Patents Examined by William Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 8037691
    Abstract: A deflector takes the form of a plate provided with a hole. The plate is a portion of a conical surface of revolution about a cone axis with a concave face and a convex face. The plate includes a contour with four sides. Two of these the sides are concentric circular arcs centered on the cone axis. The other two sides are segments of generatrices of the cone which connect the first sides. The invention is applicable to a deflector of a chamber endwall of a combustion chamber of a turbine engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Patrice Andre Commaret, Didier Hippolyte Hernandez, David Locatelli
  • Patent number: 8033797
    Abstract: An automatic deactivation mechanism is configured for an air bladder pump having a casing and a motor located therein to pump air into an air bladder from the atmosphere and through an air valve connected through the casing. The automatic deactivation mechanism includes a housing positioned within the casing and has defined therethrough a first aperture in fluid communication with the atmosphere through the casing and a second aperture in fluid communication with the air bladder through the casing. Included within the housing are at least two switches and a diaphragm positioned between the switches. The housing is sealed so that when a threshold pressure is reached therein, at least one switch is triggered by deflection of the diaphragm to automatically deactivate the pump by de-energizing the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: The Coleman Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael F. Kehrmann, Vincent Wen, Chun Chung Tsai, Timothy F. Austen, Corey Lewison
  • Patent number: 8024918
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for propelling a vehicle. In an embodiment, by way of example only, a method includes flowing a decomposed hydroxylammonium nitrite (HAN)-based propellant into a chamber, introducing an aspirated non-polar fuel into the chamber, and combusting the decomposed HAN-based propellant and the aspirated non-polar fuel to produce an exhaust gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventor: Donald L. Mittendorf
  • Patent number: 8021125
    Abstract: A hermetic compressor includes a housing accommodating a motor and a compressing mechanism driven by the motor, refrigerating machine oil, which is pooled in the housing, for lubricating the compressing mechanism, refrigerant gas sealed into the housing and to be refrigerant forming a refrigerating cycle, and an oil surface sensor including a thermistor having a given length. A part of the oil surface sensor is impregnated into the refrigerating machine oil, and the sensor senses a temperature immediately after energizing the thermistor and a rate of change in temperature onward, so that a position of an oil surface is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Akio Uratani
  • Patent number: 8015824
    Abstract: A method and system for regulating a cooling fluid within a turbomachine in real time. The system may an external flow conditioning system for adjusting at least one property of the cooling fluid, wherein the external flow conditioning system comprises an inlet portion and an outlet portion. The system may also include at least one heat exchanger; at least one control valve; at least one bypass orifice; at least one stop valve; and a control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sivaraman Vedhagiri, Ravi Meenaksh, Jesse E. Trout, Jun Yang
  • Patent number: 8015819
    Abstract: Disposed at or toward the trailing edge of one or more nozzles associated with a jet engine are injection ports which can selectively be made to discharge a water stream into a nozzle flow stream for the purpose of increasing turbulence in somewhat of a similar fashion as mechanically disposed chevrons have done in the known art. Unlike mechanically disposed chevrons of the known art, the fluid flow may be secured thereby increasing the engine efficiency. Various flow patterns, water pressures, orifice designs or other factors can be made operative to provide desired performance characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventors: Russell H. Thomas, Kevin W. Kinzie
  • Patent number: 8011172
