Patents Examined by Logan Kraft
  • Patent number: 10047618
    Abstract: A component system of a turbine engine including a first component segment and a second component segment configurable in a ring segment shape, so that at least one abutment surface of the first component segment and an abutment surface of the second component segment abut against each other; together, the first component segment and the second component segment including at least three overlapping elements for sealing a gap between the abutment surfaces. In the case of mutually abutting abutment surfaces, each overlapping element overlapping radially with the respective other component segment. At least two of the overlapping elements are configured on the first component segment, while at least one of the overlapping elements is configured on the second component segment. In the case of mutually abutting abutment surfaces, the overlapping element of the second component segment is axially configured between the overlapping elements of the first component segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: MTU Aero Engines AG
    Inventors: Thomas Hess, Manfred Feldmann
  • Patent number: 10047719
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Klaus Ulrich Koegler, Ariane Frere, Andreas Herrig
  • Patent number: 10047633
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure include a bearing housing of a turbine, wherein the bearing housing is configured to support a shaft of the turbine, and the bearing housing comprises at least one bearing housing ear configured to transfer a load of the bearing housing to an inlet housing of the turbine through a horizontal center line of the bearing housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignees: General Electric Company, Exxon Mobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Maruthi Prasad Manchikanti, Kenneth Damon Black, Donald Earl Floyd, II, Gregory Allan Crum
  • Patent number: 10047636
    Abstract: An arrangement to minimize vibrations in a gas turbine exhaust diffuser is provided. The arrangement includes a projection coupled to an inner cylindrical surface or the outer cylindrical surface of a fluid flow path of the gas turbine exhaust diffuser. The projection minimizes pressure oscillations in the gas turbine exhaust diffuser such that an unsteadiness of the fluid flow surrounding the second tangential strut is reduced. A method to minimize pressure oscillations in a gas turbine diffuser is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Ali Akturk, Jose L. Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 10041359
    Abstract: The invention concerns a turbine blade comprising a surface, a recess within the surface, and a damping inlay within the recess. The damping inlay comprises a chamber with a damping material, for example particles. The damping inlay should substantially maintain the aerodynamic profile of the blade to enable normal operation. A further embodiment of the invention describes the method of manufacture of a turbine blade with a damping inlay. The method comprises the steps of manufacturing a turbine blade having a surface and a recess in the surface, and providing one or more damping inlays within the recess such that the damping inlay substantially maintains the aerodynamic profile of the blade, the damping inlay comprising a chamber and a damping material disposed within the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: ANSALDO ENERGIA SWITZERLAND AG
    Inventors: Herbert Brandl, Arrigo Beretta-Müller
  • Patent number: 10041478
    Abstract: A vertical axis windmill comprises three or more frames rotatable in unison about a substantially vertical axis and a plurality of airfoils hingedly affixed to each frame. Each airfoil is able to swing away from its respective frame in a first direction from a closed position to an open position and not able to swing away from its respective frame in a second direction from the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Inventor: George Auther Spencer
  • Patent number: 10041477
    Abstract: A heating assembly for a blade of a wind turbine generator, the heating assembly comprising: a heat reservoir positioned within a cavity of the blade, the heat reservoir in communication with a heat source; the heat reservoir including a plurality of orifices for venting hot air from the heat reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Anand Bahuguni, Ravi Kandasamy, Voon Hon Wong
  • Patent number: 10041470
    Abstract: A wind turbine blade is described wherein at least one stall fence is provided on the blade surface, where the stall fence is arranged such that it extends at an angle to the chord of the blade. The stall fence acts to re-direct airflow over the blade, to improve wind turbine performance. The stall fence may be a provided towards the blade root end, acting to divert airflow towards the root end of the blade to prevent separation of attached airflow. Additionally or alternatively, the stall fence may be arranged as a flow diverter provided towards the blade tip end, to increase airflow in the tip region for increased performance and/or to disrupt the formation of tip vortices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: LM WIND POWER A/S
    Inventors: Dhinagaran Ramachandran, Jesper Madsen, Rajkumar Rajamani
  • Patent number: 10041358
    Abstract: A blade for a gas turbine engine includes an airfoil having a tip with a terminal end surface and multiple squealer pockets recessed into the terminal end surface. A method of cooling a blade includes the steps of providing cooling fluid to a first squealer pocket in an airfoil tip, and providing cooling fluid to a second squealer pocket in the airfoil tip in an amount that is different than that provided to the first squealer pocket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Tracy A. Propheter-Hinckley, San Quach
  • Patent number: 10036459
    Abstract: A lock-up device for a torque converter includes an output rotary member rotatable with respect to an input rotary member. A plurality of large coil springs are disposed in radially outer positions so as to be aligned in a circumferential direction, the large coil springs separately compressed in a rotational direction by relative rotation between the input rotary member and the output rotary member. A plurality of small coil springs are set to have a free length shorter than a free length of the large coil springs, the small coil springs separately disposed in inner peripheral parts of the large coil springs so as to be movable therein. The respective coil springs are compressed in a sequential order of the plural large coil springs and then at least any one of the plural small coil springs by the relative rotation between the input rotary member and the output rotary member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: EXEDY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yuki Kawahara
