Patents by Inventor Thomas Willetts

Thomas Willetts 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: 8052380
    Abstract: A thermally-activated flow clearance reduction for a steam turbine is disclosed. In one embodiment a gap closure component is located about a rotary component and a stationary component of the steam turbine. A temperature differential activates the gap closure component to seal or reduce the radial clearance of the steam flow path between the rotary component and the stationary component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Fred Thomas Willett, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8021103
    Abstract: A pressure activated flow path seal for a steam turbine is disclosed. In one embodiment a gap closure component is located about a rotary component and the stationary component of the steam turbine. A pressure differential activates the gap closure component to seal or reduce the radial clearance of a steam leakage path between the rotary component and the stationary component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Fred Thomas Willett, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20110091327
    Abstract: A turbine blade includes a body having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, a suction side, and a tip region, and a winglet arranged on the pressure side of the body in the tip region extending from a point in the tip region down stream of the leading edge to the trailing edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2009
    Publication date: April 21, 2011
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventor: Fred Thomas Willett, JR.
  • Publication number: 20110085886
    Abstract: A steam turbine includes a rotor having a plurality of early stages and a stator portion surrounding a portion of the rotor and arranged such that a leakage region exists between the stator portion and the rotor and having a cooling steam channel that passes cooling steam from one portion of the stator portion to the leakage region. The turbine also includes at least one cooling steam transmission channel axially displaced about the rotor that receives the cooling steam from the leakage region and provides it to at least a portion of the early stages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2009
    Publication date: April 14, 2011
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Ravi Shankar Venkata Kasibhotla, Anantha Padmanabhan Bhagavatheeswaran, Fred Thomas Willett, JR.
  • Publication number: 20110085905
    Abstract: A rotor of a turbomachine includes a rotor drum located at a central axis and a plurality of buckets secured to the rotor drum. A rotor shell extends between axially adjacent buckets of the plurality of buckets and is secured to and supported by the plurality of buckets defining a cooling passage between the rotor drum and the rotor shell. A low pressure sink is located at an upstream end of the rotor receptive of a coolant flow through the cooling passage. A method of cooling a rotor of a steam turbine includes locating a rotor shell radially outboard of a rotor drum defining a cooling passage therebetween. A flow of steam is urged from a downstream portion of the steam turbine through the cooling passage toward a low pressure sink located at an upstream end of the steam turbine thereby cooling the rotor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2009
    Publication date: April 14, 2011
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Fred Thomas Willett, Howard Michael Brilliant, Pepe Palafox
  • Publication number: 20100284792
    Abstract: A turbine is provided and includes a turbine shell including shrouds at multiple stages thereof, and constraining elements, disposed at least at first through fourth substantially regularly spaced perimetrical locations around the turbine shell, which are configured to concentrically constrain the shrouds of the turbine shell.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2009
    Publication date: November 11, 2010
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Henry Grady Ballard, JR., Fred Thomas Willett, JR.
  • Publication number: 20100104416
    Abstract: A thermally-activated flow clearance reduction for a steam turbine is disclosed. In one embodiment a gap closure component is located about a rotary component and a stationary component of the steam turbine. A temperature differential activates the gap closure component to seal or reduce the radial clearance of the steam flow path between the rotary component and the stationary component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventor: Fred Thomas Willett, JR.
  • Publication number: 20100104427
    Abstract: A pressure activated flow path seal for a steam turbine is disclosed. In one embodiment a gap closure component is located about a rotary component and the stationary component of the steam turbine. A pressure differential activates the gap closure component to seal or reduce the radial clearance of a steam leakage path between the rotary component and the stationary component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventor: Fred Thomas Willett, JR.