    Abstract: An engine arrangement for a component subject to icing. The arrangement comprising a manifold as part of a flow path incident upon a heated component. The manifold including holes to create jets having an exit angle toward the component subject to icing. The jets of hot gas are entrained in a core flow passing through the main flow path before washing over a desired incident area of the component. The exit angle and spacing between the jet and the component are determined to reduce disruption of the core flow and/or provide the desired incident area on the component and/or use the minimum amount of hot air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventor: Clive Lockwood
  • Patent number: 8011187
    Abstract: A combustor and injector system to inject a selected fuel into a combustor of a gas powered turbine. Generally, the injector is able to inject a selected fuel into a stream of an oxidizer to substantially mix the fuel with the oxidizer stream before any of the fuel in the fuel fan reaches an auto ignition temperature. Therefore the fuel may be substantially combusted at once and without any substantial hot spots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenneth M Sprouse, Shahram Farhangi, Alan V. von Arx, David R. Matthews
  • Patent number: 7993108
    Abstract: A portable pumping system provides insulin or other drugs to a user. A shape memory element is used to actuate the pump and an intelligent system controls the actuator in order to minimize stresses within the system and provide accurate and reliable dosage delivery. The control system utilizes various types of feedback to monitor and optimize the position of the pumping mechanisms. Physical design aspects also minimize stress and the combination of the physical design aspects and the intelligent operation of the system results in a lightweight and cost effective pump that may be used in a disposable fashion if desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin M. Rush, Christopher V. Reggiardo, Arthur E. Anderson, III
  • Patent number: 7993109
    Abstract: A portable pumping system provides insulin or other drugs to a user. A shape memory element is used to actuate the pump and an intelligent system controls the actuator in order to minimize stresses within the system and provide accurate and reliable dosage delivery. The control system utilizes various types of feedback to monitor and optimize the position of the pumping mechanisms. Physical design aspects also minimize stress and the combination of the physical design aspects and the intelligent operation of the system results in a lightweight and cost effective pump that may be used in a disposable fashion if desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin M. Rush, Christopher V. Reggiardo, Arthur E. Anderson, III
  • Patent number: 7155913
    Abstract: The invention relates to a turbomachine annular combustion chamber (1) comprising an outer axial wall (2), an inner axial wall (4), and a chamber bottom end (8) connecting the said walls, the chamber bottom end being provided with several passages (34,36,72) enabling initiation of a cooling air film (D2) along the hot inner surface (30) of the outer axial wall and initiation of a cooling air film (D1) along the hot inner surface (32) of the inner axial wall, the outer axial wall and the inner axial wall being multi-perforated roughly over their full length in order to enable reinforcement of the cooling air films. According to the invention, the outer axial wall and the inner axial wall are provided, in an upstream part, with a first zone (54,40) of perforations (38) formed such that cooling air is introduced inside the combustion chamber in reverse flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: Snecma Moteurs
    Inventors: Frederic Beule, Michel Desaulty
  • Patent number: 7124572
    Abstract: A recuperator and turbine support adapter for securing a recuperator to a combustor case is provided. The recuperator and turbine support adapter comprises an outer strutted body, an inner strutted body and a thermal spring. The thermal spring allows for thermal expansion of the recuperator and turbine support adapter while alleviating any stress or fatigue damage to the adapter. Each of the outer strutted bodies further comprises an outer ring and an inner ring connected by a plurality of struts. The recuperator and turbine support adapter also provides a means of directing the flow of cold compressed air to the recuperator and the return of the recuperator heated air to the combustor/turbine module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Honeywell International, Inc.
