Patents by Inventor Lance L. Smith

Lance L. Smith 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: 20200180775
    Abstract: A fuel tank inerting system including: a catalytic reactor comprising an inlet, an outlet, a reactive flow path between the inlet and the outlet, a catalyst on the reactive flow path, and a temperature sensor located between the inlet and outlet, wherein the catalytic reactor is arranged to receive fuel from a fuel source and air from an air source that are mixed to form a combined flow, and to react the combined flow along the reactive flow path to generate an inert gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2018
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Peter AT Cocks, Lance L. Smith
  • Publication number: 20200180777
    Abstract: Fuel tank inerting systems for aircraft are provided. The systems include a fuel tank, a catalytic reactor arranged to receive a first reactant from a first reactant source and a second reactant from a second reactant source to generate an inert gas that is supplied to the fuel tank to fill an ullage space of the fuel tank, a heat exchanger arranged between the catalytic reactor and the fuel tank and configured to at least one of cool and condense an output from the catalytic reactor to separate out the inert gas, and a controller configured to perform a light-off operation of the catalytic reactor by controlling at least one light-off parameter and, after light-off occurs, adjusting the at least one light-off parameter to an operating level, wherein the at least one light-off parameter comprises an inlet temperature of a gas at an inlet of the catalytic reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Sean C. Emerson, Peter AT Cocks, Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski
  • Publication number: 20200180778
    Abstract: Fuel tank inerting systems for aircraft are provided. The systems include a fuel tank, a catalytic reactor arranged to receive a first reactant from a first reactant source and a second reactant from a second reactant source to generate an inert gas that is supplied to the fuel tank to fill an ullage space of the fuel tank, a heat exchanger arranged between the catalytic reactor and the fuel tank and configured to at least one of cool and condense an output from the catalytic reactor to separate out the inert gas, and a controller configured to perform a light-off operation of the catalytic reactor by controlling at least one light-off parameter and, after light-off occurs, adjusting the at least one light-off parameter to an operating level, wherein the at least one light-off parameter comprises a temperature of the catalytic reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Sean C. Emerson, Peter AT Cocks, Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski
  • Publication number: 20200180779
    Abstract: Fuel tank inerting systems for aircraft are provided. The systems include a fuel tank, a catalytic reactor arranged to receive a first reactant from a first reactant source and a second reactant from a second reactant source to generate an inert gas that is supplied to the fuel tank to fill an ullage space of the fuel tank, a condensing heat exchanger arranged between the catalytic reactor and the fuel tank and configured to at least one of cool and condense an output from the catalytic reactor to separate out the inert gas, and a controller configured to perform a light-off operation of the catalytic reactor by controlling a light-off parameter and, after light-off occurs, adjusting the light-off parameter to an operating level, wherein at least one light-off parameter comprises an air-to-fuel ratio.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Sean C. Emerson, Peter AT Cocks, Randolph Carlton McGee, Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski
  • Patent number: 10640227
    Abstract: Fuel tank inerting systems and methods for aircraft are provided. The systems include a fuel tank, a first reactant source fluidly connected to the fuel tank, the first source arranged to receive fuel from the fuel tank, a second reactant source, a catalytic reactor arranged to receive a first reactant from the first source and a second reactant from the second source to generate an inert gas that is supplied to the fuel tank to fill a ullage space of the fuel tank, and an inert gas recycling system located downstream of the catalytic reactor and upstream of the fuel tank, wherein the inert gas recycling system is arranged to direct a portion of the inert gas to the catalytic reactor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski
  • Patent number: 10569896
    Abstract: A fuel tank inerting system is disclosed. In addition to a fuel tank, the system includes a catalytic reactor with an inlet, an outlet, a reactive flow path between the inlet and the outlet, and a catalyst on the reactive flow path. The catalytic reactor is arranged to receive fuel from the fuel tank and air from an air source, and to react the fuel and air along the reactive flow path to generate an inert gas. The system also includes an inert gas flow path from the catalytic reactor to the fuel tank. The system also includes (a) an air distributor in the catalytic reactor arranged to distribute air along the reactive flow path, or (b) non-uniform catalyst loading or non-uniform catalyst composition along the reactive flow path, or both (a) and (b).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sean C. Emerson, Barbara Brenda Botros, Zissis A. Dardas, Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski, Catherine Thibaud
