Patents by Inventor John Michael Koshoffer

John Michael Koshoffer 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: 7966823
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine augmentor includes an augmentor outer casing 502 and an annular augmentor liner 504 disposed radially within and radially separated from the augmentor outer casing 502 to form a generally annular augmentor liner cooling flow path 500 between the augmentor casing and the annular augmentor liner, and an augmentor flow splitter duct 506 disposed at the upstream end of the augmentor liner and radially between the augmentor outer casing 502 and the annular augmentor liner 504 and defining a splitter flow path 520 between the annular augmentor liner 504 and the annular augmentor flow splitter duct 506.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, David Elson Caldwell
  • Patent number: 7437876
    Abstract: A turbofan gas turbine engine augmenter includes a fuel/air swirler disposed between an axially extending bypass flowpath and an axially extending exhaust flowpath. A swirler inlet is axially open to and positioned substantially normal to the bypass flowpath and a swirler outlet is open to and positioned substantially parallel to the exhaust flowpath. A swirl chamber within the fuel/air swirler is between the swirler inlet and the swirler outlet. A swirl axis of the fuel/air swirler extends through the swirler outlet substantially normal to the exhaust flowpath. An air swirler may be centered about the swirl axis within the fuel/air swirler. The air swirler may be a louvered or have a plurality of swirling vanes. The swirler inlet may be radially offset with respect to the swirl axis. An air scoop may lead from the swirler inlet to a rounded swirler housing within which the air swirler is disposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: John Michael Koshoffer
  • Patent number: 7251941
    Abstract: An afterburner includes an exhaust duct with a fixed area outer nozzle at an aft end thereof, and an ablative inner nozzle therein. The smaller inner nozzle is consumed during reheat operation to expose the larger outer nozzle for increased propulsion thrust.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, Randy Lee Lewis
  • Patent number: 7225623
    Abstract: A trapped vortex cavity afterburner includes one or more trapped vortex cavity stages for injecting a fuel/air mixture into a combustion zone. The trapped vortex cavity afterburner is operable to provide all thrust augmenting fuel used for engine thrust augmentation. Each stage has at least one annular trapped vortex cavity. The trapped vortex cavity afterburner may be a multi-stage afterburner having two or more trapped vortex cavity stages ganged for simultaneous ignition or operable for sequential ignition. One embodiment of the annular trapped vortex cavity is operable to raise a temperature of an exhaust gas flow through the afterburner about 100 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Each of the trapped vortex cavity stages may be operable to produce a single or a different amount of temperature rise of the exhaust gas flow through the afterburner. A chevron shaped trapped vortex cavity and having zig-zag shaped leading and trailing edges may be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: John Michael Koshoffer
  • Patent number: 6997676
    Abstract: A turbine rear frame includes a row of outlet guide vanes extending between outer and inner bands. Each of the vanes is bifurcated into a forward prow integrally joined to an aft stern by a septum therebetween. The prow and stern collectively define the aerodynamic profile of each vane which is locally interrupted at the septum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: John Michael Koshoffer
  • Patent number: 6983601
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an augmentor includes fabricating an outer casing having at least one channel defined therein, fabricating a centerbody having at least one channel defined therein, fabricating a plurality of turbine frame vanes, wherein each turbine frame vane includes a first sidewall having a first channel defined therein, a second sidewall having a second channel defined therein, and at least one cross-fire tube extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall, and coupling the plurality of turbine frame vanes to the augmentor outer casing and to the centerbody such that the first sidewall first channel formed on a first turbine frame vane, the second sidewall second channel formed on a second turbine frame vane, the augmentor channel, and the centerbody channel define a substantially contiguous trapped vortex chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: John Michael Koshoffer
  • Patent number: 6981361
    Abstract: A method facilitates generating thrust from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system. The method includes introducing fuel and air to the engine, mixing fuel and air in a pulse detonation system deflagration chamber positioned radially outward from an engine exhaust centerbody, and detonating the fuel and air mixture within the pulse detonation system to facilitate increasing the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2006
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, Kevin R. Drake, Lawrence Butler
  • Patent number: 6883302
    Abstract: A method enables thrust to be generated from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system is provided. The engine includes an inlet portion and an exhaust portion, and the pulse detonation system includes a multi-staged pulse detonation augmentor including predetonator. The method comprises supplying a less than stoichiometric fuel/air mixture to the pulse detonation system during a first operating stage, detonating the fuel/air mixture with the predetonator to increase the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust, and supplying additional fuel and air to the pulse detonation system during a second operating stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: John Michael Koshoffer
  • Patent number: 6868665
    Abstract: A method facilitates generating thrust from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system. The method includes introducing fuel and air to the engine, mixing fuel and air in a pulse detonation system deflagration chamber positioned radially outward from an engine exhaust centerbody, and detonating the fuel and air mixture within the pulse detonation system to facilitate increasing the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2005
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, Kevin R. Drake, Lawrence Butler
  • Publication number: 20040244359
    Abstract: A method facilitates generating thrust from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system. The method includes introducing fuel and air to the engine, mixing fuel and air in a pulse detonation system deflagration chamber positioned radially outward from an engine exhaust centerbody, and detonating the fuel and air mixture within the pulse detonation system to facilitate increasing the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2004
    Publication date: December 9, 2004
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, Kevin R. Drake, Lawrence Butler
  • Publication number: 20040118104
    Abstract: A method enables thrust to be generated from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system is provided. The engine includes an inlet portion and an exhaust portion, and the pulse detonation system includes a multi-staged pulse detonation augmentor including predetonator. The method comprises supplying a less than stoichiometric fuel/air mixture to the pulse detonation system during a first operating stage, detonating the fuel/air mixture with the predetonator to increase the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust, and supplying additional fuel and air to the pulse detonation system during a second operating stage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Publication date: June 24, 2004
    Inventor: John Michael Koshoffer
  • Patent number: 6715983
    Abstract: A vane assembly for a gas turbine engine includes at least one vane that includes a first body, a second body, and a passageway. The first body includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall that are connected at a leading edge and a trailing edge. The passageway extends between the second body and the first body leading edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, Kevin Robert Drake
  • Publication number: 20030126853
    Abstract: A method facilitates generating thrust from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system. The method includes introducing fuel and air to the engine, mixing fuel and air in a pulse detonation system deflagration chamber positioned radially outward from an engine exhaust centerbody, and detonating the fuel and air mixture within the pulse detonation system to facilitate increasing the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Publication date: July 10, 2003
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, Kevin R. Drake, Lawrence Butler
  • Publication number: 20030059291
    Abstract: A vane assembly for a gas turbine engine includes at least one vane that includes a first body, a second body, and a passageway. The first body includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall that are connected at a leading edge and a trailing edge. The passageway extends between the second body and the first body leading edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2001
    Publication date: March 27, 2003
    Inventors: John Michael Koshoffer, Kevin Robert Drake
  • Patent number: 6336319
    Abstract: A control system for selectively adjusting effective flow areas of an aircraft engine exhaust nozzle to change operational characteristics of the nozzle. The control system includes a chamber having a hollow interior, a plurality of outlet passages extending from the hollow interior of the chamber to sites within the exhaust nozzle, and an adjustable inlet extending from a pressurized air source to the hollow interior of the chamber for delivering a jet of pressurized air to the chamber. The inlet is adjustable to direct pressurized air to selected one or more outlet passages for the delivery of air via the one or more outlets to corresponding one or more sites within the exhaust nozzle, thereby to change the operational characteristics of the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: John Michael Koshoffer