Patents Examined by Edward K. Look
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Patent number: 7384241Abstract: To provide a method of forming a fan with ring in one piece from a single metal plate and to provide the fan formed using the method, the metal plate is plastically worked into a shallow pan shape so as to form a cylindrical ring portion 1 on the periphery. A boss portion 2 is then formed at the center of the bottom portion of the pan shape, cutting all portions, except for part of the front end edge along the radius of each of blade portions 3 and part of the edge of the ring portion 1 for use as connection portions 4 so that the plurality of radial blade portions 3 are slit and formed.Type: GrantFiled: October 2, 2003Date of Patent: June 10, 2008Assignee: Toyo Radiator Co., Ltd.Inventors: Kazuhiro Watanabe, Takahiro Kawabe
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Patent number: 7384236Abstract: The exhaust-gas turbine comprises a turbine casing, a shaft rotatably mounted in a bearing housing, a turbine wheel arranged on the shaft, and a heat-protection wall, the heat-protection wall defining with the turbine casing an inflow passage leading to the turbine wheel. The heat-protection wall has two seatings, the first seating resting on the bearing housing and the second seating resting on the turbine casing. If the heat-protection wall becomes hot, the two seatings are pressed against the bearing housing and the turbine casing. The turbine casing is pressed outward in the radial direction. Centering of the heat-protection wall and thus also of the turbine casing is ensured by the radially inner seating of the heat-protection wall.Type: GrantFiled: December 2, 2003Date of Patent: June 10, 2008Assignee: ABB Turbo Systems AGInventors: Marcel Meier, Tobias Gwehenberger, Marcel Zehnder, Anton Meier
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Patent number: 7381030Abstract: A vertical axis wind turbine assembly, such as a Savonius, typically mounted on a watercraft, utilizes a number of different shroud configurations to substantially preclude rotation when docked. Collapsible “curtains” mounted above the wind engaging elements, pre-defined shape or inflatable bladder inserts for convex volumes of the turbine rotor, pull over sheet material covers for the convex volumes, and a wrap-around flexible sheet, each may be utilized as shrouds. A human or wind powered boat is provided with an adjustable pitch propeller which includes cams mounted on propeller blades and movable by an operator-controlled sleeve to the desired position for a positive or negative pitch. The wind turbine may comprise rotor stages of different hand, rotating in opposite directions, and having substantially concentric shafts operatively connected to oppositely rotating propellers, for driving the boat forward.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2005Date of Patent: June 3, 2008Inventor: Robert A. Vanderhye
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Patent number: 7377750Abstract: In a wind turbine (104, 500, 704) having a plurality of blades (132, 404, 516, 744) and a blade rotor hub (120, 712), a lightning protection system (100, 504, 700) for conducting lightning strikes to any one of the blades and the region surrounding the blade hub along a path around the blade hub and critical components of the wind turbine, such as the generator (112, 716), gearbox (708) and main turbine bearings (176, 724).Type: GrantFiled: March 21, 2005Date of Patent: May 27, 2008Assignee: Northern Power Systems, Inc.Inventors: Daniel P. Costin, Jeffrey K. Petter
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Patent number: 7377747Abstract: An airfoil for a gas turbine engine includes a generally radially-extending first cooling channel disposed between pressure and suction sidewalls adjacent the leading edge of the airfoil, and a generally radially-extending second cooling channel disposed aft of the first cooling channel. The second cooling channel is closed off at an outer end thereof and is disposed in fluid communication with a forward inlet an inner end thereof. The first and second cooling channels are separated by a partition having a plurality of impingement holes therein. A generally axially extending end channel is disposed radially outward from the second cooling channel in fluid communication with the first cooling channel and with a dust hole disposed in the tip cap. The dust hole is sized to permit the exit of debris entrained in a flow of cooling air from the airfoil.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2005Date of Patent: May 27, 2008Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventor: Ching-Pang Lee
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Patent number: 7377743Abstract: A turbine nozzle includes a mid vane mounted between a pair of end vanes in outer and inner bands. The mid vane includes a first pattern of film cooling holes configured to discharge more cooling air than each of the two end vanes having respective second patterns of film cooling holes.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2005Date of Patent: May 27, 2008Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: David Allen Flodman, Jason David Shapiro, Michael Peter Kulyk
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Patent number: 7374395Abstract: A turbine shroud assembly is configured to adequately adjust a distribution of cooling air flow such that air leakage between radial shroud legs of adjacent shroud segments is minimized, while permitting cooling air to leak between platforms of adjacent shroud segments in order to cool sides of the platforms thereof.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 2005Date of Patent: May 20, 2008Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.Inventors: Eric Durocher, Martin Clermont
