JP2011510226A - Fluid pump for heat engine, heat engine, heat system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

  In a thermal system, the low pressure fluid is returned to the high pressure fluid source by a balance of internal pressure or by a force that balances the resistance to the flow of working fluid pumped from the low pressure state to the high pressure state.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is based on US Provisional Application No. 61 / 022,838 filed on January 23, 2008 and US Provisional Application No. 61 / 090,033 filed on August 19, 2008. Claim priority. The entire disclosure of the provisional application is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

  Related U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,698,973, 4,938,117, 4,947,731, 5,806,403 and 6,505,538, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / No. 506,141, No. 60 / 618,749, No. 60 / 807,299, No. 60 / 803,008, No. 60 / 868,209 and No. 60 / 960,427 and International Application No. PCT / The entire contents of US05 / 36180 and PCT / US05 / 36532 are also incorporated herein by reference.

  If a cost-effective generator is developed, it can convert several hundred billion dollars of thermal energy into electricity each year. According to Carnot's law, a certain amount of energy can be obtained for conversion from heat to electric power in a certain temperature range if only a method to use is found, but the Stirling engine, which is the most efficient heat engine, In general, there is an output efficiency loss of up to 30%. Stirling expands and compresses the internally circulating working fluid from the volume in the heating / cooling exchanger, but the heating and cooling rate of the fluid is slow and the work output is reduced before reaching the maximum capacity of the working fluid. Some has already occurred, thus a 30% efficiency loss.

  In one or more embodiments, a fluid pump for moving fluid from a first fluid source of the fluid in a low pressure state to a second fluid source of the fluid in a high pressure state is displaced in the chamber and the chamber And a partition member that divides the chamber into first and second sub-chambers of variable volume, wherein the first sub-chamber is in controllable communication with the second and first fluid sources, respectively. Having inlet and outlet openings, wherein the second sub-chamber has inlet and outlet openings in controllable communication with the first and second fluid sources, respectively, and the pressures on opposite sides of the partition member are equalized The partition member is configured to move into the second sub-chamber to pump low pressure fluid from the second sub-chamber to the second fluid source.

  In one or more embodiments, a thermal system is coupled to the heat exchanger for supplying a high pressure fluid and to the heat exchanger for extending the high pressure fluid and discharging the fluid in a low pressure state. To return the low pressure fluid from the engine and engine exhaust to the heat exchanger by a balance of internal pressure or by a force that balances the resistance to the flow of working fluid pumped from the low pressure state to the high pressure state. And a fluid pump.

  In one or more embodiments, a method of pumping fluid from a first fluid source of the fluid in a low pressure state to a second fluid source of the fluid in a high pressure state includes an internally displaceable section member. Dividing the chamber into first and second sub-chambers of variable volume, and receiving in the second sub-chamber a volume of the fluid in a low pressure state from a first fluid source. And replacing the volume of the fluid in the second sub-chamber in the low pressure state rather than heat with the same volume of the fluid in the high pressure state from the second fluid source in the first sub-chamber. .

  The described embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and elements having the same reference number in the accompanying drawings shall refer to like elements throughout, unless otherwise indicated.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermal system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 includes a plurality of diagrams illustrating a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a thermal system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a thermal system according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5A includes multiple drawings similar to FIG. 2 showing a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG. FIG. 5B includes a plurality of drawings similar to FIG. 2 showing a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG. FIG. 5C includes multiple drawings similar to FIG. 2 showing a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG. FIG. 5D includes a plurality of drawings similar to FIG. 2 showing a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG. FIG. 5E includes a plurality of drawings similar to FIG. 2 showing a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG. FIG. 5F includes a plurality of drawings similar to FIG. 2 showing a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG. FIG. 5G includes a plurality of drawings similar to FIG. 2 illustrating a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG. FIG. 5H includes a plurality of drawings similar to FIG. 2 showing a number of steps of one cycle of the system of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a valve / port mechanism according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a thermal system according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a simplified cross-sectional view of a fluid pump according to another embodiment. FIG. 8B is a simplified cross-sectional view of a fluid pump according to another embodiment. FIG. 8C is a schematic perspective view of the pump piston / biasing element structure shown in FIG. 8B. FIG. 8D includes a schematic side view and a top view of an embodiment incorporating two Wankel engines.

FIG. 9A is a simplified cross-sectional view of a thermal system according to another embodiment. FIG. 9B includes a simplified diagram of the latch mechanism of FIG. 9A with multiple steps in one cycle of the system.

FIG. 10 includes a simplified cross-sectional view of a variable condition adjuster according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a variable regulator stabilization device according to one or more embodiments. FIG. 12 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a variable regulator stabilization device according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 13A is a simplified cross-sectional view of variously applied Kokums engines according to one or more embodiments. FIG. 13B is a simplified cross-sectional view of variously applied Kokums engines according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 14 discloses a rotary shutter valve for use in one or more embodiments.

FIG. 15 discloses a particular application of a high efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) engine according to one or more embodiments.

(Detailed explanation)
In the following detailed description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed in detail. However, it will be apparent that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermal system 1000 and is hereinafter referred to as a sony engine 1000.

  The example Sony engine 1000 includes a heat engine 400, a heat exchanger 500, a cooling exchanger 600, and a fluid pump 700.

  The example heat exchanger 500 includes a boiler, which is a closed container that heats the working fluid. The working fluid in the example is heated under pressure. The steam or steam of the heated working fluid is in a high pressure state at that time, and then circulates out of the heat exchanger 500 and is used in the engine cylinder 400. In the embodiment, the heat source (not shown) of the heat exchanger 500 may be one obtained by burning any type of fossil fuel such as wood, coal, oil, natural gas or the like. In other embodiments, the heat source may be sunlight, electricity, nuclear (such as low-level nuclear waste), and the like. The heat source may be heat discarded from other processes such as automobile exhaust or factory chimneys.

  The working fluid can be any type of working fluid available in heat engines. Examples include, but are not limited to, water, air, hydrogen, helium and the like. In the embodiment, R-134 is used as the working fluid. In other embodiments, helium such as about 212 ° F. is used.

  In an embodiment, the cooling exchanger 600 is a shell or tube exchanger that includes a series of tubes that flow an activated working fluid that needs to be cooled. A tube defines the cooling chamber 110. A coolant is flowed over the tube to absorb the necessary heat from the actuated working fluid. In the examples, water is used as a coolant. The use of other coolants such as air is not excluded.

  The heat engine 400 is a type that operates with a heated working fluid and converts the energy of the heated working fluid into useful work via an output mechanism 101 such as a crankshaft or a generator. The heated working fluid enters the heat engine 400 via the inlet port 121 and exits the heat engine 400 via the outlet port 122 and is discharged to the cooling exchanger 600. While heat is transferred from the heat exchanger 500 to the cooling exchanger 600, some of the heat is converted to useful work by the output mechanism 101. The heat engine 400 includes a power piston 103 that is movable between a TBC (top dead center) and a BDC (bottom dead center) in a cylinder (no reference number) of the heat engine 400, which is a Wankel engine. , Which will be described later in some embodiments. The internal volume of the cylinder between the top of the power piston 103 and the cylinder wall at TDC, shown at 104 in FIG. 1, defines a piston chamber on the downstroke of the power piston 103 and a compression chamber on the upstroke of the power piston 103. As will be described later in some of the embodiments below, in order to transmit work generated by the heat engine 400 to the outside at the time of the downstroke, and to drive the power piston 103 at the time of compression, The power piston shaft 141 connects the power piston 103 to the output mechanism 101 in order to discharge the negative work.

  Examples of engine cylinder 400 include, but are not limited to, the patents and applications listed at the beginning of this specification, among others, US Pat. Nos. 5,806,403 and 6,505,538. Multi-cylinder uniflow engine.

