Patents Examined by Kenneth Bomberg
  • Patent number: 11085420
    Abstract: A flywheel device includes an enclosure, a top plate that fastens to the enclosure, where the top plate includes a first opening, and a cap, where the cap has a top side and a bottom side, which when fastened to the first opening forms a seal between the bottom side and the first opening, the bottom side including an o-ring groove configured to hold an o-ring, a grease channel concentric with the o-ring groove, and an inlet port configured to enable grease to flow into the grease channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Amber Kinetics, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Bakholdin, Peter Thomas Tennessen, Matthew Brandon Garten, Mark J. Holloway
  • Patent number: 11085453
    Abstract: An engine, having a first, second, third and fourth quasi-stage, each with a stator and a downstream rotor, wherein a particular blade/vane solidity in the center section is in the first quasi-stage, at least 1.04 and at most 1.16 for the stator and at least 1.46 and at most 1.67 for the rotor; in the second quasi-stage, at least 1.13 and at most 1.32 for the stator and at least 1.32 and at most 1.61 for the rotor; in the third quasi-stage, at least 1.20 and at most 1.39 for the stator and at least 1.16 and at most 1.41 for the rotor; in the fourth quasi-stage, at least 1.37 and at most 1.63 for the stator and at least 1.15 and at most 1.41 for the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: MTU Aero Engines AG
    Inventors: Harsimar Sahota, Alexander Halcoussis, Sergio Elorza Gomez
  • Patent number: 11073044
    Abstract: A turbine is operably connected to drive a compressor, and to drive a fan through a gear drive. A number of intermediate gears connecting an output shaft of the turbine to a fan drive shaft for the fan. An oil channel collects oil thrown outwardly of the gear drive. A bearing support mounts bearings supporting the fan drive shaft. The oil channel and the bearing support each include mating faces that are bolted together by a plurality of bolts. The bolts extend through oil channel holes in the mating face of the oil channel. The oil channel holes have one dimension which closely receives the bolts and another dimension which is larger than an outer diameter of the extending portion of the bolts, such that the bolts may adjust radially within the oil channel holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Enzo DiBenedetto
  • Patent number: 11073053
    Abstract: A fluid filtration assembly (FFA) includes a housing having a thickness defined between an internal surface and an external surface, the housing receiving a filter and defining an outer annular flow passage between an outer surface of the filter and the internal surface of the housing; an inlet pipe communicates with the FFA and injects a fluid into the housing to impart a centrifugal force; an outlet pipe communicates with the FFA and discharges the fluid from the housing; and a collection area disposed towards an end of the outer annular flow passage collects particulate matter from the fluid; wherein a width of the outer annular flow passage increases towards the collection area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: David Allen Stachowiak
  • Patent number: 11073128
    Abstract: Described herein is essentially a high-efficiency, hybrid fluid-aeolipile. In operation, this hybrid device is placed in the stream of a moving fluid, preferably air. Energy is extracted from the fluid stream by directing a portion of the stream through and, optionally, around the device. As the fluid-flow moves through the device, it is directed into nozzles. These nozzles, which are free to pivot in a cyclical manner, employ the established phenomenon of “nozzle-effect” to accelerate the velocity of the air-flow passing through them, which is ultimately ejected from each nozzle tip, producing thrust. This thrust, amplified by nozzle-effect, drives the nozzles to pivot around a shared axis. The wind energy, thereby converted into cyclical motion, that may be used to perform useful work, is converted with greater efficiency, than is possible in conventional blade-type wind turbines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Tennessee Technological University
    Inventors: Charles William Van Neste, David Wenzhong Gao
  • Patent number: 11067057
    Abstract: A wind turbine blade (10) is described having a serrated trailing edge (20). Splitter plates (106) are provided on the blade, to reduce operational noise. Each splitter plate (106) is arranged to extend at least partly into a space in between adjacent serrations. The splitter plates can be formed integrally with the serrations, or attached to existing serrations as a retrofit solution. The serrations with the splitter plates can be provided as a trailing edge panel (108) for attachment to the trailing edge of an existing wind turbine blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: LM WP PATENT HOLDING A/S
    Inventor: Carlos Arce
  • Patent number: 11060501
    Abstract: A wind turbine uses a series of airfoils/vanes that rotate in a vertical plane within a specifically designed housing. The housing has several adjustable surfaces that control airflow patterns within the housing to increase wind velocity through a vortex effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Inventor: Elihu McMahon
