Patents by Inventor Stephen E. Tolman

Stephen E. Tolman 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: 6446013
    Abstract: The rate of impact between the peening elements and an internal surface of a hollow part is a function of the vibration frequency, and there is a cut-off frequency at which a hollow part can vibrate and induce repeated impact between its internal surface and the peening elements because the rate of impact becomes erratic and loses its cyclical nature as the vibration frequency deviates from the cut-off frequency. The present invention provides a method for determining the cut-off frequency at which a hollow part can vibrate and maintain the repetitive nature of the impact between its internal surface and the peening elements. Such a method requires a peening element speed limit ratio, which is the ratio of the velocity of the hollow part compared to the velocity of the peening element above which the rate of impact begins to become erratic and lose its cyclical nature. The present invention, therefore, teaches a method of determining the peening element speed limit ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: William A. Veronesi, Stephen E. Tolman, Paul H. Wawrzonek
  • Patent number: 6170308
    Abstract: The rate of impact between the peening elements and an internal surface of a hollow part is a function of the vibration frequency, and there is a cut-off frequency at which a hollow part can vibrate and induce repeated impact between its internal surface and the peening elements because the rate of impact becomes erratic and loses its cyclical nature as the vibration frequency deviates from the cut-off frequency. The present invention provides a method for determining the cut-off frequency at which a hollow part can vibrate and maintain the repetitive nature of the impact between its internal surface and the peening elements. Such a method requires a peening element speed limit ratio, which is the ratio of the velocity of the hollow part compared to the velocity of the peening element above which the rate of impact begins to become erratic and lose its cyclical nature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2001
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: William A. Veronesi, Pedro Sainz de Baranda, Vincent C. Nardone, Stephen E. Tolman, Paul H. Wawrzonek