  • Publication number: 20190185176
    Abstract: A fuel tank inerting system is disclosed. In addition to a fuel tank, the system includes a catalytic reactor with an inlet, an outlet, a reactive flow path between the inlet and the outlet, and a catalyst on the reactive flow path. The catalytic reactor is arranged to receive fuel from the fuel tank and air from an air source, and to react the fuel and air along the reactive flow path to generate an inert gas. The system also includes an inert gas flow path from the catalytic reactor to the fuel tank. The system also includes (a) an air distributor in the catalytic reactor arranged to distribute air along the reactive flow path, or (b) non-uniform catalyst loading or non-uniform catalyst composition along the reactive flow path, or both (a) and (b).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2017
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventors: Sean C. Emerson, Barbara Brenda Botros, Zissis A. Dardas, Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski, Catherine Thibaud
  • Publication number: 20190151827
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a combustor, a turbine section downstream of the combustor, a nozzle section downstream of the turbine section, a heat exchanger in the turbine section, in the nozzle section, or downstream of the nozzle section, and a fuel supply line for conveying fuel through the heat exchanger and to the combustor. The heat exchanger includes a fuel-cracking catalyst that has a protonated solid acid support and one or more transition metals that includes at least platinum.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2017
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Tianli Zhu, Lance L. Smith, Susanne M. Opalka
  • Publication number: 20190032559
    Abstract: A combustor assembly for a gas turbine engine according to an example of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a combustion chamber, and a fuel injector assembly in communication with the combustion chamber that has a swirler body situated about a nozzle to define an injector passage that converges to a throat. The throat is defined at a distance from the combustion chamber. The nozzle includes a primary fuel injector along a first fuel injector axis and at least one secondary plain jet fuel injector axially forward of the primary fuel injector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2017
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Lance L. Smith, Jeffrey M. Cohen
  • Publication number: 20180155049
    Abstract: Fuel tank inerting systems and methods for aircraft are provided. The systems include a fuel tank, a first reactant source fluidly connected to the fuel tank, the first source arranged to receive fuel from the fuel tank, a second reactant source, a catalytic reactor arranged to receive a first reactant from the first source and a second reactant from the second source to generate an inert gas that is supplied to the fuel tank to fill a ullage space of the fuel tank, and an inert gas recycling system located downstream of the catalytic reactor and upstream of the fuel tank, wherein the inert gas recycling system is arranged to direct a portion of the inert gas to the catalytic reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2018
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Inventors: Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski
  • Publication number: 20180156464
    Abstract: A main mixer including a swirler along an axis, the swirler including an outer swirler with a multiple of outer vanes, and a center swirler with a multiple of center vanes and a swirler hub along the axis, the swirler hub including a fuel manifold and an inner swirler with a multiple of inner vanes that support a centerbody, the multiple of inner vanes interconnect the fuel manifold and the centerbody.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2016
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Applicant: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Lance L. Smith, Jeffrey M. Cohen
  • Publication number: 20180156463
    Abstract: A main mixer including a swirler along an axis, the swirler including an outer swirler with a multiple of outer vanes, and a center swirler with a multiple of center vanes and a swirler hub along the axis, the swirler hub including a fuel manifold and an inner swirler with a multiple of inner vanes that support a centerbody, the multiple of inner vanes interconnect the fuel manifold and the centerbody.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2016
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Applicant: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Lance L. Smith, Jeffrey M. Cohen
  • Publication number: 20180148191
