Patents Examined by Sean J Younger
  • Patent number: 8206094
    Abstract: An inner shroud portion and an outer shroud portion dividedly formed per stationary blade are formed integrally with each stationary blade. A plurality of the stationary blades adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction are coupled together by a band member at the outer shroud portions. The inner shroud portions are held between seal holders which are formed as two divided members in the flowing direction of a working fluid, which are fastened by a bolt, and which have a length corresponding to the plurality of the stationary blades. The plurality of stationary blades, the inner and outer shroud portions, the band member, and the seal holders assembled in this manner constitute a unit. A plurality of the units are connected in the circumferential direction to constitute a stationary blade ring of an axial compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyuki Seki, Taku Ichiryu
  • Patent number: 8197186
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine annular turbine casing having an annular shell, axially spaced apart forward and aft flanges extending radially outwardly from the shell, forward and aft case hooks depending radially inwardly from the annular shell, and an axially curved surface at an outer diameter of the aft flange. The axially curved surface may be a semi-spherical surface. The forward and aft case hooks may be located axially near or at the forward and aft flanges respectively. A circular row of holes may be axially disposed through the aft flange circumscribing the central axis and radially located between the outer diameter of the aft flange and the annular shell. An annular manifold spaced radially outwardly of the shell forming an annular space between the manifold and the shell and having impingement holes disposed through the manifold may be used for impinging cooling air on the axially curved surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Zhifeng Dong, John Joseph Rahaim
  • Patent number: 8197216
    Abstract: Quick assembly blades for a ceiling fan at least include a blade bracket, a blade and a clamping member. The clamping member is composed of a base plate and a top plate. A rear portion of the base plate has an elastic supporting plate corresponding to a locking plate provided in a rear portion of the top plate, so that the base plate and the top plate can axially move closer to each other to keep a leaning portion of the supporting plate blocked by a locking portion formed inside the locking plate, thus enabling the blade quickly assembled and firmly clamped on the blade bracket by the clamping member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: Air Cool Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Cliff Wang
  • Patent number: 8197184
    Abstract: A vane cluster has a coated metallic substrate. The cluster includes a platform and a shroud. At least first and second airfoils extend between an outer face of the platform and an inner face of the shroud. Each airfoil has a pressure side and a suction side. The pressure side of the first airfoil faces the suction side of the second airfoil. The cluster includes a cooling passageway system including one or more first feed passageways in the first airfoil and one or more second feed passageways in the second airfoil. At least a first side selected from the pressure side of the first airfoil and the suction side of the second airfoil includes a first region with a local thinning or gap in the coating. Along the first side, the cooling passageway system includes means for locally cooling said first region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Young H. Chon
  • Patent number: 8192165
    Abstract: An impeller of a multiblade fan includes a discoid main plate that rotates about a rotational axis, blades, and a side plate. The blades are disposed annularly about the rotational axis on one side of the main plate, with one end of each of the blades being fixed to an outer peripheral portion of the main plate. The side plate includes an annular side plate body portion that joins outer peripheral edges of the other ends of the blades to each other, an axially extending portion that extends from an opposite-main plate side end of the side plate body portion in the rotational axis direction further than the opposite-main plate side ends of the blades, and a radially extending portion that extends from an outer peripheral end of the side plate body portion further than a radial-direction outer peripheral end of the axially extending portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Masahito Higashida
  • Patent number: 8186940
    Abstract: A ventilation arrangement for a wind turbine includes an air inlet opening located in a nose cone of said wind turbine, a manhole cover for covering a manhole of a rotor hub of said wind turbine, the manhole cover providing a vent opening for venting hot air from an internal space of said rotor hub, and a flexible piping establishing fluid communication between the internal space of the rotor hub and the air inlet opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Bernard P. Landa, Lane Porter, Ulrich Uphues, Lawrence D. Willey, Ulrich Neumann, Negel E. Martin
  • Patent number: 8182199
    Abstract: A method of cooling a shroud ring in a turbine section of gas turbine engine includes identifying a series of alternating high temperature regions and lower temperature regions of a circumferential temperature distribution about the inner surface of the shroud ring, and impinging cooling air on to an outer surface of the shroud ring. More cooling air is impinged onto regions which correspond to the high temperature regions on the shroud ring than to regions corresponding to the lower temperature regions of the shroud ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
    Inventors: Assaf Farah, Terrence Lucas
  • Patent number: 8182217
    Abstract: A fan shroud assembly includes a fixed fan shroud and a removable fan shroud. An upper retention system integral with the fixed and removable fan shrouds secures the two circumferential ends of the removable fan shroud to the fixed fan shroud. A lower retention system integral with the fixed and removable fan shroud secures the center of the removable fan shroud to the fixed fan shroud. No additional fasteners are required to connect the removable fan shroud to the fixed fan shroud because of the integral nature of the upper and lower retention systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: DENSO International America, Inc.
