Patents Examined by Jason Davis
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Patent number: 10287906Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a blade track, a support assembly, and a seal system. The blade track is arranged around a central axis of the gas turbine engine to direct gasses through the gas turbine engine. The support assembly is arranged around the blade track to support the blade track relative to the central axis. The seal system is configured to block fluid communication between pressurized cavities formed in the support assembly.Type: GrantFiled: May 24, 2016Date of Patent: May 14, 2019Assignee: Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.Inventors: Edward C. Rice, Daniel K. Vetters
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Patent number: 10215158Abstract: A wind turbine is provided. The turbine includes a support having an axis of rotation, a generator, a plurality of blades rotatably mounted on the support about the axis of rotation, the blades being moveable between a retracted position generally parallel with the axis of rotation and a fully deployed position generally perpendicular with the axis of rotation, the blades being connected to the generator such that rotation of the blades in a direction induced by wind causes the generator to produce electricity, and the provision of electricity to the generator rotates the blades, and a controller connected to the generator and configured to deliver a flow of current to the generator that is sufficient to move the blades from the retracted position toward the fully deployed position and insufficient to move the blades all the way to the fully deployed position.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 2014Date of Patent: February 26, 2019Assignee: NATURAL POWER CONCEPTS, INC.Inventor: John Pitre
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Patent number: 10180072Abstract: A bladed disk for a gas turbine engine is provided. The bladed disk includes a rotor disk, a plurality of rotor blades, and an interlocking transition zone. The rotor disk includes a plurality of fused layers of a first material formed via additive manufacturing and defines an outer rim. The plurality of rotor blades includes a plurality of fused layers of a second material formed via additive manufacturing. The interlocking transition zone includes a plurality of projections alternately extending from the outer rim of the rotor disk and the plurality of rotor blades, respectively, to undetachably couple the rotor disk and the plurality of rotor blades.Type: GrantFiled: October 20, 2015Date of Patent: January 15, 2019Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Herbert Chidsey Roberts, Richard William Albrecht, Jr., Michael John McCarren, Peter Andrew Flynn, Michael Francis Xavier Gigliotti, Jr., Eric Alan Estill
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Patent number: 10174622Abstract: A turbine blade for a gas turbine engine may include at least two wrapped, serpentine-shaped internal cooling paths. A first one of the serpentine-shaped internal cooling paths may include a first passage that extends radially along a leading edge of the turbine blade from adjacent a root end of the turbine blade to adjacent a tip end of the turbine blade. The first passage may be configured to provide fresh cooling fluid to the leading edge. A second passage downstream of the first passage may be configured to discharge spent cooling fluid from the first passage of the first one of the serpentine-shaped internal cooling paths across a plurality of flow disrupters positioned along an upper span of a trailing edge of the turbine blade before exiting from the trailing edge of the turbine blade. A second one of the serpentine-shaped internal cooling paths may be configured to supply fresh cooling fluid to a lower span of the trailing edge of the turbine blade.Type: GrantFiled: April 12, 2016Date of Patent: January 8, 2019Assignee: Solar Turbines IncorporatedInventors: Luzeng Zhang, Juan Yin, Hee Koo Moon
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Patent number: 10160540Abstract: An apparatus is provided for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The apparatus includes a rotor head with a rotor hub and a plurality of rotor blade attachment structures. The attachment structures are disposed about and extend radially out from the rotor hub. Each of the attachment structures may be configured from or otherwise include flexible matrix composite material. In addition or alternatively, the rotor head may be a monolithic bearingless rotor head.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2015Date of Patent: December 25, 2018Assignee: Rohr, Inc.Inventors: John F. Vertel, Sreenivas Narayanan Nampy, Matthew J. Smelcer
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Patent number: 10161266Abstract: A nozzle for a gas turbine engine, including an airfoil having an exterior surface, flange and radially compressive contact face. Also included is an airfoil support frame having a mating face positioned in engagement with the contact face. A non-orthogonal engagement angle is provided in order to transmit a compressive force to the airfoil.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2015Date of Patent: December 25, 2018Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Michael Anthony Ruthemeyer, Richard William Albrecht, Jr., Darrell Glenn Senile
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Patent number: 10119400Abstract: A rotor disk for a gas turbine engine is disclosed and formed to enable operation at high rotational speeds in a high temperature environment. The rotor disk is formed to include a bore, a live rim diameter and an outer diameter related to each other according to defined relationships.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2012Date of Patent: November 6, 2018Assignee: United Technologies CorporationInventor: Scott D. Virkler