    Inventors: Larry W. Aycock, Brian D. Koch, Howard M. Becker, Michael J. Durden, John R. Barrett, Robert A. Kime
  • Patent number: 7117683
    Abstract: A main engine electric start system for gas turbine propelled aircraft that employs a low-power AC electrical power system to serve as an independent grid to control the functions of induction-type dynamoelectric machines coupled to the main propulsion engines and APU as a starter or generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventor: Robert G. Thompson
  • Patent number: 7117676
    Abstract: A premixer for a combustor to entrain a selected volume of fuel in an oxidizer to be combusted to heat the oxidizer. The combustor is for a gas powered turbine which employs the hypergolic or high energy air stream which will allow a fuel to be combusted in the absence of an additional ignition source. A heat exchanger and a catalyst combusts a first portion of fuel in air without the production of undesired chemical species. The catalyst is employed to lower the combustion temperature of the fuel to substantially eliminate selected chemical species. The fuel premixed in the air then encounters the catalyst and the fuel is combusted to increase the temperature of the air to an auto-ignition temperature so that no other ignition source is needed to combust additional fuel added later.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Shahram Farhangi, Kenneth M Sprouse, David R Matthews
  • Patent number: 7093439
    Abstract: The present invention relates to heat shield panels or liners to be used in combustors for gas turbine engines. The heat shield panels each comprise a hot side and a cold side and at least one isolated cooling chamber on the cold side. Each cooling chamber has a plurality of cooling film holes for allowing a coolant, such as air, to flow from the cold side to the hot side. A combustor having an arrangement of heat shield panels or liners is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2006
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Monica Pacheco-Tougas, Joseph D. Coughlan, III, James B. Hoke, Alan J. Goetschius
  • Patent number: 7093444
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a premixed fuel injector for low NOx emission and high heating load combustion. The premixed fuel injector of the present invention comprises a center nozzle and a plurality of outer nozzles arranged around the center nozzle, wherein a distance between the adjacent outer nozzles is 15 to 25 times as large as the diameter of the outer nozzle. Further, an air/fuel mixture is supplied to the outer nozzles and fuel is supplied to the center nozzle at a level of 0.1 to 10% of the total amount of fuel supplied to the outer nozzles. According to the premixed fuel injector for high heating load combustion in which nozzles are arranged as described above, there are various advantages in that it's simple, without additional devices, stable flames can be obtained, and NOx emissions are greatly reduced during combustion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2006
    Assignee: Yeungnam Educational Foundation
    Inventors: Byeong-Jun Lee, Jin-Hyun Kim
  • Patent number: 7093446
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine having a longitudinal centerline axis therethrough, including: a fan section at a forward end of the gas turbine engine including at least a first fan blade row connected to a drive shaft; a booster compressor positioned downstream of the fan section including a plurality of stages, where each stage includes a stationary compressor blade row and a rotating compressor blade row connected to the drive shaft and interdigitated with the stationary compressor blade row; and, a combustion system for producing pulses of gas having increased pressure and temperature of a fluid flow provided to an inlet thereof so as to produce a working fluid at an outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2006
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Joseph Orlando, Kattalaicheri Srinivasan Venkataramani, Ching-Pang Lee
  • Patent number: 7089745
    Abstract: A gas stream with a reduced oxygen concentration relative to ambient air is used to vaporize a liquid fuel or liquified higher hydrocarbon gas, or is mixed with a vaporized gas, and the reduced oxygen vaporized fuel gas is fed to a combustion device such as a premixed or diffusion combustor. Preferably, the oxygen content of the gas stream is less than the limiting oxygen index. By mixing the fuel with a gas stream that has an appropriately reduced oxygen content, auto-ignition prior to the flame front can be avoided. In some embodiments, the reduced oxygen stream is generated from an air separator or taken from the exhaust of the combustion device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: LPP Combustion, LLC
    Inventors: Richard J. Roby, Michael S. Klassen, Christopher F. Schemel
  • Patent number: 7086233
    Abstract: Aspects of the invention relate to a turbine engine system and method for actively managing blade tip clearances during part load operation of the engine. Aspects of the invention relate to extracting a portion of the combustion gases from the combustor section of the engine and routing these heated gases to the blade rings or other stationary structure surrounding the turbine blades. Upon exposure to the combustion gases, which can be mixed with compressor exit air, the stationary structure will thermally expand, causing blade tip clearances to increase. Thus, concerns of blade tip rubbing are minimized. Once the engines achieves steady state operation, the flow of the combustion gases to the blade rings can be substantially restricted so that only compressor exit air is supplied to the stationary structure. Consequently, the stationary structure will contract and the blade tip clearances will decrease, thereby increasing the efficiency of the turbine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Siemens Power Generation, Inc.
    Inventors: Abdullatif Chehab, David A. Little
  • Patent number: 7086234
    Abstract: A gas turbine combustion chamber with a burner 7, includes means for the supply of fuel and an atomizer 6, wherein the means for the supply of fuel are provided such that the fuel is injected in areas with maximum airflow velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG
    Inventors: Thomas Doerr, Waldemar Lazik