  • Patent number: 11060526
    Abstract: A bearing assembly for a centrifugal pump is configured to accommodate both forward and reverse axial thrust, and to be lubricated by process fluid. A pump incorporating a dual acting bearing assembly that is lubricated by process fluid and that is located between the final two impeller stages of the pump. A desalination system comprises a pump with an inlet for receiving seawater at a first end, an outlet for discharging high pressure seawater at a second end, one or more impellers coupled to a rotatable shaft between the first end and the second end for increasing a pressure of the seawater, and a bearing assembly lubricated by the seawater for absorbing axial thrust in both directions along the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: BL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventor: Manmohan Singh Gulati
  • Patent number: 11035255
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a blade of a guide vane assembly of a turbomachine fitted with a cooling system, generally including an insert arranged inside an internal cavity of said blade, connected to a cooling air inlet of the blade and designed to cool the surface of the internal cavity of the blade, and a bleed device configured to bleed some of the cooling air inside the insert and designed to send this bled cooling air to a central hub of the turbomachine. The bleed device of the blade may further include a bleed head arranged in the internal cavity of the blade and passing through an opening of the insert, and configured to bleed some of the cooling air inside the insert.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: SAFRAN HELICOPTER ENGINES
    Inventors: Baptiste Hallouin, Jean-Luc Breining, Damien Laberny
  • Patent number: 11015531
    Abstract: A system and method of reducing engine induced aircraft cabin resonance includes sensing the core engine speed of a first turbofan gas turbine engine, and sensing the core engine speed of a second turbofan gas turbine engine. In a control system, the core engine speed of the first turbofan gas turbine engine and the core engine speed of the second turbofan gas turbine engine are processed to determine a core engine speed difference between the first and second turbofan gas turbine engines. The core engine speed difference is processed to supply a variable inlet guide vane (VIGV) offset value. The VIGV offset value is applied to a VIGV reference command associated with one of the first or second turbofan gas turbine engine to thereby cause the VIGVs of one of the first or second turbofan gas turbine engine to move to a more closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventor: Gregory J. Chapman
  • Patent number: 11008869
    Abstract: The present application provides a rotor for use in a turbine engine. The rotor may include a first rotor disc, a second rotor disc adjacent to the first rotor disc, and a belly band seal positioned between the first rotor disc and the second rotor disc. The belly band seal may include a band seal with a locking tab brazed thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: General Electric Technology GmbH
    Inventors: Christophe Simonet, Marco Christof Pawlowski, Giovanni Cataldi
  • Patent number: 11008943
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling a fluid within a turbine engine. A fan casing assembly for the turbine engine can include an annular fan casing with a peripheral wall having a flow path defined through the casing. A fan casing cooler includes a body to confront the peripheral wall with at least one conduit configured to carry a flow of heated fluid to convectively cool the heated fluid with a flow of air through the flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Unison Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Gordon Tajiri, Michael Thomas Kenworthy, Dennis Alan McQueen, Dattu G V Jonnalagadda
  • Patent number: 10995767
    Abstract: A fan blade for a fan impeller is coupled to a front endring and a rear endring. The fan blade includes a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, a leading edge, and a trailing edge. The second portion is positioned on a first side of the first portion. The third portion is positioned on a second side of the first portion. The leading edge defines a leading edge blade angle and the trailing edge defines a trailing edge blade angle. The leading edge blade angle and the trailing edge blade angle are constant within the first portion and the leading edge blade angle and the trailing edge blade angle vary within the second portion and the third portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: REGAL BELOIT AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Sahand Pirouzpanah
  • Patent number: 10995623
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates generally to blades used in gas turbine engines. More specifically designs in accordance with the present disclosure include turbine blades comprising ceramic matrix composite materials with abrasive tips coupled thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignees: Rolls-Royce Corporation, Rolls-Royce High Temperature Composites Inc., Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Aaron D. Sippel, Andrew Glucklich, Sungbo Shim, Ted J. Freeman