  A fluid pump 700 is provided to return the activated working fluid in the low pressure state to the heat exchanger 500 in the high pressure state. In some embodiments, the fluid pump 700 can return the expanded working fluid to the heat exchanger 500 without undergoing a gas-liquid phase change. The fluid pump 700 includes a pump chamber 701 that is divided into two subchambers 114 and 112 by a displaceable pump piston 113. The pump piston 113 follows the power piston 103 for a certain period (up stroke, etc.) of the cycle of the sony engine 1000, and is independent from the power piston 103 for other periods (down stroke, etc.). It is operatively and controllably driven by the power piston 103 of the heat engine 400 via a connector 800 that enables it. Pump piston 113 is further biased by biasing element 709. In some embodiments, the biasing element 709 comprises a spring that pulls the pump piston 113 in a direction that minimizes the volume of the second pump subchamber 112. In one or more embodiments, other configurations of biasing element 709 are used, such as an air cylinder or some actuator that can force the fluid pump to close in time as described below.

  The first pump sub-chamber 114 can communicate with the piston chamber 104 of the heat engine 400 via a connection 123, defines an expansion chamber on the downstroke of the power piston 103, and pump displacement on the upstroke of the power piston 103. A chamber is defined. In an embodiment, an exhaust port 122 is provided in the first pump sub-chamber 114 for fluid communication between the cooling exchanger 600 and the first pump sub-chamber 114. However, other configurations are not excluded. For example, one or more exhaust ports 122 are provided in the first pump subchamber 114 and / or the piston chamber 104 and / or the connection 123. Similarly, in some embodiments, one or more inlet ports 121 are provided in the first pump subchamber 114 and / or the piston chamber 104 and / or the connection 123. The first sub-chamber, in some embodiments, has the dual function of an expansion chamber and a pump displacement chamber, as described below, hereinafter referred to as an “expansion chamber” (collectively, a piston chamber) or “pump displacement”. Sometimes referred to as “chamber”.

  The second pump subchamber 112 can communicate with the heat exchanger 500 via the pump outlet port 124 and with the cooling exchanger 600 via the pump inlet port 125. One or more control elements such as check valves are provided in the one or more ports 121, 122, 124 and 125 to control the opening and closing of each port during the operation of the sony engine 1000. In other embodiments, a valve / port control mechanism (not shown) is also provided to control the opening and / or closing of one or more of the ports 121, 122, 124 and 125. The second pump subchamber may be referred to as a “pump” in the following description. As described below in one or more embodiments below, the “pump” is closed when the second pump subchamber is at or near its minimum volume (zero in some embodiments) after pumping. Or “blocked”. As described below in one or more embodiments, just before pump operation, when the second pump subchamber is at or near maximum volume (in some embodiments, the total volume of the pump chamber), the pump is full. Become.

  One operating cycle of the sony engine 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. 2, which includes a plurality of views similar to FIG. 1, illustrating several steps during the operation of the sony engine 1000. Only the reference numerals necessary for the description of the specific steps are shown in FIG.

  In order to understand the operation of the engine, it is necessary to explain three points of the cycle.

  1) The nature of the positive work output generated in the expansion chamber 107 (shown in step 1 of FIG. 2) including the piston chamber 104 and the first pump subchamber 114 that expand together during the downstroke of the power piston 103.

  2) Piston chamber 104 (functioning as a compression chamber at this time) and first pump sub-chamber 114 (functioning as a pump displacement chamber at this time), both cooling and compression are performed simultaneously during the downstroke of the power piston 103 ), And the anti-work caused by recompression that occurs in the cooling consumption chamber 100 (shown in step 7 of FIG. 2) comprising the cooling chamber 110 of the cooling exchanger 600 and the second pump subchamber 112. ) Nature.

  3) Effective balance of work output due to pressure difference between expansion 1) and compression 2).

  The positive work 1) of the engine 1000 is created by the expansion of a high pressure heated working fluid towards a low pressure exhaust sink (such as the cooling exchanger 600).

  The negative work 2) in the cooling consumption chamber 100 is the work imposed on the working fluid during compression and cooling. The contraction of the working fluid is caused by compression and heat rake off during passage through the cooling chamber 110 of the cooling exchanger 600.

  Work 3) is the volume that expands in the expansion chamber 107 and the volume that the cooling consumption chamber 100 contracts, especially when the power piston 103 moves between top dead center (TDC) and bottom dead center (BDC). Produced by the work or pressure difference that occurs between.

  Step 1

  Step 1 shows the sony engine 1000 just before pumping. For example, at or near TDC, such as at or near the end of the power piston 103 upstroke, high pressure heated working fluid from the heat exchanger 500 was opened slightly (for steps 1 and 2). It is injected into the minimum volume of the expansion chamber 107 via the inlet port 121. Specifically, the working fluid in the heat exchanger 500 reaches the piston chamber 104 and the first sub-chamber 114 via the input port 121. In some embodiments, the minimum volume of the expansion chamber 107 needs to be as close to zero as possible. Here, as will be apparent from the following description, the second pump subchamber 112 is full of cooled and compressed working fluid. The connection between the cooling chamber 110 and the second pump sub-chamber 112 is shown in step 1, where cooled and compressed working fluid may flow from the cooling chamber 110 into the second pump sub-chamber 112 (some In other embodiments) or the possibility of not flowing (in other examples). In some embodiments, the cooled and compressed working fluid is prevented from flowing back into the cooling chamber 110 (particularly during pump operation), such as by a return valve at the pump input port 125. A biasing element 709 such as a tension spring is set. A connector 800 allows the power piston 103 and the pump piston 113 to be connected. As described immediately below, the working fluid injected from the heat exchanger 500 achieves internal force balance and the fluid pump 700 transfers its charge (in the second pump subchamber 112) to the heat exchanger 500. Return to the pump operation.

  Step 2

  Step 2 shows the sony engine 1000 just before the pump operation is completed. The connector 800 prevents the connection between the power piston 103 and the pump piston 113 from being released. Release of the connector 800 in the embodiment described in detail is performed after the inlet port 121 is opened to access the heated working fluid from the heat exchanger 500 to the expansion chamber 107. However, in some other embodiments, disabling the connector 800 when or just before the inlet port 121 is opened is not excluded. After the connector 800 is released, the pump piston 113 only receives the biasing action of the biasing element 709 that pushes the pump piston 113 toward the closed pump position shown in step 2 of FIG. The cooled and compressed working fluid in the second pump subchamber 112 is pumped by the pump piston 113 via the pump outlet port 124 opened at that time and returned to the heat exchanger 500. Since the pressure is equalized by the presence of the heated working fluid on both sides of the pump piston 113, little energy is required to pump the pump charge back to the heat exchanger 500 using the biasing element 709. . The pump piston 113 is stopped at the closed pump position shown in step 2 of FIG. The presence of the pump piston 113 at or near the closed pump position causes the pump outlet port 124 to be closed either by the body of the pump piston 113 or via the valve / port control mechanism described above. . In some embodiments, the volume of the second pump subchamber 112 in the closed pump position needs to be as close to zero as possible. In the expansion chamber 107, the heated working fluid begins to expand and moves the power piston 103 toward the BDC.

  Step 3

  Step 3 shows the sony engine 1000 in the early stages of the expansion (down) stroke. The inlet port 121 is closed so that expansion occurs in isolation within the expansion chamber 107. In step 3, the expansion chamber 107 including the piston chamber 104 and the first pump subchamber 114 is disconnected from the heat exchanger 500 and the cooling exchanger 600. The power piston 103 initiates a downstroke and allows the working fluid to expand adiabatically. The down stroke of the pump piston 113 generates work output to the output mechanism 101 via the power piston shaft 141. Pump piston 113 is maintained in the closed pump position by biasing element 709.

  Step 4

  Step 4 shows the sony engine 1000 nearing completion of the expansion (down) stroke. The working fluid in the expansion chamber 107 is isolated from the heat exchanger 500 and the cooling exchanger 600 and continues to expand in the direction of the BDC.

