Patents by Inventor Bernhard Weigand

Bernhard Weigand has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230003512
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a measuring device (10) and a method for determining a depth of field of an optical structure (100). In this case, the measuring device comprises a device body (12) with a measuring axis (14), the device body (12) being formed such that, in a measuring position, it can be placed in a stationary manner on a deposit plane of the optical structure such that the measuring axis (14) of the device body (12) coincides with an optical axis of the optical structure, wherein the device body (12) has a measurement scale (18) arranged along a scale line (16) such that the scale line (16) encloses with the direction of the measuring axis (14) a scale angle ? greater than 0° and less than 90° and the measurement scale (18) can be optically detected in the measuring position of the device body (12) by the optical structure (100) for determining the depth of field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2022
    Publication date: January 5, 2023
    Inventors: Patrick FOLTYN, Bernhard WEIGAND, Norbert ROTH
  • Patent number: 7137777
    Abstract: A device separates foreign particles from cooling air fed to turbine rotor blades. The cooling air is fed directly or indirectly via stationary nozzle units to an annular space between wall parts of a turbine stator and rotating wheel disk as a cooling-air stream in the circumferential direction. The annular space communicates with ducts, arranged in the disk, for feeding the cooling air into the blades. A diverter unit is provided inside the annular space or so as to delimit the annular space on one side, so cooling air emerging from the nozzle units, before entering the ducts, is diverted on one side and foreign particles are centrifugally thrown into a radially outer part of the annular space and separated therefrom with a barrier-air fraction. The diverter unit has a surface region on which the stream impinges so it can be diverted radially outward through an angle greater than 90°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Reinhard Fried, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6923247
    Abstract: A thermally highly loaded machine component (10), which is protected from overheating by film cooling, is provided with conical cooling passages (30) of circular cross section. The cooling passages are designed so as to be divergent from the cold-gas side (13) toward the hot-gas side. The conical cooling passages, as compared with cylindrical passages with regard to the mass flow of cooling medium (35) fed through the cooling passages, are substantially less dependent on the pressure ratio between the cold-gas side (13) and hot-gas side (14) of the component. The straight conical cooling passages of round cross section throughout may be produced in a very simple manner by laser drilling, with a convergent cutting beam being used for the machining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Assignee: Alstom
    Inventors: Jörgen Ferber, Bernhard Weigand
  • Publication number: 20050002778
    Abstract: A device separates foreign particles from cooling air fed to turbine rotor blades. The cooling air is fed directly or indirectly via stationary nozzle units to an annular space between wall parts of a turbine stator and rotating wheel disk as a cooling-air stream in the circumferential direction. The annular space communicates with ducts, arranged in the disk, for feeding the cooling air into the blades. A diverter unit is provided inside the annular space or so as to delimit the annular space on one side, so cooling air emerging from the nozzle units, before entering the ducts, is diverted on one side and foreign particles are centrifugally thrown into a radially outer part of the annular space and separated therefrom with a barrier-air fraction. The diverter unit has a surface region on which the stream impinges so it can be diverted radially outward through an angle greater than 90°.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2004
    Publication date: January 6, 2005
    Inventors: Reinhard Fried, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6666262
    Abstract: An arrangement for cooling a flow-passage wall surrounding a flow passage is described, having at least one rib feature which induces flow vortices in a flow medium passing through the flow passage, is attached to that side of the flow-passage wall which faces the flow passage, and has a main longitudinal extent which is oriented at an angle of &agr;≠0° to the direction of flow of the flow medium passing through the flow passage. The invention is characterized in that the rib feature, along the main longitudinal extent, at least partly has rib-feature sections whose axes enclose an angle of &bgr;≠0° with the main longitudinal extent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Sacha Parneix, Jens Von Wolfersdorf, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6644920
    Abstract: A method of forming a curved cooling channel into a gas turbine component such as a turbine blade uses an electrode in the form of a helix. The electrode is driven to rotate around the central rotational axis of the helix and axially along the central rotational axis. A turbine blade for a gas turbine component is provided with at least one helical cooling channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Alexander Beeck, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6634859
