Patents by Inventor Ronald F. Miller

Ronald F. Miller 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: 6070404
    Abstract: A gaseous fuel compression and control system is disclosed which utilizes a helical flow compressor/turbine integrated with a permanent magnet motor/generator and driven by a torque controlling inverter to compress or expand gaseous fuels, precisely control fuel pressure and flow, and precisely control the operations (speed, combustion temperature and output power) of a gaseous fuel fired turbogenerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Edward C. Edelman, Ronald F. Miller
  • Patent number: 5899673
    Abstract: A helical flow compressor/turbine or pump/turbine with integral permanent magnet motor/generator is disclosed which can be configured as a single stage, two stage or three stage rotary machine. The impeller blades for this machine can be either radial for ease of manufacture or curved, with the curve at the leading edge being greater than at the blade root, for maximum fluid dynamic head pressure and maximum efficiency. Tapered flow channels are utilized to maximize fluid-dynamic efficiency. The helical flow machine disclosed produces precisely controlled pressure changes and energy changes in the process fluid passing through the machine and provides information on fluid flow rates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1999
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Ronald F. Miller, Joel B. Wacknov
  • Patent number: 5873235
    Abstract: A liquid fuel pressurization and control system is disclosed which utilizes either a helical flow pump, or a helical flow pump followed by a gear pump, to pressurize liquid fuel to precisely the pressure level required by a turbogenerator's combustor injectors. This eliminates the need to overpressurize the fuel then regulate the fuel pressure down using a flow control valve or a pressure control valve. The shaft torque and shaft speed of the pump are controlled by the turbogenerator's power controller so as to assure that the turbogenerator's speed is precisely controlled (e.g. within ten (10) rpm out of one hundred thousand (100,000) rpm), and that its turbine exhaust temperature is precisely controlled (e.g. within two (2) degrees Fahrenheit out of twelve hundred (1200) degrees Fahrenheit) over the full range of turbogenerator electrical output power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1999
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Edward C. Edelman, Steven W. Lampe, Ronald F. Miller
  • Patent number: 5850733
    Abstract: A gaseous fuel compression and control system is disclosed which utilizes one or more helical flow compressor/turbine integrated with a permanent magnet motor/generator and driven by a torque controlling inverter to compress or expand gaseous fuels, precisely control fuel pressure and flow, and precisely control the operations (speed, combustion temperature and output power) of a gaseous fuel fired turbogenerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Edward C. Edelman, Ronald F. Miller
  • Patent number: 5827040
    Abstract: A system to hydrostatically augment the thrust load capacity of a bilateral compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing for a turbomachine is disclosed. A plurality of channels and fixed orifices are provided in the bearing thrust plate to deliver and regulate compressor bleed air flow to the compressor side of the bilateral compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing which includes additional channels and orifices to direct the bleed air against the bearing rotor thrust disk. After impinging on the rotor thrust disk, the bleed air flow exits the thrust bearing through a plurality of variable orifices comprised of the hydrodynamic thrust bearing elements which are controlled in their flow conductance by the axial position of the rotor thrust disk. The bleed air may then pass through the adjacent journal bearing which functions as a fixed orifice.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Ronald F. Miller
  • Patent number: 5819524
    Abstract: A gaseous fuel compression and control system is disclosed which utilizes a helical flow compressor/turbine integrated with a permanent magnet motor/generator and driven by a torque controlling inverter to compress or expand gaseous fuels, precisely control fuel pressure and flow, and precisely control the operations (speed, combustion temperature and output power) of a gaseous fuel fired turbogenerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Edward C. Edelman, Ronald F. Miller
  • Patent number: 5791868
    Abstract: A thrust load compensating system for a compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing is disclosed. The system includes an end cap over the free end of a rotary machine shaft, a compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film journal bearing located at the free end of the shaft, and a source of air whose pressure varies with the square of turbomachine speed. The compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film journal bearing located at the free end of the shaft serves as a non-contacting rotary shaft seal and, together with the end cap and free end of the shaft forms a thrust piston chamber. The thrust load compensating system of the present invention can be utilized in high speed rotary machines that have a compressor wheel and a turbine wheel that generate large axial aerodynamic forces that increase with speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1998
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Ronald F. Miller
  • Patent number: 5752380
    Abstract: A liquid fuel pressurization and control system is disclosed which utilizes either a helical flow pump, or a helical flow pump followed by a gear pump, to pressurize liquid fuel to precisely the pressure level required by a turbogenerator's combustor injectors. This eliminates the need to overpressurize the fuel then regulate the fuel pressure down using a flow control valve or a pressure control valve. The shaft torque and shaft speed of the pump are controlled by the turbogenerator's power controller so as to assure that the turbogenerator's speed is precisely controlled (e.g. within ten (10) rpm out of one hundred thousand (100,000) rpm), and that its turbine exhaust temperature is precisely controlled (e.g. within two (2) degrees Fahrenheit out of twelve hundred (1200) degrees Fahrenheit) over the full range of turbogenerator electrical output power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1998
    Assignee: Capstone Turbine Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Bosley, Edward C. Edelman, Steven W. Lampe, Ronald F. Miller