Patents by Inventor Ronald L. Graves

Ronald L. Graves 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: 7469693
    Abstract: A method and system controls engine-out exhaust species of a combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders. The method typically includes various combinations of steps such as controlling combustion parameters in individual cylinders, grouping the individual cylinders into a lean set and a rich set of one or more cylinders, combusting the lean set in a lean combustion parameter condition having a lean air:fuel equivalence ratio, combusting the rich set in a rich combustion parameter condition having a rich air:fuel equivalence ratio, and adjusting the lean set and the rich set of one or more cylinders to generate net-lean combustion. The exhaust species may have elevated concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: UT-Battelle, LLC
    Inventors: Ronald L. Graves, Brian H. West, Shean P. Huff, James E. Parks, II
  • Publication number: 20070227518
    Abstract: This invention is a method and system for controlling engine-out exhaust species of a combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders by providing a means for controlling combustion parameters in individual cylinders, grouping the individual cylinders into a lean set and a rich set of one or more cylinders, combusting the lean set in a lean combustion parameter condition having a lean air:fuel equivalence ratio, combusting the rich set in a rich combustion parameter condition having a rich air:fuel equivalence ratio, and providing a means for adjusting the lean set and the rich set of one or more cylinders to generate net-lean combustion. The exhaust species have elevated concentrations of hydrogen and oxygen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Applicant: UT-BATTELLE, LLC
    Inventors: Brian H. West, Ronald L. Graves, Shean P. Huff, James E. Parks
  • Patent number: 6422002
    Abstract: A method for non-thermal plasma aftertreatment of exhaust gases the method comprising the steps of providing short risetime, high frequency, high power bursts of low-duty factor microwaves sufficient to generate a plasma discharge and passing a gas to be treated through the discharge so as to cause dissociative reduction of the exhaust gases and enhanced catalyst reactivity through application of the pulsed microwave fields directly to the catalyst material sufficient to cause a polarizability catastrophe and enhanced heating of the metal crystallite particles of the catalyst, and in the presence or absence of the plasma. The invention also includes a reactor for aftertreatment of exhaust gases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: John H. Whealton, Gregory R. Hanson, John M. Storey, Richard J. Raridon, Jeffrey S. Armfield, Timothy S. Bigelow, Ronald L. Graves
  • Patent number: 6190507
    Abstract: A method for non-thermal plasma aftertreatment of exhaust gases the method comprising the steps of providing short risetime (about 40 ps), high frequency (about 5G hz), high power bursts of low-duty factor microwaves sufficient to generate a dielectric barrier discharge and passing a gas to treated through the discharge so as to cause dissociative reduction of the exhaust gases. The invention also includes a reactor for generating the non-thermal plasma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2001
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Energy
    Inventors: John H. Whealton, Gregory R. Hanson, John M. Storey, Richard J. Raridon, Jeffrey S. Armfield, Timothy S. Bigelow, Ronald L. Graves