    Abstract: An apparatus and a process are provided for impingement cooling of a component exposed to heat in a flow machine. The component includes a wall section on at least one side of which at least one impingement air flow impinges, the air flow passing through a flow channel within a surface element arranged spaced apart from the wall section and striking against the wall section to be cooled. The flow channel has an inlet aperture and an outlet aperture, with the outlet aperture directly facing toward the wall section to be cooled, and the inlet aperture has a throughflow cross section which is smaller than the throughflow cross section of the outlet aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Bernhard Weigand, James P. Downs
  • Publication number: 20020168264
    Abstract: Described are an apparatus and a process for impingement cooling of a component exposed to heat in a flow machine, with a wall section on which at least one impingement air flow impinges on at least one side, which passes through a flow channel within a surface element arranged spaced apart from the wall section to be cooled and which strikes against the wall section to be cooled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2001
    Publication date: November 14, 2002
    Inventors: Bernhard Weigand, James P. Downs
  • Patent number: 6464460
    Abstract: In an air-cooled turbine blade (10) which has a shroud-band element (11) at the blade tip, the shroud-band element (11) extending transversely to the blade longitudinal axis, hollow spaces (16, 16′, 17, 17′) for cooling being provided in the interior of the shroud-band element (11), which hollow spaces (16, 16′, 17, 17′) are connected on the inlet side to at least one cooling-air passage (18) passing through the turbine blade (10) to the blade tip and open on the outlet side into the exterior space surrounding the turbine blade (10), the hollow spaces (16, 16′, 17, 17′) and the shroud-band element (11) are matched to one another in shape and dimensions in order to reduce the weight of the shroud-band element (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Ibrahim El-Nashar, Beat Von Arx, Bernhard Weigand, Hartmut Haehnle, Rudolf Kellerer
  • Publication number: 20020127104
    Abstract: Method for providing a curved cooling channel (20) into a gas turbine component, in particular into a blade (10), by means of an electrode (2), wherein an electrode (2) in the form of a helix is used, and the electrode (2) is driven so as to rotate around its central rotational axis (R); as well as coolable blade (10) for a gas turbine component with a helical cooling channel (20).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2001
    Publication date: September 12, 2002
    Inventors: Alexander Beeck, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6446710
    Abstract: An arrangement for cooling a flow-passage wall surrounding a flow passage is described, having at least one rib element which induces flow vortices in a flow medium passing through the flow passage, is attached to that side of the flow-passage wall which faces the flow passage, and the shape and size of which are selected in accordance with a certain heat transfer coefficient and a certain pressure loss caused in the flow medium due to the latter flowing over the rib element. The invention is characterized in that the rib element, while largely retaining its original shape and/or size, has contours enlarging its surface facing the flow passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: ALSTOM (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Alexander Beeck, Bernhard Bonhoff, Sacha Parneix, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6439846
    Abstract: The invention relates to an impact flow for wall sections including a plurality of impact openings which are arranged on a plane in a flat or curved support. The support is fitted it a distance from the wall section, and the impact surface of the wall section that is to be cooled is configured as a bulged relief. The bulge elements are arranged around the impact surface of the impact beam. The surfaces of the bulge elements facing the impact beam include two curves which blend into one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom
    Inventors: Gordon Anderson, Jorgen Ferber, Rainer Hocker, Fathi Tarada, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6439848
    Abstract: A blade component of a gas turbine is disclosed around the outside of which hot air flows. The blade component is constructed as a hollow profile having outside walls and a tip cover, and having guiding walls arranged between the outside walls and connecting said outside walls. The blade component is cooled on the inside by cooling air flowing through cooling channels between the outside walls and the guiding walls. Cooling air flows through deflection areas in which the cooling air is deflected into flow stagnation zones. An efficient cooling of the blade component in the area of the stagnation zones is obtained in the area of the flow stagnation zones which are located at the outer corner of the deflection area. At least one drilled opening is provided in the outside wall through which drilled opening cooling air is able to flow at the stagnation zone from the cooling channel onto the outside of the blade component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Hartmut Haehnle, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6422811
    Abstract: A cooling arrangement for blades of a gas turbine or the like, in each case the blades being built up from a suction-side wall and a pressure-side wall which are connected, to form a cavity, via a leading edge, a trailing edge, a blade tip and a blade root, and a flow path, through which a cooling medium, in particular steam, is capable of flowing, being integrated in the cavity, and in which the flow paths in each case of two or more adjacent blades are connected to one another in such a way that a continuous cooling duct sealed off relative to the hot-gas stream is formed. It thus becomes possible to increase cooling efficiency by better utilization of the cooling medium and at the same time to reduce the outlay in terms of construction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Alexander Beeck, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6416279
