Patents Examined by Christopher J Besler
  • Patent number: 11612970
    Abstract: A device for assembling a turbine engine is configured for centering a shaft of a second module relative to a longitudinal axis of a hollow hub placed in front of a first module, the first module including a longitudinal cavity opening at the front into the hollow hub and passing through the first module until a rear end, the shaft configured to be inserted into the longitudinal cavity. The device includes a centering element and a guiding tube. The centering element is configured to be placed in the hollow hub. The guiding tube is configured to enter into at least one portion of the longitudinal cavity of the first module. The device is arranged so that the guiding tube slides inside the centering element. The invention also relates to the assembly formed by the device and a calibration jig, as well as an assembly method using same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Thierry Fernand Gastal, Morgan Bryan Antony Creuset, Eric Louis Charles Petit
  • Patent number: 11614002
    Abstract: An assembly is provided for a gas turbine engine. This gas turbine engine assembly includes a split case structure. The split case structure includes a first wall, a second wall, a first case segment and a second case segment. The first wall extends axially along and circumferentially about an axial centerline. The second wall extends axially along and circumferentially about the axial centerline. The second wall is radially outboard of and axially overlaps the first wall. The first case segment is configured to form a first portion of the first wall and a first portion of the second wall. The second case segment is configured to form a second portion of the first wall and a second portion of the second wall. The second case segment is circumferentially adjacent and attached to the first case segment at a joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Binek, Randolph T. Lyda
  • Patent number: 11608091
    Abstract: A method comprises removing a first deck of a plurality of decks and a second deck of the plurality of decks from an autorack. The method further comprises removing one or more of a plurality of posts of the autorack and coupling a cross-brace assembly to one or more of the plurality of posts, wherein the cross-brace assembly is coupled to the one or more of the plurality of posts at a location above an existing brace bay of the autorack. The method also comprises coupling the second deck of the plurality of decks to the autorack at a location above or below the cross-brace assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: TRINITY RAIL GROUP, LLC
    Inventors: Kyle R. Coston, David W. Higginbotham, Robert J. DeGroot
  • Patent number: 11603824
    Abstract: A method for performing uptower maintenance of a wind turbine in order to replace the main bearing on the turbine shaft is disclosed. Embodiments of this method to perform maintenance may include installing a rotor lock to resist rotation of the main shaft during maintenance, providing a lifting device in order to elevate the main shaft, removing the main bearing from its main bearing housing, and installing a replacement split main bearing. A crane may also be installed uptower to assist in the maintenance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: Inventus Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Martin E. Lohan, Per Eske Fenger, Charles Asheim, Miguel A. Gonzalez, Daniel M. Brake
  • Patent number: 11594943
    Abstract: A method for in-place machining of a collector ring attached to a turbine shaft of a hydroelectric generator includes: attaching a support member to stationary portions of the hydroelectric generator, the support member being configured to support a machine tool at an angle parallel to an inclination angle of an axis of rotation of the turbine shaft; attaching an adjustable positioning device to the support member; attaching the machine tool to the adjustable positioning device, the machine tool being configured to perform a machining operation on the collector ring; controlling a rotational speed of the turbine shaft to a specified rotational speed by controlling a flow of water through the turbine; adjusting the adjustable positioning device to adjust a position of the machine tool with respect to the collector ring; and performing the machining operation on the collector ring at the specified rotational speed of the turbine shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: ANDRITZ HYDRO CORP.
