Patents Examined by Timothy Thorpe
  • Patent number: 5832719
    Abstract: A thrust chamber for an expander cycle rocket engine having a predetermined quantity of tubes concentric about an axis and radially inward of a structural jacket, each tube having first and second substantially planar sidewalls which diverge at an angle such that immediately adjacent tubes are in spaced relation to each other at the radially inward portion of each tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Donald P. Riccardi
  • Patent number: 5833209
    Abstract: To influence the periodic stroke movement of the closing element of a valve, a control cylinder working on the closing element in the stroke direction is provided, which can be acted upon or released by a control element periodically with pressure medium. The control element is connected in the supply or discharge conduit of the pressure medium and can variably accelerate or slow its pressure formation or release and with it also the stroke movement of the closing element, at last gradually. Thus a partially or completely automatic control of compressor valves, for example, can be made possible in a simple manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Hoerbiger Ventilwerke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Peter Steinruck
  • Patent number: 5833439
    Abstract: A gas driven pump has a housing, first and second cylinders disposed within the housing, and first and second interconnected pistons having product intake and product exhaust positions disposed within the first and second cylinders, respectively. A slide valve has first and second positions for alternately pressurizing one of the first and second cylinders and venting the other of the first and second cylinders. A linkage moves the slide valve between the first and second positions thereof in response to movement of the first and second pistons. Over-center construction of the linkage prevents stalling of the slide valve, so as to assure reliable operation of the gas driven pump. The slide valve comprises a slide for placing an inlet port in fluid communication with an alternating one of two pressure/vent ports such that the slide valve scrapes frost build up from the pressure/vent ports as it moves thereover, thereby further enhancing reliability of the gas driven pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Inventor: Benjamin R. Du
  • Patent number: 5832732
    Abstract: In an annular combustion chamber (1), which essentially comprises a plenum (7) for receiving a compressor air flow, burners (100) placed inside the plenum (7), a combustion space (122) arranged downstream of the plenum (7), and a cooling-air-carrying duct (2, 3) encasing the combustion space (122) and leading into the plenum (7), injector systems (8, 9) are arranged in the region where the coolingair-carrying duct (2, 3) leads into the plenum (7). These injector systems (8, 9) in each case consist of a flow duct as a continuation of the cooling-air-carrying duct (2, 3) and of a number of openings (5a) which are arranged in the peripheral direction of this flow duct and through which acceleration air (5) flows into the cooling-air flow. The effect of a bodiless diffuser is thereby achieved, and the pressure losses which occur given a widening in cross section are minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: ABB Research Ltd.
    Inventors: Hans Peter Knopfel, Peter Senior
  • Patent number: 5829958
    Abstract: A pumping unit comprising a supporting post and a walking beam, having a head end and a tail end, pivotally connected to the post to allow for rocking of the beam about a horizontal pivot axis. The head end is connected to a vertical pump rod. The walking beam is also connected to one end of an arm, the opposite end of which is connected to a drive assembly for rocking of the beam about the horizontal pivot axis to reciprocate and produce a predetermined number of up and down strokes per minute of the pump rod. The drive assembly includes a rotating power device connected by sheaves and belts a transmission assembly whereby rotation of the power device is translated to a longitudinal force on the arm for rocking of the beam. The drive assembly is further characterized by a speed reducer interpositionable between the power device and the power transmission assembly to substantially reduce the number of up and down strokes per minute of the pump rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: BeauTech, Inc.
    Inventor: David G. von Hollen
  • Patent number: 5829246
    Abstract: A fluid flow metering device is provided which includes a body and a plurality of flow restriction plates. The body has a duct, within which the flow restriction plates are disposed in a spaced apart manner. Each flow restriction plate includes an orifice disposed adjacent the interior wall surface of the duct and misaligned with orifices in adjacent plates. A side-to-side flow pattern is created by the position of orifices relative to the interior wall surface and the misalignment between orifices in adjacent plates which inhibits the accumulation of foreign debris within the duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Stuart Abrams, Kenneth J. Lampe, George R. Celi
  • Patent number: 5827049
    Abstract: A pumping device providing direct energy exchange between a working fluid and a pumped fluid, comprising at least a first ejector propelling the working fluid in one direction and at least a second ejector propelling working fluid in a second direction. The axial thrust induced by the jet emitted in the first direction compensates at least partly that of a jet emitted in the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventor: Yvon Castel
  • Patent number: 5827051
    Abstract: Regenerative hydraulic power transmission for subsurface pumps, including a power source, a variable flow rate hydraulic pump, means to reverse flow through the hydraulic pump responsive to change in direction of the subsurface pump stroke, and an inertial assist for the power source which gathers energy from the downstroke of the subsurface pump and utilizes the gathered energy to power the upstroke of the subsurface pump. The transmission can vary upstroke speed apart from downstroke speed, pump stroke length and dwell time of change in stroke direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: Air-Go Windmill, Inc.
