Abstract: A variable length shaft assembly including a first shaft having a tubular polygonal end, a second shaft having a correspondingly polygonal solid end telescopically disposed in the polygonal tubular end, an arched spring in a spring chamber in the solid polygonal end having a planar body portion bearing in sliding engagement on a planar wall of the polygonal tubular end and biasing the polygonal solid and tubular ends in opposite directions to a substantially zero clearance relationship in which linear clearances are reduced to substantially zero, and a monolithic plastic block injection molded in situ in the spring chamber behind the flat body portion.

Abstract: An open-vane regenerative turbine pump includes a housing, an impeller rotatably supported on the housing having a plurality of paddle-like open-vane type vanes thereon, an annular pump channel in the housing around the periphery of the impeller and around the vanes, a stripper in the pump channel between an inlet port of the latter and a discharge port thereof, and a pair of bosses on the housing in the pump channel on opposite sides of the impeller about midway between the inlet and discharge ports. The bosses each have an edge obstructing a radially inner fraction of the pump channel to intercept inertially separated vapor in the inner fraction having a velocity component in the direction of rotation of the impeller. A pair of notches are formed in the housing adjacent respective ones of the bosses in flow communication with a vapor collection chamber and with a radially innermost extremity of the pump channel.

Abstract: A method of making a plastic ball sleeve assembly includes the steps of forming a flat plastic sleeve blank, cold forming a plurality of ball sockets in the sleeve blank, cold forming a plurality of integral living hinges in the sleeve blank, inserting respective ones of a plurality of hard metal spheres in corresponding ones of the ball sockets, cold forming the sleeve blank to define retaining means at each ball socket operative to retain the spheres in the sockets while exposing surface segments of the spheres on opposite sides of the sleeve blank, and flexing the sleeve blank at the living hinges until opposite end edges of the sleeve blank abut whereby a tubular ball sleeve assembly is achieved. In a preferred embodiment, interlocking tangs and notches are formed in edges of the sleeve blank which interlock to capture the tubular shape of the ball sleeve assembly.

Abstract: A twist lock for attaching a plastic shell of a thermal probe to a structural member such as a plastic intake manifold of an internal combustion engine in a socket in the structural member. The twist lock includes hooks on the plastic shell which traverse an annular shoulder at the bottom of the socket through notches in the shoulder when the shell is inserted in the socket and which are captured by the shoulder when the shell is rotated in the socket from an unlocked position to a locked position. The twist lock further includes a lug on the shell cooperating with a cam edge on a resilient lip around an open end of the socket to afford tactile representation of the progress of the shell toward and achievement of the locked position and to prevent reverse rotation of the shell from the locked position.

Abstract: An integral steering gear for a motor vehicle includes a plunger supported on a pitman shaft of the steering gear for linear bodily movement in a plane perpendicular to the centerline of the pitman shaft and a leaf spring between the plunger and the pitman shaft biasing the plunger into engagement on a rack piston of the steering gear. The plunger urges the pitman shaft and rack piston in relative separation to eliminate linear clearance between a housing of the steering gear and each of the rack piston and pitman shaft. The plunger also urges the rack piston to limited rotation whereby straight rack gear teeth on the rack piston are wedged against straight sector gear teeth on a sector of the pitman shaft to eliminate angular clearance between the teeth.

Abstract: A modular fuel sender including a reservoir in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle, an electric fuel pump in the reservoir, and a jet pump for aspirating fuel into the reservoir. The electric fuel pump includes a regenerative turbine pump having a pump channel around the periphery of an impeller and a bleed orifice between an inlet and a discharge of the pump channel for bleeding a mixture of fuel and vapor from the pump channel. The bleed orifice is connected a nozzle in the jet pump. The mixture of fuel and vapor bled from the pump channel issues as a jet stream from the jet pump nozzle for aspirating fuel into the reservoir.