    Inventors: Christopher George Tuttle, Hiram Lee Avant, William Hopper, Lorenzo Pelayo, Joseph Matthew Travis, Bernard Cantin
  • Patent number: 11592064
    Abstract: A manufacturing device manufactures a bearing unit including an inner ring member outwardly fitted onto an end portion of a shaft main body of an inner shaft on one side in an axial direction and fixed by a swaged portion extending from the end portion. The manufacturing device includes: a rotating mechanism including a rotor which holds the other side of the inner shaft in the axial direction from below and rotates the inner shaft about a center axis of the inner shaft while the center axis is aligned with an up-down direction, the rotor being mounted below a processing area of the bearing unit; and a swaging mechanism mounted above the processing area and including a punch which is brought into contact with the swaged portion to plastically deform the swaged portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignees: JTEKT CORPORATION, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yosuke Tanaka, Masato Nakagawa, Masato Fukui, Kei Sumimoto, Mitsumoto Inoguchi, Hiroyuki Shinoda, Masahiro Kimura
  • Patent number: 11571735
    Abstract: A method for installing a fastener system. A position on a structure relative to an overhang on the structure is automatically sensed for installing a fastener system in a hole using an offset collar installer. The offset collar installer is moved about a rotation axis to the position such that a collar in the fastener system is held in the position over the hole. The offset collar installer is connected to a platform and rotatable about the rotation axis. The collar is fastened to an engagement feature for a bolt in the hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Kwok Tung Chan, Tanni Sisco, Eric M. Reid, Jeffrey Martin Devlin, John Hartmann
  • Patent number: 11565547
    Abstract: A system for use in providing a load on a bearing mounted to a shaft includes a preload apparatus having a first extension and a second extension engageable with an inner race of the bearing and configured to provide a compressive load to the bearing. The first extension has a first projection and the second extension has a second projection. A stop ring is configured to limit a radially inward movement of the first extension and the second extension toward each other to position the first projection and the second projection relative to the bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: TEMPER AXLE PRODUCTS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Sean Strait
  • Patent number: 11559845
    Abstract: Methods of repairing a periphery of a threaded hole of a part are provided. An embodiment of the method includes adding material to a region of the part including on a periphery of the threaded hole. New threads are formed in the added material. The new threads are continuous with existing threads formed in the hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Samuel Panero, David Buffett, Patrick Neal
  • Patent number: 11548057
    Abstract: An apparatus for accessing an interior of a fuselage assembly. A tower having a number of platform levels may be driven into a selected tower position within an assembly area. The interior of the fuselage assembly may be accessed using the number of platform levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Harinder S. Oberoi, Richard Griffith Reese, IV, Kevin Marion Barrick, Quang T. Do, Alan S. Draper, Yuanxin Charles Hu, Alfredo Jose Gerosa, Michael J. Kozak, Jeffrey Lawrence Miller
  • Patent number: 11541486
    Abstract: A connecting method includes: measuring at least one of control dimensions that influence a dimension of a member obtained by connection of a first member and a second member to each other, the second member including a connection insertion portion where the first member is inserted; determining, according to the at least one of the control dimensions, a relative position for positioning the first member and the second member by insertion of the first member in the connection insertion portion; heating the second member to a first temperature; inserting the first member in the connection insertion portion to place the first member and the second member in the relative position; and stopping the heating of the second member and maintaining the first member and the second member in the relative position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takaaki Fujimoto, Tomokazu Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11535001
    Abstract: Proposed are a manufacturing method of an anodic oxide film structure, and an anodic oxide film structure. More particularly, proposed are a manufacturing method of an anodic oxide film structure, and an anodic oxide film structure, wherein production yield of the entire product can be improved by repairing a defective region to be made normal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: POINT ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Bum Mo Ahn, Seung Ho Park, Sung Hyun Byun
  • Patent number: 11529705
    Abstract: A tool for installing segments of a coupling having male and female couplers drivingly engaged to one another by the segments, the tool has: a coupler-engaging section engageable to the a female coupler of the couplers for radially supporting the tool relative to the female coupler about a rotation axis of the coupling; and a peripheral wall secured to the coupler-engaging section and extending circumferentially around the rotation axis, a diameter (D2) of the peripheral wall selected to allow insertion of the segments between the female coupler and the peripheral wall, the peripheral wall defining an abutting surface against which radially inner ends of the segments abut during insertion of the segments between the female coupler and the peripheral wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventor: David Menheere
  • Patent number: 11529674
    Abstract: A refractory metal core (RMC) finishing method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, performing a plurality of finishing operations on a plurality of RMC samples, analyzing one or more properties of at least a portion of the plurality of RMC samples and selecting a combination of finishing operations for generating an RMC having desirable properties for manufacturing a part free from defects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Dewight R. Cassells, Alan C. Barron, John P. Rizzo, Gordon Miller Reed, Tracy A. Propheter-Hinckley
  • Patent number: 11524137
    Abstract: An intravascular heart pump assembly can include a rotor with at least one impeller blade, and a cannula. The present application describes various cannulas that can be manufactured from multiple layers of material to improve flexibility, manufacturability, and durability without increasing an outer diameter of the cannula. In one embodiment, the cannula includes an inflow section having a sheet formed of a shape memory material embedded within a polymer and having at least one lateral hole or aperture in the inflow section. The at least one lateral hole is defined by a first hole in the sheet and a second hole in the outer polymer layer of the cannula. The first hole and the second hole overlap so that blood can enter the cannula through the holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Abiomed, Inc.
