ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,258,871, issued on March 25, was assigned to Hamilton Sundstrand Corp. (Charlotte, N.C.).
"Dynamic live hinge spring optimized impeller" was invented by Alden Winn (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Andrew Solomon (Windsor, Conn.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An impeller includes a cylindrical portion defining a fluid inlet, the cylindrical portion coaxial with a rotational axis of the impeller, a hub, a shroud extending downward and radially away from the cylindrical portion and covering the hub, a plurality of vanes extending between the shroud and the hub, a fluid outlet downstream of the plurality of vanes, a plurality of doors disposed circ...