Patents by Inventor Walter F. O'Brien, Jr.

Walter F. O'Brien, Jr. 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).

  • Generalized flow profile production
    Patent number: 10865818
    Abstract: Various examples are provided related to improvements in generalized flow profile production. In one example, a method includes determining a downstream flow profile including a pressure profile and a velocity profile; fabricating a pressure profile generator including distortion screen(s) disposed on a backing structure; fabricating a velocity profile generator including turning vanes in a flow path through the velocity profile generator that are configured to generate the velocity profile; attaching the pressure profile generator to an input side of the velocity profile generator; and installing the flow conditioning device in the flow field of interest. Flow through the flow conditioning device produces the downstream flow profile in the flow field of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Dustin J. Frohnapfel, Walter F. O'Brien, Jr., K. Todd Lowe
  • Improved Generalized Flow Profile Production
    Publication number: 20190085879
    Abstract: Various examples are provided related to improvements in generalized flow profile production. In one example, a method includes determining a downstream flow profile including a pressure profile and a velocity profile; fabricating a pressure profile generator including distortion screen(s) disposed on a backing structure; fabricating a velocity profile generator including turning vanes in a flow path through the velocity profile generator that are configured to generate the velocity profile; attaching the pressure profile generator to an input side of the velocity profile generator; and installing the flow conditioning device in the flow field of interest. Flow through the flow conditioning device produces the downstream flow profile in the flow field of interest.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2017
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Applicant: Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Dustin J. Frohnapfel, Walter F. O'Brien, Jr., Todd K. Lowe