    Inventors: John S. Schaffer, Christopher Wisniewski, Michael Tucker
  • Patent number: 8182200
    Abstract: A self-priming centrifugal pump comprises a centrifugal impeller (19) arranged in a pumping chamber (9) for transferring liquid from an inlet (5) to an outlet (7) of the chamber, a diaphragm (21) arranged downstream of the impeller for providing priming, and a drive means (25) for driving the diaphragm with reciprocating motion during priming. The diaphragm and the drive means are arranged so that a pressure increase downstream of the impeller after priming causes a change in the neutral position of the diaphragm, which then causes disengagement of the drive means. The drive means may comprises a cam and cam follower arrangement or a crank and connecting arm arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Cox
  • Patent number: 8177505
    Abstract: The present disclosure is related to a method and a measuring device adapted for determining a rotational position of at least one rotor blade of a wind turbine. The method includes a step of measuring a gravity induced blade moment of the at least one rotor blade. Then, an actual rotational position of the rotor blade is determined from the measured gravity induced blade moment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Hartmut Scholte-Wassink
  • Patent number: 8177510
    Abstract: A braking system for a wind turbine is provided. The system includes one or more motors for driving a part of the wind turbine, a first group of brakes for braking the part of the wind turbine, and a second group of brakes for braking the part of the wind turbine. The first group of brakes is in a normally closed condition and the second group of brakes is in a normally open condition, so that a default brake torque can be selectively chosen that is less than a maximum brake torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jacob Johannes Nies, Shanmuga-Priyan Subramanian, Mikael Lindberg, Kristina Anne Cruden, Arthur Lawrence Romano
  • Patent number: 8172516
    Abstract: A variable geometry turbine comprises a turbine wheel (9) supported in a housing (1) for rotation about an axis. A nozzle ring (5) is moveably mounted within a cavity (19) provided within the housing for adjustment of the width of an annular inlet passageway (4) extending radially inwards towards the turbine wheel (9). An array of inlet guide vanes (8) extends between a radial face of the nozzle ring (5) and an opposing wall of the inlet (4) defining a radial vane passage. A first circumferential array of apertures (25) is provided through the radial face, each of which lies substantially within the vane passage. A second circumferential array of apertures (24) is also provided in said radial face, each of lies substantially upstream or downstream of the first array (25) of apertures. The inlet (4) and cavity (19) are in fluid communication via both the first and second sets of apertures (25,24).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Cummins Turbo Technologies Limited
    Inventors: John Frederick Parker, David Luck, David H. Brown
  • Patent number: 8157524
    Abstract: An axial flow fan includes a hub rotatable about a central axis. The hub includes a front face and a cylindrical portion. The axial flow fan also includes a plurality of blades extending radially outwardly from the cylindrical portion of the hub, and an aperture through the front face of the hub. The aperture is at least partially defined by a first surface oriented non-parallel with the front face. The axial flow fan further includes a lip having a second surface adjacent the first surface that at least partially overlaps the aperture and provides a tortuous passageway through the aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Dana F. Nicgorski, Adam H. Sterne, Michael Strupp
  • Patent number: 8123472
    Abstract: A unison ring assembly for an axial compressor casing is provided. The unison ring assembly includes a unison ring and at least three unison ring supports being radial inwardly and equally spaced arranged along a circumference of the unison ring, wherein each unison ring support has a unison ring bracket attached to the unison ring. Further, the unison ring assembly includes a slide bearing to be sliding along a slide face of an outer surface of the compressor casing and a resilient member being arranged between and coupled to the slide bearing and the unison ring bracket such that the unison ring is rotatable around the compressor casing by sliding the slide bearing along the slide face and to be centered free of clearance about the compressor casing. The resilient member is adapted to accommodate radial displacement of the compressor casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Paul Redgwell
