Abstract: A robotic assembly configured to service an engine, wherein the robotic assembly includes an environmental capture device configured to provide information associated with an environment in which the engine is disposed to one or more computing devices, and wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to use the information to inspect the engine before and after repair operations associated with the service to check for repair equipment, or parts thereof, left in the engine after the repair.

Abstract: Systems and methods of servicing engines, an exemplary method of servicing an engine, the method including receiving, by one or more computing devices, information corresponding to one or more components of the engine; determining, by the one or more computing devices, a location of the one or more components of the engine with respect to a location of an augmented reality device; and presenting, in a current field of view display of the augmented reality device, at least a portion of the information corresponding to the one or more components of the engine, wherein the portion of the information includes a rendering of the one or more components, instructions regarding operations to be performed on the one or more components, directional arrows or contextual information associated with the one or more components, or any combination thereof.

Abstract: A trunnion-to-disk connection for use on an open fan configuration of a gas turbine engine may include an integral trunnion and blade spar inserted through a trunnion aperture of a fan disk and supported by top bearing and a bottom bearing. A cavity can be provided between a trunnion of the integral trunnion and blade spar and the fan disk, as well as between the top bearing and bottom bearing. Pressurized hydraulic fluid can be supplied to the cavity to urge the integral trunnion and blade spar in a direction to preload the bearings. Prior to pressurization, and prior to installation of the bottom bearing, the trunnion can be inserted into a trunnion aperture of the fan disk such that an end of the trunnion extends past the fan disk to provide sufficient space to insert the bottom bearing from within the open interior of the fan disk.

Abstract: Systems and methods of servicing equipment including determining, by one or more computing devices, a workscope associated with the equipment; and at least partially-autonomously servicing the equipment in response to the determined workscope.

Abstract: A system and method of using a tool assembly is provided. The system includes a body, a first camera and a second camera fixed to the body, and a controller. The controller is configured to receive data indicative of images of a reference feature from the first camera, determine data indicative of a first spatial position of the first camera based at least in part on the received data indicative of the images of the reference feature, and determine data indicative of a second spatial position of the second camera based on the first spatial position, a known spatial relationship between the first location and the second location, or both. Further, the controller may be configured to receive data indicative of images of a target feature using the second camera, derive dimensions of the target feature based on the images, and generate a three-dimensional representation of the target feature.

Abstract: Apparatus for providing supplementary cooling to the thrust bearing of a vertical shaft machine, without requiring an additional exterior pump and motor, has an oil conducting path formed by grooves in the engaging surfaces of an upper and a lower portion of each bearing shoe. The oil conducting path terminates at an opening on either side of the outer periphery of the shoe. A nozzle is mounted in each opening. The nozzle extends upwardly with a horizontally extending nose portion with the nozzle opening in the end. The nose portion is adjacent the outer periphery of the rotating bearing ring which the shoes support. The ring is mounted to the vertical shaft. The shoes and the ring are immersed in an oil bath. Rotation of the shaft and the ring moves the oil adjacent the periphery of the ring. The nozzles are oriented in opposite directions, preferably facing one another.

Abstract: A thrust bearing particularly suitable for use with a vertical shaft machine has a rotating ring mounted to the shaft for rotation with the shaft and having a downwardly directed bearing surface. A base ring is positioned around the shaft and fixedly mounted to a machine foundation. A plurality of segmented bearing shoes extend around the shaft and have upwardly directed bearing surfaces for bearing engagement with the bearing surface of the rotating ring. Each shoe is supported from the base ring by a plurality of hydraulic elements which in one form are cylinders fixed to the base ring with pistons extending axially therefrom to engage the respective bearing shoe. Each cylinder is connected to a manifold to provide to each cylinder a hydraulic fluid under pressure. Because the source is common, each cylinder has hydraulic fluid at the same pressure.

