Patents Examined by Mark A Laurenzi
  • Patent number: 10931117
    Abstract: Arrangements of the present disclosure relate to a system including a datacenter, having an electrical connection configured to receive electrical power generated from landfill gas, a thermal connection configured to receive thermal energy generated as a byproduct of generating the electrical power from the landfill gas, a datacenter load powered by the electrical power, and a cooling plant configured to cool the datacenter load using the thermal energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Inventor: Patrick Robert Shoemaker
  • Patent number: 10927733
    Abstract: A system to mitigate diesel exhaust fluid deposits in vehicle exhaust system flexible couplings includes a diesel exhaust pipeline. A diesel exhaust fluid injector is connected to the diesel exhaust pipeline to inject a diesel exhaust fluid into the diesel exhaust pipeline. A flexible coupling is connected to the diesel exhaust pipeline. A diesel exhaust fluid collection device is positioned in the diesel exhaust pipeline between a connection location into the diesel exhaust pipeline of the diesel exhaust fluid injector and the flexible coupling. The diesel exhaust fluid collection device includes a liquid diesel exhaust fluid collection volume where an un-vaporized portion of the diesel exhaust fluid is collected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Rahul Mital, Daryl J. D'Andrea, Bilal A. Rathur
  • Patent number: 10927712
    Abstract: The invention relates to a waste heat recovery system (3) for an internal combustion engine (1), having a working fluid circuit (19) with a condenser (31) that is also connected to a working fluid cooling circuit (34), and wherein the working fluid cooling circuit (34) has a cooler (35). The invention provides a waste heat recovery system (3) having a working fluid cooling circuit (34) which is improved in comparison to one design of a working fluid cooling circuit (34). This is achieved by the working fluid cooling circuit (34) having a cooler bypass (46). This configuration makes it generally possible for part of the coolant volume flow to be routed past the cooler (35). This is advantageous in particular at low temperatures since otherwise very low pressures arise in the working fluid cooling circuit (34).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Axel Zuschlag, Gregory Rewers, Michael Richter
  • Patent number: 10927851
    Abstract: A stage of a gas turbine engine according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a row of flow directing components circumferentially disposed about a centerline axis and at least one flow directing component of the row having at least one design characteristic that is dissimilar from a corresponding design characteristic of at least one other flow directing component of the row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: JinQuan Xu, Frederic Tisdall Tenney
  • Patent number: 10918994
    Abstract: An assembly for use in treating gaseous exhaust emissions has an inductive heater mounted next to a gaseous emissions treatment unit. and downstream substrate units or upstream and downstream sections of a single substrate. The upstream unit or section has linear passages extending the length of the first substrate body for the passage of emissions gas but with some of the passages blocked by metal inserts for use in inductive heating of the upstream unit. The concentration of metal inserts is high and the metal inserts are distributed to enable rapid intense inductive heating of the slice or section to achieve “light off” temperature rapidly in order to pass heat-supplemented gaseous emissions at light-off temperature to the downstream substrate or section as quickly as possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY EMISSION SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventors: Robin Crawford, John Douglas
  • Patent number: 10920740
    Abstract: A system for obtaining energy from surface waves is disclosed. The system can include an array of buoys. The array of buoys can include a framework having a plurality of vertical members. The array of buoys can also include a base buoy coupled to the framework to support the framework in a body of water and maintain the vertical members in a vertical orientation. The array of buoys can further include a plurality of movable buoys. Each of the plurality of movable buoys can be movably disposed about a different one of the vertical members and configured to move relative to the respective vertical members and the base buoy in response to a wave in the body of water. Additionally, the array of buoys can include an energy conversion device operable with each of the plurality of movable buoys to generate power from movement of the movable buoys relative to the vertical members. In addition, the system can include a buoyant tether coupled to the array of buoys to secure the array of buoys to an object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Inventor: Mitchell Fait
  • Patent number: 10920674
    Abstract: Systems and methods for variable pressure inventory control of a closed thermodynamic cycle power generation system or energy storage system, such as a reversible Brayton cycle system, with at least a high pressure tank and an intermediate pressure tank are disclosed. Operational parameters of the system such as working fluid pressure, turbine torque, turbine RPM, generator torque, generator RPM, and current, voltage, phase, frequency, and/or quantity of electrical power generated and/or distributed by the generator may be the basis for controlling a quantity of working fluid that circulates through a closed cycle fluid path of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: MALTA INC.
