Patents by Inventor William P. Payne

William P. Payne 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: 20240072352
    Abstract: An enclosure for a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) includes a hermetic sealing enclosure and a structural housing component configured to support the hermetic sealing enclosure. The hermetic sealing enclosure is arranged on the structural housing component. The hermetic sealing enclosure is configured to house the RESS and provide a hermetic seal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2022
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Inventors: Hui-ping WANG, Lu HUANG, William P. PAYNE, Hui WANG, Blair E. CARLSON
  • Patent number: 11533992
    Abstract: A flexible shelving unit includes a support frame having at least one vertical guide rack, the guide rack including an elongated slot. The shelf unit is supported by the guide rack. The shelf unit includes a shelf plate framed by a front reinforcement portion and by at least one side reinforcement portion. The shelf unit when in a release position is moved to selected upward and downward locations by vertical displacement of at least one locating pin connected to and extending from the at least one side reinforcement portion which is positioned and sliding within the elongated slot. A flat end face of the at least one side reinforcement portion directly contacts a plate face of the at least one vertical guide rack with the at least one side reinforcement portion and the shelf plate in a horizontal position to frictionally retain the shelf unit in the horizontal position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: William P. Payne, Joshua L. Solomon, Hui-ping Wang, Bradley J. Blaski
  • Publication number: 20220304465
    Abstract: A flexible shelving unit includes a support frame having at least one vertical guide rack, the guide rack including an elongated slot. The shelf unit is supported by the guide rack. The shelf unit includes a shelf plate framed by a front reinforcement portion and by at least one side reinforcement portion. The shelf unit when in a release position is moved to selected upward and downward locations by vertical displacement of at least one locating pin connected to and extending from the at least one side reinforcement portion which is positioned and sliding within the elongated slot. A flat end face of the at least one side reinforcement portion directly contacts a plate face of the at least one vertical guide rack with the at least one side reinforcement portion and the shelf plate in a horizontal position to frictionally retain the shelf unit in the horizontal position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Publication date: September 29, 2022
    Inventors: William P. Payne, Joshua L. Solomon, Hui-ping Wang, Bradley J. Blaski
  • Patent number: 10953497
    Abstract: A method of laser welding a workpiece stack-up (10) of overlapping steel workpieces (12, 14) involves heat-treating a region (64) of the stack-up (10) followed by forming a laser weld joint (66) that is located at least partially within the heat-treated region (64). During heat-treating, one or more pre-welding laser beams (68) are sequentially directed at a top surface (20) of the workpiece stack-up (10) and advanced along a pre-welding beam travel pattern (70) so as to reduce an amount of vaporizable zinc within the stack-up (10). Thereafter, the laser weld joint (66) is formed by directing a welding laser beam (82) at the top surface (20) of the workpiece stack-up (10) and advancing the welding laser beam (82) along a welding beam travel pattern (84) that at least partially overlaps with a coverage area of a pre-welding beam travel pattern (70) or a shared coverage area portion of multiple pre-welding beam travel patterns (70).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Hui-Ping Wang, Yu Pan, Blair E. Carlson, Joshua L. Solomon, William P. Payne, David Yang, Wu Tao
  • Publication number: 20190118307
    Abstract: A method of laser welding a workpiece stack-up (10) of overlapping steel workpieces (12, 14) involves heat-treating a region (64) of the stack-up (10) followed by forming a laser weld joint (66) that is located at least partially within the heat-treated region (64). During heat-treating, one or more pre-welding laser beams (68) are sequentially directed at a top surface (20) of the workpiece stack-up (10) and advanced along a pre-welding beam travel pattern (70) so as to reduce an amount of vaporizable zinc within the stack-up (10). Thereafter, the laser weld joint (66) is formed by directing a welding laser beam (82) at the top surface (20) of the workpiece stack-up (10) and advancing the welding laser beam (82) along a welding beam travel pattern (84) that at least partially overlaps with a coverage area of a pre-welding beam travel pattern (70) or a shared coverage area portion of multiple pre-welding beam travel patterns (70).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2016
    Publication date: April 25, 2019
    Inventors: Hui-Ping Wang, Yu Pan, Blair E. Carlson, Joshua L. Solomon, William P. Payne, David Yang, Wu Tao
  • Patent number: 10118249
    Abstract: A method of laser welding a first component to a second component includes moving at least one of a laser beam and the components via a controller along a weld path at least a portion of which is a spiral having a first order of continuity thereby welding the first component to the second component. In one embodiment, the spiral is an Archimedean spiral.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Joshua L. Solomon, Hui-Ping Wang, William P. Payne
  • Publication number: 20170106470
    Abstract: A method of laser welding a first component to a second component includes moving at least one of a laser beam and the components via a controller along a weld path at least a portion of which is a spiral having a first order of continuity thereby welding the first component to the second component. In one embodiment, the spiral is an Archimedean spiral.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2015
    Publication date: April 20, 2017
    Applicant: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Joshua L. Solomon, Hui-Ping Wang, William P. Payne
  • Patent number: 3982776
    Abstract: For connecting an offshore structure to a submarine pipeline, a vertically-extending pipeline is built as an integral part of the structure and is provided with a receiver fitting at its lower end which is adapted to mate with a connector fitting provided on the end of the submarine pipeline. By means of special tools, all manipulatable from the surface, mating, locking, and sealing of the two fittings are accomplished, followed by pressure testing of the coupling between such fittings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1974
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1976
    Assignee: Sun Oil Company (Delaware)
    Inventor: William P. Payne