Patents by Inventor Jakob J. Keller

Jakob J. Keller 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: 6305927
    Abstract: In a burner (14) with at least one fuel supply system (15, 16) through which the burner (14) is fed a fuel flow (12), and the fuel fed is injected via fuel nozzles and subsequently burned in a combustion chamber (11), the formation and amplification of pressure fluctuations in the combustion chamber is prevented in a simple way in terms of design by virtue of the fact that means (17) are provided which prevent periodic pressure fluctuations which occur in the combustion chamber from leading to fluctuations in the fuel flow (12) in the fuel supply system (15, 16).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: ABB Alstom Power (Schweiz) AG
    Inventor: Jakob J. Keller
  • Patent number: 6276140
    Abstract: An apparatus for the generation of energy by means of a fluid-flow machine is described, for the drive of which a compressor arrangement for compressing a compressible medium, preferably air, is provided, which medium, via a feed-line system, can be fed to the fluid-flow machine directly or after the interposition of a combustion chamber, in which the compressed medium can be ignited with the addition of fuel. The invention is distinguished by the fact that the compressor arrangement provides at least one compressor stage, in which the medium can be compressed isothermally.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: ABB Alstom Power (Schweiz) AG
    Inventors: Jakob J. Keller, Hans Wettstein
  • Patent number: 6272864
    Abstract: A combustor system for a gas turbine is disclosed in which fuel is mixed with an air stream entering the combustor and is then burned, and the resulting combustion air stream is fed downstream from the combustor to a turbine. A quick and efficient mixing of the air stream and fuel is achieved in that the combustor has an annular diffuser into which the air stream enters. Downstream from the diffuser and communicating with it, at least one essentially annular, toroidal chamber is provided. Mixing pipes extend downstream from the annular, toroidal chamber and are distributed over the periphery of the toroidal chamber. Downstream from the mixing pipes, an annular combustion chamber is provided into which the mixing pipes merge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: ABB Alstom Power (Schweiz) AG
    Inventor: Jakob J. Keller
  • Patent number: 6216644
    Abstract: In heat generators and burners, it is frequently necessary to realize discontinuous cross-sectional expansions of a flow duct. When the flow (U) passes over the step (10) formed in the wall (8) of the flow duct, coherent lateral separation vortices form which are propagated almost undamped downstream of the step and frequently represent the cause of thermo-acoustic vibrations of high amplitude. In accordance with the invention, vortex-generating elements (20) with a lateral pitch dimension (t) are arranged on a line transverse to the main flow (U) a distance (s) upstream of the step (10). Given an expedient selection of the pitch dimension (t), the lateral coherence of the separation vortex is enduringly destroyed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: ABB Alstrom Power (Schweiz) AG
    Inventors: Adnan Eroglu, Franz Joos, Bettina Paikert, Cristian Oliver Paschereit, Jakob J. Keller
  • Patent number: 5687571
    Abstract: A combustion chamber with two-stage combustion has primary burners (110) of the premixing type of construction, in which the fuel injected via nozzles (117) is intensively mixed with the combustion air inside a premixing space (130) prior to ignition. The primary burners are of flame-stabilizing design, i.e. they are designed without a mechanical flame retention baffle. They are provided with tangential inflow of the combustion air into the premixing space (130). Arranged downstream of a precombustion chamber (61) are secondary burners (150) which are designed as premixing burners which do not operate by themselves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri AG
    Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Jakob J. Keller
  • Patent number: 5651253
    Abstract: In a gas turbine combustion chamber cooled by means of impingement and convection cooling or pure convection cooling, a compensating flow of the cooling air is guided between adjacent cooling ducts (2) in such a way that the flow velocity in the cooling duct (2) always exceeds a critical limiting value even downstream of a local damage location (6) so that the temperature is less than a critical limiting value. The compensating flow is led past the combustion chamber outer wall. Connecting openings (5) are arranged between adjacent cooling ducts (2) and are respectively offset on the opposite sides of the cooling duct (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 29, 1997
    Assignee: ABB Management AG
    Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Jakob J. Keller, Burkhard Schulte-Werning
  • Patent number: 5615546
    Abstract: In a gas turbine combustion chamber cooled by means of impingement and convection cooling or pure convection cooling, a compensating flow of the cooling air is guided between adjacent cooling ducts (2) in such a way that the flow velocity in the cooling duct (2) always exceeds a critical limiting value even downstream of a local damage location (6) so that the temperature is less than a critical limiting value. The compensating flow is led past the combustion chamber outer wall. Connecting openings (5) are arranged between adjacent cooling ducts (2) and are respectively offset on the opposite sides of the cooling duct (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 1, 1997
    Assignee: ABB Management AG
    Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Jakob J. Keller, Burkhard Schulte-Werning
  • Patent number: 5593302
    Abstract: In a combustion chamber consisting essentially of an inflow zone (5) and a combustion zone (11) and having self-ignition, the inflow zone (5) has vortex generators (100), of which a plurality are arranged next to one another over the periphery of the duct through which flow occurs. A premixing zone (7) follows downstream of the inflow zone (5), into which premixing zone (7) a gaseous and/or liquid fuel (9) is injected as secondary flow into a gaseous main flow (4). Between premixing zone (5) and the downstream combustion zone (11), the transition is characterized by a jump (12) in cross-section which induces the initial cross-section of flow of the combustion zone (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1997
    Assignee: ABB Management AG
    Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Yau-Pin Chyou, Franz Joos, Jakob J. Keller
  • Patent number: 5524587
    Abstract: A sliding vane engine, where the vanes slide with at least of one of an axial and radial component of vane motion, and where the compression ratio of the engine may be variably controlled. The engine includes a stator and a rotor in relative rotation, and a plurality of vanes in rotor slits defining one or more main chamber cells and one or more vane slit cells. The vanes contain extended pins that move in a pin channel for controlling the sliding motion of the vane. Fuel is mixed by incorporating air turbulence generators at or near the intake region. The intake and exhaust regions of the engine also incorporate a wave pumping mechanism for injecting and scavenging air from the main chamber cells and the vane slits. The compression ratio of the engine may be varied while the engine is in operation, and the engine geometry provides for an extended temporal duration at about peak compression. The engine is insulated by using segmented ceramic inserts on the stator and rotor surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Mallen Research Ltd. Partnership
    Inventors: Brian D. Mallen, Jakob J. Keller, Robert E. Breidenthal, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4397613
    Abstract: In order to reduce the intermixing of air and exhaust gases in the cells of gas dynamic compression wave machines caused by the formation of shear layer vortices, the geometry of the leading side of the high pressure inlet orifice facing the bucket wheel has a curved convex or convex-polygonal configuration. Also, the ends of cell walls at the gas inlet ends thereof can be of a profiled configuration to further improve the gas flow conditions in the cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1983
    Assignee: BBC Brown, Boveri & Company, Limited
    Inventor: Jakob J. Keller