Patents by Inventor James Lee Burns

James Lee Burns has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6517312
    Abstract: A turbine stator vane includes outer and inner walls each having outer and inner chambers and a vane extending between the outer and inner walls. The vane includes first, second, third, fourth and fifth cavities for flowing a cooling medium. The cooling medium enters the outer chamber of the outer wall, flows through an impingement plate for impingement cooling of the outer band wall defining in part the hot gas path and through openings in the first, second and fourth cavities for flow radially inwardly, cooling the vane. The spent cooling medium flows into the inner wall and inner chamber for flow through an impingement plate radially outwardly to cool the inner wall. The spent cooling medium flows through the third cavity for egress from the turbine vane segment from the outer wall. The first, second or third cavities contain inserts having impingement openings for impingement cooling of the vane walls. The fifth cavity provides air cooling for the trailing edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Raymond Joseph Jones, James Lee Burns, Parvangada Ganapathy Bojappa, Schotsch Margaret Jones
  • Patent number: 6425241
    Abstract: A steam-cooled second-stage nozzle segment has an outer band and an outer cover defining a plenum therebetween for receiving cooling steam for flow through the nozzles to the inner band and cover therefor and return flow through the nozzles. To measure the temperature of the buckets of the stage forwardly of the nozzle stage, a pyrometer boss is electron beam-welded in an opening through the outer band and TIG-welded to the outer cover plate. By machining a hole through the boss and seating a linearly extending tube in the boss, a line of sight between a pyrometer mounted on the turbine frame and the buckets is provided whereby the temperature of the buckets can be ascertained. The welding of the boss to the outer band and outer cover enables steam flow through the plenum without leakage, while providing a line of sight through the outer cover and outer band to measure bucket temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Raymond Joseph Jones, Francis Lawrence Kirkpatrick, James Lee Burns, John Robert Fulton
  • Patent number: 6422810
    Abstract: A nozzle segment for a gas turbine includes inner and outer band portions and a vane extending between the band portions. The inner and outer band portions are each divided into first and second plenums separated by an impingement plate. Cooling steam is supplied to the first cavity for flow through the apertures to cool the outer nozzle wall. The steam flows through a leading edge cavity in the vane into the first cavity of the inner band portion for flow through apertures of the impingement plate to cool the inner nozzle wall. Spent cooling steam flows through a plurality of cavities in the vane, exiting through an exit chimney in the outer band. The exit chimney is secured at its inner end directly to the nozzle vane wall surrounding the exit cavities, to the margin of the impingement plate at a location intermediate the ends of the exit chimney and to margins of an opening through the cover whereby each joint is externally accessible for joint formation and for subsequent inspection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, James Lee Burns
  • Patent number: 6397604
    Abstract: In a land based gas turbine including a compressor, a combustor and turbine section including at least three stages, an improvement comprising an inlet into a third stage nozzle from the compressor for feeding cooling air from the compressor to the third stage nozzle; at least one passageway running substantially radially through each airfoil of the third stage nozzle and an associated diaphragm, into an annular space between the rotor and the diaphragm; and passageways communicating between the annular space and individual buckets of the third stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sacheverel Quentin Eldrid, James Lee Burns, Gene David Palmer, Sal Albert Leone, Gary Joseph Drlik, Edward Eugene Gibler
  • Publication number: 20010025476
    Abstract: In a land based gas turbine including a compressor, a combustor and turbine section including at least three stages, an improvement comprising an inlet into a third stage nozzle from the compressor for feeding cooling air from the compressor to the third stage nozzle; at least one passageway running substantially radially through each airfoil of the third stage nozzle and an associated diaphragm, into an annular space between the rotor and the diaphragm; and passageways communicating between the annular space and individual buckets of the third stage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2001
    Publication date: October 4, 2001
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sacheverel Quentin Eldrid, James Lee Burns, Gene David Palmer, Sal Albert Leone, Gary Joseph Drlik, Edward Eugene Gibler