Abstract: A differential in a motor vehicle drive axle includes a barrel shaped case and a ring gear. The case has an outer cylindrical boss and an adjacent smaller inner cylindrical boss. The ring gear has a flat side facing the case, a plurality of self-cutting straight splines around the center of the ring gear, and a counterbore in the flat side concentric with the self-cutting splines. The self-cutting splines have a major diameter corresponding to the diameter of the inner boss so that when the ring gear is forcibly moved to an assembled position on the case, the self-cutting splines form in situ on the inner boss a plurality of mating straight splines in mesh with the self-cutting splines. The depth of the counterbore is coordinated with the length of the inner boss to achieve penetration of the outer boss into the counterbore at the time the self-cutting splines engage the inner bore so that a closed chip trap is defined ahead of the self-cutting splines.

Abstract: A drive shaft assembly has universal joints at each end that include flexible seal boots. The drive shaft assembly has a protective cover for the flexible seal boots in the form of a seamless woven nylon sleeve that is clamped onto the universal joint housings at each end of the drive shaft. The sleeve is tied in the middle to reduce its profile. Alternatively, the drive shaft assembly may have an individual protective cover for each flexible seal boot. These individual protective covers are also in the form of a seamless woven nylon sleeve. But these individual sleeves have a conical portion that terminates in a small diameter opening that closely surrounds the drive shaft.

Abstract: A high temperature rope seal type joint packing including a cylindrical core made of bundled and twisted ceramic fibers and a metallic cover around the core made of a plurality of cross woven and braided metallic strands each consisting of a plurality of round stainless steel wires arranged in side-by-side relationship.

Abstract: A stroking constant velocity universal joint has a seal boot produced from a thermoplastic elastomer. The seal boot has a large diameter skirt at one end that attaches the seal boot to the universal joint housing and a small diameter ring at an opposite end that attaches the seal boot to a drive shaft associated with the universal joint. The seal boot has a generally cylindrical bellows section that comprises a plurality of serially arranged convolutes integrally connected to the skirt by a conical wall. The bellows section has a maximum diameter that is substantially less than the diameter of the skirt. An intermediate biconic section is integrally attached to the bellows section. It has a maximum diameter that is substantially less than the diameter of the skirt and a root-to-root length that is substantially greater than the root-to-root length of any individual convolute of the bellows section. A single convolute interconnects the biconic section and the small diameter ring.

Abstract: A magnetic particle separator for a motor vehicle drive axle includes a slot in a wall of the drive axle and a magnet in the slot. The slot is located such that one side thereof defines a window open to a gear chamber of the drive axle. The slot has dovetail edges which define abutments for preventing dislodgement of the magnet into the gear chamber through the window. A cover of the drive axle closes and open side of the gear chamber and an open end of the slot to prevent dislodgement of the magnet through the open end. Ferromagnetic particles entrained in fluid lubricant circulating in the gear chamber are attracted by the magnet through the window and thereby separated from the lubricant.

Abstract: A gas turbine combustor comprises a plurality of circumferentially spaced can type combustion liners disposed between inner and outer casings of the gas turbine engine. Each combustion liner has an auxiliary set of circumferentially spaced air slots behind a set of circumferentially spaced primary air holes that introduce compressor discharge air to cool hot spots in the primary combustion zone. The air slots are set at an angle so that the compressor discharge air is admitted into the combustion liner in such a way as to induce a swirling motion in the primary combustion zone. The combustion liner also has a set of circumferentially spaced dilution air holes that are sized and located upstream far enough to maintain an acceptable exit temperature profile and acceptable low level carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons emissions.

Abstract: A regenerative turbine fuel pump for motor vehicles including a flat disc-shaped impeller having radial vanes in an annular pump chamber, the pump having strippers in the pump chamber oriented obliquely relative to the direction of rotation of the vanes and inlet and discharge ports disposed generally at the apexes of wedge-shaped ends of the pump chamber grooves defined by the oblique sides of the strippers. The vanes are progressively covered and uncovered by the oblique sides of the strippers as the vanes enter and leave the confines of the strippers to attenuate pressure pulses and minimize audible tones associated with such pressure pulses.

