Patents by Inventor Richard Hockney

Richard Hockney 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: 9267570
    Abstract: An advanced composite flywheel hub and associated method are described for use in a flywheel rotor assembly that includes a shaft and a rim. The hub includes a shaft engaging portion and a rim engaging portion, and is configured for maintaining engagement with the shaft and the rim during operational rotation of the flywheel rotor assembly. The hub exhibits a bending mode, and includes a first layer having axial fibers for stiffening the hub with respect to the bending mode. The hub can further include a stiffening arrangement for increasing the radial stiffness of the shaft engaging portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: Beacon Power, LLC
    Inventors: Ward Spears, Matthew Polimeno, David C. Ansbigian, Richard Hockney
  • Publication number: 20100206126
    Abstract: An advanced composite flywheel hub and associated method are described for use in a flywheel rotor assembly that includes a shaft and a rim. The hub includes a shaft engaging portion and a rim engaging portion, and is configured for maintaining engagement with the shaft and the rim during operational rotation of the flywheel rotor assembly. The hub exhibits a bending mode, and includes a first layer having axial fibers for stiffening the hub with respect to the bending mode. The hub can further include a stiffening arrangement for increasing the radial stiffness of the shaft engaging portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2010
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Inventors: Ward Spears, Matthew Polimeno, David C. Ansbigian, Richard Hockney
  • Publication number: 20100018344
    Abstract: A flywheel energy storage system emphasizing enhancements developed for space applications including development of a flywheel rotor system capable of achieving maximum energy density, while being capable of repeated high peak-power demands. Illustrated is a rotor system comprising a composite hub, capable of supporting an optimized high-speed composite rim and shaft, working in combination with a switched reluctance motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2008
    Publication date: January 28, 2010
    Inventors: Ward Spears, Matthew Polimeno, David Ansbigian, Richard Hockney
  • Publication number: 20060117904
    Abstract: A crash management system for implementation in a flywheel energy storage system (FESS) is provided. Implementation of such a system entails designing an FESS rim that is highly failure resistant, and designing the FESS such that if one, some, or even all of its components fail, they are physically prevented from accumulating and releasing enough energy to cause rim burst, thus leaving the rim intact and capable of safely remaining spinning even after one or more FESS component failures have occurred.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2005
    Publication date: June 8, 2006
    Applicant: Beacon Power Corporation
    Inventors: Norman Brackett, James Crowley, Richard Hockney, Matthew Lazarewicz, Eric Lewis
  • Patent number: 6049148
    Abstract: A rotary motor and a rotary magnetic bearing are integrated in a compact assembly that is contact-less. A stator assembly surrounds a ferromagnetic rotor with an annular air gap which can accommodate a cylindrical wall, e.g. of a chamber for semiconductor wafer processing. The stator assembly has a permanent magnet or magnets sandwiched between vertically spaced magnetic stator plates with plural pole segments. The rotor is preferably a ring of a magnetic stainless steel with complementary pole teeth. The stator assembly (i) levitates and passively centers the rotor along a vertical axis and against tilt about either horizontal axis, (ii) provides a radial position bias for the rotor, and (iii) establishes a motor flux field at the rotor poles. Polyphase coils wound on the stator plates produce a rotating flux field that drives the rotor as a synchronous homopolar motor. A rotor without pole teeth allows operation with an asynchronous inductive drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2000
    Assignee: SatCon Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen B. Nichols, Shankar Jagannathan, Kevin Leary, David Eisenhaure, William Stanton, Richard Hockney, James Downer, Vijay Gondhalekar
  • Patent number: 5901233
    Abstract: A narrow band controller for suppressing disturbances from a source responsive to an input signal representative of the frequency spectrum of a disturbance from the source and providing an output signal having a similar frequency spectrum as the frequency spectrum of the input signal based on the input signal including delay logic for delaying, for a period of time, the received input signal for assuring the output signal has a phase different than the phase of said input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1999
    Assignee: SatCon Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Hockney, Ralph Fenn, Bruce Johnson, Monique Gaffney
  • Patent number: 5818137
    Abstract: A rotary motor and a rotary magnetic bearing are integrated in a compact assembly that is contact-less. A stator assembly surrounds a ferromagnetic rotor with an annular air gap which can accommodate a cylindrical wall, e.g. of a chamber for semiconductor wafer processing. The stator assembly has a permanent magnet or magnets sandwiched between vertically spaced magnetic stator plates with plural pole segments. The rotor is preferably a ring of a magnetic stainless steel with complementary pole teeth. The stator assembly (i) levitates and passively centers the rotor along a vertical axis and against tilt about either horizontal axis, (ii) provides a radial position bias for the rotor, and (iii) establishes a motor flux field at the rotor poles. Polyphase coils wound on the stator plates produce a rotating flux field that drives the rotor as a synchronous homopolar motor. A rotor without pole teeth allows operation with an asynchronous inductive drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 6, 1998
    Assignee: SatCon Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen B. Nichols, Shankar Jagannathan, Kevin Leary, David Eisenhaure, William Stanton, Richard Hockney, James Downer, Vijay Gondhalekar
  • Patent number: 5291975
    Abstract: A system and method for damping narrow band axial vibrations of a rotating device in which a reaction mass is coupled to the rotating device and a reaction mass actuator is employed to move the reaction mass axially along the rotating device. An effect of vibrations on the rotating device is then measured, and in response the reaction mass is moved axially to damp the effect of vibrations and so the vibrations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1994
    Assignee: SatCon Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Bruce G. Johnson, Richard Hockney, David Eisenhaure, Ralph Fenn