Abstract: A system having a bus protected against overvoltage by a plurality of series connected zinc oxide varistors in a column, uses temperature sensors to protect the varistors from damage. First temperature sensors detect that a safety tripping temperature has been reached and lower the bus voltage. Second temperature sensors detect a thermal runaway temperature has been reached and disconnect the bus. Normal operation is restored when the detected temperature falls below the safety tripping temperature. To protect against very rapidly increasing overvoltages, the current flow is monitored and when it exceeds a threshold a signal representing current is integrated. When the integrated value reaches a first preset level the voltage on the bus is reduced and when it reaches a second preset level the bus is disconnected to permit the varistors to cool.

Abstract: A clutch is interposed between the driving gears of a grinding mill and the driving motor to protect the gears from damage by mechanical overloading. The clutch is set to slip at torques below those required to structurally damage the gears yet higher than design load and the clutch released and the mill is shut down after a preset degree of clutch slippage occurs.

Abstract: In the prior art it is known to determine the density of a roll of paper as it is being wound on a paper receiving roll. The determination is made each time the paper receiving roll makes a constant predetermined number of revolutions. Because the diameter of the paper on the paper receiving roll increases, there is an increasing length of paper added between successive determinations. This makes it more difficult to maintain a desired roll density by controlling various factors during winding. In addition, because the paper web is usually fed onto the roll at a constant rate, the time between successive density determinations increases. The system of the invention provides for an adjustment of the predetermined number of revolutions between density determinations. This number is decremented to provide, very approximately, the same time interval between successive determinations.

Abstract: In a commutator formed by a plurality of commutator bars clamped between an annular shell and a clamping ring held together by studs, the life of the commutator may be extended significantly by imposing a resilient damper between the stud and the inside wall of a passage in the shell or ring, or both. The damper is spaced inwardly from the end of the stud, preferably by an amount approximately equal to one third of the length of the stud.

Abstract: A speed controller for a mill drive has two control portions. The first control portion has a first speed of response for controlling mill speed during normal operation. The second control portion has a second speed of response, faster than the first speed of response, for controlling mill speed following abrupt changes in load torque. The first control portion has a reference speed input and this is compared with actual motor speed and the result gives a current reference signal. The current reference signal is compared with a signal representing actual current to derive an error signal used to control the supply of power to the motor. The second control portion multiplies the current reference signal with a signal representing flux to provide a signal representing a model of developed torque. This is compared with a signal representing a model of load torque and the difference integrated to provide a signal representing a model of motor speed.

Abstract: In a drive system for a grinding mill the load torque plus frictional torque may increase considerably as a loaded mill is inched from its rest position and will suddenly decrease when the load tumbles or cascades. The applied torque or driving torque must increase at a corresponding rate and should also decrease when the load cascades. If the applied torque exceeds by a significant amount the load torque plus frictional torque, a destructive hammering will occur in the gear train and this will be generally proportional to the excess of applied torque for a synchronous motor drive. The drive system has a DC source which is commutated by a commutating device to provide a low frequency stepped alternating voltage to the stator windings of the synchronous motors of the drive system for inching. The output of the DC source has an alternating current component which varies as the difference between the applied torque and the load torque plus frictional torque.

Abstract: A device for protecting the secondary winding of a current transformer against destructive or dangerous overvoltages when connected across the secondary, has a transparent tubular casing with a stud support and conductive stud within one end. The stud is threadably mounted in the stud support so it can be adjusted longitudinally and it has an arcing surface on its inner end. Within the other end a support member carries a longitudinally sliding conductive plunger. The plunger is biased inwardly towards the arcing surface of the stud but it is restrained from inward movement by a fusible element which engages it and restrains it. The fusible element forms another arcing surface spaced a predetermined distance from the arcing surface on the stud. One terminal is provided on the outer end of the conductive stud and another on the outer end of the support member connected to the plunger by a flexible braid. A small overvoltage of short duration causes an arc current to flow to limit the voltage.

