Patents by Inventor Mark Leonard Hopper
Mark Leonard Hopper 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).
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Patent number: 11454134Abstract: A gas turbine engine having a damping system that includes features for optimizing the damping response to vibrational loads on a rotary component for a wide range of operational conditions is provided. In one aspect, the damping system includes a damper control valve. The damper control valve receives working fluid from a working fluid supply and has a valve plunger movable between a first position and a second position. When the valve plunger is in the first position, the damper control valve permits working fluid to flow to a first damper associated with a first bearing coupled with the rotary component and to a second damper associated with a second bearing coupled with the rotary component. When the valve plunger is in the second position, the damper control valve permits working fluid to flow to the first damper but not the second damper.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 2020Date of Patent: September 27, 2022Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYInventors: Mark Leonard Hopper, Justin Adam Masters, Jacob Patrick Miller, Roger Lee Doughty
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Publication number: 20220042423Abstract: A gas turbine engine having a damping system that includes features for optimizing the damping response to vibrational loads on a rotary component for a wide range of operational conditions is provided. In one aspect, the damping system includes a damper control valve. The damper control valve receives working fluid from a working fluid supply and has a valve plunger movable between a first position and a second position. When the valve plunger is in the first position, the damper control valve permits working fluid to flow to a first damper associated with a first bearing coupled with the rotary component and to a second damper associated with a second bearing coupled with the rotary component. When the valve plunger is in the second position, the damper control valve permits working fluid to flow to the first damper but not the second damper.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 5, 2020Publication date: February 10, 2022Inventors: Mark Leonard Hopper, Justin Adam Masters, Jacob Patrick Miller, Roger Lee Doughty
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Patent number: 10711693Abstract: A turbine engine has a core with a compressor, combustor, and turbine sections in axial flow arrangement and with corresponding rotating elements mounted to a shaft defining engine rotor elements. The turbine engine has a rotary driver operably coupled to the engine rotor elements. The turbine engine has at least one thermoelectric generator in thermal communication with the core and in electrical communication with the rotary driver to provide power to the rotary driver to turn the engine rotor elements.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2017Date of Patent: July 14, 2020Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brandon Wayne Miller, Raymond Floyd Martell, Mark Leonard Hopper, Scott Douglas Waun
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Patent number: 10329938Abstract: Aspirating face seal between high and low pressure regions of turbomachine between rotatable and non-rotatable members of turbomachine includes gas bearing rotatable and non-rotatable face surfaces, starter tooth mounted on the rotatable member operable to sealingly engage abradable starter seal land on the non-rotatable member, and annular pocket in an abradable coating or other abradable material of starter seal land. Abradable material may be in radially inwardly facing groove extending into non-rotatable member. Pocket may extend radially outwardly from a cylindrical radially outer abradable surface to pocket bottom which includes thin abradable material layer groove surface along the non-rotatable member. Pocket may extend axially aftwardly from annular forward groove side surface into abradable coating. Pocket may be bounded axially by abradable material. Pocket may be tapered having taper decreasing axially aftwardly away from annular forward groove side surface.Type: GrantFiled: May 31, 2017Date of Patent: June 25, 2019Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brian Joseph Prenger, John David Bibler, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Patent number: 10323541Abstract: A housing for retention of the outer race of a bearing of a gas turbine engine includes an arrangement of spring fingers that yields a lightweight housing capable of withstanding very high radial loads combined with very high torsional windup and axial thrust load. Controlled circumferential gaps on both sides of each spring finger limit the deflection and self-arrest the distortion of the housing. The spring fingers define at least one side edge that extends at an angle relative to the axial direction. An axial gap is created on the aft end by a portion of the spring finger beam structure that opposes an axial face of the housing and limits the axial distortion. A radial gap created between interface hardware of the housing and the inner retention housing also acts to retain the spring finger housing under load in a radial direction.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2017Date of Patent: June 18, 2019Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Ravindra Shankar Ganiger, Shivakumar Basavanna, Jacob Patrick Miller, Charles Andrew Corman, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Publication number: 20190017438Abstract: A turbine engine has a core with a compressor, combustor, and turbine sections in axial flow arrangement and with corresponding rotating elements mounted to a shaft defining engine rotor elements. The turbine engine has a rotary driver operably coupled to the engine rotor elements. The turbine engine has at least one thermoelectric generator in thermal communication with the core and in electrical communication with the rotary driver to provide power to the rotary driver to turn the engine rotor elements.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 12, 2017Publication date: January 17, 2019Inventors: Brandon Wayne Miller, Raymond Floyd Martell, Mark Leonard Hopper, Scott Douglas Waun
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Publication number: 20180347389Abstract: Aspirating face seal between high and low pressure regions of turbomachine between rotatable and non-rotatable members of turbomachine includes gas bearing rotatable and non-rotatable face surfaces, starter tooth mounted on the rotatable member operable to sealingly engage abradable starter seal land on the non-rotatable member, and annular pocket in an abradable coating or other abradable material of starter seal land. Abradable material may be in radially inwardly facing groove extending into non-rotatable member. Pocket may extend radially outwardly from a cylindrical radially outer abradable surface to pocket bottom which includes thin abradable material layer groove surface along the non-rotatable member. Pocket may extend axially aftwardly from annular forward groove side surface into abradable coating. Pocket may be bounded axially by abradable material. Pocket may be tapered having taper decreasing axially aftwardly away from annular forward groove side surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 31, 2017Publication date: December 6, 2018Inventors: