Patents Assigned to The General Electric Company
  • Patent number: 8945688
    Abstract: A process of forming a material having nano-particles and a material having nano-particles are disclosed. The process includes arranging nano-particles in a predetermined pattern within a matrix material. The material includes arranged nano-particles forming a predetermined pattern in the matrix material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Herbert Chidsey Roberts, III
  • Patent number: 8944681
    Abstract: An X-ray machine is provided. The X-ray machine comprises an X-ray tube; an X-ray detector placed opposite the X-ray tube in a direction of emission of X-rays; and a mobile device on which the X-ray tube and the X-ray detector are mounted, the mobile device comprising a motor capable of causing the automatic movement of the X-ray machine, and an impact-sensing system coupled to the motor in order to control the movement of the mobile device in the event of an impact applied to the X-ray apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jose Emilio Soto, Francis Guerit, Guy Bertrand, Bruno Galloni, Bernard Bouvier
  • Patent number: 8949163
    Abstract: A method and system for an agent-based evidential reasoning decision computer system for determining an adoption rate of a trend is provided. The system includes a plurality of nodes arranged in a tree structure. The plurality of nodes define an evidential reasoning algorithm where lower level nodes receive factors to be considered in the decision and each node assigns a likelihood of an outcome of the received factors, and generates an output to a subsequent higher level node or root of the tree structure. The system also includes a plurality of agent models organized in a hierarchical structure, each agent model comprising a respective set of the plurality of nodes and an output of the agent model, each agent model representing a member of a population, and an aggregator algorithm configured to combine the outputs of the plurality of agent models to generate an output representing an adoption rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: James Patrick Quaile, Maxim V. Garifullin, Jerrold Allen Cline, Shanshan Wang
  • Patent number: 8945292
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a gas purification system is provided. The system includes a first section having a first solvent path and a first gas path. The first gas path is configured to flow a stripping gas to remove hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the first solvent path in a first vessel to produce a first gas mixture. The system also includes a second section having a second solvent path. The second solvent path is configured to flow a second solvent mixture to remove H2S from the first gas mixture and CO2 from the second solvent mixture within a second vessel. The second solvent mixture has a solvent saturated in CO2 at a first pressure, the second vessel is operated at a second pressure, and the first and second pressures are within approximately 20% of one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Judith Pauline Oppenheim, Anindra Mazumdar
  • Patent number: 8944678
    Abstract: An instrumentation rake assembly comprises a rake tower capped at an immersed end and mated to a lead carrier at a base end. The rake tower comprises a curved wall oriented along a longitudinal axis and supporting a plurality of probe holders. The curved wall has an inner surface defining an internal passage for carrying instrumentation from the probe holders to the lead carrier. In another aspect, an instrumentation rake assembly comprises a plurality of rake towers, each having a base end and an immersed end, and each rake tower being coupled at its immersed end to one or more other rake towers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Zachary John Snider, Sylvain Pierre, Kurt Kramer Schleif
  • Patent number: 8949051
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for estimating resource consumption of a household device, e.g., an appliance. The method comprises determining a resource demand profile for a household device for a given time period, the resource demand profile associating, for the given time period, a device state of the household device with a total resource demand for the household. In one embodiment, the apparatus can be incorporated into an energy management system, where the apparatus collects data from each of the appliances in a household as well as from a resource meter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: William Jerome Burke, Robert Marten Bultman
  • Patent number: 8948486
    Abstract: A method to process radiological images is provided. The method comprises partitioning a radiological image of a region to be treated into a superimposition of layers, the region to be treated comprising at least one first structure and a second structure, wherein one layer solely comprises part of the first structure to be isolated from the remainder of the image, the layer solely comprising that part of the first structure to be isolated from the remainder of the image being determined by means of a parametric model of the first structure. The method further comprises determining an image of the region to be treated from the layering thus obtained, in which the isolated part of the first structure is omitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Vincent Bismuth, Regis Vaillant
  • Patent number: 8944536
    Abstract: An oven appliance includes a cabinet that defines a chamber. A pair of doors is rotatably mounted to provide selective access to the chamber of the cabinet, The pair of doors is connected with a linkage assembly such that the doors rotate open and closed simultaneously. The linkage assembly includes a spur gear that engages another gear of the linkage assembly. The spur gear can hinder unwanted rotation of the pair of doors or compress the pair of doors against a seal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John Adam Yantis, John Mark Chilton, Scott Thomas Kershner, Eric Sugalski, David Schoon, David Perry
  • Patent number: 8943835
    Abstract: A combustor for a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The combustor is described as comprising a dome plate coupled to a liner thereof, with at least one heat shield comprised of a ceramic matrix composite coupled at the aft end of the dome plate. Also described is a method for assembling a combustor for a gas turbine engine, including releasing a metal alloy heat shield from a dome plate and providing a ceramic matrix composite heat shield as replacement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Donald Michael Corsmeier, Mark Eugene Noe, Michael Todd Radwanski, Oliver Roghe, Jessica Licardi Subit, Ming Xie
  • Patent number: 8949085
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method for de-noising vibratory data of a test component is disclosed. The method may generally include obtaining data related to a plurality of modeled mode shapes of a finite element model of a test component, obtaining data related to a plurality of experimental mode shapes of the test component from a plurality of non-contact vibration measurement devices and de-noising with a computing device the plurality of experimental mode shapes using the plurality of modeled mode shapes to create a plurality of de-noised mode shapes for the test component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John McConnell Delvaux, Huageng Luo
