Patents Examined by Jason Davis
  • Patent number: 8845296
    Abstract: A turbine bucket is provided including a bucket airfoil having an airfoil shape, the bucket airfoil having a nominal profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in Table 1 wherein the Z values are non-dimensional values from 0% to 100% convertible to Z distances in inches by multiplying the Z values by a height of the airfoil in inches and adding the radius of the airfoil base, and wherein X and Y are distances in inches which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z, the profile sections at the Z distances being joined smoothly with one another to form a complete airfoil shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Matthew Durham Collier, Gayathri Puram, Paul Kendall Smith, Jacob Charles Perry, II
  • Patent number: 8834101
    Abstract: An improved mechanical seal assembly is provided for hydro transport applications and other similar applications, such as large high pressure slurry pumps. This mechanical seal is used in large scale pumps having an axially adjustable shaft to accommodate high wear applications by maintaining suitable pump performance. The improved seal is a cartridge seal that includes a stationary seal adapter which is mounted to a pump casing and has a static gasket sealingly contacting a movable gland which non-rotatably supports the stationary seal rings of a mechanical seal. Additional seal rings are rotatably supported on the shaft wherein these rotatable and non-rotatable seal components are movable axially with the shaft to improve pump performance in high-wear conditions. The gland and non-rotatable seal rings are supported on and move with a bearing housing, along with the shaft and its seal rings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Flowserve Management Company
    Inventor: James A Monnot
  • Patent number: 8827650
    Abstract: A seal for an intermediate platform provided between two adjacent blades in the rotor of a turbine engine, the seal having an elongate shape with an upstream end and a downstream end, and including transversally, in the direction of the width thereof, a contact portion, an attachment portion, and a flexible portion between the attachment portion and the contact portion. The cross section of the seal has an open-ended shape between the two ends thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Jean-Bernard Forgue, Patrick Jean-Louis Reghezza, Carole Stochmil
  • Patent number: 8814512
    Abstract: An apparatus for a gas turbine engine comprises a spool lock for locking a compressor spool and a lift for removing a rotor from the compressor spool. The spool lock comprises an outer ring configured for attachment to a compressor case of the gas turbine engine, an inner ring configured to support a compressor spool within the compressor case, and a web extending between the outer ring and the inner ring. The lift comprises a beam configured for attachment to a flange of the gas turbine engine, a support strut configured to support the beam above the compressor spool, and a hoist configured to support the rotor for removal from the compressor spool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Torgrim Skaustein, Jorgen Albriktsen
  • Patent number: 8784043
    Abstract: A device for controlling variable-pitch blades in a turbomachine compressor, including at least one control ring surrounding an external casing of the compressor, and a control shaft connected to the ring and to the rod of an actuator, the body of which is mounted such that it can pivot about an axle borne by a support mechanism of the control shaft so as to guarantee a precise relative positioning of the axis of pivoting of the actuator with respect to the control shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventor: Michel Andre Bouru
  • Patent number: 8777565
    Abstract: A steam turbine has an outer casing that is divided into an upper casing and a lower casing (a lower block) on a horizontal plane through which a rotor passes. The upper casing is divided into a middle block having a through hole and an upper block having a top panel, that is, into a portion including at least a part of the through hole through which the rotor penetrates. With this configuration, machining of a bellows fitting unit provided in an end-plate cone portion can be performed in existing facilities such as a factory, in a state that the lower block and the middle block are assembled without assembling the upper block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Kondo, Tamiaki Nakazawa, Takashi Nakano, Yasuyuki Tatsumi
  • Patent number: 8764381
    Abstract: A propulsion system and method includes an annular exhaust nozzle about an axis radially outboard of the annular cooling flow nozzle and ejecting an exhaust flow through an annular exhaust nozzle about an axis radially outboard of the annular cooling flow nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Alfred M. Stern
  • Patent number: 8757966
    Abstract: A stationary vane assembly of a turbine engine including an inner casing and a high-pressure turbine guide vane assembly including at least two angular sectors including blades, the angular sectors being fixed on the casing, each angular sector including a platform and a fastening tab. The fastening tab protrudes from the platform radially inwardly. The casing includes a first annular groove receiving the fastening tabs, radial retaining pins for the angular sectors being introduced into bores made in the casing and the fastening tabs, the axial retaining pins being axially stopped by a ring mounted in a second annular groove of the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Stéphane Pierre Guillaume Blanchard, Fabrice Marcel Noël Garin, Laurent Pierre Joseph Ricou, Mathieu Dakowski
  • Patent number: 8734093
    Abstract: A mechanism modulates a fluid flow in a diffuser flow path of a compressor diffuser, including: a shroud disposed on the diffuser flow path and having a cam and a driving wheel fixed base; a diffuser vane having a diffuser guide vane disposed in the diffuser flow path and a diffuser vane shaft fixedly disposed on the diffuser vane that penetrates from the diffuser flow path through the shroud; a driving ring sleeved on the cam and having a moving bar; a sliding block having one end connected with one end the diffuser vane shaft that penetrates through the shroud, and the other end sleeved on a sliding groove formed on the moving bar; a driving wheel disposed in the driving wheel fixed base and having a driving shaft connected to an actuator outside of the compressor; and a driving cable connected to the driving wheel and the driving ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Cheng-Chung Yen, Chung-Ping Chiang, Ching-Fu Chen, Yung-Lo Chow
  • Patent number: 8727711
    Abstract: A turbocharger with a variable turbine geometry, includes at least one rolling body element respectively disposed on an associated fixing element for the variable turbine geometry. A device for adjusting the variable turbine geometry can roll off on the respective rolling body element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Ralf Böning, Dirk Frankenstein, Holger Fäth, Marc Hiller
  • Patent number: 8727709
