Patents by Inventor Samuel James McCreery

Samuel James McCreery 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: 11965455
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Patent number: 11608789
    Abstract: A housing defines a gaseous fuel inlet and a gaseous fuel outlet. A rotor defines an internal flow passage therethrough that rotates with the rotor to, alternately, allow gaseous fuel flow, or to block gaseous fuel flow, between the inlet and the outlet, based on a position of the rotor. A seal is biased to abut an exterior surface of the rotor. The seal is between the rotor and the outlet. An actuator is rotably coupled to the rotor. The driver is configured to rotate the rotor. A controller is in communication with the driver and is configured to control the driver to rotate at a rate based on an engine speed of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, John Karspeck, Michael Ryan Buehner, Samuel James McCreery
  • Publication number: 20230060293
    Abstract: A housing defines a gaseous fuel inlet and a gaseous fuel outlet. A rotor defines an internal flow passage therethrough that rotates with the rotor to, alternately, allow gaseous fuel flow, or to block gaseous fuel flow, between the inlet and the outlet, based on a position of the rotor. A seal is biased to abut an exterior surface of the rotor. The seal is between the rotor and the outlet. An actuator is rotably coupled to the rotor. The driver is configured to rotate the rotor. A controller is in communication with the driver and is configured to control the driver to rotate at a rate based on an engine speed of the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, John Karspeck, Michael Ryan Buehner, Samuel James McCreery
  • Publication number: 20220389858
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main o combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Patent number: 11415041
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Patent number: 11125180
    Abstract: A method of controlling combustion in an internal combustion engine includes measuring parameters of combustion in a cylinder of the engine during a combustion phase of the cylinder, after igniting an air/fuel charge in the cylinder, and calculating the heat release of combustion in the cylinder based on the measured parameters. An auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge is identified based on the calculated heat release, and, based at least in part on the identified auto-ignition event, at least one of ignition timing in the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder or an amount of exhaust gas supplied to the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder is controlled to cause an auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge in the next combustion phase to shift toward a specified crank angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory James Hampson, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Domenico Chiera
  • Publication number: 20210180537
    Abstract: A method of controlling combustion in an internal combustion engine includes measuring parameters of combustion in a cylinder of the engine during a combustion phase of the cylinder, after igniting an air/fuel charge in the cylinder, and calculating the heat release of combustion in the cylinder based on the measured parameters. An auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge is identified based on the calculated heat release, and, based at least in part on the identified auto-ignition event, at least one of ignition timing in the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder or an amount of exhaust gas supplied to the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder is controlled to cause an auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge in the next combustion phase to shift toward a specified crank angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Applicant: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory James Hampson, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Domenico Chiera
  • Patent number: 10995705
    Abstract: A convergent nozzle is in a mixer housing and in a flow path from an air inlet of the mixer to an outlet of the mixer. A convergent-divergent nozzle is in the mixer housing and includes an air-exhaust gas inlet in fluid communication to receive fluid flow from the convergent nozzle and from the interior of the exhaust gas housing. A first nozzle module is configured to be received in the mixer housing and, when received in the mixer housing, define at least a portion of the convergent nozzle or the convergent-divergent nozzle. A second nozzle module is configured to be received in the mixer housing separate from the first nozzle module. The second nozzle module, when received in the mixer housing, is configured to define at least a portion of the convergent or the convergent-divergent nozzle. The second nozzle module has a different flow characteristic than the first nozzle module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel B. Mastbergen, Domenico Chiera, Gregory James Hampson, Yi Han, James Po-Chang Chiu, Doug Leone, Henry David Gemmill Knutzen, Samuel James McCreery
  • Publication number: 20210079835
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method of igniting an air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine includes receiving an air/fuel mixture into a pre-combustion chamber, the pre-combustion chamber enclosing a portion of an igniter, igniting the air/fuel mixture in in the pre-combustion chamber with the igniter to produce a flame, directing the flame to eject the pre-combustion chamber through a collection of passages in a wall of the pre-combustion chamber, toward a peripheral wall of a main combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, igniting, by the flame, air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber adjacent the peripheral wall, and then igniting air/fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber in a central region of the main combustion chamber with a propagating flame front of the ignited air/fuel mixture or a portion of the directed flame adjacent the peripheral wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Applicant: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Domenico Chiera, Charles Brennecke, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Gregory James Hampson
  • Patent number: 10934965
    Abstract: A method of controlling combustion in an internal combustion engine includes measuring parameters of combustion in a cylinder of the engine during a combustion phase of the cylinder, after igniting an air/fuel charge in the cylinder, and calculating the heat release of combustion in the cylinder based on the measured parameters. An auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge is identified based on the calculated heat release, and, based at least in part on the identified auto-ignition event, at least one of ignition timing in the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder or an amount of exhaust gas supplied to the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder is controlled to cause an auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge in the next combustion phase to shift toward a specified crank angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory James Hampson, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Domenico Chiera
  • Publication number: 20200318570
    Abstract: A method of controlling combustion in an internal combustion engine includes measuring parameters of combustion in a cylinder of the engine during a combustion phase of the cylinder, after igniting an air/fuel charge in the cylinder, and calculating the heat release of combustion in the cylinder based on the measured parameters. An auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge is identified based on the calculated heat release, and, based at least in part on the identified auto-ignition event, at least one of ignition timing in the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder or an amount of exhaust gas supplied to the cylinder for the next combustion phase of the cylinder is controlled to cause an auto-ignition event of the air/fuel charge in the next combustion phase to shift toward a specified crank angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2019
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Inventors: Gregory James Hampson, Samuel James McCreery, Jeffrey Carlson, Suraj Nair, Domenico Chiera
  • Publication number: 20200256266
    Abstract: A convergent nozzle is in a mixer housing and in a flow path from an air inlet of the mixer to an outlet of the mixer. A convergent-divergent nozzle is in the mixer housing and includes an air-exhaust gas inlet in fluid communication to receive fluid flow from the convergent nozzle and from the interior of the exhaust gas housing. A first nozzle module is configured to be received in the mixer housing and, when received in the mixer housing, define at least a portion of the convergent nozzle or the convergent-divergent nozzle. A second nozzle module is configured to be received in the mixer housing separate from the first nozzle module. The second nozzle module, when received in the mixer housing, is configured to define at least a portion of the convergent or the convergent-divergent nozzle. The second nozzle module has a different flow characteristic than the first nozzle module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2019
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Applicant: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel B. Mastbergen, Domenico Chiera, Gregory James Hampson, Yi Han, James Po-Chang Chiu, Doug Leone, Henry David Gemmill Knutzen, Samuel James McCreery