Patents by Inventor David E. Caldwell

David E. Caldwell 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: 10428683
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a method for in-situ cleaning one or more components of a gas turbine engine using an abrasive gel detergent. More specifically, the gel detergent includes a plurality of abrasive particles suspended in a gel composition. Further, the abrasive particles include organic material. Moreover, the gel composition is formed of a mixture of detergent particles dissolved in a gel reactant. Thus, the method includes injecting the gel detergent into at least a portion of the gas turbine engine at a predetermined pressure. In addition, the method includes allowing the gel detergent to flow across or within one or more of the components of the gas turbine engine so as to clean one or more of the components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Michael Edward Eriksen, David E. Caldwell, Nicole Jessica Tibbetts, Ambarish Jayant Kulkarni, Byron Andrew Pritchard, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20170191376
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a method for in-situ cleaning one or more components of a gas turbine engine using an abrasive gel detergent. More specifically, the gel detergent includes a plurality of abrasive particles suspended in a gel composition. Further, the abrasive particles include organic material. Moreover, the gel composition is formed of a mixture of detergent particles dissolved in a gel reactant. Thus, the method includes injecting the gel detergent into at least a portion of the gas turbine engine at a predetermined pressure. In addition, the method includes allowing the gel detergent to flow across or within one or more of the components of the gas turbine engine so as to clean one or more of the components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Publication date: July 6, 2017
    Inventors: Michael Edward Eriksen, David E. Caldwell, Nicole Jessica Tibbetts, Ambarish Jayant Kulkarni, Byron Andrew Pritchard, JR.
  • Patent number: 9135542
    Abstract: A method of managing inventory may include using a handheld scanning device to locate one or more inventory items on a retail display. The method may further include scanning the identification symbols of inventory items on a retail display to determine the type of the scanned item. An associated apparatus may include a communication interface to receive information from a remote database and to send information to a remote server. The received information may include predetermined information about proper locations for individual inventory items on the retail display, thereby reducing the need to manually determine the proper locations of multiple inventory items, which may be, for example, greeting cards on a retail store display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: HALLMARK CARDS, INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Gregory S. O'Dell, Daniel R. Ferrell, David E. Caldwell
  • Publication number: 20120233041
    Abstract: A method of managing inventory may include using a handheld scanning device to locate one or more inventory items on a retail display. The method may further include scanning the identification symbols of inventory items on a retail display to determine the type of the scanned item. An associated apparatus may include a communication interface to receive information from a remote database and to send information to a remote server. The received information may include predetermined information about proper locations for individual inventory items on the retail display, thereby reducing the need to manually determine the proper locations of multiple inventory items, which may be, for example, greeting cards on a retail store display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Applicant: HALLMARK CARDS, INCORPORATED
    Inventors: GREGORY S. O'DELL, DANIEL R. FERRELL, DAVID E. CALDWELL
  • Patent number: 8190497
    Abstract: A method of managing inventory may include using a handheld scanning device to locate one or more inventory items on a retail display. The method may further include scanning the identification symbols of inventory items on a retail display to determine the type of the scanned item. An associated apparatus may include a communication interface to receive information from a remote database and to send information to a remote server. The received information may include predetermined information about proper locations for individual inventory items on the retail display, thereby reducing the need to manually determine the proper locations of multiple inventory items, which may be, for example, greeting cards on a retail store display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Hallmark Cards, Incorporated
    Inventors: Gregory S. O'Dell, Daniel R. Ferrell, David E. Caldwell
  • Patent number: 7842335
    Abstract: A chemical composition and method for repairing a thermal barrier coating on a component designed for use in a hostile thermal environment, such as turbine, combustor and augmentor components of a gas turbine engine. The method repairs a thermal barrier coating on a component that has suffered localized damage to the thermal barrier coating. After cleaning the surface area of the component exposed by the localized spallation, a paste-like mixture of a ceramic composition comprising ceramic powders and nano-sized ceramic materials in a binder, further including an accelerant, is applied to the surface area of the component, and is optionally smoothed using mechanical means. The composition is then allowed to dry and cure to form a dried coating having polymeric characteristics. Upon subsequent heating, the dried coating reacts to produce a glassy ceramic repair coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Andrew Jay Skoog, Jane Ann Murphy, William Randolph Stowell, David E. Caldwell
  • Patent number: 7588797
    Abstract: A chemical composition and method for repairing a thermal barrier coating on a component designed for use in a hostile thermal environment, such as turbine, combustor and augmentor components of a gas turbine engine. The method repairs a thermal barrier coating on a component that has suffered localized damage to the thermal barrier coating. After cleaning the surface area of the component exposed by the localized spallation, a paste-like mixture of a ceramic composition comprising ceramic powders and nano-sized ceramic materials in a binder is applied to the surface area of the component, and is optionally smoothed using mechanical means. The composition is then allowed to dry and cure to form a dried coating having polymeric characteristics. Upon subsequent heating, the dried coating reacts to produce a glassy ceramic repair coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Andrew Jay Skoog, Jane Ann Murphy, William Randolph Stowell, David E. Caldwell
  • Publication number: 20070134408
    Abstract: A chemical composition and method for repairing a thermal barrier coating on a component designed for use in a hostile thermal environment, such as turbine, combustor and augmentor components of a gas turbine engine. The method repairs a thermal barrier coating on a component that has suffered localized damage to the thermal barrier coating. After cleaning the surface area of the component exposed by the localized spallation, a paste-like mixture of a ceramic composition comprising ceramic powders and nano-sized ceramic materials in a binder, further including an accelerant, is applied to the surface area of the component, and is optionally smoothed using mechanical means. The composition is then allowed to dry and cure to form a dried coating having polymeric characteristics. Upon subsequent heating, the dried coating reacts to produce a glassy ceramic repair coating.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Publication date: June 14, 2007
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Andrew Jay Skoog, Jane Ann Murphy, William Randolph Stowell, David E. Caldwell