Patents by Inventor Thane M. Drummond

Thane M. Drummond 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: 5361585
    Abstract: In a steam turbine system including a high pressure turbine section, a reheat turbine section and a low pressure turbine section coupled to a generator, and wherein a boiler supplies steam to the high pressure turbine and wherein a condenser is arranged to receive spent steam from the low pressure turbine and to return the spent steam to the boiler, a process including the steps of: a) during cold start-up, bypassing a portion of the steam generated by the boiler around the high pressure turbine section, reheat turbine section and low pressure turbine section and feeding the bypass portion directly to the condenser, accelerating the turbine to a predetermined speed less than approximately 1000 rpm utilizing control valves at an inlet side of the high pressure turbine section while keeping closed a plurality of intercept valves at an inlet side of the reheat turbine section; and wherein steam pressure to the high pressure turbine section is controlled by a high pressure bypass valve; and b) upon reaching said
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1994
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Bernd A. K. Westphal, Thane M. Drummond
  • Patent number: 4853552
    Abstract: A signal representing the electrical output power of a steam turbine-generator is fed back to a control system. A signal representing the boiler steam pressure is also fed to the control system. A control signal for controlling valves feeding steam to the steam turbine is gain controlled between one and zero in the presence of a negative rate of change of steam pressure less than a predetermined value. At other negative and all positive values of rate of change of steam pressure, the control signal is unaffected. In one embodiment, a linear relationship is employed for controlling the gain for increasingly negative values of the rate of change of steam pressure. At an extreme negative value, the gain is controlled to zero, whereby the a load reference signal remains unchanged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 1, 1989
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jens Kure-Jensen, Bernd A. K. Westphal, Thane M. Drummond
  • Patent number: 4161101
    Abstract: A control system including a controller for reading temperature values from sensors in a gas turbine, determining the reliability of the sensors, and issuing a fuel control signal for use in controlling the turbine is disclosed. The fuel control signal has a calculated value which is a function of the turbine operating temperature derived from the values of temperature signals generated by the sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1976
    Date of Patent: July 17, 1979
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Thane M. Drummond