Rotating turbine stator

Claim 1

In a gas turbine engine having an integrally connected rotary diffuser and first stage turbine nozzle assembly useful with a centrifugal compressor of the type having a shaft-driven radial-flow impeller for delivering compressible gas, said diffuser-nozzle assembly comprising: a rotary diffuser stage having a pair of annular axially spaced front and rear sidewalls, each of said sidewalls having an inner and an outer circumference, said inner circumference closely surrounding the periphery of said impeller, said diffuser stage further having a plurality of symmetrically arranged wedge-shaped vanes mounted between said spaced sidewalls, the annular space between said sidewalls and said vanes defining flow passages for receiving gas radially discharged from said impeller, said diffuser stage being mounted for rotation substantially about the axis of the engine; and a first stage turbine nozzle consisting of an annular hub circumscribed by a nozzle diaphragm having an inner and outer shroud ring between which there are a multiplicity of symmetrically positioned vanes of airfoil design, the hub region of the turbine nozzle being integrally connected with said rear sidewall of said diffuser, said first stage turbine nozzle being mounted for rotation with said diffuser.