  • Patent number: 8118542
    Abstract: Methods of moving a rotating device of a wind turbine during transportation or standstill are provided. The methods include securing at least one auxiliary device to a position and connecting the device to one or more shafts of the rotating device at transportation or standstill. The auxiliary device is able to store, generate and/or convert energy during transportation, transferring energy continuously from at least one auxiliary device to one or more shafts of the rotating device during transportation or standstill, and moving one or more shafts of the rotating device continuously or discontinuously from a position to another. Also provided is a nacelle for a wind turbine, an auxiliary device, a control system for controlling moving of a rotating device of a wind turbine nacelle during transportation of the nacelle and use thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventors: Søren Damgaard, Arne Haarh, Nils Bjørn Jensen
  • Patent number: 8109727
    Abstract: A wind turbine (20) includes a turbine wheel (22). Radially extending sailwing assemblies (30) are supported between the axle structure (28) and the perimeter rail (26) of the turbine wheel. The sailwing assemblies include sail end supports (52, 53), sail support cables (54, 55) extending between the sail end supports, and sailwings (58) that are supported by the sail support cables and extend between the axle structure (28) and the perimeter rail (26) of the turbine wheel. The sail end supports (52, 53) may be pivoted to form a pitch in the sailwings (58) and pivoted with respect to each other to form a twist in the sailwings, and sail spreader bars (70) may be mounted in the sailwings and connected to the sail support cables (54, 55) to adjust the effective width and loft of the sailwings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Inventor: Gerald L. Barber
  • Patent number: 8100627
    Abstract: An impeller fixing mechanism is provided in a centrifugal pump for immobilizing the impeller, relative to the pump shaft and drive shaft of the pump, while effecting repairs to the pump, thereby eliminating much of the labor-intensive need for realigning the pump shaft and drive shaft and assuring accurate positioning of the impeller relative to the pump shaft. A method for effecting repairs of centrifugal pumps employs use of the impeller fixing mechanism of the invention to immobilize the impeller relative to the pump shaft, thereby facilitating the repair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Vulco, S.A.
    Inventor: Ricardo Abarca Melo
  • Patent number: 8092189
    Abstract: Radial cross sections of front sides in rotational direction of impellers attached to a pump shaft obliquely to a circumferential direction from an upstream side toward a downstream side have concave shapes protruding toward the upstream side, and radial cross sections of rear sides in rotational direction of the impellers have concave shapes protruding toward the downstream side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi Plant Technologies, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takanori Ishii, Akira Manabe, Yasuhiro Inoue
  • Patent number: 8087883
    Abstract: A variable-pitch control device for a turbomachine compressor is disclosed. The device includes a rod, a fastening device for fastening a first end of the rod to a pivot of a vane to be controlled, and a connection device between a second end of the rod and a control ring. The rod is substantially cylindrical, its first end being engaged in a bore in the pivot of the vane. The device further includes a clamping device for clamping the first end of the rod in the bore in the pivot in order to fasten it to the pivot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Snecma
    Inventors: Michel Andre Bouru, Andre Remi Claude Verbrugge
  • Patent number: RE43363
    Abstract: A centrifugal pump has a stationary diffuser with a bore. A thrust bearing has a tubular portion that inserts into the bore. The thrust bearing has an external shoulder that contacts a support surface in the bore of the diffuser for transmitting downward thrust from an upstream impeller to the diffuser. The thrust bearing has an internal shoulder for transmitting upward thrust from a downstream impeller to the diffuser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventors: Ryan P. Semple, Robert C. de Long, Christopher Brunner, Arturo L. Poretti, Terry W. Shafer