The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 15, 2005
Filed:
May. 06, 2003
Tibor Fabian, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Frank Holman, Paradise Valley, AZ (US);
Sangkyun Kang, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Hao-chih Liu, Redwood City, CA (US);
Minoru Matsunaga, Tokyo, JP;
Fritz B. Prinz, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Hideaki Tsuru, Mountain View, CA (US);
Tibor Fabian, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Frank Holman, Paradise Valley, AZ (US);
Sangkyun Kang, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Hao-Chih Liu, Redwood City, CA (US);
Minoru Matsunaga, Tokyo, JP;
Fritz B. Prinz, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Hideaki Tsuru, Mountain View, CA (US);
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US);
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
The present invention provides a miniature gas turbine engine for power generation. The engine has a highly integrated unitary rotor shaft where turbine, compressor and shaft are made in one piece in one fabrication process. The turbine and compressor are positioned back to back on the shaft in an overhung configuration, allowing the front bearings to be located in the cold zone of the engine. Preferably, the Mold SDM fabrication technique is utilized to make the unitary rotor shaft in one monolithic part out of ceramics such as silicon nitride, eliminating the need for post process assembly while strengthening the integrity, reliability, and performance of the unitary rotor shaft. Integrated with a permanent magnet in the unitary rotor shaft, the miniature gas turbine engine can generate electric power of 1 kW or less. Additionally, the axial length of the miniature gas turbine engine is about 100 mm or less. The miniature gas turbine engine according to the present invention is therefore particularly useful for powering lightweight, self-sustaining mobile devices such as unmanned vehicles and-autonomous robots.