Patents Examined by Richard Woo
  • Patent number: 6231307
    Abstract: A turbine airfoil includes pressure and suction sidewalls joined together at leading and trailing edges, and extending from root to tip. The tip includes a tip rib extending from a tip cap enclosing an internal flow channel between the sidewalls. An aligned pair of first and second holes extend through the tip cap and rib, respectively, for discharging coolant from the flow channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2001
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Victor H. S. Correia
  • Patent number: 6231301
    Abstract: An axial flow or centrifugal flow compressor having arrays of blades (16) extending across a working medium flowpath (18) includes a casing treatment for enhancing the compressor's fluid dynamic stability. In one variant of the invention the casing treatment comprises one or more circumferentially extending grooves (40) that each receive indigenous fluid from the compressor flowpath at a fluid extraction site (56) and discharge indigenous fluid into the flowpath at a fluid injection site (58), circumferentially offset from the extraction site, where the migrated fluid is better able to advance against an adverse pressure gradient in the flowpath. Each groove is oriented so that the discharged fluid enters the flowpath with a streamwise directional component that promotes efficient and reliable integration of the introduced fluid into the flowpath fluid stream (20).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2001
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Barnett, Martin Graf, John A. Raw, Om Sharma, William D. Sprout
  • Patent number: 6231300
    Abstract: In a peripheral pump, having a rotor (2) which rotates in a pump casing (1) and having two delivery chambers (11, 12), which extend on both sides of the end sides (3, 4) and each have circular cross sections, the delivery chambers (11, 12) have a communicating passage (13) between them, formed by an overlap of their cross sections. As a result, the liquid can flow without interference from one delivery chamber (11) into the other delivery chamber (12). One delivery chamber (11) is connected to an inlet duct, while the other delivery chamber (12) is connected to an outlet duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2001
    Assignee: Mannesmann VDO AG
    Inventors: Hans-Dieter Wilhelm, Christoph Schmidt, Thomas Werner
  • Patent number: 6227804
    Abstract: A gas turbine blade is provided with a hollow blade effective section and a blade implanted section operatively connected to the blade effective section and the gas turbine blade is formed with: a leading edge passage for guiding a cooling medium from a supply passage of the blade implanted section on a blade leading edge side of the hollow blade effective section; leading edge intermediate passages following the leading edge passage; and a trailing edge passage for guiding the cooling medium from a supply passage of a blade implanted section on a blade trailing edge side of the hollow blade effective section. The leading edge passage being provided with a heat transfer accelerating element which is arranged in a right ascendant state inclined to an advancing flow direction of the cooling medium when supplying the cooling medium from the blade implanted section to a blade tip section side or left (leading edge side) ascendant state from the blade tip section to the blade implanted section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Akinori Koga, Hiroyuki Kawagishi, Takanari Okamura, Tsuneo Hijikata, Shokou Ito
  • Patent number: 6227795
    Abstract: A blade and a series of blades are provided for implementation into a device, such as, for example, a turbine, a fan, a pump or the like. The blades are substantially flat and include at least one rib or irregularity peripherally formed in the blade equidistantly from the center of the blade. The blade may include one or more ribs and the ribs are formed equidistantly on each blade such that a plurality of blades may be stacked closely without interference from the ribs formed in adjacent blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Inventor: George F. Schmoll, III
  • Patent number: 6224335
    Abstract: An automotive air conditioning assembly has a fan that is molded by a technique that inevitably leaves the lower hub and upper rim radially staggered relative to one another. Therefore, a substantial length of the edges of the blades' bases are unsupported by the incomplete hub, and the air forced radially outwardly between the blades has no fan structure to confine it at that point. The invention provides a fan housing having a wall portion specially shaped so as to provide the air confinement function that the missing section of the fan hub cannot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2001
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Joseph Parisi, Matthew A. Tanger, Stephan Michael Vetter
  • Patent number: 6224330
    Abstract: In a fluid coupling including a casing enclosing an impeller and a turbine wheel which is rotatably mounted in the casing, the turbine wheel is formed on its face turned toward the casing with scrapers designed to scrape off impurities that have settled on the inner wall of the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2001
