Patents by Inventor Irven Charles Ball

Irven Charles Ball 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).

  • Publication number: 20020178726
    Abstract: A combustor for a gas turbine engine includes outer and inner liners defining a combustion chamber and an igniter mounted to the outer liner. A dome plate is disposed between the outer and inner liners and has a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings formed therein. A fuel-air mixer is disposed in each one of the openings; each fuel-air mixer includes a swirler mounted in the corresponding opening and a fuel nozzle received in the corresponding swirler. Two adjacent ones of the swirlers are low air flow swirlers in general circumferential alignment with the igniter and the rest of the swirlers are higher air flow swirlers. Each one of the fuel nozzles provides a similar amount of fuel so that the two fuel-air mixers having low air flow swirlers produce a local region of increased fuel-to-air ratio in the vicinity of the igniter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2001
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Inventors: Robert Gregory Carita, Irven Charles Ball, Frank Anthony Lastrina
  • Patent number: 6487861
    Abstract: A combustor for a gas turbine engine includes outer and inner liners defining a combustion chamber and an igniter mounted to the outer liner. A dome plate is disposed between the outer and inner liners and has a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings formed therein. A fuel-air mixer is disposed in each one of the openings; each fuel-air mixer includes a swirler mounted in the corresponding opening and a fuel nozzle received in the corresponding swirler. Two adjacent ones of the swirlers are low air flow swirlers in general circumferential alignment with the igniter and the rest of the swirlers are higher air flow swirlers. Each one of the fuel nozzles provides a similar amount of fuel so that the two fuel-air mixers having low air flow swirlers produce a local region of increased fuel-to-air ratio in the vicinity of the igniter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Gregory Carita, Irven Charles Ball, Frank Anthony Lastrina