  Step 5

  Step 5 shows the sony engine 1000 at the end of the expansion (down) stroke, ie, at the start of the compression (up) stroke. The piston chamber 104 and the first pump subchamber 114 are in the process of changing from an expansion chamber to a compression chamber. The power piston shaft 141 (a) moves the positive work due to the expansion of the working fluid to the outside, and (b) moves the negative work from the outside to drive the next compression of the actuated working fluid. It is in the process of being converted to a state. The power piston 103 has completed its downstroke and has reached BDC. A discharge port 122 is opened to the cooling exchanger 600. The piston chamber 104 and the first pump sub-chamber 114 can now turn into a compression chamber and a pump displacement chamber, respectively, and push the working fluid into the cooling exchanger 600. The power output down stroke is shifted to the compression input up stroke in preparation for the compression of step 6.

  Step 6

  Step 6 shows the sony engine 1000 in the initial stage of the compression (up) stroke. The connector 800 is actuated again to connect the power piston 103 and the pump piston 113. Thus, the pump piston 113 moves from the closed pump position at the power piston 103 during the latter upstroke. Note that during each cycle at the BDC, the expansion chamber 107 changes mode to become a cooling consumption chamber 100 (best shown in step 7 of FIG. 2), where the consumed working fluid is now Simultaneously compressed and cooled. The compression input upstroke that causes counter work (via the power piston shaft 141) from the engine output (currently acting as the compression section) causes the piston chamber 104 (acting as the compression chamber at this time) and the first pump subchamber 114 ( At that point, the consumed working fluid in the pump displacement chamber) is taken in and compression starts. The exhaust port 122 and the pump inlet port 125 are opened, and the recompressed spent working fluid from the pump displacement chamber 114 enters the cooling exchanger 600. Thereafter, the cooled and compressed working fluid is forced into the second pump subchamber 112 by the still upstroke action of the power piston 103 and the pump piston 113.

  Step 7

  Step 7 is a diagram showing the sony engine 1000 in the middle of its compression (up) stroke. The compression chamber 104 remains closed while the power piston 103 erodes the volume of the compression chamber 104. The pressure on both sides of the pump piston 113 is made equal. The compression input (schematically shown in steps 6 to 8 of FIG. 2) is caused by the counter work imposed on the positive work output of the heat engine 400.

  Step 8

  Step 8 shows the sony engine 1000 at a time near the completion of the compression (up) stroke. The second pump subchamber 112 is almost completely full and is ready to discharge its pump charge to the heat exchanger 500. The sony engine 1000 is ready to start step 1 again.

  The above description is centered on one power cylinder of the heat engine 400 during the expansion and compression cycle. In some embodiments, the heat engine 400 of the sony engine 1000 comprises two or more cylinders, each with a dedicated fluid pump 700 and a cooling chamber 110. For example, the heat engine 400 of one embodiment has four power cylinders that are offset from each other by 90 °, all of which act on a common drive shaft connected to the power piston shaft 141 of each power cylinder, Ensure continuous rotating work output. Part of the positive expansion work of one or more power cylinders is used to perform the negative compression work of other power cylinders.

  In one or more embodiments, the cooling chamber 110 and / or the heat exchanger chamber of the heat exchanger 500 are configured as large as practically possible (compared to other chambers of the thermal system).

  In one or more embodiments, the pressure in the cooling chamber 110 is maintained, such as by a return valve at the discharge port 122 between the compression chamber 107 and the cooling chamber 110. The pressure in the cooling chamber 110 is turned off in some embodiments near the system intermediate pressure, such as about 373 psi in the following examples. Due to the presence of the return valve, the expanded working fluid does not immediately move to the cooling chamber 110 at the beginning of the compression stroke (step 6 of FIG. 2).

  Instead, the actuated working fluid is first compressed in the piston chamber 104 and the first pump subchamber 114 at the initial stage of the compression stroke (step 7 in FIG. 2). The pressure in the piston chamber 104 and the first pump subchamber 114, which are still isolated, rises above the minimum pressure of the system of about 255 psi as in the embodiment described below. At the same time, while the pump inlet port 125 is open, the pressure in the cooling chamber 110 that is currently connected to the second pump subchamber 112 is added and increased due to the volume of the second pump subchamber 112 being increased. As shown in the examples below, it decreases slightly to about 306 psi or the like. The pressure in the second pump subchamber 112 at the initial stage of the compression stroke is higher than the pressure in the first pump subchamber 114, facilitating upward movement of the power piston 113 towards the TDC, etc. Support opening. Thus, in some embodiments, it is not necessary to activate the immediate connector 800 at the beginning of the compression stroke, until the pressures in the second and first pump subchambers 112 and 114 are equal. The pump piston 113 is “floated” in the TDC direction by the pressure difference in the pump sub-chamber.

  When the pressure between the first and second pump subchambers 114 and 112 is equal, the pump piston 113 is forced toward the TDC by the power piston 113 via the connector 800 activated at that time, This further compresses the actuated working fluid in the piston chamber 104 and the first pump subchamber 114. When the pressure of the actuated compressed working fluid in the first pump subchamber 114 and piston chamber 104 reaches the opening pressure of the return valve of the exhaust port 122, the exhaust port 122 opens and the compressed working fluid enters the cooling chamber 110. Inflow, the pressure in the cooling chamber 110 and the second pump sub-chamber 112 is again boosted to a desired level, for example in the range of 306 psi to 373 psi, as in the examples below. The compressed working fluid flowing into the cooling chamber 110 by the power piston 103 and the pump piston 113 is cooled to lower entropy by the coolant in the cooling exchanger 600. The cooled and compressed working fluid then moves into the second pump subchamber 112.

  Embodiments that both provide a large capacity cooling chamber 110 and reduce the pressure in the large cooling chamber 110 prevent (a) turbulence between the cooling chamber 110 and the expansion chamber 10 7, and (b) a second The working fluid in the pump sub-chamber 112 is prevented from being compressed without removing heat. In some embodiments, holding the cooling chamber 110 and the second pump sub-chamber 112 near intermediate pressure stabilizes the pressure in the second pump sub-chamber 112, and the compression chamber during the upstroke Increases heat absorption capacity during the compression phase of the entire working fluid. It should be noted that at the initial stage of the upstroke, just as the higher pressure homogenization in the fluid pump 700 supports the rapid closure of the fluid pump 700 at the TDC, the lower pressure homogenization in the fluid pump 700 is sought. Thus, opening of the fluid pump 700 is supported.

  In one or more embodiments, the pumping described in steps 1 and 2 causes the volume of cooling and compressed working fluid in the second pump subchamber 112 (step 1) to be heated in the first pump subchamber 114. Are replaced with the same volume of working fluid (step 2). In this example, the sony engine 1000 exchanges volume at a much faster rate than a typical Stirling engine exchanges heat. In a typical Stirling engine, this unavoidable delay in the heat exchange process is the reason for suffering a 30% loss in thermal efficiency. Specifically, a typical Stirling engine absorbs heat during the working stroke so that some of the work output is generated before the working fluid is sufficiently heated, thus reducing the work output. lose. In this manner, volume exchange in one or more embodiments of the sony engine 1000 can be more careful and rapid than a Stirling engine.

  In one aspect, unlike a typical Stirling engine, the sony engine 1000 according to one or more embodiments has a working fluid volume so that it can be fully heated before being injected back into the working cylinder of the heat engine 400. Circulate all (from the second pump subchamber 112). Thereby, the working fluid can sufficiently realize its work output capability. Similarly, in one or more embodiments, the working fluid is completely cooled during the compression phase of the cycle. Thus, in one or more embodiments, the sony engine 1000 implements all of the Carnot bracket utilizing some or much of the 30% efficiency that is wasted by a typical Stirling engine.