    Assignee: Ab Volvo
    Inventors: Per Larsson, Mikael Swanteson
  • Patent number: 6224327
    Abstract: A steam-cooling gas turbine in which cooling steam is fed from a center portion of a rotating shaft and recovered through passages disposed at the outer side of the center portion with steam leaking through a seal portion from a feeding steam being effectively recovered. Feed steam (30) serving as coolant is supplied to a cavity (27) from a inner cylinder (10) and hence fed to moving blades (11, 12) through recesses (40) formed in a coupling portion (26) interposed between a final-stage disk (24) and a turbine shaft (1), steam feeding pipes (15) and steam feeding passages (11a, 12a). After cooling of the moving blades, steam (31) is recovered through steam recovering passages (11b, 12b), steam recovering pipes (16), radial steam-recovering passages (17), axial steam-recovering passages (18) and outlet openings (5a). The coupling portion (26) is forced to hermetically close under thermal stress, whereby leakage of the feed steam (30) is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2001
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Idustries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sunao Aoki, Katsunori Tanaka, Kazuharu Hirokawa, Rintaro Chikami
  • Patent number: 6220820
    Abstract: A bearing arrangement, for example, for a variable pitch propeller, has a fluid operated actuator (42, 34, 40) for causing relative movement between bearing surfaces of races (12, 32) so as to preload bearings (30) held there between. Mechanical locking means (34, 36, 38) is provided to maintain the bearings under preload when the fluid pressure is released from the actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2001
    Assignee: Dowty Aerospace Gloucester Limited
    Inventor: John Howard Godwin
  • Patent number: 6220817
    Abstract: A turbine airfoil includes a plurality of internal ribs defining at least two independent serpentine cooling circuits having outer and inner serpentine portions, respectively, in different longitudinal tiers with the outer serpentine position being disposed longitudinally above the inner tier serpentine position for differentially longitudinally cooling the airfoil. The outer and inner serpentine portions include outer and inner exits and entrances wherein the outer and inner exits are positioned aft of the outer and inner entrances, respectively, so as to have a chordal flow direction aftwards from the leading edge to the trailing edge within the serpentine portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2001
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: George A. Durgin, Ching-Pang Lee
  • Patent number: 6216454
    Abstract: A torque converter is designed to control the torque capacity C and prevent a constant torque capacity C when the speed ratio E is in the middle to high operational range. The torque converter includes a bladed pump impeller driven by an internal engine, a bladed turbine runner in fluid flow relation with the pump impeller, and a bladed stator for redirecting fluid to produce a toroidal flow path of hydraulic fluid. The blades of the stator have an inlet portion facing the turbine runner and to which flows hydraulic fluid from the turbine runner, an outlet portion facing the pump impeller and discharging hydraulic fluid from the stator, a pressure surface disposed on one side of the blade between the inlet portion and the outlet portion, a suction surface disposed on another side of the blade, and a plate portion disposed near the inlet portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yukihisa Tsuzuki
  • Patent number: 6213719
    Abstract: A composite propeller blade and hub attachment assembly is disclosed. The assembly includes a blade root having a first connecting member and a hub arm having a second connecting member. The first connecting member meshingly engages the second connecting member. A device preloads the blade root and the hub arm. The first and second connecting members form a slot for receiving the preloading device. The preloading device includes an outer movable unit, an inner movable unit, and a mechanism for displacing the outer and inner movable units relative each other. As the mechanism for displacing relatively moves the inner and outer units, the preloading device is caused to expand and tension the blade root and hub arm for mechanically preloading the blade, in a manner which increases the low centrifugal load off lightweight composite blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2001
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: John A. Violette, Coleman D. Shattuck, David P. Nagle
  • Patent number: 6213710
    Abstract: A method for thrust compensation on a corresponding turbomachine, in particular a turbo engine of pot-type construction. The turbomachine has an outer casing and an inner casing or blade carrier. At least one first area of an exterior of part of the inner casing is divided for axial thrust compensation into two partial areas for axial thrust compensation. Each of the two partial areas is subjected to a different pressure and the separation between the two pressures is brought about by at least one means, in particular a seal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2001