    Inventor: Norris Edward Smith
  • Patent number: 5827052
    Abstract: An air pump comprises a hollow pump body, at least one pulling member, an air inlet and an air outlet. The hollow pump body has air inside and consists of flexible sides and two opposite stiff ends. The air outlet is provided on the pump body to discharge the air in the pump body when the pump body is pressed. The pulling member is attached to one of the stiff ends of the pump body in order to restore the pressed pump body by pulling the pulling member. The air inlet is provided on the pump body to suck outside air into the pump body when the stiff end is pulled by the pulling member to restore the shape of the pressed pump body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: Team Worldwide Corporation
    Inventor: Kenneth Wang
  • Patent number: 5822992
    Abstract: A low emissions combustor includes a premixer for premixing liquid fuel and compressed air for achieving low NOx emissions without water or steam injection. The premixer includes a centerbody disposed in a shroud defining an annular flow channel extending between an inlet and outlet of the shroud. A plurality of fuel injection orifices are spaced circumferentially around the centerbody with each having an outlet being substantially flush with an outer surface of the centerbody. The fuel injection orifices inject liquid fuel into the flow channel wherein it is atomized by compressed air channeled through the shroud inlet. In a preferred embodiment, the fuel injection orifices are inclined at an acute angle for injection the fuel toward the shroud inlet to increase differential mixing velocity with the compressed air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Anthony John Dean
  • Patent number: 5823754
    Abstract: A manual pump includes first and second tubular members. The first tubular member has an upper closed end, a lower open end, and a piston member extending through and mounted movably in the first tubular member. The second tubular member has an upper open end which is fixed sealingly to the lower open end of the first tubular member, a lower closed end, an inflow check valve, an outflow check valve, and two connecting tubes connected to the external face of the second tubular member. Each of the connecting tubes is communicated with a corresponding one of the inflow and outflow check valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Inventor: Tzu-Chi Lee
  • Patent number: 5823750
    Abstract: An external-rotor-driven lubricating pump comprising a lubricant guidance part including a suction port, an outer wall, a carrier section, a discharge port, a lubricant feed space disposed between the carrier section and the outer wall and connected with the suction port, with a lubricant delivery space disposed between the carrier section and the outer wall and connected with the discharge port, and a pump part including a drive gear, an internally-toothed external rotor, with an externally-toothed internal rotor having one tooth less than the number of teeth on the external rotor, the external rotor and the internal rotor upon meshing pumping the lubricant from the lubricant feed space into the lubricant delivery space, with a shaft supporting the drive gear in the carrier section, the drive gear being fixed to the external rotor, the drive gear forming together with the external rotor the outer closure of the lubricating pump at its pump part end, with the internal rotor being mounted loosely on a collar o
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: Schwabische Huttenwerke GmbH
    Inventors: Kurt Hoffmann, Franz Maucher
  • Patent number: 5820356
    Abstract: An improved power steering pump integrates into a single assembly the pump (10), the reservoir (20) and a filtration system. The reservoir (20) includes upper and lower chambers (26, 24) and a primary filter (40) therebetween. The filtration system may also include a secondary filter (42) for providing filtration of fluid added through a filler device (31). The reservoir (20) may also include a bypass chamber (30) and a fluid bypass (66) with a bypass valve (68) for permitting fluid to bypass the primary filter (40) in the event the fluid exceeds a predetermined viscosity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: David Chukwuemeka Ogbuaku
  • Patent number: 5819540
    Abstract: A combustor for generating hot gas in order to rotate a turbine is able to burn fuel with a high vanadium content without emitting appreciable vanadium pentoxide to the turbine. The combustor includes a primary combustion zone for burning fuel in a rich fuel/air environment a quenching zone for cooling the hot gas and unburned fuel a secondary combustion zone for burning previously-unburned fuel. The fuel burned in the secondary combustion zone raises the temperature in the secondary combustion zone above the temperature of the quenching zone. The result of burning the fuel in a rich environment in the primary combustion zone is that most of the vanadium present in the fuel forms vanadium trioxide or vanadium tetroxide rather than vanadium pentoxide. Cooling the hot gas quickly in the quenching zone removes most of the remaining vanadium pentoxide by transforming it to vanadium trioxide or vanadium tetroxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Inventor: Madhat Massarani
  • Patent number: 5820358
