Patent ID: 7766606

Claim:
A turbine airfoil, comprising: a generally elongated, hollow airfoil having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a tip section at a first end, a root coupled to the airfoil at an end generally opposite the first end for supporting the airfoil and for coupling the airfoil to a disc, a platform at the intersection between the root and the generally elongated, hollow airfoil and extending generally orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the generally elongated, hollow airfoil, and a cooling system formed from at least one cavity in the elongated, hollow airfoil; at least one suction side platform edge cooling channel in the platform and extending generally along a first outer edge of the platform on a suction side of the generally elongated, hollow airfoil; at least one suction side platform cooling channel in the platform and extending from the at least one suction side platform edge cooling channel to a downstream edge of the platform generally along the suction side of the generally elongated, hollow airfoil such that the at least one suction side platform cooling channel is nonparallel and nonorthogonal relative to the at least one suction side platform edge and the downstream edge of the platform and wherein at least one suction side platform cooling channel is positioned generally tangential to the suction side of an adjacent turbine blade; at least one pressure side platform cooling channel in the platform and extending generally along an outer edge of the platform on a pressure side of the generally elongated, hollow airfoil; and wherein the at least one pressure side platform cooling channel comprises a diffusion slot extending at an acute angle from the at least one pressure side platform cooling channel to a second side edge of the platform on the pressure side of the generally elongated, hollow airfoil that is generally opposite to the first side edge.