  • Patent number: 6761534
    Abstract: An open cooling circuit for a gas turbine airfoil and associated tip shroud includes a first group of cooling holes internal to the airfoil and extending in a radially outward direction generally along a leading edge of the airfoil; a second group of cooling holes internal to the airfoil and extending in a radially outward direction generally along a trailing edge of the airfoil. A common plenum is formed in the tip shroud in direct communication with the first and second group of cooling holes, but a second plenum may be provided for the second group of radial holes. A plurality of exhaust holes extends from the plenum(s), through the tip shroud and opening along a peripheral edge of the tip shroud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Fred Thomas Willett
  • Patent number: 6499950
    Abstract: An open cooling circuit for a gas turbine bucket wherein the bucket has an airfoil portion, and a tip shroud, the cooling circuit including a plurality of radial cooling holes extending through the airfoil portion and communicating with an enlarged internal area within the tip shroud before exiting the tip shroud such that a cooling medium used to cool the airfoil portion is subsequently used to cool the tip shroud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Inventors: Fred Thomas Willett, Gary Michael Itzel, Dimitrios Stathopoulos, Larry Wayne Plemmons, Doyle C. Lewis
  • Publication number: 20010048878
    Abstract: An open cooling circuit for a gas turbine bucket wherein the bucket has an airfoil portion, and a tip shroud, the cooling circuit including a plurality of radial cooling holes extending through the airfoil portion and communicating with an enlarged internal area within the tip shroud before exiting the tip shroud such that a cooling medium used to cool the airfoil portion is subsequently used to cool the tip shroud.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2001
    Publication date: December 6, 2001
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Fred Thomas Willett, Gary Michael Itzel, Dimitrios Stathopoulos, Larry Wayne Plemmons, Doyle C. Lewis
  • Patent number: 6132174
    Abstract: A turbine rotor blade comprises a shank portion, a tip portion and an airfoil. The airfoil has a pressure side wall and a suction side wall that are interconnected by a plurality of partition sidewalls, defining an internal cooling passageway within the airfoil. The internal cooling passageway includes at least one radial outflow passageway to direct a cooling medium flow from the shank portion towards the tip portion and at least one radial inflow passageway to direct a cooling medium flow from the tip portion towards the shank portion. A number of mixing ribs are disposed on the partition sidewalls within the radial outflow passageways so as to enhance the thermal mixing of the cooling medium flow, thereby producing improved heat transfer over a broad range of the Buoyancy number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Fred Wolf Staub, Fred Thomas Willett
  • Patent number: 5924843
    Abstract: A turbine rotor blade comprises a shank portion, a tip portion and an airfoil. The airfoil has a pressure side wall and a suction side wall that are interconnected by a plurality of partition sidewalls, defining an internal cooling passageway within the airfoil. The internal cooling passageway includes at least one radial outflow passageway to direct a cooling medium flow from the shank portion towards the tip portion and at least one radial inflow passageway to direct a cooling medium flow from the tip portion towards the shank portion. A number of mixing ribs are disposed on the partition sidewalls within the radial outflow passageways so as to enhance the thermal mixing of the cooling medium flow, thereby producing improved heat transfer over a broad range of the Buoyancy number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Fred Wolf Staub, Fred Thomas Willett
  • Patent number: 5794871
    Abstract: A portable door lock includes an interior member and an exterior member which are connected to each other by a strap. The interior member is slideable along the strap and the strap is provided with a selectively engageable mechanism for restricting movement of the interior member along the strap away from the exterior member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1998
    Inventor: Thomas Willetts
  • Patent number: 5501494
    Abstract: A portable door lock includes an interior member and an exterior member which are connected to each other by a cord. The interior member is slidable along the cord and the cord is provided with a stopping member which is engageable by the interior member to prevent movement of the interior member along the cord away from the exterior member. In a first embodiment, the interior and exterior members are spheres and the stopping member is a knot and a washer. The interior sphere is substantially hollow and has a through bore with a key hole for engaging the washer. The cord is provided with a loop adjacent the exterior sphere for hanging the exterior sphere on an exterior door knob. In a second embodiment, the exterior member is a truncated hollow sphere which is dimensioned to fit over an exterior door knob. The strength of the lock is dependent on the materials chosen, but should be sufficient to be impenetrable by children, but easy for an adult to break.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1996
    Inventor: Thomas Willetts