  In one or more embodiments, a 30% efficiency loss due to a typical Stirling engine is recovered with (a) a rapid closing action of the fluid pump 700 and / or (b) a slight loss due to cocking of the biasing element 709. be able to. The former, that is, the rapid closing operation of the fluid pump 700, can be realized by making the pressure applied to the opposite sides of the pump piston 113 equal so that the biasing force for the pump operation can act with almost no power loss. It is. In one or more embodiments, the sony engine 1000 does not force the working fluid to circulate, but does so naturally. Under a balanced pressure environment, the biasing element 709 actually causes the fluid pump 700 to close (step 2 in FIG. 2). The force of the biasing element 709 is loaded and stored until the moment of opportunity in the TDC where homogenization occurs (step 1 in FIG. 2) to achieve a rapid pump closing operation. In one or more embodiments, the connector 800 that sets the biasing element 709 in preparation for the moment of opportunity at the TDC opens the fluid pump 700, also under balanced pressure conditions (step 6-8 in FIG. 2). The latter, ie, in some embodiments, the loss due to setting the biasing element 709 is as little as 4.5% to 5%, etc., compared to the 30% efficiency loss due to a typical Stirling engine. The force of the biasing element 709 is still sufficient to move the pump piston 113 and in this time frame there is sufficient speed to overcome the total weight of the pump mechanism.

  In other aspects, the working fluid is balanced by internal pressure balance of the sony engine 1000 according to one or more embodiments when the fluid pump 700 is open (steps 5-8) and closed (steps 1-2). Can circulate sufficiently and be sufficiently heated before entering the heat engine 400 and / or sufficiently cooled during compression. In one or more embodiments, the construction of the sony engine 1000 can provide a typical loss in other engines, including a momentary balance of internal forces within the engine, which uses less energy or includes a typical Stirling engine. If a rapid transfer of working fluid from low temperature / low pressure to high temperature / high pressure is desired without incurring, an instantaneous window of opportunities that come during the cycle is utilized. In this aspect, the Sunny Engine 1000 is a new type of heat engine that is not a Brayton, Rankin, Ericsson or standard Stirling engine.

  Example

  Specific examples of implementations of the sony engine 1000 are described below.

  A. expansion

  The work output (W = ΔpΔV) of the sony engine 1000 is the work difference between expansion and compression as the working fluid undergoes cycling.

W = W _expansion −W _{compression / cooling} = ΔpΔV _expansion− ΔpΔV _{compression / cooling}

  Using helium as the working fluid, with the parameters in the temperature range of 212 ° F. to 62 ° F. and the pressure range of 480 psi to 255 psi, the expansion chamber 107 expands as follows.

ΔV _expansion = V _{BDC expansion−} V _{TDC expansion} = 480 psi, 1 volume unit

  here

V _{BDC expansion} is the total volume of expansion chamber 107 in BDC (= 3.1877 volume units, etc.), defined by the sum of the maximum volumes of piston chamber 104 and first pump subchamber 114 (step 5), and

V _{TDC expansion} is the total volume of the expansion chamber 107 at TDC (eg = 2.1877 volume units), assuming that the volume of the piston chamber 104 at TDC is zero, and the maximum of the first pump subchamber 114 It is defined by the volume (step 2).

V _{BDC expansion} / V _{TDC expansion} is the ratio of expansion (eg, 3.1877 / 2.1877 = 1.571 times).

  Thus, the first pump sub-chamber 114, which is injected with 2.1877 volume units of hot / hot working fluid from the heat exchanger 500, expands and expands by 1 volume unit as the power piston 103 moves from TDC to BDC. In the working fluid inside, a pressure drop from 480 psi to 255 psi occurs and a temperature drop from 212 ° F to 62 ° F occurs.

  B. Compression, cooling and pump operation

  As described above, during the up stroke from the BDC to the TDC, the power piston 103 and the pump piston 113 enter the cooling consumption chamber 100, and the working fluid that has been expanded up to that time is in the cooling chamber 110 of the cooling exchanger 600. And then flow into the second pump subchamber 112 of the fluid pump 700 held at about 373 psi by the return valve at the discharge port 122 as described above.

  The total volume of the piston chamber 104 (currently functioning as a compression chamber) and the first pump subchamber 114 (currently functioning as a pump displacement chamber) is compressed by one volume unit during the upstroke, so that the expansion operation The fluid pressure increases from 255 psi to 372.96 psi. Little work loss is required for the pump piston 113 to enter the pump displacement chamber 114. This is because the pressure applied to the opposite sides of the pump piston 113 is equalized. The working fluid enters the cooling chamber 110 of the cooling transducer 600 and then enters the second pump subchamber 112 of the fluid pump 700, but is held at 62 ° F. at an almost constant pressure of about 373 psi, with an entropy of 7 There is a concentration increase that falls from .2148 to 7.0263 Btu / lbm- ° R and equal to the fluid heated in the heat exchanger 500.

For example, if the cooling chamber 110 of the cooling exchanger 600 is sealed by a return valve in 10 volume units, the initial total volume V _{BDC compression / cooling} of the cooling consumption chamber 100 is 13.1877 volume units (step 6). And the final total volume V _{TDC compression / cooling} of the cooling consumption chamber 100 is 12.1877 volume units. A reduction of 2.877 / 33.1877 = 68.63% in the total volume of the piston chamber 104 and the first pump subchamber 114 is necessary to counter the expansion of 1 / 1.571. A decrease in entropy (7.2148 to 7.0263 Btu / lbm- ° R) with constant cooling at 62 ° F. with a compression of 255 psi to about 372.96 psi was observed from the second pump subchamber 112 to the heat exchanger. The density is increased so that the total flow rate due to pumping to 500 is exactly the flow rate supplied to the first pump subchamber 114 from the heat exchanger 500. Because the pressure on both sides of the pump piston 113 is equal, the working fluid circulates with minimal efficiency loss, and in this particular example, allows the sony engine 1000 to approach its optimal Carnot efficiency capability.

  C. Thermal efficiency

  Below is a detailed breakdown of the heat and work loss / gain (h & Q) used to determine engine efficiency.

ζ = W _expansion −W _{compression / cooling} / d ₂ / d _i × (Q)

    here

d ₂ = concentration of compressed working fluid at 62 ° F. and 373 psi before pumping.

d ₁ = concentration of expanded working fluid at 62 ° F. and at 255 psi or BDC.

Q ₁ = heat consumed by engine expansion (from 480 psi to 255 psi) before recompression.

Q ₂ = replenishment of heat from 62 ° F. in fluid pump 700 to 212 ° F. in heat exchanger 500.

W _expansion = h _{helium @ 212 ° F.−} h _{helium @ 62 ° F.} = 4673.6 Btu−4485.4 Btu = 188.2 Btu / lbm

  Determine the negative work caused by compression.

Compression temperature, so constant 62 ° _F, the ^{_{W he = -∫ vi V2 mRTdV /}} V = -∫ vi V2 mRTdP / P.

  Assume the following.

P _high = 480 psi (in heat exchanger 500)

P _middle = 373 psi (in second pump subchamber 112)

P _low = 255 psi (in cooling chamber 110 of cooling exchanger 600)

V _open = 3.1877 units (V _{BDC expansion} )

V _closed = 2.1877 units (V _{TDC expansion} )

  Therefore,

  dP = 373-225 psi = 118 psi

  ΔV = 1 unit

Using m = .18081 lbm / ft ³ , the weight of 1 ft ³ of helium is

−W _he = −∫ _v1 ^v2 mRTΔV / V = −128.56 Btu / lmb

  To address the heat loss and gain, we will now look at the specific conditions of the working fluid circulating through the system. Partial compression from 3.1877 units to 2.1877 units (255 psi to 373 psi) before being sent to heat exchanger 500 is intermediate between 255 psi and 480 psi. The increase in density caused by this compression actually causes the working fluid to flow back to the heat exchanger 500 under partially elevated pressure conditions.

  The heat removed by a coolant such as water during compression is determined as follows.

Q ₁ = 4673.6Btu-4485.4Btu = is 188.2Btu. The same 188.2 Btu is required to raise the same unit from 255 psi to 480 psi.

