Patents Examined by Behnoush Haghighian
  • Patent number: 11852150
    Abstract: A heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) system includes a compressor with a gas bearing supplied with compressed gas and a controller. The controller is configured to determine an inlet pressure and outlet pressure of the gas bearing, determine a maximum speed limit based on the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure, and prevent the compressor from operating at a speed that is greater than the maximum speed limit. A method of controlling a compressor includes calculating a maximum speed limit based on an inlet pressure and an outlet pressure of the gas bearing. The method also includes in response to determining that a speed setting is greater than the maximum speed limit, adjusting operation of the compressor such that a speed of the compressor is at or below the maximum speed limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: TRANE INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Jacob T. Helgerson, Jay H. Johnson
  • Patent number: 11852020
    Abstract: The present application provides an adjustable inlet guide vane angle monitoring device for monitoring an angular position of an inlet guide vane mounted about a compressor of a gas turbine engine. The adjustable inlet guide vane angle monitoring device may include a position sensor attached to the inlet guide vane, a sensor plate attached to the position sensor, and a limit switch positioned about the sensor plate. The position sensor determines the angular position of the inlet guide vane and the limit switch prevents movement of the inlet guide vane upon detection of the sensor plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Daniel Carter, Raymond K. Fong, Jörg Pfistner, Mihaela Krizanic-Biscan
  • Patent number: 11852149
    Abstract: Turbomachines such as air dynamometers are disclosed that include a radial outflow compressor and gas collector. In some examples, the gas collector is designed as a separate component that is coupled to the machine, such as coupled to a frame. In some examples, the collector and frame are intentionally spaced and coupled at discrete points to minimize the transfer of mechanical and thermal energy therebetween. Aspects of the present disclosure also include turbomachines that include at least one impeller bypass flow path for the direct transfer of air between ambient and a location in the collector downstream of the impeller blades. In some examples, such flowpath(s) may allow for the inflow of external ambient air into the collector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Concepts NREC, LLC
    Inventors: Kevin Fairman, Song Xue
  • Patent number: 11846298
    Abstract: Provided is a vacuum pump regarding which compression can be improved at low costs. Included is a plurality of Siegbahn exhaust mechanisms in which a helical groove is provided to a stator disc. The Siegbahn exhaust mechanisms are provided on both faces of an upstream side and a downstream side of the stator disc. An end portion of the helical groove provided on the upstream side and a start portion of the helical groove provided on the downstream side are situated at least partially overlapping in a circumferential direction. A width of a channel of a switchback portion of the upstream side and the downstream side is equivalent or less than a depth of a channel of the Siegbahn exhaust mechanisms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Edwards Japan Limited
    Inventors: Haruki Suzuki, Takashi Kabasawa
  • Patent number: 11840939
    Abstract: A turbine engine includes a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section. Fuel combusted in the combustion section drive stages of airfoils in the turbine section to drive the compressor section. The airfoils can include a geometry near or at the trailing edge with a linear portion provided between the pressure side and a first curved portion, to reduce shock generated in the wake of the airfoils.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Rathakrishnan Bhaskaran, Thomas W. Vandeputte
  • Patent number: 11835058
    Abstract: An impeller includes: a disk-shaped hub centered on an axis; and a plurality of blades arranged in a circumferential direction and protruding from a surface of the hub facing one side in a direction of the axis. In a cross-sectional view including a blade height direction which is a direction away from the hub toward a tip of each blade, the blade has a recessed surface curved convexly toward a rear side in a rotational direction. In the cross-sectional view, when a distance between an imaginary line connecting a tip-side edge and a hub-side edge of the blade and a midspan of the blade along a direction perpendicular to the imaginary line is defined as a recess amount, the blade has a portion where the recess amount increases from a leading edge side to a trailing edge side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES MARINE MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hironori Honda, Nao Taniguchi, Fumito Hiratani, Isao Tomita, Tetsuya Matsuo, Taiyo Shirakawa
  • Patent number: 11834954
    Abstract: A gas turbine is provided, the gas turbine engine including a turbomachine having an inlet splitter defining in part an inlet to a working gas flowpath and a fan duct splitter defining in part an inlet to a fan duct flowpath. The gas turbine engine also includes a primary fan driven by the turbomachine defining a primary fan tip radius R1, a primary fan hub radius R2, and a primary fan specific thrust rating TP; and a secondary fan downstream of the primary fan and driven by the turbomachine, the secondary fan defining a secondary fan tip radius R3, a secondary fan hub radius R4, and a secondary fan specific thrust rating TS; wherein the gas turbine engine defines an Effective Bypass Area, and wherein a ratio of R1 to R3 equals R 1 R 3 = ( E ? F ? P ) ? ( 1 - RqR Sec . - Fan 2 ) ( 1 - RqR Prim . - Fan 2 ) ? ( T P T S ) ? ( E ? B ? A ) .
