Patents Examined by Jason Shanske
  • Patent number: 10072513
    Abstract: A radial turbine comprises a plurality of nozzle vanes disposed along a circumferential direction inside a spiral scroll and configured to regulate a flow of a working gas from the scroll to a rotor blade, wherein each of the nozzle vane includes a leading edge bulging portion on both end portions in a width direction of an inlet leading edge portion, the leading edge bulging portion being bulged toward a pressure face side of the nozzle vane relative to a central portion, so that a vane angle is configured to correspond with an inflow angle of the working gas to be flown into the nozzle vane, and wherein each of the nozzle vane includes a trailing edge bulging portion on both end portions in a width direction of an outlet trailing edge portion, the trailing edge bulging portion being bulged toward the pressure face side relative to a central portion, so that an outflow angle of the working gas from the outlet trailing edge of the nozzle vane becomes uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Katsuyuki Osako, Takao Yokoyama, Yasuaki Jinnai, Takashi Shiraishi
  • Patent number: 10072522
    Abstract: A compressor includes a rotor platform; a rotor blade; and a casing having an inner surface surrounding the tip and spaced radially outwardly from the tip to define a gap. A secondary air flow system includes a bleed inlet configured to remove secondary air flow from the primary air flow; an injection opening disposed in the inner surface of the casing upstream of the bleed inlet; an accessory conduit; and a plenum fluidly coupled to the bleed inlet, the injection opening, and the accessory conduit. The bleed inlet and plenum at least partially define a secondary air flow path such that a first portion of the secondary air flow is directed in through the bleed inlet, through the plenum, and out through the injection opening and a second portion of the secondary air flow is directed in through the bleed inlet, through the plenum, and out through the accessory conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Nick Nolcheff, Jong Lee
  • Patent number: 10072510
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine is provided. The gas turbine engine includes a core and a variable pitch fan arranged in flow communication with the core. The variable pitch fan has a disk and at least nine fan blades coupled to the disk for rotation together with the disk. The gas turbine engine further includes a rotatable nacelle covering the disk such that the engine has a fan hub radius ratio of between about 0.1 and about 0.4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Brandon Wayne Miller, Ian Francis Prentice, Daniel Alan Niergarth
  • Patent number: 10072664
    Abstract: A ram air fan has a fan impeller and a motor. The impeller and motor are mounted within a housing. An inlet header delivers air to an inlet for the fan. An air supply system delivers air from an internal cavity of the inlet header to the motor and air bearings. The air supply system includes a conduit extending through the housing. A connection from the conduit extends from a J-shaped tube mounted within the inlet header. The J-shaped tube extends to a remote end, with a perforated member positioned on the remote end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventors: Lucic Milan, Robert Telakowski, Craig M. Beers, John M. Beck, Darryl A. Colson
  • Patent number: 10065732
    Abstract: A blade tracking system including a detector having one or more sensors to detect radiation from at least one field of view of the detector, the one or more sensors generating signals based on changes in incident radiation to the one or more sensors as a rotor blade passes the field of view, and a processor to determine a pass time for the rotor blade to pass through the at least one field of view based on the generated signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Technology for Energy Corporation
    Inventors: William Simpkins, John Wilson, David Dorris
  • Patent number: 10060272
    Abstract: A turbine vane for use in a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The turbine vane includes an inner platform, an outer platform spaced from the inner platform, and an airfoil that extends from the inner platform to the outer platform. The airfoil includes a ceramic-containing web that forms a portion of the airfoil and a metallic load shield that forms another portion of the airfoil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventor: Aaron P. Jennings
  • Patent number: 10060446
    Abstract: A cooling or heating fluid circulation system of the double-supported centrifugal pump, comprises a left shaft sleeve and a right shaft sleeve which are sleeved on the periphery of the pump shaft, a first left sealing gland and a second left sealing gland are sleeved on the periphery of the left shaft sleeve via a left outside stationary sealing ring, a left outside rotating sealing ring and a left inside stationary sealing ring respectively, a first right sealing gland and a second right sealing gland are sleeved on the periphery of the right shaft sleeve via a right outside stationary sealing ring, a right outside rotating sealing ring and a right inside stationary sealing ring respectively; a heat exchange fluid circulation channel, which is formed among the first left sealing gland, the second left sealing gland, the left shaft sleeve, the pump shaft, the right shaft sleeve, the first right sealing gland and the second right sealing gland, is connected with an external heat exchanger via an external chann