_{Q 2 = 4674.6Btu-4486.5Btu = 187.1Btu} / lbm

The heat per lbm that needs to be added to the circulating fluid in the heat exchanger 500 is the same as that removed during recompression. Since the compression phase is adiabatic, there is no actual heat removal during the operating downstroke. While heat removal occurs during recompression, the fluid is held at a constant low temperature of 62 ° F. This heat removal is a factor in the change in density of the expanded working fluid as it is recompressed and cooled. The compressed fluid (maintained at 62 ° F.) boosts to 373 psi (between 255 psi and 480 psi), so Q ₂ (the heat per lbm removed during compression is the heat that will be added to the reservoir) Is the coefficient of density increase caused by a change in pressure from 255 psi to 373 psi at a constant temperature of 62 ° F.

  Heat replenishment from 62 ° F. of fluid pump 700 to 212 ° F. in heat exchanger 500 is

Ζ = d ₂ / d ₁ × (Q ₂ ) = d ₂ / d ₁ × 187.1 Btu due to heat removed during compression from 255 psi to 373 psi.

  This is the same heat that needs to be replenished to raise the temperature of the working fluid from 62 ° F. to 212 ° F. or 373 psi to 480 psi. Since the heat added is measured in Btu / lbm, the heat replenished in the reservoir is the same as the heat extracted during compression at a constant temperature of 62 ° F., and the coefficient of increase in density during compression Is multiplied by the heat difference of reversible heat insulation generated during expansion.

dV = V _{TDC expansion} / V _{BDC expansion} = 2.1877 / 3.1877 = 0.6863

d ₂ / d ₁ = 3.1877 / 2.1877 (the reverse of the above) = .23644 lbm / ft ³ / .18080 lbm / ft ³ = 1.4571

  The pressure shown in 10 units constrained in the cooling chamber 110 of the cooling exchanger 600 maintains an ultimate pressure of ˜373 psi. When the second pump subchamber 112 of the fluid pump 700 is fully opened in 2.1877 units, the pressure balance in both the second pump subchamber 112 and the cooling chamber 110 is reduced as follows.

  10 units x 373 psi / 12. 1877 = 306.05 psi

  When 3.1877 units are forced into the cooling chamber 110 and the second pump subchamber 112 of the fluid pump 700 at 255 psi, the pressure rises again.

  P = 306.05 x 12.1877 units + 255 x 3.1877 units / 12.1877 units = 372.75 psi, that is, an average pressure of 373 psi.

  Based on the above data, the efficiency of the sony engine is determined as follows.

ζ = W _expansion −W _{compression / cooling} / d ₂ / d ₁ × (Q ₁ )

  = 188.2 Btu-128.56 Btu / 1.4571 x 187.1 Btu = 21.88%

  Thus, the thermal efficiency of Sunney in this particular example is 21.88%. The Sunny engine 1000 in this example operates between 62 ° F. (289.82 ° K) and 212 ° F. (373.15 ° K), so the Carnot limit (1-289.82 in this temperature range). /373.15) is 22.33%, and the Sony engine 1000 can theoretically achieve 21.88% efficiency, which is 98% of the Carnot limit of 22.33% efficiency.

  In the above example, helium is used as the working fluid. However, the use of other media including hydrogen and air is not excluded, although not limited to these. Helium gas is suitable for the above example as an ideal working fluid because it is inert and very similar to a perfect gas, providing optimal heat-work conversion. The closer the boiling point is to absolute zero, the better its Carnot potential. The higher the viscosity, the less leakage that occurs.

  Embodiments can also be modified to optimize the expansion capability of the working fluid being heated, such as by sunlight and stack waste heat to drive the sony engine under varying heat / pressure conditions. Such modifications include controlling and self-adjusting the volumes of the expansion chamber 107 and the cooling consumption chamber 100 to accommodate lower solar separation in winter and higher separation in summer, 170, respectively. Adapt to variable temperature / pressure conditions imposed by variable temperature, such as ° F to 300 ° F. At higher temperatures and pressures, the overall sony efficiency is significantly improved because the work output is significantly greater than the negative work required to set the biasing mechanism.

  Various embodiments are further described below.

  FIG. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a thermal system or a sony engine 3000, according to an embodiment using a Wankel rotating engine that continuously accumulates inertia due to centrifugal force and outputs power. FIG. 4 is a diagram of a similar configuration 4000 that operates with a piston rather than a Wankel system. Not limited to these, Wankel configurations include Ramelli, Otto von Gehrig, Peppenheim, Watt, Elijah Galloway, Jones, Arotham / Francot, Coulee, Ampreby, Wallinder / Skoog, Sensoud / Rabaud, Bernard Maillard (Ramelli, the Otto von Guericke, the Pappenheim, the Watt, the Elijah Galloway, the Jones, the Alotham / Franchot, the Cooley, the Umpleby, the Wallinder / Skoog, the Sensaud / Lavaud, the Bernard Maillard) And the recent George Yarr composition.

  The sony engine 3000 is for one or more Wankel engines 403 having a Wankel piston 3103 corresponding to the heat exchanger 500, the heat engine 400 of FIG. And a cooling exchanger (not shown) having a cooling chamber 110 for each fluid pump 700. Each Wankel engine 403 includes three working chambers 3107R / L / M that sequentially correspond to the piston chamber 104 of FIG. The Wankel engine 403 also includes two fluid pumps 700R / L each having a cooling chamber 110R / L in the cooling exchanger. The cam mechanism 144 (FIG. 3) is connected to the main power piston shaft 141 (similar to FIG. 1) via the left / right pump shaft 141L / R with the cam piston 144L / R of the fluid pump 700L / R. (FIGS. 5A to 5H). In some embodiments, an auxiliary cooling element (not shown in all drawings) is provided in the fluid pump 700L / R to provide a cooled and compressed operation in addition to the cooling effect of the cooling exchanger. Cool the fluid further. In one or more embodiments, the auxiliary cooling element comprises multiple sets of tubes having some coolant that is diverted from the cooling exchanger.

  The Wankel configuration shown greatly simplifies the valve configuration and general design and significantly reduces production costs. Specifically, in some embodiments, the rotational configuration eliminates the need for a piston stroke valve configuration. In some embodiments, the rotational motion automatically shifts the expansion chamber 107 to the cooling consumption chamber 100 and / or vice versa without an internal piston actuated valve configuration. In some embodiments, cam mechanism 144 eliminates the need for other complex timing mechanisms.

  In some embodiments, a return valve 970R / L is located at the exhaust port 122R / L between the Wankel engine 403 and the cooling chamber 110R / L. (In some embodiments, a similar return valve is also provided in the piston system configuration of FIG. 4). As in the above embodiment, the return pressure valve 970R / L is used to maintain the holding pressure level in the cooling chamber 110R / L and the second pump subchamber 112R / L at ˜373 psi or the like. If a variable condition adjuster 1001R / L (described below) is provided in some embodiments, the holding pressure will vary. The variable condition adjuster 1001R / L is not provided in other embodiments. When the high pressure working fluid is released into the compression chamber 107R / L, the high pressure working fluid in the expansion chamber 107R / L expands and the pressure drops to its low level, and the expansion chamber 107R / L automatically cools down. Shifting to the chamber 100R / L, the consumed working fluid is approximately between the original heat / maximum pressure of the heat exchanger 500 (such as 480 psi in this example) and the minimum pressure of the expanded working fluid (such as 255 psi in this example). Recompression to the middle is started. A return valve 970R / L in the cooling chamber 110R / L maintains the internal compressed fluid at its nearly constant intermediate pressure, thereby bringing the fluid pump 700R / L into the second pump subchamber 112R / L. Stabilize the flow rate so that the fluid in the pump does not undergo excessive compression fluctuations during the compression phase.

  This eliminates the Wankel rotation configuration (with the ability to automatically change the expansion chamber 107R / L to the cooling consumption chamber 100R / L) and / or the simple cam mechanism 144 (other complexity in the timing mechanism). ) All greatly simplifies the construction of the sony engine 3000.

  Various steps (eight illustrated) of the operation of the sony engine 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5H as in FIG. With the recognition that the engine can have a larger number, for example two continuously rotating pistons 3103, which work in the same way during the rotation of the power piston 141 but are angularly separated (such as 90 °), the explanation is Focus on the operation of one rotating Wankel piston 3103 (FIG. 3).