  • Patent number: 10036276
    Abstract: A turbine exhaust case has an outer housing to be secured within a gas turbine engine and a central hub. Struts extend between the outer housing and the central hub. The struts are formed at least in part of a first material. The central hub is formed at least in part of a second material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignees: United Technologies Corporation, GKN Aerospace Sweden AB
    Inventors: Daryl B. Mountz, Theodore W. Kapustka, Glenn Levasseur, Marcus Borg, Joakim Berglund, Anders Svahn, Johan Ockborn, Bengt Pettersson
  • Patent number: 10036402
    Abstract: A turbine engine system comprising a turbine engine component, such as a fan includes a fan casing and a fan blade rotatable within the fan casing. An abradable seal coupled to the fan casing proximate the fan blade. The abradable seal comprising an abradable composite layer including a MAX phase solid and a polymer based abradable composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Shahram Amini, Christopher W Strock, Changsheng Guo
  • Patent number: 10030520
    Abstract: A blade for a water current turbine rotor, which extends along a radial direction and comprises an outer surface, an inner surface, a leading edge, and a trailing edge. The leading edge is the edge of the blade that extends along the radial direction and is disposed upstream in the direction in which the water flows along the blade, while the trailing edge is the edge of the blade opposite the leading edge and is disposed downstream in the direction of flow. At least one portion of the blade has a profile comprising a thick portion and a thin portion, the cross section being perpendicular to the radial direction. The thick portion and the thin portion each have a maximum thickness along a direction perpendicular to the outer surface, the maximum thickness of the thick portion being at least four times greater than the maximum thickness of the thin portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: GE ENERGY POWER CONVERSION TECHNOLOGY LTD
    Inventors: Hugo Duchene, Philippe Cagnin, Antoine Girard-Pecarrere
  • Patent number: 10030537
    Abstract: A turbine nozzle includes an airfoil that extends in span from an inner band to an outer band where the inner band and the outer band define outer flow boundaries of the turbine nozzle. The inner band includes a gas side surface that is at least partially covered by one or more inner plates. The inner band also includes a plurality of cooling channels formed within the gas side surface beneath the one or more inner plates. The outer band includes a gas side surface that is at least partially covered by one or more outer plates. The outer band comprises a plurality of cooling channels formed within the gas side surface beneath the one or more outer plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sandip Dutta, Benjamin Paul Lacy, Joseph Anthony Weber, Peter Galen Stevens
  • Patent number: 10030538
    Abstract: An apparatus and method of cooling a hot portion of a gas turbine engine, such as a rotor disk, by having a vane assembly with a cooling air passage and a flow control insert located within the cooling air passage defining a conduit. A turning nozzle is mounted to the vane and has a turning passage with an inlet and an outlet, the turning nozzle is fluidly coupled to the flow control insert outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Wilhelm Ramon Hernandez, Daniel Edward Demers, Tyler Frederick Hooper, Victor Hugo Silva Correia, Troy Todd Dennis
  • Patent number: 10030529
    Abstract: A segmented engine component has multiple segments which are connected to each other via a featherseal arrangement. Each of the components has a combined featherseal slot and lightening pocket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Russell J. Bergman, Scott A. Kovach
  • Patent number: 10024408
    Abstract: A hybrid torque converter that includes a torque converter and an electric motor disposed within a common casing, with no intervening casing, where both the torque converter and the electric motor are completely immersed in a common circulating fluid that cools both the torque converter and the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: New Hybrid Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: David B. Johnson
  • Patent number: 10024170
    Abstract: An integrally bladed rotor with an axial bore having either an inward dishing shape or an axial straight shape with an annular inward projection in which radial cooling holes having an elliptical cross sectional shape are formed, where the radial cooling holes have an elliptical cross sectional shape with a major axis perpendicular to the axial bore in order to reduce stress near an inlet opening of the radial holes in order to increase the LCF life of the IBR. The radial cooling holes discharge into a circumferential channel that is connected to cooling holes extending in the rotor blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert L Memmen, Wesley D Brown
  • Patent number: 10024171
    Abstract: An article and method of cooling an article are provided. The article includes a body portion, a plurality of partitions within the body portion, and at least one aperture in each of the partitions, the at least one aperture arranged and disposed to direct fluid towards an inner surface of the body portion. The plurality of partitions form at least one up-pass cavity and at least one re-use cavity arranged and disposed to receive the fluid from the at least one aperture in one of the partitions. The method includes providing the article having an up-pass partition and a re-use partition, generating a first fluid flow through the at least one aperture in the up-pass partition, receiving a post-impingement fluid within the re-use cavity, and generating a re-use fluid flow through the at least one aperture in the re-use partition, the re-use fluid flow being generated from the post-impingement fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Gary Michael Itzel
  • Patent number: 10024332
    Abstract: In a centrifugal fan, when an angle defined by a tangential line to a camber line at an intersection point between the camber line and an arc around a rotation axis, and a tangential line to the arc at the intersection point on a blade cross section passing a front edge and a rear edge of a blade is a blade angle, the blade has at least one of a decreasing shape and a fixed shape. The decreasing shape is such that the blade angle decreases as the intersection point is shifted toward the rear edge on the camber line on a front edge side portion of a shroud side blade cross section. The fixed shape is such that the blade angle is fixed, even if the intersection point is shifted toward the rear edge on the camber line on the front edge side portion of the shroud-side blade cross section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Ryuusuke Ohtaguro