    Abstract: Fuel tank inerting systems and methods for aircraft are provided. The systems include a fuel tank, a first reactant source fluidly connected to the fuel tank, the first source arranged to receive fuel from the fuel tank, a second reactant source, a catalytic reactor arranged to receive a first reactant from the first source and a second reactant from the second source to generate an inert gas that is supplied to the fuel tank to fill a ullage space of the fuel tank, and a back pressure flow restrictor positioned within or along a fuel tank supply line and downstream of the catalytic reactor, the back pressure flow restrictor arranged to maintain high-pressure operation of the catalytic reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Lance L. Smith, Eric Surawski
  • Patent number: 9920932
    Abstract: A mixer assembly for a gas turbine engine is provided, including a main mixer with fuel injection holes located between at least one radial swirler and at least one axial swirler, wherein the fuel injected into the main mixer is atomized and dispersed by the air flowing through the radial swirler and the axial swirler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Jeffrey M. Cohen, Catalin G. Fotache, Lance L. Smith, Donald J. Hautman
  • Publication number: 20180045415
    Abstract: A mixer assembly for a gas turbine engine is provided, including a main mixer with fuel injection holes located between at least one radial swirler and at least one axial swirler, wherein the fuel injected into the main mixer is atomized and dispersed by the air flowing through the radial swirler and the axial swirler.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 2017
    Publication date: February 15, 2018
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Jeffrey M. Cohen, Catalin G. Fotache, Lance L. Smith, Donald J. Hautman
  • Patent number: 9777926
    Abstract: A mixer assembly for a gas turbine engine is provided, including a main mixer with fuel injection holes located between at least one radial swirler and at least one axial swirler, wherein the fuel injected into the main mixer is atomized and dispersed by the air flowing through the radial swirler and the axial swirler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Jeffrey M. Cohen, Catalin G. Fotache, Lance L. Smith, Donald J. Hautman
  • Patent number: 9581560
    Abstract: A method for operating a sensor, including simultaneously exciting a first set of electrodes and sensing an output of each electrode of a second set of electrodes, storing output data corresponding to the output of each electrode of the second set of electrodes in a memory storage device, shifting at least one electrode from the first set of electrodes to the second set of electrodes and at least one electrode from the second set of electrodes to the first set of electrodes, and repeating the simultaneously exciting and sensing, the storing, and the shifting until an output data has been stored for each possible pair of electrodes in the first and second set of electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignees: The University of Conneticut, United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Zhaoyan Fan, Robert X. Gao, Jeffery A. Lovett, Lance L. Smith
  • Patent number: 9305610
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for power reduction management. The method includes determining that a power source has failed to supply electric power above a predefined threshold. The method includes terminating one or more non-essential in-process operations on a nonvolatile memory device during a power hold-up time. The method includes executing one or more essential in-process operations on the nonvolatile memory device within the power hold-up time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: SanDisk Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lance L. Smith, Jeremy Fillingim, David Flynn, Bill Inskeep, John Strasser, Jonathan Thatcher
  • Patent number: 9170224
    Abstract: A method for operating a sensor, including simultaneously exciting a first set of electrodes and sensing an output of each electrode of a second set of electrodes, storing output data corresponding to the output of each electrode of the second set of electrodes in a memory storage device, shifting at least one electrode from the first set of electrodes to the second set of electrodes and at least one electrode from the second set of electrodes to the first set of electrodes, and repeating the simultaneously exciting and sensing, the storing, and the shifting until an output data has been stored for each possible pair of electrodes in the first and second set of electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignees: The University of Connecticut, United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Zhaoyan Fan, Robert X. Gao, Jeffery A. Lovett, Lance L. Smith
  • Publication number: 20150121882
    Abstract: A mixer assembly for a gas turbine engine is provided, including a main mixer with fuel injection holes located between at least one radial swirler and at least one axial swirler, wherein the fuel injected into the main mixer is atomized and dispersed by the air flowing through the radial swirler and the axial swirler.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2015
    Publication date: May 7, 2015
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Jeffrey M. Cohen, Catalin G. Fotache, Lance L. Smith, Donald J. Hautman