Frank Whittle's Early Jet Engine Design
Frank Whittle's 1937 patent for an aircraft propulsion system using a gas turbine, which laid the foundation for modern jet engines.
Original patent title: “Propulsion of aircraft and gas turbines”
Frank Whittle's 1937 patent for an aircraft propulsion system using a gas turbine, which laid the foundation for modern jet engines. Granted to Individual in 1939 with 50 forward citations, and it is now in the public domain.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
The patent describes a propulsion system for aircraft that utilizes a gas turbine to generate thrust. It details a compressor that draws in air, a combustion chamber where fuel is burned to increase the energy of the air, and a turbine that extracts energy from the hot exhaust gases to drive the compressor. The high-velocity exhaust is then expelled through a nozzle to create forward propulsion. This design effectively replaces the traditional piston-and-propeller engine with a continuous flow process.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover turbofan engine designs with high bypass ratios common in modern airliners.
- Does not cover specific electronic fuel injection or digital engine control systems.
- Does not cover ramjet or scramjet propulsion systems that lack rotating compressor components.
- Does not cover modern materials like single-crystal turbine blades or ceramic matrix composites.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
Whittle realized that by using a turbine to drive the compressor, he could create a self-sustaining cycle that produced significantly more thrust than the power required to keep the engine running.
The Patent Drawing
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Gloster E.28/39
Early Whittle W.1 turbojet engines
Foundational design for all modern turbojet engines
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent represents the birth of the jet age. It provided the technical blueprint that allowed the UK and later the US to transition from propeller-driven aircraft to high-speed jet flight, fundamentally changing military and commercial aviation forever.
Filed
February 27, 1937
Granted
August 8, 1939
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Major aerospace engine manufacturers like Rolls-Royce, General Electric, and Pratt & Whitney continue to refine the fundamental gas turbine cycle established by Whittle. These companies have evolved the basic architecture into the complex, high-bypass turbofans used in modern commercial aviation.
Market impact
This patent triggered a massive shift in global aviation, rendering long-distance air travel faster and more reliable. It enabled the development of the modern jet fighter and the commercial jetliner, creating the multi-billion dollar global aerospace industry we see today.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
The patent describes a propulsion system for aircraft that utilizes a gas turbine to generate thrust. It details a compressor that draws in air, a combustion chamber where fuel is burned to increase the energy of the air, and a turbine that extracts energy from the hot exhaust gases to drive the compressor. The high-velocity exhaust is then expelled through a nozzle to create forward propulsion. This design effectively replaces the traditional piston-and-propeller engine with a continuous flow process.
The clever bit
Whittle realized that by using a turbine to drive the compressor, he could create a self-sustaining cycle that produced significantly more thrust than the power required to keep the engine running.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover turbofan engine designs with high bypass ratios common in modern airliners.
- Does not cover specific electronic fuel injection or digital engine control systems.
- Does not cover ramjet or scramjet propulsion systems that lack rotating compressor components.
- Does not cover modern materials like single-crystal turbine blades or ceramic matrix composites.
Patent Journey
From filing to expiry
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
34/40
Moderately cited
Claim breadth
0/20
Narrow claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
0/20
Older than 20 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$9K – $29K
Midpoint $18K · expired or expiring · industry baseline
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Frank, W. (1939). Frank Whittle's Early Jet Engine Design (U.S. Patent No. 2,168,726). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2168726/jet-engine-whittle
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
Embed
Add this patent to your site
Drop this plain-English patent card into any blog post or article — free, no signup. It always links back to the full breakdown here.
<div data-patentlens-widget data-patent-number="US2168726"></div> <script src="https://patentbrief.org/embed.js" async></script>
Stay in the loop
Get a weekly digest of new patents.
One email per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Keep exploring
Related patents you should know
US 4683195 · 1987
How to Make Billions of Copies of a DNA Segment
This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a method to rapidly create many copies of a specific piece of DNA or RNA, enabling its detection and analysis.
Cetus Corp
US 8697359 · 2014
How to Edit Genes in Human Cells Using an Engineered CRISPR System
This patent describes an engineered CRISPR-Cas9 system for precisely cutting DNA in eukaryotic cells to change how genes work, opening the door for gene editing in complex organisms.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
US 7657849 · 2010
How the iPhone's Slide-to-Unlock Gesture Works
Apple's 2010 patent describes unlocking a device by dragging a specific graphical image across the touchscreen along a predefined path, a gesture that became iconic with the original iPhone.
Apple Inc
US 4733665 · 1988
How Doctors Implant a Permanent Stent Using a Balloon
This patent describes the method for placing a permanent, expandable wire mesh tube inside a blood vessel or other body tube using a balloon-tipped catheter to widen it and keep it open.
Expandable Grafts Partnership
US 4405829 · 1983
How RSA Public-Key Encryption Keeps Digital Messages Secret
This patent describes the foundational RSA algorithm, a method for securely sending messages where anyone can encrypt a message using a public key, but only the intended recipient can decrypt it using a secret private key.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
US 4575330 · 1986
How 3D Printers Build Objects Layer by Layer from Liquid
This patent describes the foundational method for 3D printing, where a machine builds a three-dimensional object layer by layer by hardening a liquid material with light or other energy.
UVP Inc
Semantically similar
You might also find these interesting
US 1102653 · 1914
Robert Goddard's Early Design for Liquid-Fueled Rocket Engines
US 1994488 · 1935 · Sikorsky Aircraft Corp
Igor Sikorsky's Early Design for a Vertical Takeoff Aircraft
US 1001260 · 1911 · EVINRUDE MOTOR CO
How Ole Evinrude Invented the Modern Portable Outboard Motor
US 821393 · 1906
How the Wright Brothers Invented Modern Airplane Control
New to patents?
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Frank Whittle's Early Jet Engine Design cover?
Frank Whittle's 1937 patent for an aircraft propulsion system using a gas turbine, which laid the foundation for modern jet engines.
Who owns patent US 2168726?
Individual owns this patent, granted in 1939.
When does this patent expire?
This patent has expired and is now in the public domain — anyone can use the invention freely.
What is patent US 2168726 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 50 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This patent represents the birth of the jet age. It provided the technical blueprint that allowed the UK and later the US to transition from propeller-driven aircraft to high-speed jet flight, fundamentally changing military and commercial aviation forever.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover turbofan engine designs with high bypass ratios common in modern airliners.
Same assignee
More from Individual
Patent monitoring