Abstract: A motor vehicle rack and pinion steering gear having torsional damping by friction between an annular plastic damper ring on a housing of the steering gear and a journal surface on a pinion shaft of the steering gear. The damper ring has an outer wall press fitted in a pinion shaft bore of the housing to nonrotatably mount the ring on the housing and a plurality of flexible inner fingers resiliently bearing against the journal surface. An annular metal spring is disposed on the damper ring and includes a plurality of integral legs bearing against the flexible inner fingers of the damper ring to press the fingers against the journal surface.

Abstract: A fuel leakage protection system is disclosed for a gas turbine engine having a fuel system that has a plurality of fuel nozzles that are spaced around a combustor section, a plurality of fuel tubes that are connected to the fuel nozzles individually, two generally semi-circular fuel manifolds that are located aft of the fuel nozzles and that ar connected to the fuel tubes and a branch manifold that is connected to the fuel manifolds.The fuel leakage protection system comprises a collar assembly encapsulating each fuel supply fitting connecting a fuel tube to a fuel nozzle or the branch manifold to a fuel manifold to trap leakage fuel. A fuel collection manifold collects leakage fuel from the collar assemblies via a plurality of fuel return tubes that are connected to the manifold at one end and fluidly connected to the collar assemblies at the other end.

Abstract: A turbomachine including a case, a rotor, a plurality of rotor blades on the rotor each having a blade tip, a shroud around the rotor blade tips, and bearings mounting the rotor on the case for rotation about a centerline of the case and for bodily shiftable movement in the direction of the centerline. The rotor blade tips and an inside wall of the shroud flare radially outward in the direction of the centerline so that when the rotor moves in the direction of the centerline toward the shroud a clearance gap between the blade tips and the inner wall of the shroud decreases and vice versa. An electromagnetic actuator on the case magnetically attracts a thrust plate on the rotor against a net dynamic force on the rotor. A control system of the actuator controls the magnetic attraction of the actuator in response to signals from a position sensor measuring the actual magnitude of the clearance gap to maintain the actual clearance gap at a predetermined magnitude.

Abstract: A motor vehicle ignition lock includes a housing, a lock barrel rotatable on the housing having a key slot, and a side bar on the lock barrel. The ignition lock further includes a solenoid on the housing and a slide on housing connected to a plunger of the solenoid. The slide has a notch which captures the side bar in an extended position of the side bar and an extended position of the slide. The ignition lock is unlocked in a mechanical unlocking mode by a key inserted in the key slot in the lock barrel to withdraw the side bar from the notch in the slide. The ignition lock is unlocked in an electronic unlocking mode by the solenoid when the plunger of the solenoid shifts the slide from its extended position to a retracted position to remove the notch from the side bar.

Abstract: A solid fuel, pressurized fluidized bed combustion system for a gas turbine engine includes a carbonizer outside of the engine for gasifying coal to a low Btu fuel gas in a first fraction of compressor discharge, a pressurized fluidized bed outside of the engine for combusting the char residue from the carbonizer in a second fraction of compressor discharge to produce low temperature vitiated air, and a fuel-rich, fuel-lean staged topping combustor inside the engine in a compressed air plenum thereof. Diversion of less than 100% of compressor discharge outside the engine minimizes the expense of fabricating and maintaining conduits for transferring high pressure and high temperature gas and incorporation of the topping combustor in the compressed air plenum of the engine minimizes the expense of modifying otherwise conventional gas turbine engines for solid fuel, pressurized fluidized bed combustion.

Abstract: A load sharing right angle bevel gear drive comprises a housing having a power bevel gear that meshes with two bevel gears that are mounted in the housing for rotation about a second axis that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the power bevel gear.The power bever gear is mounted in a sleeve that automatically translates to equalize the power transmitted from the power bevel gear to the two bevel gears. The power bevel gear is axially retained in the sleeve by spaced rolling bearings and the sleeve translates on slides that retain the sleeve axially to counteract the axial components of the forces that automatically translate the sleeve.In one embodiment, One bevel gear is a power output gear and the other bevel gear is an idler gear that also drives the power output gear through a fourth bevel gear. In another embodiment both bevel gears are power output gears. The sleeves of both embodiments preferably translate on slide pins via recirculating bearing balls to reduce friction.