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Inventor: Tianyi Xing
  • Patent number: 10048116
    Abstract: A detection system for a turbine engine that is configured to identify the presence of at least a partial blockage of guide vanes by monitoring deflection of an adjacent row of turbine blades. The detection system may include one or more sensors positioned radially outward from tips of turbine blades in a row of turbine blades adjacent an upstream row of guide vanes that remain stationary. The detection system may also include a conditioning module in communication with the sensor to amplify the output signals received from the sensor. A processing module may be in communication with conditioning module to analyze signals produced by the sensor via the conditioning module and generate an alarm if the processing module detects a change in amplitude, such as an increase of amplitude at frequencies between about 400 Hertz and about 900 Hertz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventor: Nikolai R. Tevs
  • Patent number: 10047607
    Abstract: A component for a turbocharger can include a shaft made of a first material where the shaft includes a turbine wheel end and a shaft axis; a turbine wheel made of a second material where the turbine wheel includes a shaft end and a turbine wheel axis; a weld joint formed by solidification of at least a portion of a weld pool that includes the first material and the second material, where the weld joint joins the turbine wheel end of the shaft and the shaft end of the turbine wheel and where the weld joint includes an inner radial border and an outer radial border; a reservoir disposed radially inwardly of the inner radial border of the weld joint; and a solidified portion of the weld pool disposed in the reservoir. Various other examples of devices, assemblies, systems, methods, etc., are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Michel Maurice Thirion, Brent Zollinger, Nicolas Vazeille, Marc Wilson, Didier Horlaville, Dominique Armand, Andrei Minculescu
  • Patent number: 10047631
    Abstract: A turbine engine system includes a heat source, a heat exchanger, a cooling medium inlet and a cooling medium outlet. The heat source includes a first passage. The heat exchanger includes a second passage and a third passage. The first and the second passages are configured in a closed loop circuit. The third passage is configured between the inlet and the outlet in an open loop circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Michael F. Blair, Tracy A. Propheter-Hinckley, Mark F. Zelesky
  • Patent number: 10047611
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a fir tree coupling for gas turbine engine parts comprising a load beam having a longitudinal axis, a rounded base, a first side, and a second side, wherein the rounded base has a radius of curvature from the first side to the second side, a tooth running parallel to the longitudinal axis and disposed on the first side of the load beam. The fir tree coupling may comprise a channel through the rounded base across a portion of the radius of curvature from the first side to the second side. The channel may comprise a sidewall having a sidewall step cut into a portion of the channel sidewall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Charles Thistle, Mohamed Hassan
  • Patent number: 10047865
    Abstract: Various embodiments include a rotor key member, along with a related assembly and steam turbine. Particular embodiments include a rotor key member for radially retaining a circumferential seal in a steam turbine rotor body, the rotor key member including: a main body sized to contact an axial face of the circumferential seal; and a hook extending from the main body in a direction axially away from the circumferential seal, the hook sized to substantially complement a corresponding shelf in the steam turbine rotor body to restrict movement of the circumferential seal relative to the steam turbine rotor body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, James Royce Howes, Sean Christopher Morrissey, Xiaoqing Zheng
  • Patent number: 10041351
    Abstract: A unit for a turbocharger can include a turbine wheel portion that includes a turbine wheel material and a turbine wheel axis; a shaft portion that includes a shaft material and a shaft axis; a first weld that includes a first average axial position over a first azimuthal span and first weld composition formed of a greater proportion of the turbine wheel material than the shaft material; and a second weld that includes a second average axial position over a second azimuthal span and second weld composition formed of a greater proportion of the turbine wheel material than the shaft material, where a sum of the first azimuthal span and the second azimuthal span is approximately 360 degrees, where the first average axial position differs from the second average axial position, and where the first weld composition differs from the second weld composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Brent Zollinger, Maurizio Barbone, Didier Horlaville, Andrei Minculescu, Nicolas Vazeille