  • Patent number: 10968827
    Abstract: A fan nose cone is disclosed for impeding icing and recovering momentum in a gas turbine engine. The fan nose cone comprises: an axially symmetric shell having a convex external surface and an internal surface, the shell having an opening in a forward end of the shell for communication with a source of heated pressurized air; and an axially symmetric deflector disposed forward of the opening, the deflector being configured to direct heated pressurized air exiting from the opening radially outwardly to flow in a downstream direction over the convex external surface of the shell during operation. The shell of the fan nose cone may have a rearward circumferential vent in communication with the source of heated pressurized air for directing heated pressurized from the vent in a radially outward and downstream direction toward the fan blade platforms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Daniel Alecu, Ivan Sidorovich Paradiso
  • Patent number: 10968918
    Abstract: Wear rings for electric submersible pump (ESP) stages are provided. An example ESP has one or more running clearance seals reinforced with high-hardness wear rings. Ceramics and carbides may provide the high hardness for the wear rings, but such substances are more brittle than metals and have different coefficients of thermal expansion than metals. For protection, each high-hardness wear ring may be mounted with an elastic cushioning scheme. The elastic mounting preserves each wear ring from shock, stress, and breakage from thermal expansion and contraction of an adjacent pump part. Each high-hardness wear ring may also have a low-stress driving mechanism that cushions the rotational force imparted to the wear ring when the ESP pump is being powered. In some implementations, the elastic mounting scheme may also serve as the low-stress driving mechanism for the high-hardness wear ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arthur I. Watson, David Milton Eslinger
  • Patent number: 10968921
    Abstract: A blower fan for preventing noise generated from blades and a peripheral interference object is provided, the blower fan including a cylindrical hub, a plurality of blades disposed to be spaced apart an asymmetric distance from one another about the hub, and a balancer connected to the hub to balance the blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Namjoon Cho, Dongkeun Yang, Hyoungsuk Woo
  • Patent number: 10968819
    Abstract: The invention relates to a control device for a turbocharger, comprising an exhaust gas conducting section through which fluid can flow and which includes a bypass duct for bypassing a turbine wheel that is rotatably arranged in the exhaust gas conducting section, and comprising an adjusting arm (3) for accommodating a valve element (2) provided for opening or blocking a flow cross-section of the bypass duct; the adjusting arm (3) is movably accommodated in the exhaust gas conducting section; furthermore, a flexible element (14) is provided at least for securing the valve element (2) in place on the adjusting arm (3). According to the invention, the flexible element (14) is designed to be retained radially and axially by the valve element (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: IHI Charging Systems International GmbH
    Inventors: Lorenz Jaenike, Ralf Schawer, Jens Zweydinger
  • Patent number: 10967964
    Abstract: The ‘Air Wheel’ rotor is a variable pitch rotor with variable twist blades. The ‘Air Wheel’ rotor comprises a closed wing coupled to one or more coaxial hubs via torsional elastic blades, the blades are coupled to the closed wing in one of the following ways: rigid, elastic, or visco-elastic. There is provided a wide range of combinations of the wing relative width and coning angle typical for a lifting rotor with a thin planar wing attached to the tips of long blades, for a shrouded fan in a wide annular wing, or for an impeller in a rotating cylindrical wing. The ‘Air Wheel’ rotor combines and enhances the advantages of a rotor and a wing, it has excellent aerodynamic characteristics, and eliminates limitations of the rotor size and flight speed. The ‘Air Wheel’ rotor can be used for designing vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The “Air Wheel” rotor is universal and can function as a lifting rotor, or a wind turbine, or an aircraft propeller, or a marine propeller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Inventor: Sergei Yurevich Kuzikov
  • Patent number: 10954820
    Abstract: There is provided a non-contacting seal assembly for a gas turbine engine, having a housing that houses a sealing ring; and a counter component cooperating with the sealing ring. The sealing ring and the counter component are rotatable relative to each other about a central axis and define sealing faces circumferentially extending around the central axis. The sealing faces face each other and are spaced apart from each other by a controlled gap. At least one of the sealing faces is coated with a non-abradable material. A method of operating a non-contacting seal assembly is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventor: Alexander Smith