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Patent number: 7374405Abstract: An apparatus for handling rotor blades of wind power installations. An apparatus for simplified handling of rotor blades is afforded by a carrier element and at least one rotor blade receiving means fixedly connected thereto. A rotor blade is received in the apparatus during a blade fitting procedure. The apparatus may reduce the effect of the wind and the effect of mass inertia on during the blade fitting procedure.Type: GrantFiled: June 4, 2003Date of Patent: May 20, 2008Inventor: Aloys Wobben
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Patent number: 7374397Abstract: A mounting device, for mounting a plurality of fans (50) to a server chassis (70), includes a tray (20), a plurality of brackets (30), and a plurality of fasteners (40). The tray includes a plurality of pairs of mounting sections each pair fixed with a corresponding bracket. Each bracket is U-shaped and includes a pair of side plates (32) for sandwiching a corresponding fan therebetween. Each bracket defines a pair of coaxial locking holes (35?) in the side plates. Each fastener includes a pair of locking ends (42) received in the locking holes of a corresponding bracket to thereby sandwich the corresponding fan in the bracket. Each side plate defines an outlet (34) having a contour corresponding to a contour of an outlet of a corresponding fan, and each mounting section of the tray has a contour corresponding to a contour of the outlet of a corresponding fan.Type: GrantFiled: January 22, 2004Date of Patent: May 20, 2008Assignees: Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd., Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd.Inventors: Hsieh Kun Lee, Wanlin Xia, HeBen Liu
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Patent number: 7374402Abstract: The fastening arrangement (26) for an impeller (22) on a shaft (14), in particular for an impeller (22) of a turbocharger on a turbocharger shaft (14), comprises a bush (34), which can be screwed onto a shaft journal (20) of the shaft (14), and a shaft-side hub extension (30) of the impeller (22) having a central recess (32), into which the bush (34) can be inserted in a frictional manner. The hub extension (30), at least in the region of its shaft-side end, is designed approximately in the form of a hollow cylinder. The fastening arrangement (26) also comprises a press sleeve (36) which can be frictionally connected radially on the outside to the hub extension (30).Type: GrantFiled: May 5, 2003Date of Patent: May 20, 2008Assignee: ABB Turbo Systems AGInventors: Martin Thiele, Janpeter Kühnel, Josef Bättig
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Patent number: 7371046Abstract: A turbine airfoil may be a rotating blade having a single platform, or a stationary nozzle having a pair of platforms. The airfoil body has pressure and suction sidewalls extending between leading and trailing edges. A compound fillet is disposed between the airfoil body and at least one of the platforms. The compound fillet includes a concave first fillet having a first radius, and a concave second fillet having a second, greater radius. The second fillet extends from the leading edge downstream along the suction sidewall and terminates at a point upstream of the trailing edge. The second fillet may also extend downstream from the leading edge along the pressure sidewall.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2005Date of Patent: May 13, 2008Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Ching-Pang Lee, Joseph Michael Guentert, James Robert Bailey
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Patent number: 7371044Abstract: This invention relates to a seal plate system adapted to fit between axially adjacent turbine blades and turbine vanes to seal a rim cavity. The seal plate system may be formed from a seal plate supported by a plurality of extended disk lugs extending from a disk. The seal plate system may also include one or more extended disk lug receiving cavities adapted to receive protrusions extending from the disc. One or more ribs may extend from the seal plate for increasing the structural integrity of the seal plate.Type: GrantFiled: October 6, 2005Date of Patent: May 13, 2008Assignee: Siemens Power Generation, Inc.Inventor: Brian D. Nereim
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Patent number: 7371042Abstract: A method, system, and balanced rotating assembly are provided for field balancing an assembly including a power turbine. The method, system and assembly includes coupling the power turbine to a load, identifying a first balancing plane that is aft of the power turbine, and identifying a second balancing plane that is forward of the power turbine. A balancing correction is determined at each of the first and second balancing planes. A balance weight is mounted at the first balancing plane based on the balancing correction determined for the first balancing plane, and a balance weight is mounted at the second balancing plane based on the balancing correction determined for the second balancing plane, wherein each balance weight is coupled to at least two respective bolt head without removing the bolts.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2004Date of Patent: May 13, 2008Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventor: Michael J. Lee
