Patents by Inventor Alfred Lai

Alfred Lai 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).

  • Dual-vortical-flow hybrid rocket engine
    Patent number: 9458796
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a dual-vortical-flow hybrid rocket engine, including a main body and a nozzle communicating with an end of the main body. The main body includes a plurality of disk-like combustion chambers arranged longitudinally, and a central combustion chamber formed along the axial portion and communicating the disk-like combustion chambers. Each of the disk-like combustion chambers is provided with a plurality of oxidizer injection nozzles at its inner circumference surface. Inside the disk-like combustion chambers, the oxidizer is injected in nearly the tangent directions of the circumference, and the injection directions are opposite for the neighboring disk-like combustion chambers, which creates vortical flows with opposite rotating directions so as to increase the total residence time of the combustion reactions of the oxidizer and the solid-state fuel in the disk-like combustion chambers of the present invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignees: National Applied Research Laboratories, National Chiao Tung University
    Inventors: Yen-Sen Chen, Men-Zen Wu, Jong-Shinn Wu, Alfred Lai, Jhe-Wei Lin, Tzu-Hao Chou
  • Dual-Vortical-Flow Hybrid Rocket Engine
    Publication number: 20140352276
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a dual-vortical-flow hybrid rocket engine, including a main body and a nozzle communicating with an end of the main body. The main body includes a plurality of disk-like combustion chambers arranged longitudinally, and a central combustion chamber formed along the axial portion and communicating the disk-like combustion chambers. Each of the disk-like combustion chambers is provided with a plurality of oxidizer injection nozzles at its inner circumference surface. Inside the disk-like combustion chambers, the oxidizer is injected in nearly the tangent directions of the circumference, and the injection directions are opposite for the neighboring disk-like combustion chambers, which creates vortical flows with opposite rotating directions so as to increase the total residence time of the combustion reactions of the oxidizer and the solid-state fuel in the disk-like combustion chambers of the present invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Applicants: National Chiao Tung University, National Applied Research Laboratories
    Inventors: Yen-Sen Chen, Men-Zen Wu, Jong-Shinn Wu, Alfred Lai, Jhe-Wei Lin, Tzu-Hao Chou