Patents Examined by Woody A Lee, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11725528
    Abstract: A vane multiplet includes a plurality of airfoils that each have a flared end, a common platform piece, a plurality of seal, and a plurality of retainers. The common platform has airfoil sockets that each define an airfoil opening that is circumscribed by a groove. The flared ends of the airfoils are seated in the airfoil sockets such that the grooves and the airfoils together form seal channels that have an open side. The seals are disposed in the seal channels. The retainers have airfoil-shaped profiles and are disposed in the airfoil sockets to bound the open sides of the seal channels and retain the seal in the seal channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventor: Christian X. Campbell
  • Patent number: 11725632
    Abstract: A method of protecting a wind turbine having a set of blades, each blade having a set of loci suitable for placement of a corresponding set of lightning receptors, against lightning strikes, includes applying to each blade a coating that surrounds at least one lightning receptor locus of the set, wherein the coating comprises paint in which has been mixed a conductive powder having a concentration by weight in the coating sufficiently low as to prevent formation of a conductive path through the coating but sufficiently high as to foster ionization of air along the coated exposed surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Arctura, Inc.
    Inventors: Neal E. Fine, John A. Cooney, Christopher S. Szlatenyi, Adam H. Janik, Pascal Mickelson
  • Patent number: 11725590
    Abstract: A turbomachine engine and gear assembly is provided. The engine includes a first power input component rotatable along a first direction relative to the engine centerline axis, a second power input component rotatable along a second direction relative to the engine centerline axis, a power output component rotatable relative to the engine centerline axis, a static component fixed relative to a circumferential direction relative to a gear assembly centerline axis, and a gear assembly. The gear assembly includes a first rotatable gear operably coupled to the first power input component at a first interface. The first rotatable gear is operably coupled to the static component at a static component interface. The static component interface is configured to react against the first rotatable gear to rotate the first rotatable gear relative to the gear assembly centerline axis. The power output component is operably coupled to the first rotatable gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Peeyush Pankaj, Narayanan Payyoor, Shashank Suresh Puranik
  • Patent number: 11725694
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a bearing compartment, a seal runner, a seal configured to cooperate with the seal runner to seal the bearing compartment, and a catcher in contact with the seal runner to minimize deflection of the seal runner. A method is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Todd A. Davis, Dale C. Humphries
  • Patent number: 11725533
    Abstract: A variable guide vane (VGV) assembly, has: vanes distributed about a central axis, each of the vanes having an airfoil extending between first and second stems, the vanes rotatable about vane axes extending between the first and second stems; and a bushing ring supporting the first stems of the vanes, the bushing ring defining circumferentially distributed pockets receiving the first stems of the vanes, the bushing ring having a first ring body extending circumferentially around the central axis, a second ring body extending circumferentially around the central axis and removably secured to the first ring body, the second ring body defining at least one tab projecting axially to axially overlap at least a portion of the first ring body and defining a contact plane therebetween, and at least one locking member extending radially through the contact plane to removably secure the first ring body and the second ring body together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Daniel Poick, Tibor Urac
  • Patent number: 11719220
    Abstract: This invention relates to a method and a wind turbine blade, wherein one or more airflow modifying devices are attached to a wind turbine blade having a base aerodynamic profile. The base aerodynamic profile is configured to substantially carry the structural loading of this modified wind turbine blade. The airflow modifying device is manufactured via 3D-printing and/or via 3D-machining and optionally coated or laminated before attachment. Once attached, the airflow modifying device may further be coated or laminated before working the outer surfaces into their finished shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: LM WIND POWER US TECHNOLOGY APS
    Inventor: Jordy Hertel Nilsson Van Kalken
  • Patent number: 11719165
    Abstract: An aircraft engine comprises an air inlet duct extending from an inlet through which air is configured to enter the aircraft engine, to an outlet within the aircraft engine. At least one strut has a leading edge and a trailing edge and extends across at least part of the air inlet duct. The at least one strut has a strut passage and a plurality of static pressure measurement taps spaced apart on the trailing edge and in fluid communication with the strut passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Damien Le Pape, Guorong Yan, Mark Cunningham, Philippe Beauchesne-Martel, Oleg Iskra, Richard Ivakitch
  • Patent number: 11719127