    Abstract: A pump for low-viscosity fuel comprises a pump shaft 6 installed in a pump housing 2, 3, 4 and divided into a drive-side shaft 6A and a driven-side shaft 6B, a partition 12 provided between the drive-side shaft and the driven-side shaft of the pump shaft to prevent leakage of fuel from the housing, and a magnetic coupling 13 for transferring torque from the drive-side shaft to the driven-side shaft of the pump shaft through the partition, the magnetic coupling being disposed such that a first clearance C1, D1 between the magnetic coupling and the partition is larger than a second clearance C2, D2 between the magnetic coupling and the pump housing. When wobble occurs in the pump shaft owing to wear of the sliding contact portions thereof, the magnetic coupling makes contact with the pump housing before contacting the partition, thereby enabling the rotation of the pump shaft to be stopped before fuel leakage occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Zexel Corporation
    Inventors: Takeo Kushida, Fujio Aoki, Takayuki Ikeda, Koichiro Futamase, Tomoharu Sato, Hideya Kikuchi, Ken Sato, Nobuo Aoki, Katsuhiko Tsukazaki
  • Patent number: 5820352
    Abstract: A method for controlling compressor discharge pressure in a compressor. The compressor comprising a compression module driven by a prime mover, the compression module having a discharge port through which a compressed fluid is discharged with a discharge pressure, and an inlet through which uncompressed fluid is flowed into the compression chamber, the flow of fluid through the inlet controlled by an inlet valve repositionable by an actuator driven by a motor. The method comprising the steps of running a discharge pressure control routine, comprising the steps of: calculating the difference between the actual discharge pressure and a predetermined setpoint discharge pressure; computing the required change in valve position to achieve the setpoint discharge pressure, the period of time the motor means must be energized to produce the change in valve position, and the direction the valve must be moved to produce the setpoint discharge pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Ingersoll-Rand Company
    Inventors: John T. Gunn, William H. Harden, Don John Gerhardt
  • Patent number: 5820353
    Abstract: A process for operating a jet pump with a driving nozzle from which a driving medium, especially steam, exits at supersonic speed, this driving medium mixing with a gaseous load medium. According to the invention, downstream of the outlet of the nozzle in the mixing region the circumferential length is increased by a cross-sectional shape of the driving jet diverging from the circle in order to eliminate the azimuthal symmetry of the vortex structure of the driving medium, wherein the respective cross-sectional surface corresponding to the principle of continuity beginning in the jet direction with a circular cross section in the supersonic portion of the jet corresponds to the circular cross-section surface of the driving medium in conventional supersonic nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Alfred E. Beylich, Martin Blanke
  • Patent number: 5819526
    Abstract: A lower power arcjet propellant feed system for delivering propellant to a low power arcjet. The low power arcjet propellant feed system includes a liquid propellant storage chamber for storing a liquid propellant. A gas generator in communication with the liquid propellant storage chamber generates a gaseous propellant upon receipt of the liquid propellant from the liquid propellant storage chamber. A gas plenum in communication with the gas generator accumulates the gaseous propellant from the gas generator up to a desired pressure. Actively controllable valves actively control the flow of the liquid propellant into the gas generator and actively control the flow of the resultant gaseous propellant out of the gas generator and into the gas plenum up to the desired pressure. A substantially continuous and stable low flow rate of gaseous propellant is then delivered to the low power arcjet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: TRW Inc.
    Inventors: Bernard Jackson, Robert Lewis Sackheim, Richard Aaron Rosenthal
  • Patent number: 5819524
    Abstract: A gaseous fuel compression and control system is disclosed which utilizes a helical flow compressor/turbine integrated with a permanent magnet motor/generator and driven by a torque controlling inverter to compress or expand gaseous fuels, precisely control fuel pressure and flow, and precisely control the operations (speed, combustion temperature and output power) of a gaseous fuel fired turbogenerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Edward C. Edelman, Ronald F. Miller
  • Patent number: 5816050
    Abstract: A low-emission combustion chamber for gas turbine engines comprises an outer casing with an upstream end wall with a pilot fuel injector, a first flow swirler, an igniting members for initiating a stable diffusion frame in a pilot zone, at least one second coaxial swirler, main fuel injectors, secondary air inlets, and a main combustion zone. For obtaining a still further reduced emissions of primarily nitrogen oxides, the pilot zone is confined radially outwardly by a surrounding wall which constitutes the radially inner confinement of an axial outlet portion of a radial vaporization channel within the second swirler and a third radial flow swirler is adapted to supply the secondary air in a rotary motion opposite to that of the main flow of fuel and air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 6, 1998
    Assignee: Volvo Aero Corporation
    Inventors: Anders Sjunnesson, Patrik Johansson, Alf Andersson, Sonny Lundgren, Rolf Gabrielsson