Patents by Inventor Charles Brennecke

Charles Brennecke has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11965455
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Publication number: 20220389858
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main o combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Patent number: 11415041
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Publication number: 20210079835
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Applicant: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Patent number: 10400817
    Abstract: A bearing device for supporting a shaft to rotate relative to an outer hub includes: an annular outer race mountable within an interior bore of the hub, the outer race including an inwardly facing radial groove sized to receive a rounded bearing element; and an annular inner race mountable to an outwardly curved exterior surface of the shaft. The inner race includes an outwardly facing radial groove sized to receive the bearing element, the respective radial grooves of the inner and outer races together forming an annular raceway to retain the bearing element when the bearing device is assembled. The inner race further includes an axially convex surface along an innermost diameter of the inner race, the convex surface shaped to directly engage the exterior surface of the shaft when mounted thereto, such that the inner race remains in contact with the shaft while accommodating radial deflection of the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur Pintauro, John Karspeck, Charles Brennecke, Taylor Ritchie
  • Publication number: 20180142798
    Abstract: A bearing device for supporting a shaft to rotate relative to an outer hub includes: an annular outer race mountable within an interior bore of the hub, the outer race including an inwardly facing radial groove sized to receive a rounded bearing element; and an annular inner race mountable to an outwardly curved exterior surface of the shaft. The inner race includes an outwardly facing radial groove sized to receive the bearing element, the respective radial grooves of the inner and outer races together forming an annular raceway to retain the bearing element when the bearing device is assembled. The inner race further includes an axially convex surface along an innermost diameter of the inner race, the convex surface shaped to directly engage the exterior surface of the shaft when mounted thereto, such that the inner race remains in contact with the shaft while accommodating radial deflection of the shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2016
    Publication date: May 24, 2018
    Inventors: Arthur Pintauro, John Karspeck, Charles Brennecke, Taylor Ritchie