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Patent number: 10119547Abstract: A housing device for a compressor stage of a compressor device of an aircraft engine that is embodied in a multi-stage design, including a flange area for connection to at least one housing device of another compressor stage that is adjacent in the axial direction. The housing device has a rotor area that during operation of the housing device directly acts together with the rotor blades of a rotor device in the radial direction of the compressor device. Further, the housing device has at least one reception area that is provided for receiving guide blades of a stator device. At least one part of the housing device is made of a sheet metal part. What is further described is a method for manufacturing such a housing device, with at least one part of the housing device being manufactured by means of a forming process.Type: GrantFiled: December 7, 2015Date of Patent: November 6, 2018Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE DEUTSCHLAND LTD & CO KGInventor: Marco Rautenstrauch
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Patent number: 10113508Abstract: A gas turbine engine having a centerline axis is provided. The gas turbine engine includes a fan and a fan cowl assembly surrounding the fan to define a bypass duct configured to channel airflow for the fan. The fan cowl assembly includes a stationary cowl and a transcowl. The gas turbine engine further includes a plurality of actuators configured for displacing the transcowl relative to the stationary cowl. Each of the actuators is skewed relative to the centerline axis of the engine.Type: GrantFiled: November 13, 2015Date of Patent: October 30, 2018Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Alan Roy Stuart, Patrick John Lonneman
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Patent number: 10100644Abstract: A spinner for use in a gas turbine engine includes a body and an aft ring coupled to the body. The body is symmetrically formed by filament winding around a central axis. The aft ring includes a band coupled to the body and a plurality of fairings that extend outward in a radial direction from the band away from the central axis.Type: GrantFiled: March 2, 2015Date of Patent: October 16, 2018Assignee: Rolls-Royce CorporationInventors: Erin M. Romanowski, Eric W. Engebretsen, Matthew A. Scott
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Patent number: 10094283Abstract: Embodiments of a gas bearing for aircraft engines are provided herein. In some embodiments, a gas bearing may include a first shaft; a second shaft disposed concentrically about the first shaft; and a protrusion extending from at least one of an inner surface of the first shaft or the outer surface of the second shaft to form a gap between the first shaft and the second shaft.Type: GrantFiled: October 28, 2015Date of Patent: October 9, 2018Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYInventors: Bugra Han Ertas, Daniel Alan Niergarth, Brandon Wayne Miller
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Patent number: 10090733Abstract: An apparatus including a fixed part, a rotary support configured to be driven in rotation relative to the fixed part, at least one item of electrical equipment carried by the rotary support, and a power supply device configured to supply electrical energy to the electrical equipment. The power supply device includes an asynchronous machine including a stator fixed to the fixed part and a rotor carried by the rotary support, and an excitation device. The stator includes an electrical circuit including at least one switch configured to switch between an open state in which the electrical circuit is open and a closed state in which the electrical circuit is closed. The rotor includes at least one winding connected to the electrical equipment. The excitation device is configured to provide a reactive current to the electrical circuit of the stator or to the winding of the rotor.Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2011Date of Patent: October 2, 2018Assignee: SAFRAN ELECTRICAL & POWERInventors: Eric De Wergifosse, Cedric Duval
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Patent number: 10082152Abstract: A high-efficiency compressor section (10) for a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The compressor section includes a vane carrier (12) adapted to hold ring segment assemblies (16) that provide optimized blade tip gaps (28,29) during a variety of operating conditions. The ring segment assemblies include backing elements (30) and tip-facing elements (32) urged into a preferred orientation by biasing elements (40) that maintain contact along engagement surfaces (44,46). The backing and tip-facing elements have thermal properties sufficiently different to allow relative growth that strategically forms an interface gap (42) therebetween, resulting in blade tip gaps that are dynamically adjusted operation.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2015Date of Patent: September 25, 2018Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGSELLSCHAFTInventors: Jiping Zhang, Barton M. Pepperman