    Inventors: Raj Apte, Philippe Larochelle
  • Patent number: 10920656
    Abstract: A cooling system for an internal combustion engine comprises a fluid circuit having an intercooler, a main cooler and a precooler. The intercooler is configured for receiving coolant and configured for heat exchange relation between the coolant and engine compressed air. The main cooler is configured for receiving the coolant from the intercooler and the internal combustion engine and configured for selectively delivering a first portion of the coolant from the main cooler to the precooler. The precooler is configured to deliver a flow of the coolant to the intercooler. The main cooler and the precooler are configured for cooling the coolant by heat exchange with at least one cooling flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Andre Julien, Michael Lanktree, Serge Dussault
  • Patent number: 10920646
    Abstract: An exhaust gas purification system for an engine includes an exhaust passage extending from the combustion chambers of the engine, and an exhaust purifying unit disposed in the exhaust passage and configured to purify exhaust gas in the exhaust passage. The exhaust purifying unit includes a carrier disposed in the exhaust passage, a first purifier having at least a function of oxidizing components in the exhaust gas. The first purifier covers, as an underlayer, an outer surface of the carrier, and a second purifier having a function of purifying the exhaust gas by reducing, using occluded ammonia, the components in the exhaust gas that have been oxidized in the first purifier. The second purifier includes a superposed portion covering, as an upper layer, an outer surface of the first purifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI JIDOSHA KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryosuke Sato, Kinichi Iwachido
  • Patent number: 10920661
    Abstract: Disclosed is a turbine bypass for an engine with a driven turbocharger. During engine cold start, or periods of idle or low load engine operation, the bypass can be utilized to direct hot exhaust gasses directly to an exhaust aftertreatment. This provides higher temperatures to the exhaust aftertreatment, increasing the ability to eliminate harmful emissions such as NOx. The driven turbocharger can still provide boost to the engine through supercharging, so that engine torque and power can be maintained while the turbine bypass is in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: SUPERTURBO TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Jared William Brin, Thomas Waldron, Ryan Sherrill
  • Patent number: 10920695
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for regenerating an aftertreatment device of a vehicle. In one example, a method may include adjusting conditions of the regeneration in response to a stickiness of the exhaust valve. Adjusting conditions may include adjusting an air/fuel ratio and/or a post-injection amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: John Paul Bogema, Joseph Goode, Kirk Andrew Parrish, Peter Mitchell Lyon, Sanket Anil Gujarathi, William Clifford Brown
  • Patent number: 10920624
    Abstract: Processes for recovering electrical power from a process unit waste heat steam generation system are described. A power-recovery turbine reduces the pressure of a stream of superheated steam to a pressure lower than that needed by the steam reboiler for use in other process units or equipment in the plant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: UOP LLC
    Inventors: Jason Lee Stahlman, Donald A. Eizenga, William M. Hartman
  • Patent number: 10920668
    Abstract: A system comprising two or more thermal stores, a single store for pressurised air and a means of collecting relatively low-grade heat offers the potential for an energy storage system that achieves two desirable aims at the same time: (i) the total exergy that may be released when a given pressurised air store is discharged is maximised and (ii) the ratio between the exergy extracted and the work invested in compressing the air via a multi-stage compressor is also increased by exploiting some source of low-grade heat to augment the thermal content of several thermal stores. The system comprises a compressed air energy storage system which tends, in any one fill-empty cycle of the pressurised air store, to pump heat upwards in temperature from lower-grade stores to the highest-grade thermal store as well as a thermal capture subsystem that can augment the heat content of the lower-grade thermal stores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Cheesecake Energy LTD.