Brian Joseph Prenger, John David Bibler, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Publication number: 20180266275Abstract: A housing for retention of the outer race of a bearing of a gas turbine engine includes an arrangement of spring fingers that yields a lightweight housing capable of withstanding very high radial loads combined with very high torsional windup and axial thrust load. Controlled circumferential gaps on both sides of each spring finger limit the deflection and self-arrest the distortion of the housing. The spring fingers define at least one side edge that extends at an angle relative to the axial direction. An axial gap is created on the aft end by a portion of the spring finger beam structure that opposes an axial face of the housing and limits the axial distortion. A radial gap created between interface hardware of the housing and the inner retention housing also acts to retain the spring finger housing under load in a radial direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 15, 2017Publication date: September 20, 2018Inventors: Ravindra Shankar Ganiger, Shivakumar Basavanna, Jacob Patrick Miller, Charles Andrew Corman, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Publication number: 20170030221Abstract: A bearing support housing for a gas turbine engine includes, in radial sequence from a center outwards: an inner ring defining a central bore; a middle ring including an array of inner slots, an outer web including an array of outer slots, wherein the inner and outer slots are positioned, sized, and shaped so as to divide the middle ring and the outer web into an array of tangentially-extending beams and radially-extending inner and outer struts; and an outer ring.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 10, 2015Publication date: February 2, 2017Inventors: Mark Leonard HOPPER, Andrew Michael WATSON, Pablo Gabriel PIAZZA
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Publication number: 20140020995Abstract: An annular dashpot damper is utilized to provide flow resistance from viscous shear to an orifice or gap which provides flow metering. This is accomplished by dividing the flow channel into circumferential segments or damping cavities which are sealed and limit rotational flow of the fluid.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 18, 2012Publication date: January 23, 2014Inventors: Mark Leonard Hopper, Joshua Dean Smith
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Patent number: 8443843Abstract: The present invention provides an air-oil separator comprising a first region having a mixture of air and oil, a second region wherein separation of at least some of the oil from the air-oil mixture occurs and at least one multi-directional injector plug located on a rotating component in flow communication with the first region and the second region, the multi-directional injector plug having a discharge head that is oriented such that at least a part of the air-oil mixture discharged therefrom has a component of velocity that is tangential to the direction of rotation of the rotating component.Type: GrantFiled: September 14, 2012Date of Patent: May 21, 2013Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Publication number: 20130031882Abstract: The present invention provides an air-oil separator comprising a first region having a mixture of air and oil, a second region wherein separation of at least some of the oil from the air-oil mixture occurs and at least one multi-directional injector plug located on a rotating component in flow communication with the first region and the second region, the multi-directional injector plug having a discharge head that is oriented such that at least a part of the air-oil mixture discharged therefrom has a component of velocity that is tangential to the direction of rotation of the rotating component.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 14, 2012Publication date: February 7, 2013Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYInventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Patent number: 8292034Abstract: The present invention provides an air-oil separator comprising a first region having a mixture of air and oil, a second region wherein separation of at least some of the oil from the air-oil mixture occurs and at least one multi-directional injector plug located on a rotating component in flow communication with the first region and the second region, the multi-directional injector plug having a discharge head that is oriented such that at least a part of the air-oil mixture discharged therefrom has a component of velocity that is tangential to the direction of rotation of the rotating component.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2007Date of Patent: October 23, 2012Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Publication number: 20090134243Abstract: The present invention provides an air-oil separator comprising a first region having a mixture of air and oil, a second region wherein separation of at least some of the oil from the air-oil mixture occurs and at least one multi-directional injector plug located on a rotating component in flow communication with the first region and the second region, the multi-directional injector plug having a discharge head that is oriented such that at least a part of the air-oil mixture discharged therefrom has a component of velocity that is tangential to the direction of rotation of the rotating component.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 28, 2007Publication date: May 28, 2009Inventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
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Patent number: 6842673Abstract: A control system is disclosed for minimizing the driveline vibrations in a hybrid electric vehicle during engine engagement. The control system involves determining the speed of the electric motor and taking the derivative of the speed to determine the acceleration. A signal representing the acceleration is created. The acceleration signal is filtered. The filtered acceleration signal is used to calculate a feedback control term through a controller. The controller can be either a PD controller or a PID controller with a low integral gain. The feedback control term is used to adjust the output torque of the electric motor to suppress the vibrations caused by engine engagement.Type: GrantFiled: June 5, 2002Date of Patent: January 11, 2005Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Rongjun Zhang, Mark Leonard Hopper, Stephen De La Salle
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Publication number: 20030229429Abstract: A control system is disclosed for minimizing the driveline vibrations in a hybrid electric vehicle during engine engagement. The control system involves determining the speed of the electric motor and taking the derivative of the speed to determine the acceleration. A signal representing the acceleration is created. The acceleration signal is filtered. The filtered acceleration signal is used to calculate a feedback control term through a controller. The controller can be either a PD controller or a PID controller with a low integral gain. The feedback control term is used to adjust the output torque of the electric motor to suppress the vibrations caused by engine engagement.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 5, 2002Publication date: December 11, 2003Applicant: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Rongjun Zhang, Mark Leonard Hopper, Stephen De La Salle