Hybrid propulsive engine including at least one independently rotatable turbine stator

• US 8,291,716 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2008
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Enterprise Science Fund, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Foster, Glenn B., Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Jung, Edward K. Y., Kare, Jordin T., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T., Weaver, Thomas Allan, Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wongwian, Phutthiwat
• Application Number:
  US12/287,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20100083631A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• Field of Search: 602/261, 607/86, 607/88, 608/02, 608/05, 290/52, 244/53.A, 244/53.R, 244/60
• US Class Current: 60/788
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 27/026 comprising different types of power plants, e.g. combination of a piston engine and a gas-turbine Hybrid electric aircraft B64D27/33
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 27/16 of jet type
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 27/24 using steam or spring force jet aircraft B64D27/16
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/04 actuated personally
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/06 actuated automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 33/00 Arrangements in aircraft of power plant parts or auxiliaries not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 15/10 Adaptations for driving, or combinations with, electric generators
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/03 Annular blade-carrying members having blades on the inner periphery of the annulus and extending inwardly radially, i.e. inverted rotors
• CPC Class Codes: F01K 23/10 with exhaust fluid of one cycle heating the fluid in another cycle F01K17/025 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/00 Plural gas-turbine plants; Combinations of gas-turbine plants with other apparatus; Adaptations of gas-turbine plants for special use
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/08 the gas being bled from the gas-turbine compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/14 Gas-turbine plants having means for storing energy, e.g. for meeting peak loads
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/18 using the waste heat of gas-turbine plants outside the plants themselves, e.g. gas-turbine power heat plants using waste heat as source of energy for refrigeration plants F25B27/02; using the waste heat of a gasturbine for steam generation or in a steam cycle see F01K23/10
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/206 the vehicles being airscrew driven
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/36 Power transmission arrangements between the different shafts of the gas turbine plant, or between the gas-turbine plant and the power user F02C3/107 - F02C3/13 and F02C7/32 take precedence; couplings for transmitting rotation F16D; gearing in general F16H
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 3/00 Plants including a gas turbine driving a compressor or a ducted fan
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 3/025 the by-pass flow being at least partly used to create an independent thrust component
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 3/077 the plant being of the multiple flow type, i.e. having three or more flows
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/324 to drive unshrouded, low solidity propeller
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/325 to drive unshrouded, high solidity propeller
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/326 : to drive shrouded, low solidity propeller
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/327 : to drive shrouded, high solidity propeller
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/76 : an electrical generator
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/408 : through magnetohydrodynamic conversion
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/85 : Starting
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 : Weight reduction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 : Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A hybrid propulsive technique includes providing a flow of a working fluid through at least a portion of an at least one jet engine. The at least one jet engine includes an at least one turbine section, wherein the at least one turbine section includes at least one turbine stage. The at least one turbine stage includes an at least one turbine rotor and an at least one independently rotatable turbine stator. The hybrid propulsive technique further involves extracting energy at least partially in the form of electrical power from the working fluid, and converting at least a portion of the electrical power to torque. The hybrid propulsive technique further comprises rotating an at least one at least one independently rotatable turbine stator at least partially responsive to the converting the at least a portion of the electrical power to torque.

Claims

1. A hybrid propulsive engine, comprising:

at least one jet engine associated with a working fluid passing there through, the

at least one jet engine including a turbine section, the turbine section including at least one turbine rotor and at least one independently rotatable turbine stator having a stator member that rotates with a turbine shaft to assist in starting the jet engine;

at least one energy extraction mechanism configured to extract energy from the working fluid, and at least partially convert that energy to electrical power; and

at least one torque conversion mechanism configured to convert at least a portion of the electrical power to torque, wherein the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator of the turbine section is rotatably driven at least partially responsively to the at least one torque conversion mechanism configured to convert the at least a portion of the electrical power to torque,

wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism and the at least one torque conversion mechanism are configured to be run selectively simultaneously.

2. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism includes at least one electric generator.

3. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one torque conversion mechanism includes at least one electric motor.

4. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism includes at least one electrical energy extraction mechanism configured to extract energy from rotation of the at least one turbine rotor.

5. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator is configured for independently controllable rotation relative to the at least one turbine.

6. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism includes at least one heat engine configured to extract at least some heat from the working fluid that is at least partially applied to an at least one heat receptive fluid.

7. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 6, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism includes at least one thermoelectric heat engine configured to extract heat energy from the at least one heat receptive fluid.

8. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 6, wherein the jet engine further comprises a second turbine section wherein the second turbine section is configured to extract electric power from the at least one heat receptive fluid.

9. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 6, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism includes at least one magnetohydrodynamic device that is configured to extract electric power from the at least one heat receptive fluid.

10. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 6, wherein the at least one heat receptive fluid is configured to undergo a phase change.

11. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 6, wherein the at least one heat receptive fluid is configured to undergo a temperature rise.

12. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 6, wherein the at least one heat receptive fluid at least partially flows around a closed loop responsive to the applied heat.

13. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 6, wherein the at least one heat receptive fluid at least partially flows around an open loop responsive to the applied heat.

14. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism includes at least one thermoelectric heat engine configured to extract heat energy from the working fluid.

15. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism includes at least one magnetohydrodynamic device configured to extract kinetic energy from a flow of the working fluid.

16. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one jet engine includes at least one turbojet.

17. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one jet engine includes at least one substantially axial-flow jet engine.

18. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one jet engine includes at least one ramjet jet engine.

19. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one jet engine includes at least one externally heated jet engine.

20. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one jet engine includes at least one combustion driven jet engine.

21. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism comprises at least one heat engine configured to extract at least some heat from the working fluid that is at least partially applied to a heat receptive fluid, wherein the at least one energy extraction mechanism comprises a Rankine Cycle energy extraction mechanism configured to extract electrical power from the working fluid.

22. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, further comprising at least one secondary source of electrical energy configured to supply energy to the at least one torque conversion mechanism.

23. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 22, wherein the at least one secondary source of electrical energy is arranged to obtain at least some electrical power from at least one primary energy source.

24. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 22, wherein the at least one secondary source of electrical energy comprises at least one rechargeable energy storage device.

25. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 24, wherein the at least one rechargeable energy storage device is coupled to charge at least partially from the at least one energy extraction mechanism.

26. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 24, wherein the at least one rechargeable energy storage device is coupled to charge at least partially from the at least one torque conversion mechanism configured to convert the at least the portion of the electric power to torque.

27. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 24, wherein the at least one rechargeable energy storage device is at least partially charged from at least one external power source.

28. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, further comprising a hybrid propulsive engine starter configured to rotate at least a portion of the jet engine at a sufficient rotational velocity to enhance starting the hybrid propulsive engine.

29. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, further comprising a hybrid propulsive engine starter configured to rotate at least a portion of the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator at a sufficient rotational velocity to enhance starting the hybrid propulsive engine.

30. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator is arranged so that at least some of the working fluid passes through the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator.

31. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator is configured to be powered for a controllable rotation in a first direction or alternately in a second direction that is reversed from the first direction.

32. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, wherein the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator is configured to be variably powered for a variable speed rotation.

33. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, further comprising a control circuit to allow a user to control a suitable rotational velocity of the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator based at least partially on a user input indicating a desired flight condition.

34. The hybrid propulsive engine of claim 1, further comprising a control circuit to allow a user to control a suitable rotational velocity of the at least one independently rotatable turbine stator based at least partially on a sensed flight parameter.