    Abstract: At least one adjustable restricting point is introduced into the cooling air path of a coolable gas turbine component, and means which make it possible to change this restricting point during the operation of the machine are provided. In this way it is possible to adapt the amount of cooling air fed to the component continuously to the specific operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Bernhard Weigand, Klaus Semmler, Conor Fitzsimons
  • Patent number: 6374898
    Abstract: A process for producing a casting core which is used for forming within a casting a cavity intended for cooling purposes, through which a cooling medium can be conducted, the casting core having surface regions in which there is incorporated in a specifically selective manner a surface roughness which transfers itself during the casting operation to surface regions enclosing the cavity and leads to an increase in the heat transfer between the cooling medium and the casting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom
    Inventors: Konrad Vogeler, Bernhard Weigand, Hans Wettstein
  • Publication number: 20020046009
    Abstract: In a method for visualizing and processing a value assembly process, the value assembly process is visualized as a set of value assembly lines (VAL) arranged on different hierarchy levels. Each value assembly line receives value packages via input interfaces and consolidates these to form a value added package (VAP), an added value being created, and makes the added value package available at an output interface. The added value package can be used by a value assembly line of a higher-order hierarchy level as input value package. Likewise, the input value packages of the value assembly lines can be value added packages made available by lower-order value assembly lines, the lower-order value assembly lines being value assembly lines of a lower-order hierarchy level. All value assembly lines and all value packages have an identical structure; only the processed data differ from one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2001
    Publication date: April 18, 2002
    Inventors: Georges Devaquet, Martin Meyer ter Vehn, Pavel Rihak, Martin Scheu, Giovanni Schnyder, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6347923
    Abstract: A coolable blade for a gas turbine or the like, having a blade body and a blade root, in which case the blade body is composed of a suction-side wall and a pressure-side wall, which, while forming a cavity, are connected via a leading edge, at least partly via a trailing edge and via a blade tip, the cavity is subdivided by essentially radially running separating webs into passages which form a continuous, repeatedly deflected flow path for a cooling medium, at least one blow-out opening is provided for the cooling medium, and the separating web adjacent to the trailing edge has one or more through passages close to the blade tip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Klaus Semmler, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6343474
    Abstract: A cooling passage of a component subjected to high thermal loading, which is formed as a cavity (2, 20, 30), running in a longitudinal direction (L) and curved orthogonally to the longitudinal direction (L), between a first wall (5) and a second wall (6), which in each case are connected to one another in a laterally adjacent manner, which has ribs (7, 17, 27), which are arranged on the first wall (5) and the second wall (6) such that they alternate in a longitudinal direction (L) and are staggered relative one another and, at least in sections, assume a non-orthogonal angle relative to a projected center axis (10′), and through which a cooling fluid (K) can flow in a longitudinal direction (L), in which case, when the profile of the cavity (2, 20, 30) is curved orthogonally to the longitudinal direction (L), the ribs (7, 17, 27) are formed in such a way that, in each case locally with regard to the adjacent rib of the opposite wall, they maintain a distance (a) which is half a respective local rib spac
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2002
    Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri AG
    Inventors: Alexander Beeck, Beat Von Arx, Konrad Vogeler, Bernhard Weigand
  • Patent number: 6340284
    Abstract: In an air-cooled turbine blade which, at the blade tip, has a shroud-band element extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the blade, a plurality of cooling bores passing through the shroud-band element for the purpose of cooling, which cooling bores are connected on the inlet side to at least one cooling-air passage running through the turbine blade to the blade tip and open on the outlet side into the exterior space surrounding the turbine blade, improved and assured cooling is achieved owing to the fact that the cooling bores run from inside to outside in the shroud-band element at least approximately parallel to the direction of movement of the blade and in each case open upstream of the outer margin of the shroud-band element into a surface recess open toward the exterior space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2002
    Assignee: Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
    Inventors: Alexander Beeck, Ibrahim El-Nashar, Beat Von Arx, Bernhard Weigand