  • Patent number: 10041859
    Abstract: A profile map of parameter values in a region is determined based on average values along linear paths through the region. In one example, a temperature map of a region of a gas turbine engine is created based on time-of-flight measurements from acoustic transceiver pairs arranged circumferentially around the region. A speed of sound for each transceiver pair is determined based on the time-of-flight measurements. An average temperature along each path is estimated from the time of flight, and the profile map is computed from the average temperatures. The profile map may be computed using a polynomial approximation technique, a grid optimization technique or a basis function technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Upul P. DeSilva, Heiko Claussen
  • Patent number: 10041473
    Abstract: A method of optimizing the power recovered by a wind turbine by reducing the mechanical impact on the structure is disclosed. A first angle of inclination of the blades allowing the recovered power to be optimized is determined. The aerodynamic force produced on the nacelle when the blades are directed with a first angle is determined. A second angle of inclination of the blades allowing obtaining an aerodynamic force setpoint value is then determined by inverting the aerodynamic force model and using a wind velocity measurement, a rotor velocity measurement and the aerodynamic force setpoint value. Finally, the blades are directed to the second angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: IFP ENERGIES NOUVELLES
    Inventors: Jonathan Chauvin, Yann Creff
  • Patent number: 10036261
    Abstract: A blade has an airfoil extending radially outwardly of a dovetail. The dovetail has edges that will be at circumferential sides of the blade when the blade is mounted within a rotor. A bottom surface of the dovetail will be radially inward when the rotor blade is mounted in a rotor, and is formed such that a circumferentially central portion of the bottom surface is radially thicker than are circumferential edges. A fan and a gas turbine engine are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Sean A. Whitehurst, Christopher S. McKaveney, Patrick James McComb
  • Patent number: 10036268
    Abstract: Various embodiments include a rotor key member, along with a related assembly and steam turbine. Particular embodiments include a rotor key member for circumferentially retaining a circumferential seal in a steam turbine rotor body, the rotor key member having: a main body sized to contact an axial face of the circumferential seal; and a locking member extending from the main body in a direction axially toward the circumferential seal, the locking member having at least one circumferential edge sized to substantially complement a corresponding slot in the circumferential seal to restrict movement of the circumferential seal relative to the steam turbine rotor body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Sean Christopher Morrissey
  • Patent number: 10036292
    Abstract: A method of heating an exhaust gas in an exhaust after treatment system includes selecting a heating mode between a plurality of heating modes based on an engine load and a status of a component of the exhaust aftertreatment system. The method further comprises heating the exhaust gas by operating the electric heater in the selected heating mode, and operating the electric heater in a passive regeneration heating mode to heat an exhaust gas to a predetermined temperature to increase NO2 generation when an engine load is less than or equal to approximately 25%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Wenzhong Zhang, Mike Bange, Scott Boehmer, Magdi Khair, Julian Tan
  • Patent number: 10035582
    Abstract: A propeller blade extending radially between a blade root and a blade tip and having a leading edge and a trailing edge, together with a pressure side face and a suction side face. Along the leading edge, the angle (?) between the radial direction and a tangent to the leading edge passes through a local maximum zmax situated in the range 60% to 80% of the height of the blade. Furthermore, the suction side face of the blade includes an indentation extending axially from the leading edge to the trailing edge and located at a height of the blade between the local maximum zmax and the blade tip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Jonathan Evert Vlastuin, Clement Marcel Maurice Dejeu
  • Patent number: 10036395
    Abstract: A compressor control device includes an inlet guide vane opening degree control unit configured to control an opening degree of an inlet guide vane. The inlet guide vane opening degree control unit includes an inlet guide vane opening degree command value calculation unit configured to calculate an inlet guide vane opening degree command value based on an outlet pressure detection value and a plurality of inlet guide vane opening degree correction units each configured to correct the inlet guide vane opening degree command value based on the post-merger pressure detection value and a corresponding inlet flow rate detection value for each of a plurality of upstream-most compressor bodies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Takeda, Yosuke Nakagawa, Hiroyuki Miyata, Naoki Mori