  • Patent number: 8945254
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide an inlet particle separator for a gas turbine engine having an inlet flow path, a scavenge flow path, a core flow path, and a flow splitter disposed between the scavenge and core flow paths. A plurality of grooves may be disposed about an inner surface of a wall of the separator within the inlet flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jeffrey Mayer, Brian Roberts, Jonathan Anisko
  • Patent number: 8950004
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer readable medium may include executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor provide for a repository of digital content and to create a first license based on the digital content. The instructions further cause the processor to transmit the first license and the digital content to a non-destructive testing (NDT) device, and wherein the digital content is configured to be executed by, used by, or displayed by the NDT device, or a combination thereof, based on the first license.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jason Howard Messinger, Michael Christopher Domke, Charles Burton Theurer, Scott Leo Sbihli, Robert Carroll Ward, Francois Xavier De Fromont
  • Patent number: 8944774
    Abstract: The present application provides a turbine nozzle. The turbine nozzle may include an airfoil with a leading edge and a trailing edge and a flow fence extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Craig Allen Bielek
  • Patent number: 8947245
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a memory device configured to store computer-readable instructions and data representative of at least an alert trigger time that represents a time before an end of an operating cycle of an appliance communicatively coupled to a home energy manager. The apparatus further includes a processor coupled to the memory device and configured to execute the computer-readable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine a remaining cycle time for the operating cycle of the appliance, compare the remaining cycle time to the alert trigger time stored in the memory device, generate an alert when the remaining cycle time is equal to the alert trigger time, and transmit the generated alert to at least one remote device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Michael Finch, Peter Pepe, Natarajan Venkatakrishnan, David McCalpin
  • Patent number: 8948337
    Abstract: Approaches for performing computed tomographic image reconstruction are described. In one embodiment, a full or almost full scan of scan data is acquired and a plurality of image reconstructions are performed based on the scan data, wherein the plurality of image reconstructions result in a corresponding plurality of image volumes wherein the image reconstructions use different view weighting functions. Further, the present approaches provide for combining the plurality of image volumes together to produce a final image volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jed Douglas Pack, Kai Zeng, Adam Budde
  • Patent number: 8947257
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatuses for reducing network congestion in a smart utility meter system are provided. The systems, methods, and apparatuses may include providing, for a utility meter, a first communications interface for communicating with a first network; providing, for the utility meter, a second communications interface for communicating with a second network different from the first network; receiving or generating, by the utility meter, information having a destination; selecting either the first communications interface or the second communications interface; and delivering the information to the destination via the selected communications interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Bradley Richard Ree
  • Patent number: 8948334
    Abstract: A system and method for predicting acoustic loads expected on a boiling water reactor (BWR) may include a BWR scale model, a test fixture for generating air flow in the scale model, and one or measurement devices for monitoring system behavior to predict how acoustic loads may affect plant operation for the BWR being evaluated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Daniel Charles Pappone, Daniel Verne Sommerville, Teddy Earl McDowell, John Joseph Lynch, David Galbally, Venkat Arunachalam Ramani, Jeffrey H. Sanders, Matthew Christopher O'Connor
  • Patent number: 8943845
    Abstract: An appliance for conditioning air of an associated room and an associated method for controlling an air conditioner are disclosed, the controller selectively adjusting operation of the air conditioning appliance based on historical operating data. The controller adjusts a set-point of the appliance for a preselected period of time in response to the historical operating data of the appliance when the appliance operates in an energy savings mode. The controller is configured to receive and process data relating to the rate of change in the temperature. Further, an override feature may be included to maintain operation of the appliance in a normal operation mode if ambient temperature reaches a predetermined threshold value. Another feature is that the controller determines whether the compressor has been operational less than a preselected period of time and, if so, the compressor is operated until such time period has elapsed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Lafleur, John K. Besore, Natarajan Venkatakrishnan
  • Patent number: 8945387
    Abstract: A hollow fiber membrane element may be used in a pressure vessel similar to those used with spiral wound elements, optionally as a replacement for a spiral wound element. A connecting sleeve is used to connect the insides of adjacent elements to each other or to one or more fittings in communication with the outside of the pressure vessel. The element has hollow fiber membranes suspended between two potting heads spaced apart by a cross flow tube that is open at the outside faces of both potting heads. The potting heads are each adapted to slide into an end of a connecting sleeve. A module has one or more hollow fiber elements located inside of a pressure vessel. At least one port is provided in communication between the outsides of the one or more elements and the outside of the vessel. An aerator may be provided on the bottom of the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Nicholas William H. Adams
  • Patent number: 8944761
    Abstract: A welded rotor, a steam turbine having a welded rotor, and a method of producing a welded rotor are disclosed. The welded rotor includes a high pressure section and an intermediate pressure section. The high pressure section includes a high temperature material section joined to a low temperature material section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Thomas Joseph Farineau, Robert G. Baran, Manuel Julio Gomez Fernandez