The present invention is in the field of jet propulsion. Specifically, the present invention relates to a marine jet propulsion system and vehicles incorporating such systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a marine jet propulsion system utilizing the physical phenomena known as the Coanda effect to produce a propulsive force.
As employed herein, the term “fluid”, unless, otherwise explicitly indicated, is intended to encompass matter which exhibits a fluid or flowable characteristic, including gases and liquids with or without particulate solids in suspension, as well as mixtures thereof.
The system of the present invention may be used to propel any of a number of vehicles, including surface vessels, submarines, torpedoes, aircraft, and land vehicles, etc.
The Coanda effect is the tendency of a jet of fluid to follow a wall contour when discharged adjacent to a surface, when that surface curves away from the jet discharge axis. As more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,052,869, granted Sep. 1, 1936 to Henri Coanda, the substance of which is hereby incorporated by reference, the Coanda effect is apparent when a stream of fluid emerges from a container, through a slot or other aperture, if one of the lips forming the walls of the slot is extended and recedes continuously from the direction of the axis of the slot. Under such conditions, the fluid clings to the extended lip and tends to increase in velocity, producing a reduced pressure region and causing an intake of large quantities of the surrounding fluid. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,121, granted Aug. 22, 1967, also to Henri Coanda, the contents thereof is hereby incorporated by reference herein, describes a fluid propulsion system based on the Coanda effect.
One goal of the present invention is to produce a high efficient jet propulsion system using existing components. Furthermore, the system of the present invention can be used in a wide variety of applications from light outboard units to heavy inboard installations.
The present invention includes a marine propulsion system comprising: (1) a fuel-filled tank; (2) an air compressor that generates compressed air; an engine that receives fuel from the tank, wherein the air compressor is powered by the engine; and (3) at least one hot gas generator that receives compressed air from the air compressor, the hot gas generator comprising: (a) a combustion chamber having an inlet and an outlet, the compressed gas injected into the combustion chamber at the inlet, the combustion chamber adapted to produce hot gas; (b) an injection nozzle that receives fuel from the tank, the injection nozzle positioned proximate to the inlet of the combustion chamber, the injection nozzle adapted to spray the fuel into the combustion chamber; and (c) an exhaust nozzle positioned at the outlet of the combustion chamber through which the hot gas produced in the combustion chamber is discharged from the hot gas generator.
In order that the invention may be better illustrated, it will now be described in connection with particular embodiments, reference being made to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are given solely for the purpose of illustration, and they act in no way to limit the scope of the present invention.
The invention is explained in greater detail based on drawings that reveal additional ideas of the invention, as to the dependent claims.
One embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The driving engine 1 may be any type of internal combustion engine having one or more reciprocated or rotating pistons and functioning with 2 or 4 strokes, using Diesel, Otto or Atkinson cycles. The engine could alternatively be replaced by any suitable device capable of powering air compressor. The air compressor 2 may operate by positive displacement or dynamic functioning. Alternatively, the air compressor could be replaced by any device capable of providing compressed air to the hot gas generator. For example, a 30-hp Briggs & Straton 2-cylinder small engine driving an Eaton M45 supercharger is expected to develop more than 200 hp in water at a fraction of the price and weight typically seen for a 200 hp big 4-cylinder conventional outboard. It is also expected that other existing engine-compressor combinations may be utilized to deliver 3-5 times more power than the most powerful outboard at this time of this writing. In an ideal case, the water power exceeds the engine power in a ratio equal with the compressor airflow reported to the engine airflow and subsequently, the ratio between the fuel injected in the gas generator and the fuel used by the engine. With the use of custom design components this ratio may exceed 10.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be within the scope of the following claims.
The present application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/993,066 filed Nov. 16, 2010, which claims priority to and is a national stage filing of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2009/044366 filed May 18, 2009, which claims priority to and is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/053,817, filed May 16, 2008, the contents of each afore-identified application are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61053817 | May 2008 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12993066 | Nov 2010 | US |
Child | 13304185 | US |