  As in FIG. 1, the expansion chamber 107R / L (best shown in FIG. 5B) has two volume fractions for each rotary piston section 3107R / L / M and pump displacement section 114R / L (when open). Prepare. Similarly, the cooling consumption chamber 100R / L (best shown in FIG. 5C) includes a respective rotating piston section 3107R / L / M (compressor), pump displacement section 114R / L (when closed), cooling chamber 110R / Four volume fractions such as L and second pump subchamber 112R / L are provided.

  Step 1-FIG. 5A

  The right spool valve 115R is opened and the right first pump sub-chamber 114R (operating here as an expansion chamber—best shown in FIG. 5B) is empty and ready for rapid filling. Accessed by hot high pressure working fluid from vessel 500. The second pump subchamber 112R on the right side of the right fluid pump 700R is completely filled with cooled and compressed working fluid ready to be pumped back into the heat exchanger 500. The right working chamber 3107R is pressurized. The right biasing element 709R is fully set and ready to pump back the charge cooled from the second pump subchamber 112R to the heat exchanger 500. Due to the internal force / pressure balance, the right fluid pump 700R releases the charge back to the high pressure / high temperature heat exchanger 500. The right fluid pump 700R is in a state similar to Step 1 in FIG.

  The left working chamber 3107L in the rotary engine is fully expanded and ready to convert its expanded volume to the right compressed cooling consumption chamber. The left fluid pump 700L (ie, the second pump subchamber) is completely empty and the left working chamber 3107L of the rotary engine is best represented by the cooling chamber 110L and then the second pump subchamber 112L of the left fluid pump 700L (see FIG. When the working working fluid begins to compress while passing through, it is ready to begin opening. The left fluid pump 700L is in the same state as step 5 in FIG.

  Step 2-Figure 5B

  As described above, the expansion chamber such as the right expansion chamber 107R includes the right first pump sub-chamber 114R and the right working chamber 3107R during the expansion. During compression, the cooling consumption chamber such as the left cooling consumption chamber 100L (best shown in FIG. 5C) is not only the left first pump subchamber 114L and the left working chamber 3107L, but also the left cooling chamber in the open left fluid pump 700L. 110L and a left second pump subchamber 112L. In one or more embodiments, for optimal efficiency, the expanded working fluid is forced out of the corresponding piston compartment during compression and / or the piston chamber volume is closed.

  On the right side, the hot / high pressure working fluid from the heat exchanger 500 passes through the right inlet port 121R corresponding to the connection 123 in FIG. 1 to the two compartment volume of the right expansion chamber 107R, namely the right first pump subchamber 114R and It is injected into the right working chamber 3107R via a right spool valve 115R (functioning similarly to the inlet port 121 in FIG. 1). A rapid pumping action occurs in the right fluid pump 700R, and the charge in the right fluid pump 700R returns to the heat exchanger 500 via the right pump outlet port 124R. The right fluid pump 700R is completely empty and ready for the next opening of the pump stroke. Specifically, the right biasing element 709R such as a compression spring can forcibly close the right fluid pump 700R due to the balance of pressure conditions on the opposite side of the right pump piston 113R. The cam mechanism 144 has unlocked the right pump shaft 141R, allowing the right fluid pump 700R to close. Similarly, the Wankel piston 3103 starts its expansion stroke in the right working chamber 3107R (received from the right side). When the right fluid pump 700R is completely closed, the right spool valve mechanism 975R pulls the right spool valve 115 to close it. The right fluid pump 700R is in the same state as step 2 shown in FIG.

  On the left side, the working fluid is fully expanded in the left expansion chamber 107L. When the working fluid injected into the right working chamber 3107R rotates the main drive shaft 141, the left fluid pump 700L starts to open together with the Wankel piston 3103, and the compressed working fluid is filled into the left second pump subchamber 112L. Then, compression of the expanded working fluid in the left cooling consumption chamber 100L is forced. When the left cooling chamber 110L is pressurized, it begins to extract heat and lowers the entropy from the consumed working fluid in the left cooling consumption chamber 100L. When the right expansion chamber 107R starts to move the Wankel piston 3103, it causes a tandem action via the left pump shaft 141L (acting on the cam 144 on the main drive shaft 141) that starts moving the left pump piston 113L, In this way, the consumed working fluid is drawn from the left working chamber 3107L via the left discharge port 122L and the left cooling chamber 110L, and sent to the left pump subchamber 112L. The left fluid pump 700L is in the same state as Step 6 in FIG.

  Step 3-FIG. 5C

  The volume of the right expansion chamber 107R is continuously opened while the right spool valve 115R remains closed, and operates in the right expansion chamber 107R (including the volume of the right first pump subchamber 114R and the right working chamber 3107R). Allows the fluid to expand adiabatically. The right fluid pump 700R is in the same state as step 3 in FIG.

  While the working fluid continues to expand on the right side, the cold consumed working fluid in the left cooling consumption chamber 110L is continuously pumped through the left cooling chamber 110L to the left fluid pump 700L. The Wankel piston 3103 enters the left working chamber 3107L and the left pump piston 113L enters the left first pump subchamber 114L of the left cooling consumption chamber 100L (currently acting as a pump displacement section), causing compression. Cooling occurs in the left cooling chamber 110L, the entropy of the pressurized volume is lowered, the volume displacement of the left fluid pump 700L is received, and the left working chamber 3107L is closed by the Wankel piston 3103. Left pump return valves 655L and 656L stop working fluid pumped through the pump process.

  The left biasing element 709L is set via the contact 582 between the left pump shaft 141L and the corresponding cam 144L of the cam mechanism 144. When the cam mechanism 144 rotates counterclockwise, the contact 582 moves radially away from the power piston shaft 141, and the left pump shaft 141L, in this particular embodiment, moves to the upper left corner of the drawing, Cocking the left biasing element 709L, which is a compression spring. The left fluid pump 700L is in the same state as Step 7 shown in FIG.

  Step 4-FIG. 5D

  While the working fluid in the right expansion chamber 107R continues to expand, the cooling consumption fluid in the left cooling consumption chamber 100L contracts due to loss of entropy and compression when pumped into the left fluid pump 700L where the fluid is released. to continue. The left biasing element 709L is almost completely cocked when the left fluid pump 700L is opened. The pressure on both sides of the left pump piston 113L is made equal.

  The right fluid pump 700R is in the same state as step 4 in FIG. The left fluid pump 700L is in the same state as Step 8 in FIG.

  Step 5-FIG. 5E

  The right side of the Wankel piston 3103 has completed its down stroke. The right inlet port 121R of the right working chamber 3107R is about to be closed by the Wankel piston 3103, but the left discharge port 122L is configured to send the consumed working fluid in the right working chamber 3107R to the left cooling chamber 110L and the left second chamber of the left fluid pump 700L. It has not yet been opened for discharge to the cooling consumption chamber 100L including the pump subchamber 112L. The right discharge port 122R is now opened to the right cooling consumption chamber 100R (by opening the right reverse valve 970R). A right return valve 970R isolates the pressurized volume in the cooling consumption chamber 100R, thereby stabilizing the flow rate to the right fluid pump 700R.

  The right fluid pump 700R is in the same state as step 5 in FIG. 2 or the left fluid pump 700L in FIG. 5A.

  The left spool valve 115L to the left expansion chamber 107L is opened. As a result, when the left inlet port 121L to the left working chamber 3107 is opened and the Wankel piston 3103 begins a power down stroke for the left side of its sony engine 3000, its volume begins to expand. The working fluid injected into the left expansion chamber 107L from the heat exchanger 500 also equalizes the pressure in the left fluid pump 700L, equalizes the pressure in the left fluid pump 700L, and the left fluid pump 700L is connected to the left such as a compression spring. Allows closing with the force of the biasing element 709L (in the next step). On the other hand, the left biasing element 709L is almost completely cocked, and the contact 582 between the left pump shaft 141L and the corresponding cam of the cam mechanism 144 approaches the final point 583 of the cocking movement. When the contact 582 passes the final point 583, the left pump shaft 141L and the left pump piston 113L are released from the driving force of the Wankel piston 3103, allowing the left biasing element 709L to rapidly close the left fluid pump 700L.

