General Electric Company

Other

Robert A Thompson

Mark Anthony Tascillo

Marshall Gordon Jones

Randy S Brown

Minyoung Lee

Walter Whipple

Hsin-Pang Wang

Sudhir D Savkar

Ranga Komanduri

Donald G Flom

Robert S White

Victor A Skormin

Daniel Joseph Flores

Trent J Markell

Bhunpendra K Gupta

Robert J Douglas

Richard W Breuning

Bearing fretting conditions are eliminated in washing machines by providing a drive system in which the bearings are not loaded during the spin mode. The drive system includes an input shaft and first and second hubs rotatively mounted about the input shaft. The second hub is movable along the input shaft between a first position adjacent to the first hub and a second position displaced from the first hub. The drive system spins the washing machine's basket when the second hub is in its first position and oscillates the agitator when the second hub is in its second position. A brake disk is mounted to the second hub for movement therewith, and a brake surface is fixedly mounted to the washing machine adjacent to the brake disk so that the brake disk contacts the brake surface when the second hub is in its second position. Separation of the two hubs is accomplished by ball bearings which are unloaded when the second hub is in its first position.

Drive system for washing machine

An apparatus and method are provided for calibrating a densitometer based sensor for measuring the linear density of the shot particles passing through a shot peening system to ensure that mass flow rate readings and shot velocity readings calculated therefrom are accurate. The apparatus comprises a probe having a plurality of randomly distributed particles configured to have a linear density substantially equal to the linear density of shot which the sensor should experience during operation of the shot peening system at desired parameters. The method comprises recording a sensor reading of the particles of the probe with the probe inserted in the sensor, removing the probe, dividing the known linear particle density of the probe by the sensor output to obtain the sensor calibration constant and multiplying each subsequent sensor output taken during normal operation of the shot peening system by the calibration constant to obtain an accurate instantaneous linear density reading of the shot traveling through the shot peening system.

Method and apparatus for calibrating a densitometer based sensor for

A washing machine with an improved mode shifter comprises a basket for holding an article to be washed, a basket collar coupled to the basket, an agitator disposed within the basket, an agitator collar coupled to the agitator, a brake for reducing a rotational velocity of the basket, a brake collar coupled to the brake, a first spring disposed around the basket collar and the agitator collar, and a second spring disposed around the first spring, the basket collar, and the brake collar. The mode shifter provides a mechanically simple, inexpensive, and reliable mechanism for shifting from the agitation mode to the spin mode to the brake mode in a wash cycle.

Mode shifter for a washing machine

An electrode assembly for electrical discharge machining (EDM) a slot in a wall includes a plurality of laterally abutting individual electrodes having a collective perimeter configuration complementary with the slot. The electrodes define a collective height equal to the sum of their individual heights which may be substantially greater than the individual widths thereof for machining a correspondingly high aspect ratio slot in the wall.

High aspect ratio EDM electrode assembly

An almen strip has a plurality of corrugations on one surface while the opposite surface is smooth and flat. This strip measures directly peening intensity on chamfers.

Almen strip

Method for calibrating a densitometer based sensor for shot peening

A method of measuring shot peening coverage includes correlation analysis of surface line data. The method comprises the use of cross correlation of two or more parallel profile traces of a shot peened surface to produce a numeric indication of relative part coverage.

Measurement of shot peening coverage by correlation analysis of surface

A novel apparatus capable of measuring distribution of a shot stream is disclosed. More particularly, the apparatus comprises an elongated measurement window positioned within a partition plate. Said elongated measurement window being partitioned into smaller sub-windows, each of which is capable of collecting shot from an area of a shot stream to be measured. This measurement may then be used to determine the peening time needed to fully cover each element of a part's surface with impact dents during a shot peening operation.

Apparatus to measure particle distribution of a shot stream

A new and improved safety locking device for PVC ball valves and the like comprising, a housing positionable over a PVC ball valve of the type having a on/off handle rotatable about a vertical axis, the handle including a horizontal section positionable in the direction of flow of fluid within coupled pipes when in an open orientation and positionable perpendicular to the direction of flow when in a closed orientation; the housing being formed of a pair of similarly shaped mating halves, each half having a front face and a rear face with each face having a semicircular opening which, when the housing halves are coupled for operation and use, define a circular opening with a central axis coextensive with the axis of the ball valve and pipes coupled with respect thereto, each housing half also having a top face and a bottom face and an exterior side face coupling the front and rear faces but leaving open the interior face with the semicircular openings; the front and rear faces of the housing halves being sufficient in size to form a chamber for a ball valve; a hinge pivotally coupling the housing halves; a supplemental plate with an aperture on each housing half, the apertures of the plates being aligned for the receipt of a lock; a rectangular cut out formed in at least one of the front and rear faces of each housing half as an extension of the circular openings, the cut out being positioned and sized to receive the handle of the ball valve when in the open orientation but to preclude movement of the handle from one orientation to the other when the housing halves are coupled and locked.

Safety locking devices for PVC ball valves

This invention relates to a sensor for monitoring the operation of a suction-type shot peening machine. Such structures of this type, generally, measure the vacuum in the gun mixing chamber of the suction-type shot peening machine. Changes in this sensor will be indicative of either gun surging or changes in shot delivery rate or velocity. Its output will, therefore, provide diagnostic information on the performance of the process.

Suction-type shot peening machine sensor

This invention relates to a method to selectively mitigate intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) by rapid quench melting through the use of a pulsed laser. Such methods of the type, generally, mitigate reactor pipe cracking by rapidly melting the sensitized material to redissolve chromium carbide and then rapidly cooling the sensitized material such that corrosion cracking can be avoided.

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking mitigation by rapid quench

This invention relates to a constant flow control device for a pressure pot shot peening machine. Such structures of this type, generally, assure that the air flow and the pressure drop through the pressure pot shot peening nozzle remain independent of uncontrolable upstream conditions, thus assuring constant velocity of the shot stream regardless of shot delivery hose routing or wear.

Constant flow control for a pressure pot shot peening machine

This invention relates to measuring shot peening coverage by impact dent characterization. Such methods of this type employ a non-destructive, automated computer analysis by analyzing dent characteristics to determine shot coverage of a particular surface.

Measurment of shot peening coverage by impact dent characterization

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling and monitoring pressure pot shot peening machines. Such structures of this type, generally, allow the user to determine and control the force of the shot as it leaves the shot peening nozzle.

Method to control and monitor a pressure pot shot peening system

This invention relates to sensors of the type that are used in lance-type shot peening guns. Such structures of this type, generally, measure the reaction force of the ejected shot and air stream which are emitted from the lance-type shot peening gun. The sensor further supplies diagnostic information indicative of the shot peening process performance.

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Quaker Street, NY, United States of America

Robert A Thompson