    Abstract: A bearing compartment of a gas turbine engine includes a rotationally fixed structure defined about an engine longitudinal axis; a gutter section formed in the front support; an oil drainback assembly mountable to the gutter section to direct oil into a drain passage to communicate oil from the gutter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Todd A. Davis, Joseph D. Walker
  • Patent number: 11708148
    Abstract: The invention relates to a blade pivot with adjustable orientation for a turbomachine fan hub, comprising: a stud having a fastener configured to retain a blade root and coupling means for the transmission of a twist torque; a ball bearing for taking centrifugal forces having an inner ring and an outer ring; a first clamping nut intended to be screwed on an inner thread of the hub to ensure clamping of the outer ring of the ball bearing; a rolling-element bearing for taking transverse forces having an inner ring and a smooth outer ring; a locking ring mounted between these two inner rings to provide for them a respective transverse support; an anti-rupture sleeve carrying the inner ring of the rolling-element bearing for taking transverse forces and the terminal end of which is extended transversely beyond the outer ring of this bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
    Inventors: Paul Ghislain Albert Levisse, Olivier Belmonte, Vincent François Georges Millier
  • Patent number: 11702962
    Abstract: A steam turbine has a diffuser that is configured to guide steam to an outside of a casing. The diffuser has an outer guide that gradually expands to an outer side in a radial direction and an inner guide that is disposed at intervals to an inner side in the radial direction with respect to the outer guide. The inner guide has an inner curved diameter-expanded portion that gradually expands to the outer side in the radial direction while being curved from the first side to the second side in the axial direction. The outer guide has a first diameter-expanded portion that gradually expands to the outer side in the radial direction with a first radius of curvature, and a second diameter-expanded portion that gradually expands to the outer side in the radial direction with a second radius of curvature larger than the first radius of curvature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masatomo Todo, Akito Kunimoto
  • Patent number: 11702941
    Abstract: An airfoil includes an airfoil section that has an airfoil wall that defines leading and trailing ends and first and second sides that join the leading and trailing ends. The first and second sides span in a longitudinal direction between first and second ends. The airfoil wall circumscribes an internal core cavity. A platform is attached with the first end of the airfoil wall. The platform includes an opening that opens into the internal core cavity and a land region that circumscribes the opening. A baffle is formed of a tube and an attachment portion. The tube extends in the internal core cavity and the attachment portion has a flange ring that is affixed to the platform at the land region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Scott A. Kovach, Tracy A. Propheter-Hinckley
  • Patent number: 11698002
    Abstract: A turbomachine airfoil element includes an airfoil that has pressure and suction sides spaced apart from one another in a thickness direction and joined to one another at leading and trailing edges. The airfoil extends in a radial direction a span that is in a range of 3.46-3.76 inch (87.8-95.5 mm). A chord length extends in a chordwise direction from the leading edge to the trailing edge at 50% span and is in a range of 1.98-2.28 inch (50.2-57.8 mm). The airfoil element includes at least one of a first mode with a frequency of 1056 ± 10% Hz and a second mode with a frequency of 1582 ± 10% Hz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: William R. Edwards, Steven J. Feigleson, Kate Hudon
  • Patent number: 11692492
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular to arrangements for journal bearings such gearboxes, and to related methods of operating such gearboxes and gas turbine engines. Example embodiments include a gearbox for an aircraft gas turbine engine, the gearbox comprising: a sun gear; a plurality of planet gears surrounding and engaged with the sun gear; and a ring gear surrounding and engaged with the plurality of planet gears, each of the plurality of planet gears being rotatably mounted around a pin of a planet gear carrier with a journal bearing having an internal sliding surface on the planet gear and an external sliding surface on the pin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plc
    Inventor: Mark Spruce
  • Patent number: 11691352
    Abstract: A post-moulding station is described which is used in the manufacturing of a wind turbine blade. A blade shell forming part of a wind turbine blade is initially moulded in a blade mould, the blade shell subsequently transferred to a post-moulding station which allows for various post-moulding operations to be carried out on the blade shell away from the mould, thereby increasing the productivity of the blade mould in the manufacturing process. The post-moulding station may be operable to perform the closing of first and second blade shells to form a wind turbine blade, and may be formed from an adjustable structure which can provide relatively easy access to the contained blade shell for working thereon. Accordingly, the manufacturing equipment may be of reduced cost, combined with an increase in the overall productivity of the manufacturing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: LM WP PATENT HOLDING A/S
    Inventor: Bernard Willem De Waal Malefijt
  • Patent number: 11692451