  The left second pump subchamber 112L of the left fluid pump 700L filled with the filling is ready to discharge the filling again into the heat exchanger 500. (In the next step, the same operation through the left spool valve mechanism 975L closes the left spool valve 115L between the heat exchanger 500 and the left expansion chamber 107L and Separate the expansion). The left inlet port 121L (corresponding to the connection 123 in FIG. 1) so that the working fluid can expand the combined volume of the left first pump subchamber 114L and the left working chamber 3107L that together define the left expansion chamber 107L. Will remain open during each output downstroke.

  The left fluid pump 700L is in a state similar to Step 1 in FIG. 2 or the state of the right fluid pump 700R in FIG. 5A.

  Step 6-FIG. 5F

  Contact 582 passes through end point 583 to release left pump shaft 141L and left pump piston 113L from the driving force of Wankel piston 3103, and left biasing element 709L can rapidly close left fluid pump 700L. To. The contacts 582 are now on a circular path around the power piston shaft 141 and their rotational movement does not cause the left pump shaft 141L to move radially, so the contacts 582 again ride on the respective cam 144L. The left pump piston 113L is freed from the driving force of the Wankel piston 3103. In another embodiment, when the Wankel piston 3103 drives the left pump piston 113L to open the left second pump subchamber 112L of the left fluid pump 700L and at the same time it is not necessary to set the left biasing element 709L, the left pump A plug (not shown) is provided so that the shaft 141L does not touch the Wankel piston 3103.

  The left fluid pump 700L once discharges the charged amount into the heat exchanger 500. The working fluid in the left expansion chamber 107L continues to expand and moves the Wankel piston 3103. The right return valve 970R at the right exhaust port 122R remains open and has been activated at this point in the central working chamber 3107M and the right first pump subchamber 114R (here functioning as the pump displacement section) via the right cooling chamber 110R. The working fluid is passed to the right second pump subchamber 112R. Chamber / subchambers 3107M, 114R, 110R and 112R together define a right cooling consumption chamber 100R.

  The right fluid pump 700R is in a state similar to Step 6 shown in FIG. 2 or the state of the left fluid pump 700L in FIG. 5B. The left fluid pump 700L is in a state similar to Step 2 shown in FIG. 2 or the state of the right fluid pump 700R in FIG. 5B.

  Step 7-FIG. 5G

  The right second pump subchamber 112R of the right cooling consumption chamber 100R is continuously opened together with the thrust of the cam 144R acting on the right pump shaft 141R of the right fluid pump 700R. During the adiabatic expansion in the left working chamber 3107L, the working fluid continues to exert work output, while the left inlet port 121L continues to be opened.

  The right fluid pump 700R is in the same state as step 7 in FIG. 2 or the left fluid pump 700L in FIG. 5C. The left fluid pump 700L is in the same state as Step 3 shown in FIG. 2 or the state of the right fluid pump 700R in FIG. 5C.

  Step 8-FIG. 5H

  The Wankel piston 3103 approaches completion of its power down stroke in the left working chamber 3107L. The right second pump subchamber 112R of the right fluid pump 700R is almost full and is ready to discharge its charge to the heat exchanger 500. The sony engine 3000 prepares to return to step 1.

  The right fluid pump 700R is in a state similar to step 8 in FIG. 2 or in the state of the left fluid pump 700L in FIG. 5D. The left fluid pump 700L is in the same state as Step 4 shown in FIG. 2 or the state of the right fluid pump 700R in FIG. 5D.

  In summary, the high pressure / high temperature working fluid supplied from the heat exchanger 500 to the right side of the sony engine 3000 of FIG. 3 expands to the upper side of the Wankel engine 403 and is then compressed / cooled to the left side, Specifically, the pump is returned to the heat exchanger 500 from the left side. Similarly, the high pressure / high temperature working fluid supplied from the heat exchanger 500 to the left side of the sony engine 3000 of FIG. 3 expands into the lower part of the Wankel engine 403 and is then compressed and cooled to the right side. Finally, the pump is returned to the heat exchanger 500 again from the right side.

  The sony engine 4000 shown in FIG. 4 operates in the same manner as the sony engine 3000. The sony engine 4000 comprises the four heat engines 400 of FIG. 1 arranged at 90 ° to each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the heat engines 400 in the sony engine 4000 operate individually from each other, except for the common power piston shaft 141. In another embodiment, the heat engine 400 in the sony engine 4000 operates together as in FIG. 3, ie, in the left / right half of the sony engine 4000, and the hot / high pressure from the heat exchanger 500 is And then compressed / cooled down to the lower pump, pumped back to the heat exchanger, and vice versa.

  The valve / port mechanism of the sony engine 4000 differs from that of FIG. 3 in some aspects in some embodiments. FIG. 6 illustrates the valve / port mechanism of the sony engine 4000, according to one or more embodiments. In the enlarged view of FIG. 6 showing the cylinders in different steps (upper left to right, lower left to right) corresponding to steps 8, 2, 4 and 5 of FIGS. 5H, 5B, 5E and 5D, respectively. Only one cylinder (out of four) in FIG. 4 is shown. In particular, the piston chamber 104 has two openings, an inlet port 121 and a discharge port 122. These ports are two rings of holes in two separate planes at or near the TDC. In operation, the two rings of these holes are exposed and covered from above by a movable ring valve sleeve 132 that is actuated by a port valve bracket 133, which is a slidable cylinder sleeve. The port valve bracket 133 allows the power piston 103 to move from TDC to BDC before the ring valve sleeve 132 shifts to either opening or closing two ports, namely the inlet port 121 and the outlet port 122. enable.

  The top two views of FIG. 6 (step 8 and step 2) show the opening of the inlet port 121 and the closing of the outlet port 122. FIG. Specifically, at or near TDC, the power piston 103 engages with the port valve bracket 133 from below and moves the port valve bracket 133 upward together with the ring valve sleeve 132, thereby causing the inlet port 121 to move. Open and close the discharge port 122. As soon as the power piston 103 leaves near TDC, the port valve bracket 133 returns to its neutral position, allowing the ring valve sleeve 132 to close both the inlet port 121 and the outlet port 122. Thus, the inlet port 121 is only opened for a short time at or near the TDC, and both are closed during a downstroke or working fluid expansion.

  The bottom two views of FIG. 6 (step 4 and step 5) show the closing of the inlet port 121 and the opening of the discharge port 122. FIG. Specifically, at or near the BDC, the power piston 103 engages with the port valve bracket 133 from above, moving the port valve bracket 133 with the ring valve sleeve 132 downward, thereby opening the discharge port 122, On the other hand, the inlet port 121 is kept closed. As the power piston 103 leaves the BDC and moves upward, the port valve bracket 133 remains in the downward position, allowing the ring valve sleeve 132 to continue to open the discharge port 122 and close the inlet port 121. Thus, the inlet port 121 is closed during most of the downstroke and upstroke, while the discharge port 122 is open during most of the upstroke.

  Various embodiments may be derived from the configurations described above and / or below. For example, according to one or more embodiments, one or more cams 144R / L are provided on each power piston shaft 141. Other shapes of connector 800 and / or cam mechanism 144 are not excluded. The number of heat engines or power cylinders / chambers in each sony engine can vary depending on the application and / or other design considerations. In some embodiments, the biasing element 709 may be cocked by external forces other than the power piston shaft 141 that, in other examples, directly or indirectly drive the pump piston 113 to cock the biasing element 709.

  FIG. 7 discloses another configuration further modifying the configuration disclosed in FIG. 3, further comprising at least a lever 739 for reversing the cocking and pumping action of the biasing element 709. However, other configurations are not excluded. The configuration disclosed in FIG. 7 is simplified compared to that of FIG. 3, and includes the Wankel piston 3103, the first pump subchamber 114R / L, and the second pump subchamber 112R / L. It shows where the relationship between them is getting closer.

