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).

  • Patent number: 11454134
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Mark Leonard Hopper, Justin Adam Masters, Jacob Patrick Miller, Roger Lee Doughty
  • Publication number: 20220042423
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventors: Mark Leonard Hopper, Justin Adam Masters, Jacob Patrick Miller, Roger Lee Doughty
  • Patent number: 10711693
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Brandon Wayne Miller, Raymond Floyd Martell, Mark Leonard Hopper, Scott Douglas Waun
  • Patent number: 10329938
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Brian Joseph Prenger, John David Bibler, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Patent number: 10323541
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ravindra Shankar Ganiger, Shivakumar Basavanna, Jacob Patrick Miller, Charles Andrew Corman, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Publication number: 20190017438
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Inventors: Brandon Wayne Miller, Raymond Floyd Martell, Mark Leonard Hopper, Scott Douglas Waun
  • Publication number: 20180347389
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2017
    Publication date: December 6, 2018
    Inventors: Brian Joseph Prenger, John David Bibler, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Publication number: 20180266275
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2017
    Publication date: September 20, 2018
    Inventors: Ravindra Shankar Ganiger, Shivakumar Basavanna, Jacob Patrick Miller, Charles Andrew Corman, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Publication number: 20170030221
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2015
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Inventors: Mark Leonard HOPPER, Andrew Michael WATSON, Pablo Gabriel PIAZZA
  • Publication number: 20140020995
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2012
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Inventors: Mark Leonard Hopper, Joshua Dean Smith
  • Patent number: 8443843
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Publication number: 20130031882
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Publication date: February 7, 2013
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Patent number: 8292034
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Publication number: 20090134243
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2007
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Inventors: James Kevin Mount, Richard Walker Nicholson, Duane Howard Anstead, Robert Proctor, Pradeep Hemant Sangli, Prasad Laxman Kane, Mark Leonard Hopper
  • Patent number: 6842673
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2005
    Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Rongjun Zhang, Mark Leonard Hopper, Stephen De La Salle
  • Publication number: 20030229429
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2002
    Publication date: December 11, 2003
    Applicant: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Rongjun Zhang, Mark Leonard Hopper, Stephen De La Salle