    Abstract: An aircraft engine has: a first component and a second component coaxially mounted about a central axis; a flow passage extending within an annular gap defined radially between the first component and the second component, the flow passage fluidly connecting a first zone to a second zone; a seal disposed in the flow passage between the first zone and the second zone, the seal extending from a seal base secured to the first component to a seal end radially spaced apart from the seal base; a deflector located downstream of the seal relative to a first flow flowing from the first zone to the second zone through the seal, the deflector extending from a deflector base secured to the second component to a deflector end radially spaced apart from the deflector base; and a radial gap defined radially between the seal end and the deflector end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventor: Gabriel St-Laurent
  • Patent number: 11692444
    Abstract: A rotor blade for a gas turbine engine includes an airfoil section and a root section extending along a longitudinal direction between an upstream surface and a downstream surface. The root section further extends along a radial direction between an inner surface positioned at an inner end of the root section and an outer end coupled to the airfoil section. Moreover, the root section extends along a circumferential direction between a first side surface and a second side surface. Furthermore, the root section defines a longitudinal centerline extending along the longitudinal direction and positioned equidistant from the inner surface and the outer end in the radial direction. The root section includes a first portion formed from a composite material and a second portion formed from a metallic material, with the longitudinal centerline extending through the second portion of the root section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Nicholas Joseph Kray, Nitesh Jain
  • Patent number: 11686217
    Abstract: An oil collector for a torque transmission device of an aircraft turbine engine, this oil collector being configured to collect sprayed oil, wherein it includes at least one wall formed at least in part by a mesh structure, and at least one recovery device located at one end of the wall and configured to recover the oil captured by the wall and intended to flow from this wall to the recovery device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignees: SAFRAN, SAFRAN TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS
    Inventors: Boris Pierre Marcel Morelli, Xavier Roger Betbeder-Lauque, Mathieu Jean Charrier
  • Patent number: 11686201
    Abstract: A turbine rotor in an embodiment is configured by joining a rotor component member and a rotor component member together by bolt fastening with an abutting end surface of the rotor component member and an abutting end surface of the rotor component member abutting on each other. The turbine rotor includes: a cylindrical recessed portion that is formed at the abutting end surface and is recessed in an axial direction; an axial passage bored from a bottom surface of the cylindrical recessed portion in the axial direction; an introduction passage introducing the cooling medium into the axial passage; a discharge passage discharging the cooling medium from the axial passage; and a sealing member that is arranged in the cylindrical recessed portion and seals one end of the axial passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: TOSHIBA ENERGY SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazutaka Tsuruta, Takashi Suzuki, Hideyuki Maeda, Yuta Ishikawa, Masao Itoh
  • Patent number: 11680573
    Abstract: An air pump is delineated for an inflatable product that can be selectively connected thereto. The inflatable product includes a shell located on a side wall. The shell includes an internal chamber for selective placement of the air pump and an air valve for selective communication with the air pump. When the air pump is located in the internal chamber it can be moved to switch between a first position and a second position. The air pump includes an air inlet and an air outlet such that the air inlet is in communication with the air valve in the first position to deflate the inflatable product and the air outlet is in communication with the air valve in the second position to inflate the inflatable product. The air pump can also be used externally via manual connection between the air inlet or the air outlet and other inflatable products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: BESTWAY INFLATABLES & MATERIAL CORP.
    Inventors: Shuiyong Huang, Wanbin Qiu, Ruoxun Yin
  • Patent number: 11674523
    Abstract: A dynamically controlled cooling device for targeted cooling of a moving or stationary user includes a fan, which is rotationally mounted to a base, and a targeting device, which is in possession of the user. A first actuator is attached to the base and is operationally engaged to the fan to selectively rotate the fan. A control module is operationally engaged to the first actuator and the fan. The control module comprises a first receiver, which is Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled, and a second receiver. The targeting device comprises a third receiver, which is GPS enabled, and a transmitter. The first receiver and the third receiver receive coordinates of the fan and the user, respectively. The transmitter relays the coordinates of the user to the control module, whereupon the control module to actuates the fan and the first actuator to direct a stream of air onto the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Inventors: Kelly Kesterson, John Scott Hinklin