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Patent number: 10077782Abstract: A high-efficiency compressor section (10) for a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The compressor section includes a vane carrier (12) adapted to hold ring segment assemblies (16) that provide optimized blade tip gaps (28,29) during a variety of operating conditions. The ring segment assemblies include backing elements (30) and tip-facing, elements (32) urged into a preferred orientation by biasing elements (40) that maintain contact along engagement surfaces (44,46). The backing and tip-facing, elements have thermal properties sufficiently different to allow relative growth and geometric properties strategically selected to strategically form an interface gap therebetween (42) resulting in blade tip gaps that are dynamically adjusted operation.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2015Date of Patent: September 18, 2018Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFTInventors: Jiping Zhang, Barton M. Pepperman
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Patent number: 10077757Abstract: A rotor blade of a wind power installation for fixing to a rotor hub and having a rotor blade longitudinal axis, including a rotor blade inner part towards the rotor hub, and a rotor blade outer part away from the rotor hub, wherein the rotor blade inner part and the rotor blade outer part are connected together by means of at least one connecting device and the connecting device includes at least one anchoring element anchored in the rotor blade outer part, at least one counterpart element anchored in the rotor blade inner part, and at least one connecting bolt which extends through the counterpart element and is fixed in the anchoring element.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2012Date of Patent: September 18, 2018Assignee: Wobben Properties GmbHInventors: Johannes Kannenberg, Alexander Hoffmann
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Patent number: 10072631Abstract: A spiral turbine blade having at least one concave compartment that is rotatable by a moving fluid for the generation of electricity is provided. A spiral turbine blade is aligned so that the axis of rotation is generally parallel to the mean direction of a moving fluid. Attached to the intake-facing side of the at least one spiral turbine blade are concave compartments comprised of an intake void, interior space, and exit void. The concave compartments are oriented to capture an additional range of velocity imaginary vectors; specifically those aligned via vortex inducing elements, such as spiral depressions on a conical intake shroud, thereby augmenting the torque induced the spiral turbine blade, and thus improving the conversion efficiency and electrical energy output.Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2015Date of Patent: September 11, 2018Inventor: Michael John Van Asten, II
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Patent number: 10060353Abstract: A heat exchanger (HEX) for cooling air in a gas turbine engine is provided. The HEX may comprise an intake manifold in fluid communication with a compressor section and configured to receive air from the compressor section, an outtake manifold in fluid communication with the intake manifold via a tube, and a cooling air flow path defined by at least one of an outer surface of the tube, an outer surface of the intake manifold, and an outer surface of the outtake manifold, wherein the cooling air flow path is orthogonal to said tube. The air from the intake manifold may travel through the tube to the outtake manifold and from the outtake manifold to a portion of the gas turbine engine.Type: GrantFiled: August 14, 2015Date of Patent: August 28, 2018Assignee: United Technologies CorporationInventors: Paul W. Duesler, Frederick M. Schwarz
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Patent number: 10054001Abstract: A gearbox for driving equipment of a turbomachine, including a substantially V-shaped box having two arms joined together by a joining part, the arms containing gear trains joined together at the joining part, and an attachment to the turbomachine. The attachment include a mechanism for insetting and/or for attaching the joining part and a suspension device of the arms.Type: GrantFiled: February 25, 2014Date of Patent: August 21, 2018Assignee: SNECMAInventors: Bruno Albert Beutin, Carmen Ancuta, Lambert Olivier Marie Demoulin
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Patent number: 10047719Abstract: In one aspect, a winglet for a rotor blade is disclosed. The winglet may generally include a winglet body extending at least partially between a winglet origin and a blade tip. The winglet body may define a sweep and a pre-bend. The sweep defined between the winglet origin and the blade tip may range from about 0.5% to about 4.0% of a span of the rotor blade. The pre-bend defined between the winglet origin and the blade tip may range from about 1.5% to about 4.5% of the span of the rotor blade.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2015Date of Patent: August 14, 2018Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Klaus Ulrich Koegler, Ariane Frere, Andreas Herrig
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Patent number: 10041474Abstract: A wind turbine system may be configured with at least one wind turbine having an exterior surface. A distribution pipe positioned between the exterior surface and a drag feature with the drag feature connected to the exterior surface via at least one attachment feature. At least one nozzle can continuously extend from the distribution pipe through the drag feature. A controller connected to the distribution pipe may selectively activate the at least one nozzle to eject compressed fluids from the turbine blade to modify a preexisting radial velocity of the at least one turbine blade.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2015Date of Patent: August 7, 2018Inventor: Larry Jeffus