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Axel Remberg
  • Patent number: 6210111
    Abstract: A cooled turbine blade for a gas turbine engine having a platform cooling supply channel that supplies cooling air to a plurality of cooling holes in the surface of the blade platform adjacent the trailing edge of the blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: George P. Liang
  • Patent number: 6210105
    Abstract: A flow directing device, system and method for delivery and pumping medium to high consistency stock slurries eliminates bridging of stock, creates a non-vortexing improved flow into the pump suction of a pump, is independent from pump operation, minimizes “slip/stick”, and does not mix air into the pulp fibers. The flow directing device is a low-speed, mechanical device including a two-stage turbine, a turbine shaft, a turbine mounting adapter, a gear reducer and an electric motor. The device is used with a dropleg to assist flow of medium to high consistency suspensions (pulp) to the pump, preferably a rotary pump. The flow directing device is operated independently from the pump. The flow directing device and pump work in concert with each other to form a stock pumping system capable of handling paper stock consistencies from 8-18% without the problems associated with other types of pumping systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Assignee: Irish & Asssociates
    Inventor: Herbert Addison Irish
  • Patent number: 6206635
    Abstract: A stator device for an axial flow fan has a plurality of first stator elements and a corresponding plurality of second stator elements, the first stator elements being disposed axially rearwardly of the second stator elements so as to define an air flow slot therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Valeo, Inc.
    Inventors: Norman Golm, Stéphane Moreau
  • Patent number: 6206630
    Abstract: A water driven impulse turbine has a barrel rotatably mounted upon an axle, with a plurality of runner blades extending tangentially from the barrel. Side plates secure the runner blades on opposite sides thereof. A breastplate is maintained in concentric juxtaposition with the wheel so defined. A penstock is interposed between a water source and the breastplate to pass water into the runner blades. The turbine may consist of a plurality of axially interconnected wheel sections of similar or dissimilar nature to optimize performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Universal Electric Power Corp.
    Inventors: Bruce D. Feltenberger, Ronald S. Feltenberger
  • Patent number: 6206638
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine airfoil includes an airfoil outer wall having widthwise spaced apart pressure and suction sidewall sections extending chordally between leading and trailing edges of the airfoil and extending longitudinally from a base to a tip. Inside the airfoil is at least one internal cooling circuit having a plurality of longitudinally extending circuit channels between longitudinally extending internal ribs extending widthwise between the pressure and suction sidewall sections and a longitudinally extending first sidewall film cooling chamber positioned between one of the sidewall sections and a first inner wall bounding the cooling circuit. Sidewall film cooling holes extend through the pressure sidewall section from the first sidewall film cooling chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Christopher C. Glynn, Paul S. Wilson, James A. Martus, Clay K. Carlson
  • Patent number: 6203273
    Abstract: A rotary machine (10) having rotor elements (54-66), (114) and seal lands (86, 112) is disclosed. Various construction details are developed for facilitating assembly of the machine. In one embodiment clearances are established between rotor blades (66) and the seal land (86) which enable assembly of the components and provide for acceptable clearances at a steady-state operative condition of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2001
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Harvey I. Weiner, Christopher G. Demers
  • Patent number: 6203275
    Abstract: In a multi-stage centrifugal compressor, having a plurality of impellers mounted on a rotation shaft, or a single-stage centrifugal compressor, a vaned diffuser, having a plurality of vanes, is mounted at a downstream side of the impeller, and a vaneless diffuser portion is formed downstream of this vaned diffuser. A meridian plane cross-sectional shape of each of two wall surfaces forming the vaneless diffuser portion provided downstream of the vaned diffuser is such that its channel height is decreased progressively in a downstream direction. Instead of this vaneless diffuser, there can be provided a second vaned diffuser having a small number of vanes. In this case, also, two wall surfaces, forming the second vaned diffuser, are contracted progressively in the downstream direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2001
    Assignee: Hitachi, LTD
    Inventors: Hiromi Kobayashi, Hideo Nishida, Kazuki Takahashi, Takashi Eino