Patents Examined by Lalek Jalali
  • Patent number: 5072579
    Abstract: A ductless wall thruster for a marine vessel has a housing with a plenum chamber therein and, at a forward end of the housing, at least one inlet opening surrounding an outlet opening. An impeller is rotatably mounted within the housing so that when the impeller is rotated, it draws water into the housing and discharges it through the outlet opening to create a thrust. Preferably, there is a plurality of equally dimensioned inlet openings defined by stationary vanes inclined in a direction opposite the normal direction of rotation of the impeller. The outlet opening is preferably defined on a forward end of a central impeller housing in which the impeller is mounted, with the impeller having a flow area therethrough which is greater than the flow are through the outlet opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1991
    Assignee: Innerspace Corporation
    Inventor: Calvin A. Gongwer