ALBERT FRANK STORACE
Pilots at Wyoming Pt Pl, Cincinnati, OH

5969451, Oct 19, 1999

Dec 13, 1996

8/764186

James Patrick Lyons - Niskayuna NY
Mark Alan Preston - Niskayuna NY
Eike Richter - Cincinnati OH
Albert Frank Storace - Cincinnati OH

General Electric Company - Schenectady NY

H02K 709

310 905

A magnetic thrust compensator for a mechanical thrust bearing includes a parallel operating axial magnetic bearing including a stator including two parallel stator extensions, a rotor disk situated between the two stator extensions, and first and second electromagnets each situated on a respective stator extension and facing the rotor disk. A controller selectively energizes one of the electromagnets. Additional stator extensions and rotor disks can be used to provide fault tolerance. The electromagnets can each include dual annular windings. The compensator can include an additional stator extension, an additional rotor disk, and bias magnet situated on the additional stator extension and facing the additional rotor disk with the controller being adapted to selectively supply current to the bias magnet. In a closed loop embodiment, the mechanical thrust bearing can be spring mounted and, to determine the appropriate energization level of one of the electromagnets, the controller can determine a magnetic air gap length between the rotor disk and one of the stator extensions.

6325546, Dec 4, 2001

Nov 30, 1999

9/451281

Albert F. Storace - Cincinnati OH

General Electric Company - Cincinnati OH

F16C 1900

384536

High in-flight vibrations in turbofan gas turbine engines are prevented at windmilling speeds after a blade-out induced structural decoupling of the fan assembly by providing a fan assembly support system with a damper assembly that dissipates vibration energy and retunes the natural frequency of the fan assembly to be above windmilling speeds. The support system includes primary and secondary bearing supports separately secured to the fan frame and a bearing disposed between the primary bearing support and the fan assembly. The damper assembly includes a journal formed on the primary bearing support and a bumper ring attached to the secondary bearing support in surrounding relationship with the journal.

8308435, Nov 13, 2012

Dec 27, 2007

11/965042

Albert Frank Storace - Cincinnati OH, US
Ian Francis Prentice - Cincinnati OH, US

General Electric Company - Schenectady NY

F01D 25/04

416145, 73470

A balancing system and method for reducing imbalance in a rotatable member of a machine is provided. The system includes a plurality of vibration sensors positioned about a stationary portion of the machine, a controller assembly communitively coupled to the plurality of vibration sensors, and a balancing assembly coupled to the rotatable member, said balancing assembly configured to wirelessly communicate with said controller assembly, said balancing assembly configured to modify the weight distribution of the rotatable member in response to a command wirelessly transmitted from the controller assembly. The controller assembly is configured to receive data from the plurality of vibration sensors and determine an imbalance in the rotatable member using the received data.

8262353, Sep 11, 2012

Nov 30, 2007

11/948423

Albert Frank Storace - Cincinnati OH, US

General Electric Company - Schenectady NY

F01D 19/00, F01D 25/04

416 2, 416174, 416500, 60223, 415 9, 415119, 415229, 384535, 384581, 384624

A rotor decoupler system for a gas turbine engine is disclosed, comprising a load reduction system disposed between a bearing system and the bearing support. The load reduction system comprises a fuse and a damper such that the damper transfers at least a part of the radial load from the rotor to the bearing support when a fuse fails. In one exemplary embodiment the damper comprises a wire mesh, disposed around the outer race of the bearing. In another exemplary embodiment the damper comprises a rope damper assembly. In yet another exemplary embodiment, a load reduction system is disposed between a support structure and a frame, comprising an extensional fuse and a damper disposed between the support structure and the frame such that the damper transfers at least a part of the unbalance load to the frame when an extensional fuse fails.

8182153, May 22, 2012

Feb 27, 2009

12/395074

Anant Pal Singh - Cincinnati OH, US
Michael Slusher - Hamilton OH, US
Albert Frank Storace - Cincinnati OH, US
James C. Austrow - Cincinnati OH, US
Tony Metz - Harrison OH, US

General Electric Company - Schenectady NY

F16C 27/00, F16C 33/76

384 99, 384 94, 384477, 384581, 384607

A bearing damper includes: (a) an annular sleeve having spaced-apart grooves formed in a radially-facing surface therein; (b) an annular bearing race received in the sleeve; and (c) a resilient seal ring disposed in each of the grooves, wherein the seal rings cooperate with the sleeve and a radially-facing surface of the bearing race to define a closed annular gap, and further wherein the seal rings are sized so as to urge the bearing race towards a coaxial position relative to the sleeve.