| Twin Disc, Inc. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
|---|
| 20120001436 | POWER GENERATOR USING A WIND TURBINE, A HYDRODYNAMIC RETARDER AND AN ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE DRIVE - An electric power generating system is provided that uses a wind turbine to generate waste-heat that is utilized in an organic Rankine Cycle drive that converts heat energy into rotation of a generator rotor for generating electricity. A hydrodynamic retarder may be provided that dissipates heat into a hot fluid by directing the flow of the fluid through the hydrodynamic retarder in a manner that resists rotation of blades of the wind turbine. The hot fluid circulating in the hydrodynamic retarder is a thermal heat source for vapor regeneration of organic heat exchange fluid mixture(s) used in the Rankine cycle, expansion of the organic heat exchange fluid being converted into rotation of the generator rotor. | 01-05-2012 |
| 20110275254 | Waterjet Propulsion System and Method for a Marine Vehicle - A waterjet based propulsion system and method that utilizes more than one waterjet outlet port and controls the selective application of power to the waterjets with a splitter gearbox thereby improving the efficiency of the marine craft at low and high speeds. | 11-10-2011 |
| 20110263165 | Electric Marine Surface Drive - A marine articulated surface drive propulsion system is provided with a housing construction that allows the direct application of an electric motor for power onto the drive structure. Alternatively, it can include a power transmitting element for reducing the rate of rotation or the position of the motor shaft with respect to the propeller shaft. The drive can be retrofitted to existing boat hulls and does not require a dedicated hull. The electric motor can be fitted to the surface drive housing on the inside of the transom. It is contemplated that an electric motor with very small dimensions can be mounted in the drive thrust tube and ball socket, eliminating the need for U joints. Notably, if the propeller is left free wheeling it becomes the propulser for the electric motor to become a generator and recharge the batteries. | 10-27-2011 |
| 20110217177 | Stepped Surface Propeller - A marine surface propeller, and blade therefore, which is surface piercing and partially submerged, and includes a blade geometry that improves distribution of pressure and control to wetted and ventilated regions. Preferably, the feature has a positive step (ramp, cup, interceptor, indent or other geometric addition or intervention) between one fifth and four fifths chord length so as to create a high pressure peak or zone in what is now a low pressure zone on either the blade face or back or both and to create speed controllable wetted and ventilated regions. | 09-08-2011 |
| 20110203896 | Balanced Clutch System - A balanced clutch system is provided for use in a transmission. The balanced clutch system includes a clutch assembly that has a clutch piston and a balance piston that cooperate with a clutch piston cavity and a balance piston cavity. Each of the clutch piston cavity and balance piston cavity receives a continuous supply of fluid and establishes a centrifugal head pressure therein, during use. The centrifugal head pressure established in the balance piston cavity contributes to a force that opposes a self-engaging tendency of the clutch assembly that is created by the centrifugal head pressure established within the clutch piston cavity. | 08-25-2011 |
| 20100311291 | MARINE POWER SPLITTING GEARBOX - A power splitting gearbox is provided that allows a single prime mover to distribute power, for example torque, to multiple final drive assemblies, such as surface drives or other final drives. The power splitting gearbox can be provided downstream from a marine transmission and can be mounted directly to a transom of a marine vessel. The gearbox can have a back wall that accepts and supports mounting surfaces of the multiple final drive assemblies such that the gearbox bears the weight of the multiple final drive assemblies. The gearbox has two outputs that rotate in opposing directions so that a pair of final drive assemblies mounted to the gearbox will counter-rotate a pair of propellers for providing a propulsive force that moves the marine vessel. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20100203777 | HYBRID MARINE POWER TRAIN SYSTEM - A hybrid marine power train system is provided that facilitates selective use of one of multiple prime movers for powering and driving a boat. The multiple prime movers can include an internal combustion engine and an electric motor which can itself be part of a motor/generator assembly. The system further includes a power-take-in assembly that can have either an active or passive clutching device for selectively importing power from the prime movers into the transmission. The system is configured so that the second prime mover occupies relatively little space within an engine compartment of the boat, for example when compared to an amount of space occupied by the first prime mover and transmission. Since the second prime mover occupies relatively little space within the engine compartment, the system can be readily retrofitted to existing marine power train systems. | 08-12-2010 |
| 20100040320 | BEARING ARRANGEMENT FOR HEAVY DUTY TRANSMISSION - A bearing arrangement is provided that reduces effects of differences in rates of thermal expansion between transmission housings and shaft assemblies that are made from different materials. The bearing arrangement locates the bearings with respect to other components of a shaft assembly in a manner that establishes a bearing setting stack path along components that are made from materials having common coefficients of thermal expansion, despite the shaft assembly and bearing arrangements being mounted within a housing that is made from a material which has a dissimilar coefficient of thermal expansion. | 02-18-2010 |
