Patent ID: 8016562

Claim:
A turbine blade, comprising: a generally elongated blade having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a tip wall at a first end, a root coupled to the blade at an end generally opposite the first end for supporting the blade and for coupling the blade to a disc, and at least one cavity forming a cooling system in the blade; a camber-line rib extending radially outward from an outer surface of the tip of the generally elongated blade, beginning at the trailing edge of the blade and extending toward the leading edge, whereby the camber-line rib creates a pressure side top slot on a pressure side of the camber-line rib and whereby the camber-line rib creates a suction side top slot on a suction side of the camber-line rib; and at least one rib cooling channel positioned in the camber-line rib and in fluid communication with the at least one cavity forming the cooling system in the blade; wherein the at least one rib cooling channel includes a linear portion that is aligned generally with a radially outer surface of the camber-line rib; wherein the at least one rib cooling channel includes a cooling fluid feed portion that is nonparallel and nonorthogonal relative to the linear portion of the at least one rib cooling channel and in direct contact with the at least one cavity forming a cooling system in the blade; and wherein the cooling fluid feed portion is linear and extends from the at least one cavity forming a cooling system in the blade to an outer surface of the camber-line rib, wherein a plug is positioned in the cooling fluid feed portion at the intersection of the cooling fluid feed portion and the outer surface of the camber-line rib.