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: David Marion Ostdiek, William Joseph Solomon
  • Patent number: 11835057
    Abstract: An impeller of a centrifugal compressor is an impeller 5 of a centrifugal compressor, that is, a compressor impeller 5 and includes a hub, at least one airfoil portion erected on a hub surface of the hub, and a first fillet. The at least one airfoil portion has a trailing edge configured such that a distance between the trailing edge and an axis of the centrifugal compressor increases with increasing distance from a back surface of the hub. The first fillet is formed on a radially outer side of an outer peripheral surface of a back plate portion forming a back surface portion of the hub. The first fillet connects the outer peripheral surface of the back plate portion and the trailing edge of the at least one airfoil portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES ENGINE & TURBOCHARGER, LTD.
    Inventors: Yutaka Fujita, Nobuhito Oka
  • Patent number: 11814984
    Abstract: A rotor has formed therein a groove with which a moving blade including a dovetail portion and a platform portion connecting the dovetail portion and a blade portion engages. The groove opens in a surface intersecting the axis of rotation of the rotor, and includes a contacting portion extending obliquely with respect to the axis of rotation and coming into contact with the dovetail portion, a bottom portion of an end portion on the radially inner side of the rotor, a joining portion between the contacting portion and the bottom portion, a platform facing portion facing the platform portion, and a chamfered portion formed on an end surface in the groove-extending direction. The chamfered dimension of the joining portion is greater on the side with an acute angle between the groove and the end surface than on the side with an obtuse angle between the groove and the end surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Hidetaka Okui, Kondo Takahiro
  • Patent number: 11811108
    Abstract: A fuel cell centrifugal compressor includes: an impeller including a hub and blades; and a shroud. A smaller one of angles formed by each blade and a meridian surface is a blade angle. An absolute value of the blade angle on a hub-side of the blade is local minimum between hub-side front and rear edges of the blade. An absolute value of the blade angle on a shroud-side of the blade is local minimum between shroud-side front and rear edges of the blade. The hub-side of the blade is constantly less than or equal to the shroud-side of the blade in absolute value of the blade angle between the hub-side front and rear edges. The shroud-side rear edge is less than the shroud-side front edge in absolute value of the blade angle. The hub-side rear edge is greater than the hub-side front edge in absolute value of the blade angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA JIDOSHOKKI
    Inventors: Ryo Umeyama, Yoshiyuki Nakane, Takahito Kunieda
  • Patent number: 11795964
    Abstract: A fan assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a fan disk, a trunnion, a fan blade, and a counterweight assembly. The fan disk is configured to rotate about an axial centerline of the gas turbine engine when installed in the gas turbine engine. The trunnion is mounted to the fan disk and defines a slot extending through a portion of the trunnion. The fan blade defines a pitch axis and is rotatably attached to the fan disk about its pitch axis through the trunnion. The counterweight assembly includes a link arm extending to the trunnion and an engagement device mounted to the link arm that is disposed to move through the slot of the trunnion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Nicholas M. Daggett, Gert Johannes van der Merwe, Daniel Alan Niergarth, Brian Lewis Devendorf
  • Patent number: 11788557
    Abstract: A dynamic compressor includes an impeller having impeller vanes disposed around a hub, a shroud, and a diffuser having a shroud surface adjacent to the shroud and a hub surface adjacent to the hub, wherein the diffuser is circumferentially disposed around the impeller. The diffuser includes a plurality of diffuser vanes extending from the hub surface to the shroud surface, each having a vane leading edge and a vane trailing edge. The diffuser includes a centrifugal acceleration stabilizer ring formed in the shroud surface located in a vaneless region defined between an impeller trailing edge and the vane leading edge. The centrifugal acceleration stabilizer ring stabilizes the flow of the fluid by changing the circumferentially-flowing high velocity fluid flow exiting the impeller into a radially-flowing high velocity fluid flow before entering the diffuser, improving the efficiency of the dynamic compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Ingersoll-Rand Industrial U.S., Inc.