    Abstract: A casing component (2) of a turbomachine, the casing component (2) comprising: a plurality of casing elements (14) which define a diameter of the casing component; and an actuation means operable to change the diameter of the casing component (2), wherein the actuation means changes the diameter of the casing component (2) as a function of a rotational speed of a rotatable component (4) disposed within the casing component (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventor: Crispin D. Bolgar
  • Patent number: 8721281
    Abstract: A cooled blade for a gas turbine includes a blade airfoil extending between leading and trailing edges in a flow direction and on suction and pressure sides is delimited by a wall, which include an interior space in which cooling air flows towards the trailing edge in the flow direction and discharges to the outside in the region of the trailing edge. The pressure-side wall terminates at a distance in front of the trailing edge in the flow direction, forming a pressure-side lip, such that the cooling air discharges from the interior space on the pressure side. Multiple ribs subdivides the interior space, parallel to the flow direction, into a plurality of parallel cooling passages which create a high pressure drop and in which turbulators are arranged for increasing cooling. Before the outlet, multiple flow barriers are provided in the cooling air flow path, distributed transversely to the flow direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Jörg Krückels, Thomas Heinz-Schwarzmaier, Brian Kenneth Wardle
  • Patent number: 8714926
    Abstract: A mesh (35) of cooling channels (35A, 35B) with an array of cooling channel intersections (42) in a wall (21, 22) of a turbine component. A mixing chamber (42A-C) at each intersection is wider (W1, W2)) than a width (W) of each of the cooling channels connected to the mixing chamber. The mixing chamber promotes swirl, and slows the coolant for more efficient and uniform cooling. A series of cooling meshes (M1, M2) may be separated by mixing manifolds (44), which may have film cooling holes (46) and/or coolant refresher holes (48).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignees: Siemens Energy, Inc., Mikro Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ching-Pang Lee, John J. Marra
  • Patent number: 8708639
    Abstract: The present application provides an axial flow turbine. The axial flow turbine may include a stator casing and a turbine bucket positioned about the stator casing. A tip shroud may be positioned on the turbine bucket. A shroud tail may be attached to the tip shroud at a downstream end of the tip shroud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
    Inventor: Moorthi Subramaniyan
  • Patent number: 8702384
    Abstract: A turbomachine component includes a compressor stator vane having an airfoil core shape. The airfoil core shape includes a nominal profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y, and Z set forth in TABLE 1, and wherein X and Y are distances in inches which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z in inches. The profile sections at the Z distances are joined smoothly with one another to form a complete airfoil core shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Julianne Edna Baer, Umesh Garg
  • Patent number: 8702372
    Abstract: A system includes a radiation detector array directed toward a fluid flow into a compressor. The radiation detector array is configured to output a signal indicative of a two-dimensional temperature profile of the fluid flow. The system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to the radiation detector array. The controller is configured to detect a temperature variation across the fluid flow based on the signal, and to adjust a parameter of a temperature control device to compensate for the detected temperature variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: BHA Altair, LLC
    Inventors: Adil Ansari, Rahul Jaikaran Chillar
  • Patent number: 8696318
    Abstract: A marine surface propeller, and blade therefore, which is surface piercing and partially submerged, and includes a blade geometry that improves distribution of pressure and control to wetted and ventilated regions. Preferably, the feature has a positive step (ramp, cup, interceptor, indent or other geometric addition or intervention) between one fifth and four fifths chord length so as to create a high pressure peak or zone in what is now a low pressure zone on either the blade face or back or both and to create speed controllable wetted and ventilated regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Twin Disc, Inc.
    Inventor: Philip Rolla
  • Patent number: 8696301
    Abstract: Apparatus (10) for extracting energy from flowing water typically a tidal stream flow, the apparatus including a float assembly (41) having pair of spaced buoyant bodies (42) between which an elongated flow passage or tunnel (47) is located with an impeller assembly (61) in the flow passage (47) which can drive an electrical generator (76) on the float assembly (41). The bodies (42) include or define ballast tanks which can be filled or partially filled with water to submerge the flow passage or tunnel (47).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Inventor: Neville Alan Smith
  • Patent number: 8678763
    Abstract: The invention provides a ring, rotatable duct, shroud, fuselage or cylindrical external wall fabricated so as to have desirable strength even if its diameter exceeds about 2.7 meters by using arbitrary metallic and non-metallic materials. Such ring and others may be readily fabricated by laminating a thin sheet band made of metal, ceramics, cermet, fiber or synthetic resin of 0.01 mm to 5 mm thick or a thin sheet band made of rubber or silicon of 0.1 mm to 50 mm thick by winding around a giant spinning wheel by at least two rounds or more so as to form a longitudinal plate portion of 2 mm or more in radial thickness when the band is made of metal, ceramics, cermet, fiber or synthetic resin and to form such portion of 4 mm or more thick when the band is made of metal, ceramics, cermet, fiber, synthetic resin, rubber or silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Inventor: Kaidou Ikeda
  • Patent number: 8678771
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a component, including providing a three-dimensional computer model of the component to be produced; deconstructing the three-dimensional computer model by defining a plurality of model slices; forming a plurality of metallic foils, where each foil corresponds to a specific model slice; assembling the plurality of formed foils in a tool to form a three-dimensional component stack; and bonding the three-dimensional component stack to form the component. Characteristics of the foils may differ in various portions of the stack, such as being a different material, having a different thickness, or having a different grain orientation. The control of dimensional tolerances of internal structures, such as cooling passages, in three dimensions is devolved into two separate steps of 1) selecting a thickness of each slice/foil, and 2) controlling in two dimensions a material removal process applied to the respective foil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignees: Siemens Energy, Inc., Mikro Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Gary B. Merrill, Andrew J. Burns, Michael P. Appleby, Iain Alasdair Fraser, John R. Paulus