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Patent number: 7371043Abstract: Fabricating a refractory component for a gas turbine engine, such as a turbine shroud ring segment, by arranging refractory fiber tows (24) in a flaired tubular geometry (20) comprising a stem portion (21) and a funnel-shaped portion (22); impregnating the refractory fibers (24) with a ceramic matrix to form a flaired tube (20) of ceramic composite matrix material; at least partially filling the funnel-shaped portion (22) with a ceramic core (30) extending beyond the end of the funnel-shaped portion to provide a working gas containment surface (31); curing the flaired tube (20) and the ceramic core (30) together; cutting the funnel-shaped portion (22) to provide rectangular edges (27); and providing an attachment mechanism (34, 36, 38, 40) on the stem portion (21) for attaching the component to a surrounding support structure. Additional tows (24) may be introduced at intermediate stages to maintain a desired fabric density.Type: GrantFiled: January 12, 2006Date of Patent: May 13, 2008Assignee: Siemens Power Generation, Inc.Inventor: Douglas A. Keller
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Patent number: 7371049Abstract: A method for manufacturing a turbine engine component comprises the steps of forming a first half of an airfoil portion of the turbine engine component and forming a plurality of microcircuits having at least one passageway on an exposed internal wall of the first half of the airfoil portion. The method further comprises forming a second half of the airfoil portion of said turbine engine component, and forming at least one additional cooling microcircuit having at least one passageway on an exposed internal wall of the second half of the airfoil portion. Thereafter, the first half is placed in an abutting relationship with the second half after the cooling microcircuits have been formed and inspected. The first half and the second half are joined together to form the airfoil portion.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2005Date of Patent: May 13, 2008Assignee: United Technologies CorporationInventors: Frank Cunha, Om Parkash Sharma, Edward F. Pietraszkiewicz
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Patent number: 7367779Abstract: A single stage low pressure turbine vane includes an airfoil having a profile substantially in accordance with at least an intermediate portion of the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in Table 2. The X and Y values are distances, which when smoothly connected by an appropriate continuing curve, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z. The profile sections at each distance Z are joined smoothly to one another to form a complete airfoil shape.Type: GrantFiled: March 2, 2006Date of Patent: May 6, 2008Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.Inventors: Sami Girgis, Panagiota Tsifourdaris
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Patent number: 7367780Abstract: A method for installing an offshore wind turbine system includes driving a cylindrical annular monopile or a substructure into the soil. The monopile includes a flanged portion configured to support a wind turbine tower or a superstructure. The flanged portion extends radially from a peripheral surface of the monopile. The method further includes mounting a wind turbine tower directly on to the monopile, wherein the wind turbine is supported by the flanged portion of the monopile.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2005Date of Patent: May 6, 2008Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Vasanth Srinivasa Kothnur, David Deloyd Anderson, Danian Zheng, Mohamed Ahmed Ali, Kenneth Bradley Leland
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Patent number: 7367123Abstract: A damper pin for a turbine bucket includes an elongated main body portion of substantially uniform cross-sectional shape having opposite ends, one only of said opposite ends coated with a corrosion and oxidation-resistant coating.Type: GrantFiled: May 12, 2005Date of Patent: May 6, 2008Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Gary Michael Itzel, Ariel Caesar-Prepena Jacala, Doyle C. Lewis, Kathleen B. Morey, David V. Bucci, Ganjiang Feng
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Patent number: 7364402Abstract: A turbine module for a gas turbine engine includes at least one turbine disk and a disk-shaped component mounted on the turbine disk upstream relative to the gas flow. The module can be assembled to the compressor of the engine, wherein the component is preassembled to the turbine disk, before the module is assembled to the compressor, by bolting to an attachment flange fixedly attached to the turbine disk.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2006Date of Patent: April 29, 2008Assignee: SNECMAInventors: Michel Gilbert Roland Brault, Maurice Guy Judet, Thomas Langevin, Patrick Claude Pasquis
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Patent number: 7364406Abstract: An apparatus is provided for generating electricity in response to a fluid flow. The apparatus includes a top rotor element coupled to a center axis with an arm extending substantially perpendicular to a center axis. The arm moves in response to the fluid flow to rotate the center axis. The apparatus also includes a bottom rotor element coupled to the center axis also having an arm extending substantially perpendicular to the center axis. The arm of the bottom rotor element is substantially fixed in a position relative to the arm of the top rotor element, wherein the position is offset about the center axis by about 90° from the top rotor element.Type: GrantFiled: May 20, 2005Date of Patent: April 29, 2008Assignee: Oregon Wind CorporationInventor: Christopher P. Kinkaid