    Inventors: Chester V. Swiatek, Mikhail Grigoriev, Paul C. Brown, Charles Impastato
  • Patent number: 11788420
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a fan blade (3) having a structure made from a composite material, comprising a fibrous reinforcement (5), which is obtained by three-dimensional weaving of warp strands and weft strands, and a matrix in which the fibrous reinforcement (5) is embedded, wherein—the fibrous reinforcement (5) comprises a first portion (14) forming the trailing edge (9) of the structure made from a composite material and a second portion (15) forming its leading edge (8), and wherein—the warp strands of the fibrous reinforcement (5) comprise first strands (12) having a predetermined stiffness and second strands (13) having a greater stiffness than that of the first strands (12), the first portion (14) comprising all or part of the first strands (12) and being devoid of second strands (13) while the second portion (15) comprises all or part of the second strands (13).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Guillaume Pascal Jean-Charles Gondre, Thomas Alain De Gaillard
  • Patent number: 11788425
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine including: a first turbine rotor assembly including a plurality of first turbine rotor blades extended within a gas flowpath; and a casing surrounding the first turbine rotor assembly, wherein the casing comprises an outer casing wall extended around the first turbine rotor assembly; a plurality of vanes extended from the outer casing wall and within the gas flowpath at a location aft of the first turbine rotor assembly; and a thermal control ring positioned outward along a radial direction from the outer casing wall, and wherein the thermal control ring comprises a body and a plurality of pins, and wherein the plurality of pins extend between the outer casing wall and the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignees: General Electric Company, General Electric Deutschland Holding GmbH, General Electric Company Polska Sp. z o.o.
    Inventors: Ashish Sharma, Piotr Jerzy Kulinski, Adam Tomasz Pazinski, Tomasz Jan Bulsiewicz, Scott Alan Schimmels
  • Patent number: 11781440
    Abstract: A flow path component includes a platform that extends between a first side and a second side. A slot is in the first side. The slot divides the platform into a first portion and a second portion at the first side. There is a groove along the first side in the first portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: RTX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tyler G. Vincent, Daniel Carlson
  • Patent number: 11746672
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a method for monitoring an actuating system of a movable component, in particular a movable component of a turbomachine such as a nozzle or a blade, the actuating system comprising a control device configured to deliver a position instruction to a first cylinder and a second cylinder, each cylinder being configured to deliver a position feedback measurement in response to the position instruction, the method being implemented in a monitoring system and comprising, —a first monitoring mode in which the deviations between the position feedback measurements of the two cylinders are detected; —a second monitoring mode in which the deviations between the position feedback measurements of the two cylinders are not detected; method in which the second mode is selected when at least one of the two position feedback measurements is in a transient phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventor: Sébastien Jacques François Michel Soulie
  • Patent number: 11739763
    Abstract: An impeller attach mechanism for a turbocharger including a stud extending from a central bore of a compressor impeller toward a turbine wheel, the stud having a first threaded region and a second threaded region; a shaft coupled to the turbine wheel and extending toward the compressor impeller, the shaft having a leading portion, the leading portion having a threaded interior configured to engage the second threaded region of the stud; and an insert having an internal portion and an external portion, the internal portion having a threaded external surface to engage the compressor impeller, the internal portion having a threaded internal surface to engage the first threaded region of the stud, the external portion configured to surround the leading portion of the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Progress Rail Locomotive Inc.
    Inventors: Gary R. Svihla, Xinmin Xu
  • Patent number: 11732585
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and systems for trapped rotatable weights to improve rotor balance are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a lock nut; a rotor assembly; a channel defined by the lock nut and the rotor assembly, the channel wrapped circumferentially around a geometric center of the rotor assembly; and a weight trapped within the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Allen Hagan, Jason Francis Pepi, Kevin Robert Shannon
  • Patent number: 11732600
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine actuation system includes a gas turbine engine, an actuation device, an actuator, and a power source. The gas turbine engine includes a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and a rotating shaft. The actuation device is operable with the compressor section, combustion section, turbine section, or a combination thereof. The actuator is operationally coupled to the actuation device and includes an electric actuator configured to convert electrical current into mechanical power. The power source is configured to supply electrical current to the actuator, alone or in tandem with a hydraulic actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: David Alexander Hiett, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Robert Jon McQuiston, David Marion Ostdiek
  • Patent number: 11732612
    Abstract: A fan case assembly adapted for use with a gas turbine engine includes a fan track liner and an annular case. The fan track liner extends circumferentially at least partway about a central axis of the gas turbine engine. The annular case is configured to support the fan track liner at a radial position relative to the central axis. The fan case assembly further includes an air recirculation duct configured to redirect air around the fan track liner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel E. Molnar, Jr., Robert W. Heeter