    Inventors: Seamus Garvey, Bruno Cárdenas, Bharath Kantharaj, Michael Simpson, Andrew Pimm, James Garvey, Paul Codd
  • Patent number: 10914235
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a compressor section, a combustor fluidly connected to the compressor section via a primary flowpath and a turbine section fluidly connected to the combustor via the primary flowpath. Also included is a cascading cooling system having a first inlet connected to a first compressor bleed, a second inlet connected to a second compressor bleed downstream of the first compressor bleed, and a third inlet connected to a third compressor bleed downstream of the second compressor bleed. The cascading cooling system includes at least one heat exchanger configured to incrementally generate cooling air for at least one of an aft compressor stage and a foremost turbine stage relative to fluid flow through the turbine section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel Bernard Kupratis, Paul R. Hanrahan
  • Patent number: 10914273
    Abstract: An engine includes an air intake system, an exhaust system, a single-cylinder-sourced EGR system, an exhaust sensor that is disposed to monitor exhaust gas from the single one of the cylinders, and a diverter valve. A controller includes an instruction set that executable to determine operation of the engine in a fuel cut-off mode, discontinue fuel flow to the single one of the cylinders, divert exhaust gas from the single one of the cylinders to the air intake system, determine an airflow, temperature, and an equivalence ratio of the diverted exhaust gas from the single one of the cylinders, determine a mass flowrate of oxygen in the diverted exhaust gas, integrate the mass flowrate of oxygen in the diverted exhaust gas, and discontinue the diverting of the exhaust gas from the single one of the cylinders when the integrated mass flowrate of oxygen is greater than a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Robert J. Gallon, Michael P. Kaczmar, Martino A. Casetti, Eric M. Hall
  • Patent number: 10914293
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to techniques for extracting heat energy from geothermal briny fluid. A briny fluid can be extracted from a geothermal production well and delivered to a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger can receive the briny fluid and transfer heat energy from the briny fluid to a molten salt. The molten salt can be pumped to a molten salt storage tank that can serve as energy storage. The briny fluid can be returned to a geothermal source via the production well. The briny fluid can remain in a closed-loop system, apart from the molten salt, from extraction through return to the geothermal production well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Inventor: David Alan McBay
  • Patent number: 10907621
    Abstract: A geothermal power plant and method of operating a geothermal power plant in which control over the creation and growth of fractures in the geothermal formation is achieved. A downhole pressure gauge (14) with a high data acquisition rate is located in the injection or production well. Pressure changes in the well are recorded as a pressure trace and transmitted to the surface as data. The data is analysed to determine fracture parameters of the geothermal formation. The pump rate of the well is then varied in response to the calculated fracture parameter(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Inventor: Frederic Joseph Santarelli
  • Patent number: 10907548
    Abstract: Systems and methods relating to use of external air for inventory control of a closed thermodynamic cycle system or energy storage system, such as a reversible Brayton cycle system, are disclosed. A method may involve, in a closed cycle system operating in a power generation mode, circulating a working fluid may through a closed cycle fluid path. The closed cycle fluid path may include a high pressure leg and a low pressure leg. The method may further involve in response to a demand for increased power generation, compressing and dehumidifying environmental air. And the method may involve injecting the compressed and dehumidified environmental air into the low pressure leg.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: MALTA INC.
    Inventors: Raj Apte, Philippe Larochelle
  • Patent number: 10895172
    Abstract: A power plant and method for preserving a power plant, the power plant having a steam turbine with a shaft, further including a condenser mounted downstream of the steam turbine in the direction of flow of the steam, a vacuum pump mounted downstream of the condenser, a compressed steam system with shaft seals, and a compressed steam supply line extending into the shaft seals; a first nitrogen line extends into the condenser, and a second nitrogen line as well as a recirculation line that branches off the vacuum pump extend into the compressed steam supply line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Uwe Juretzek, Michael Rziha, Edwin Gobrecht, Michael Schöttler
  • Patent number: 10895173
    Abstract: A method of driving a turbine, the method comprising: (a) providing solid carbon dioxide; (b) heating the solid carbon dioxide to produce a high pressure carbon dioxide fluid; (c) passing the carbon dioxide over a blade of the turbine; and (d) collecting the carbon dioxide that has passed over the turbine blade; wherein carbon dioxide collected in step (d) is in solid form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: CCm Technologies Limited
    Inventor: Peter Hammond