Patents Examined by William Grigos
  • Patent number: 8702376
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a radially fed axial steam turbine with a cold inlet duct, axially displaced from a hot inlet duct such that is it further away from a first blade row than the hot inlet duct. The cold inlet duct receives a cold steam from a cold inlet spiral and directs it into the hot inlet duct in such a way that a boundary layer of cold steam is formed over the rotor circumferential surface between the outlet end of the cold inlet duct and the blade and vane rows. The rotor circumferential surface is also adapted to promote and maintain the boundary layer. In this way, a maximum temperature to which the rotor is exposed can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Thomas Mokulys, Vishal Borikar, Giorgio Zanazzi, Davor Kriz, Ludwig Boxheimer, Luca Ripamonti
  • Patent number: 8696303
    Abstract: A feathering device for the fan blades of a turboprop engine that includes at least one set of fan blades with adjustable orientation is provided. The assembly is attached in rotation to a rotating cowling connected to a turbine rotor. Each blade is coupled, for the adjustment of its orientation, to a control ring that is movable between two extreme positions, one of which corresponds to feathering of the blades. Mechanical parts are able to extend elastically as a result of a rise in their temperature, these mechanical parts being positioned facing the control ring so as to be able to exert a thrust force on the ring in order to put it in a position to feather the blades when they expand. A device to cause a rise in the temperature of the mechanical parts so as to expand them is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventor: Francois Gallet
  • Patent number: 8696311
    Abstract: A vane assembly of a gas turbine engine has a plurality of vanes extending radially and inwardly from an annular casing. An outer end of each vane radially and outwardly projects from the casing and is received in one of apertures defined in an elastomeric ring which is placed around the casing. A strap of a non-metallic material is placed in a pre-tensioned condition around the elastomeric ring to compress the elastomeric ring and to radially retain the outer end of each vane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
    Inventors: Andreas Eleftheriou, Richard Ivakitch
  • Patent number: 8696304
    Abstract: A turbine disk and blade arrangement having a plurality of turbine blades mounted circumferentially around a disk. Each blade has a fir tree root which provides a series of fore-to-aft-extending projections and grooves. The disk has a plurality of radially extending posts which define fir tree recesses therebetween. Each fir tree recess also provides a series of fore-to-aft-extending projections and grooves allowing each fir tree root to engage with a respective fir tree recess. On each pair of facing sides of the fir tree root and the fir tree recess, one or more projections of the fir tree roots and/or the fir tree recesses are truncated to form fore-to-aft-extending cooling passages. The arrangement has lock plates which cover forward and/or rearward surfaces of the posts and of the fir tree roots and define feed channels therebetween which feed cooling air to the respective cooling passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventors: Robert Elliott, Benjamin J. Meyer
  • Patent number: 8696319
    Abstract: A composite blade has a root and a tip in a spanwise direction and a leading edge and a trailing edge in a chordwise direction. The composite blade includes a three-dimensional woven preform having weft yarns and warp yarns. The weft yarns extend in the spanwise direction of the composite blade. The warp yarns interweave the weft yarns and extend in the chordwise direction of the blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Rajiv A. Naik
  • Patent number: 8690519
    Abstract: The present application provides for a wet gas compressor system. The wet gas compressor system may include a wet gas compressor with an inlet section. A variable cross-section nozzle may be positioned about the inlet section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Christian Aalburg, Alexander Simpson, Vittorio Michelassi, Ismail Sezal
  • Patent number: 8684660
    Abstract: A pressure and temperature actuation system is provided having a high-temperature low-pressure zone, a low-temperature high-pressure zone, a boundary, a pressure actuated mechanism, and a temperature mechanism. A gas located in the high-temperature low-pressure zone has a greater gas temperature than the gas located in the low-temperature high-pressure zone. The gas located in the low-temperature high-pressure zone has a greater gas pressure than the gas located in the high-temperature low-pressure zone. The boundary separates the high-temperature low-pressure zone from the low-temperature high pressure zone. The pressure actuated mechanism is located within the boundary and is configured for opening at a specified gas pressure in either the high-temperature low-pressure zone or the low-temperature high-pressure zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Carlos Miguel Miranda, Edward William Cummings
  • Patent number: 8678741
    Abstract: An oil cooled runner, for a rotary seal between an engine case and a shaft rotationally mounted to the case, includes an annular runner ring having a platform with a radially outer seal engagement surface and a radially inner surface, and an oil distributor having a radially inner portion in communication with a source of liquid lubricant and an outer lubricant casting cone with a rim disposed radially inwardly from the inner surface of the platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
    Inventor: Alexander Yurievich Olennikov
  • Patent number: 8678740
    Abstract: A turbomachine includes an annular flow path section between a plurality of radially extending stator blades and a plurality of radially extending rotor blades. At least a portion of the flow path section has a circumferentially varying outer periphery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas J. Praisner, Eric A. Grover, Renee J. Jurek
  • Patent number: 8672629
    Abstract: A turbine blade including an open cavity at its distal tip, the cavity being defined by a bottom wall and a side wall extending along the perimeter of the distal tip in an extension of the upper and lower walls of the blade, the side wall of the cavity including an opening in a vicinity of the leading edge of the blade opening into the cavity. A deflector extends at least in the middle portion of the cavity between the leading edge and the trailing edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Erwan Botrel, RĂ©gis Grohens