    Inventor: Emilia Jahangir
  • Patent number: 11524324
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing a bent torsional profile comprising the following process steps: a) provision of a plate made of planar sheet metal, b) reshaping of the plate through the introduction of a bent trough oriented in the longitudinal direction of the plate in a central length portion (6) of the plate at a distance from the front edges of the plate, forming legs between the trough and the longitudinal edges of the plate, c) reshaping of the legs in such a manner that an open profile is created, d) reshaping of the legs in such a manner that a hollow profile is produced, wherein a longitudinal gap is formed between the two legs over the entire longitudinal extent thereof and wherein an air gap is created between the legs and the trough in the region of the trough, e) joining of the two legs over the entire longitudinal gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: BENTELER AUTOMOBILTECHNIK GMBH
    Inventors: Erik Schultz, Rudi Vitalis, Eugen Seibel, Gil Rodrigues
  • Patent number: 11492057
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a workpiece conveyance system that can be configured at a low cost. A first exemplary aspect is a workpiece conveyance system configured to convey a first workpiece inside a facility and raise the first workpiece, the workpiece conveyance system including: an on-floor carriage configured to be movable on a floor of the facility, the on-floor carriage including a placement part on which the first workpiece is placed; and an elevating machine configured to push up the placement part, the elevating machine being configured separately from the on-floor carriage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TSUBAKIMOTO CHAIN CO.
    Inventors: Hirota Miyake, Hiromitsu Abe, Kunji Morimoto, Atsushi Nakagami
  • Patent number: 11492929
    Abstract: A lift assembly includes an upper rail. A plurality of rail flanges extend from the upper rail. The lift assembly further includes a plurality of combustion can support assemblies spaced apart from one another. Each combustion can support assembly of the plurality of combustion can support assemblies includes a support flange slidably coupled to a rail flange of the plurality of rail flanges, an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve assembly configured to removably couple to a combustion can of the turbomachine. Each combustion can support assembly of the plurality of combustion can support assemblies defines a cylindrical coordinate system having an axial direction, a radial direction, and a circumferential direction. Each combustion can support assembly of the plurality of support assemblies is configured to move along any of the axial direction, the radial direction, or the circumferential direction relative to the upper rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Artemio Josue Aguilar Cuéllar, Benigno Camacho Mendoza, Alejandro Perez, Alston Ilford Scipio
  • Patent number: 11486368
    Abstract: A tool chain (10) is provided for performing a method of removing internal components such as a bearing cassette (64) from the interior of a generator (12) and/or a gearbox (14) of a wind turbine. The tool chain (10) includes a tube (30) that extends through the interior of the generator (12), at least one clamp element (36) that concentrically fixes the tool chain (10) in position on at least one output shaft (60, 62) of the gearbox (14), and a sliding tool (50) that moves along the tube (30) into and out of the generator to couple with and pull out internal components to be repaired or replaced. For example, the tool chain (10) can remove the bearing cassette (64) located adjacent the junction of the gearbox (14) and the generator (12) without necessitating disassembly of the gearbox (14) from the generator (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventors: Joris Kofman, Niels Møller Madsen
  • Patent number: 11459124
    Abstract: An apparatus for mounting a splice component for joining two or more workpieces includes a base plate and one or more bias assemblies. The base plate includes one or more passageways extending through the base plate and one or more barrier elements mounted proximate to the passageway(s). Each barrier element and associated passageway are configured to freely receive a protrusion of a splice component. The bias assembly includes a bias element that extends proximate to the passageway and is configured to move resiliently to urge the protrusion against the barrier element. The passageway, the barrier element, and the bias assembly are configured to allow movement of the splice component relative to the base plate transverse to a direction of force applied by the bias element on the protrusion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: David Howard Curry, III, David Raines, Scott L. Smotherman, Paul Gabriel Werntges, Dennis Ray Mathis, Charlie E. Branyon, III, Daniel B. Freeman