. A connection flow path is formed in the first housing and the second housing for introducing the compressed fluid from the first compression stage into the second compression stage. An upstream portion of the connection flow path is formed integrally with the first housing, and a downstream portion of the connection flow path is formed integrally with the second housing.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 2006Date of Patent: May 17, 2011Assignee: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.Inventors: Toshio Takahashi, Yutaka Hirata, Kazuaki Kurihara, Nobusada Takahara
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Patent number: 7934902Abstract: A turbine engine locates an actuator (55) for the compressor variable guide vanes (54a, b, c) at a location remote from the variable guide vanes. The actuator is connected to the variable guide vanes through a torque rod (56) inside an inlet guide vane. The torque rod rotatably drives an activation ring (57) about the engine centerline. The activation ring is coupled to each of the variable compressor vanes via linkage, such that rotation of the activation ring about the engine centerline causes all of the variable compressor vanes to pivot. With this configuration, a tip turbine engine can be more easily provided with variable compressor vanes for the axial compressor.Type: GrantFiled: December 1, 2004Date of Patent: May 3, 2011Assignee: United Technologies CorporationInventors: Gabriel L. Suciu, Brian Merry
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Patent number: 7934903Abstract: Fluid release apparatus (26) for the release of fluid from the interior of a rotating and/or pressurized body (16;18;102;104), the apparatus comprising a core member (28) having a chamber wall (44) disposed thereabout so as to define an open chamber (30) about said core member. The apparatus further comprises a chamber closure (48) mounted about said core member (28), said closure being resiliently deformable between an at rest state in which the closure contacts the chamber wall (44) and an actuated state in which the closure is spaced there-from, wherein the chamber has an aperture (32;35;55) for receiving liquid phase fluid from the interior of said rotating body. Upon build up of sufficient liquid in said chamber (30) the closure (48) moves to said actuated state so as to release liquid from the interior of the body.Type: GrantFiled: September 3, 2009Date of Patent: May 3, 2011Assignee: Rolls-Royce plcInventor: Christopher J. Durling