  • Patent number: 8668458
    Abstract: A fan including a hub part, a blade part and a vibration-absorbing boss, all constituent elements of which are injection molded, thereby reducing production costs. The fan has a minimized contact area between the vibration-absorbing boss and the hub part to prevent the vibration-absorbing boss from being deformed by high-temperature heat during insert injection molding of the hub part and the blade part while assuring sufficient strength of the hub part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Min Gi Cho, Jin Baek Kim, Seong Ho Kil, Young Jae Kim, Byung Ghun Kim
  • Patent number: 8662835
    Abstract: A turbine nozzle for a turbomachine, including inner and outer annular platforms connected together by vanes, the inner platform carrying annular elements of abradable material co-operating with annular wipers of a rotor of the turbomachine to form a labyrinth seal, these elements of abradable material being carried by annular sheet-metal sectors of substantially L-, S-, or C-shaped section that are fastened by brazing or welding at their outer peripheries to the inner platform and at their inner peripheries to the elements of abradable material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Thierry Fachat, Patrick Joseph Marie Girard, Jean-Luc Soupizon
  • Patent number: 8662836
    Abstract: An exhaust gas turbocharger, including either a variable turbine with rotatably mounted guide vanes or a compressor geometry with rotatably mounted guide vanes. At least one of the guide vanes has a profile center line with at least one of a jump and a kink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Gunter Winkler, Florian Rentz, Tobias Dettmann
  • Patent number: 8657562
    Abstract: A steam turbine diaphragm stage having a self-aligning flow splitter is disclosed. In one embodiment, a steam turbine flow splitter body is disclosed, the steam turbine flow splitter body having a central portion and two end portions, and including: a flow divider proximate to the central portion; and a substantially radially outward extending hook proximate to at least one of the two end portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Prashant Prabhakar Sankolli
  • Patent number: 8657561
    Abstract: A rotor blade comprising a core blade section; and a trailing edge section, the trailing edge section being attached to the core blade section along a join interface. The trailing edge section comprises a shape memory material which is actuable so as to cause selective deformation of the trailing edge section between a first condition in which a trailing edge of the trailing edge section follows a substantially smooth profile and a second condition in which the trailing edge is perturbed. The direction of the perturbation may be oblique or perpendicular to the direction of flow over the blade in use. The rotor blade may be a fan or propeller for a gas turbine engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC
    Inventors: Cosimo Buffone, John R Webster, Ian C D Care
  • Patent number: 8651807
    Abstract: Four tapered portions are formed on an end portion of an inner wall surface of an air channel at four locations corresponding to four corners of the profile of a surface of a housing where a suction port is formed. The four tapered portions are each inclined outwardly in a radial direction of a rotary shaft from a discharge port side toward the suction port side and extending in a rotational direction of an impeller. The tapered portions each include a main portion which is shaped such that an angle formed between the main portion and an axis of the rotary shaft gradually becomes smaller from one end of the main portion located rearward as viewed in the rotational direction of the impeller toward the other end of the main portion located forward as viewed in the rotational direction of the impeller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Sanyo Denki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoya Inada, Toshiyuki Nakamura, Toshiki Ogawara, Yoshinori Miyabara
  • Patent number: 8641370
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a locking device (10) designed to fixedly attach a first element (9a) to a second element, comprising a locking member (12) intended to equip the first element, an additional locking element intended to equip the second element, and a control handle (13) connected to the locking member via transmission means, characterized in that the transmission means comprise a telescopic connecting rod (15) designed to oscillate freely between a minimum extension position and a maximum extension position, and means for returning the telescopic connecting rod to its position of maximum extension, said return means being placed in a prestressed state when the control handle is in the closure position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Aircelle
    Inventor: Fabrice Provost
  • Patent number: 8641362
    Abstract: A turbine exhaust cylinder for an industrial gas turbine engine with an external blower that delivers cooling air to an inner space of the exhaust cylinder that provides cooling for the struts that support the exhaust cylinder. The cooling air passes over the bearing housing and then up through a space formed between a fairing and the strut. The cooling air is then discharged through a cover plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: George Liang
  • Patent number: 8628296
    Abstract: An exhaust-gas turbocharger includes a bearing flange for securement of the exhaust-gas turbocharger to a bearing housing of a turbine wheel. The bearing flange is provided with an outer circumferential fin having a base portion which terminates in a free end. The base portion is defined by a width which is greater than a width of the free end. An outer housing is welded to the outer circumferential fin of the bearing flange, and accommodates an impeller housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Benteler Automobiltechnik GmbH
    Inventors: Elmar Grussmann, Christian Smatloch, Lars Landermann
  • Patent number: 8613593
    Abstract: The present invention provides engine case systems for gas turbine engines. Embodiments of the engine case systems include a plurality of ring cases and a tie-bolt case. The ring cases may house blades and vanes for the compressor and/or for the turbine. The ring cases may be stacked in series, and may be clamped together by a tie-bolt case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2013
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan Wesley Ottow, Vance A. Mahan, Albert Wong