Abstract: There is provided a control apparatus for stopping a large grinding mill driven by two synchronous motors coupled to the mill through respective air clutches. The control includes a clutch actuator control which applies a predetermined amount of pressure of predetermined duration to the clutches sufficient to at least partially close the clutches but insufficient to fully close and lock-up the clutches. The control apparatus further includes an enable control which periodically enables the clutch actuator control to apply the predetermined amount of pressure. The enable control enables the clutch actuator control for a predetermined time duration sufficient to stop motion of the mill and synchronous motors. The present invention provides a system for bringing a mill to a stop relatively quickly without adding significant costs to the mill controls.

Abstract: There is provided an electrical inching control for inching a drive system comprising a grinding mill driven by one or more three phase synchronous motors. The electric inching control includes an inching power bus and contactors or the solid state equivalent thereof. The inching bus supplies energy for the stator windings of the synchronous motors. The contactors or switches connect the positive and negative sides of a direct current power supply to the different phases of the stator windings in a sequence which provides a stepped rotating magnetic field, and the rotor field windings are excited with direct current. The interacting stator and rotor fields causes a rotation of the rotor a predetermined amount with each step causing the mill also to rotate a respective predetermined amount.

Abstract: In the inching of a grinding mill or similar apparatus which is driven by a pair of synchronous motors through fluid actuated clutches, the motors must be angularly alined one with the other in order that the load be shared equally between the motors. The apparatus of the invention connects the field supply to both motor fields and then it connects a zero frequency supply (i.e. a DC supply) to the stator windings of both motors and ramps up or increases the amplitude of the supply. This brings the rotors into alinement without undue oscillation. When the amplitude of the low frequency supply reaches a predetermined level, the clutches are closed or locked and the motors are connected to the load with the rotors in angular coincidence or alinement.

Abstract: A protective circuit for a plurality of series connected thyristors where each thyristor has in parallel with it a resistance, capacitance type snubber circuit and a metal oxide varistor. The arrangement of the series connected thyristors, snubber circuits and their metal oxide varistors has in parallel with it a main metal oxide varistor. The main varistor is responsive to external transient surges so as to conduct large currents. The outer varistors are selected to have values so as to conduct a much smaller or minimal current relative to the current conducted by the main varistor. In a preferred arrangement, a tuning inductor is in series with the thyristors, snubber circuits and parallel arranged varistors. Also, the main varistor is arranged in parallel with the series connection of thyristor, snubber, varistor combination and inductor, and in series with a bank of capacitors.

Abstract: A capacitive signal coupler for use with a large dynamoelectric machine for coupling signals indicative of corona discharge from the stator bars to a monitor system is combined with an end cap made to fit over the connector extending between two stator bars. The end cap has a high voltage capacitor encapsulated in its walls. One lead from the capacitor is fastened to the connector with a screw before the end cap is installed. The other lead projects from the end cap and is connected to one terminal of a high voltage fuse. The fuse is secured to the end cap. The other terminal of the fuse is adapted to be connected to a cable leading to a monitor system. The coupler is preferably fastened to the lower end of the conductors of a vertical dynamoelectric machine where there is a full range of choice of location in the circuit voltages from line to neutral in two bar steps. The end cap is epoxy sealed in place to make an installation requiring little more space than the installation of a normal end cap.

Abstract: Apparatus for withdrawing the rotor from the stator in a bulb-type generator makes the rotor and the inner portion of the stator accessible for repair or maintenance without having to disassemble the housing and stator. A pair of detachable beams are placed in the housing when the rotor is stationary so they extend through holes provided in the rotor above the shaft on which the rotor turns. The beams are conveniently mounted to the upper stay tower structure at their downstream end, and to the housing at their upstream end. An additional support member may be used between the beams and the bottom of the housing at the upstream end of the beams. Shoes which slidably engage the beam are placed between the beam and the rotor to support the rotor. Preferably the shoes include a hydraulically operated piston which can be extended to ensure positive engagement with the beam. The rotor has an inner ring which is bolted to a driving disc on the shaft.