Patents by Inventor Peter L. Wilhelm

Peter L. Wilhelm 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: 6302974
    Abstract: An austenitic rounding fixture is inserted into the horizontal joint of a turbine casing. The casing is then assembled and stress relief cycle is carried out, resulting in rerounding of the casing and relief of residual stresses. Since an austenitic material has a higher thermal expansion coefficient than the metallic materials of conventional turbine casings, the rounding fixtures expand more than the casing during a stress relief cycle. The length of the fixtures are designed in such a way that at stress relief temperature the casing is slightly over-rounded. After the stress relief, the casing is rerounded and the austenitic rounding Fixtures is disengaged. The rounding fixture is installed in a cold condition (or with minimal heat for heavily collapsed casings). The removal of the rounding fixtures is easy since a clearance exists between the casing and the fixtures; the spring back of the casing is far less then the contraction of the fixtures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: ABB Power Generation
    Inventors: Peter L. Wilhelm, Bruno Stoeckli
  • Patent number: 5319572
    Abstract: An electrohydraulic fluid system monitors the fluid line 1, reservoir 2, motor pumps 4 and 6, accumulators 10 and drain line 13 in an electrohydraulic fluid system. The electrohydraulic fluid monitor system includes sensors 14-40 to detect temperature, pressure, fluid level and motor pump current in the electrohydraulic fluid system. Signals from these sensors are converted 54 by an analog to digital converter into digital signals read by a processor unit 58 and stored by the processor unit as data for diagnostic analysis. In one embodiment of the present invention, the processor unit 58 stores the information and compares the information to predetermined threshold amounts or to previous values and outputs a malfunction indication to a status display, responsive to results of these comparisons, which indicates the presence or nonpresence of a malfunction in the electrohydraulic fluid system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 7, 1994
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Peter L. Wilhelm, Robert F. Gray, Maurice A. Jenkins
  • Patent number: 4870393
    Abstract: The ratio of the pressure change across a portion of the ventilation system of a hydrogen cooled electric power generator to the pressure increase across a reference blower, preferably the purity blower, is compared to a base ratio to generate an alarm when the difference in ratios exceeds a predetermined amount indicative of a failure within the ventilation system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1989
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Owen R. Snuttjer, Peter L. Wilhelm
  • Patent number: 4852850
    Abstract: A steam bypass valve system for a steam turbine. The system provides a supplemental hydraulic seating force to a fast acting bypass valve after the valve plug is positioned against the valve seat with a spring force. The system also provides for quick hydraulic relief in order to retain the fast opening characteristics of a single acting hydraulic valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 1, 1989
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Peter L. Wilhelm, Gilbert F. Hyde