  FIG. 8A discloses another embodiment that schematically illustrates a modified fluid pump 8700. In this embodiment, the pump piston 113 and the biasing element 709 are combined into one element, which is indicated by 8113R / L. The pump piston / biasing element 8113R / L is an elastic membrane or diaphragm or partition that can move between two positions, one of which is the initial position and the other is the biased position. The pump piston / biasing element 8113R / L is forced to the biased position directly by the power piston shaft 141, such as directly or via the pump shaft 141R / L and the cam 144. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8A, a single cam 144 is used. However, in other embodiments, more than one cam is provided in a manner similar to that described with reference to FIG. In some embodiments, a rotation stabilizer 895R / L is provided to prevent the pump piston / biasing element 8113R / L from fluctuating during the variable pressure conditions described above. In one or more embodiments, the inlet valve 115R / L from the heat exchanger 500 is a pump piston / biasing element 8113R / L, such as 822R / L, 823R / L, etc. on the chamber wall of the fluid pump 700R / L, etc. It is a solenoid valve that switches between opening and closing at each contact.

  In the up stroke on the right side of the configuration shown in FIG. 8A (similar to steps 5-8 in FIG. 2), the cam 144 moves from the rest or initial position on the wall of the right second pump subchamber 112R to the opposite wall to the right pump. The pump piston / biasing element 8113R is moved through the shaft 141R. The rotation of the cam 144 gradually pulls the pump piston 8113R away from the power piston shaft 141 against the elasticity of the pump piston / biasing element 8113R. The expanded working fluid in the right first pump subchamber 114R is fully compressed and cooled in the cooling chamber 110R (not shown). When the pump piston / biasing element 8113R is in contact with the contact 822R, the solenoid valve 115R is turned on (opened), allowing hot / high pressure working fluid to access the right first pump subchamber 114R; The pressure on the opposite side of the pump piston / biasing element 8113R becomes equal. Thereafter or at that time, the cocking operation of the cam 144 is finished (similar to FIG. 5F), and the pump piston / biasing element 8113R jumps back to the initial position and is cooled from the right second pump subchamber 122R. Pass the compressed working fluid into a cooling exchanger (not shown). The pump piston / biasing element 8113R contacts the contact 832R, the solenoid valve 115R is turned off (closed), and the expansion (down stroke) period begins.

  The left pump piston / biasing element 8113L operates similarly.

  FIG. 8B discloses another configuration 8900 according to another embodiment. Unlike the configuration shown in FIG. 8A where the pump piston / biasing element is movable within the pump chamber of the fluid pump 8700, the pump piston 8113R / L of FIG. 8B is stationary and the pump chamber 8708R / L of the fluid pump is It can be moved by a cam 144. A biasing element 8709 R / L such as a leaf spring is provided to bias the pump chamber 8707 R / L against the cam 144 or in the direction of the power piston shaft 141. It does not exclude other biasing elements such as air cylinders. As shown in FIG. 8A, the pump chamber 8708R / L is brought into contact or non-contact with the contacts 822R / L and 823R / L, and opens and closes the spool inlet valve 115R / L. This configuration is simplified in that only five moving parts are included. That is, (1) power piston shaft 141 / cam mechanism 144 / Wankel piston 3103, (2-3) two pump chambers 8708R / L and (4-5) two biasing elements 8709 / L. Given that the biasing element 8709R / L in some embodiments is permanently coupled to the pump chamber 8708R / L, there will be only three major moving parts, which greatly simplifies the structure.

  In one or more embodiments, the pump piston 8113R / L is variable in size and incorporates the function of the variable condition adjuster 1001 described below. This is achieved, for example, by tweezers or inverted V-shaped volume regulators 8101 inserted between two opposing walls 8102 and 8103 of each of the pump piston / biasing elements 8113R / L. FIG. 8C is a schematic perspective view of one structure of the pump piston / biasing element such as the pump piston / biasing element 8113L. As shown in FIG. 8C, the volume adjuster 8101 includes two side walls 8106 and 8107, each engaging one of the walls 8102 and 8103 of the pump piston / biasing element 8113L. The walls 8106 and 8107 are inclined relative to each other to form a V-shaped “wedge”. The post 8104 holds the wedge from below. The post 8104 itself is supported by a regulator piston 8108 that is movable within a cylinder 8109. A spring 8110 is provided around the post 8104 between the piston 8108 and the inner wall of the cylinder 8109 to bias the biasing piston 8108 and the post 8104 to a neutral position. The heated working fluid from the heat exchanger 500 reaches the cylinder 8109 under the piston 8018.

  The volume controller 8101 operates in the same manner as the variable condition controller 1001 described below. In short, when the pressure of the heated working fluid is high, the piston 8108, the post 8104 and the wedge become convex upwards, and the latter causes the walls 8102 and 8103 to be distributed away from each other. Thus, as the effective volume of the fluid pump in the pump chamber 8708 decreases, the working fluid compressibility increases. Similarly, when the pressure of the heated working fluid is low, the piston 8108, post 8104, and wedge are lowered downward, so that the latter causes the walls 8102 and 8103 to move toward each other. Thus, the effective volume of the fluid pump in the pump chamber 8708 is increased and the working fluid compressibility is lower. In one or more embodiments, both walls 8102 and 8103 are movable. Also, in some other embodiments, only one of the walls 8102 and 8103 is movable.

  FIG. 8D includes a schematic side view and a top view of an embodiment in which two Wankel engines 8403 are arranged next to each other and their Wankel pistons 3103 are at a 90 ° angle to each other. In some embodiments, four fluid pumps 8900 are disposed on the outer wall of each of the two Wankel engines 8403. In some embodiments, the biasing elements of the four fluid pumps 8900 are permanently coupled to their respective pump chambers, so there will be only five major moving parts (ie (1) the power piston shaft. 141 / cam mechanism 144 / Wankel piston 3103 and (2-5) four pump chambers), the structure is greatly simplified.

  FIG. 9A discloses an embodiment of a sony engine 9000 where the power piston shaft 141 does not rotate and vibrates in its axial direction. Two heat engines 400L / R are disposed at opposite ends of the power piston shaft 141 in each fluid pump 700L / R. The vibration of the power piston shaft 141 is transmitted to an external device such as the generator 9001 via the output mechanism 9101. In the sony engine 9000, the latch mechanism 9144 plays the role of the connector 800 (FIG. 1), and this mechanism is hereinafter referred to as an “octopus” mechanism.

  FIG. 9B includes a simplified diagram of a plurality of octopus mechanisms 9144 through steps 1-8 of the sony engine 9000, each corresponding to steps 1-8 of FIG. The octopus mechanism 9144 includes two octopus shaft latches 901, a pull block 903, two connecting members 905, one or more opener wedges 907, a latch spring 911, and a shaft blocker extension 913 slidable in a channel in the pull block 903. including. The elements listed above are pivotally connected to each other by a plurality of pivots 902.

  One of pull block 903 and shaft blocker extension 913 is attached to one of power piston 103 (via power piston shaft 141 in FIG. 9A) and pump piston 113 (via pump piston rod 919 in FIG. 9A). The other of the pull block 903 and the shaft blocker extension 913 is attached to the other of the power piston 103 and the pump piston 113. In the more detailed embodiment of FIG. 9A, the pump piston rod 919 is hollow and the power piston shaft 141 extends within the hollow pump piston rod 919. In the more detailed embodiment of FIG. 9B, the shaft blocker extension 913 is connected to the pump piston 113 and the pull block 903 is connected to the power piston 103. Note that other configurations other than those described above are not excluded.

  As the shaft blocker extension 913 slides in the channel 908 of the pull block 903, it is possible to reliably prevent the wobbling of the mechanism during operation. In some embodiments, this configuration is reversed to allow the pull block 903 to slide in the channel (not shown) of the shaft blocker extension 913.

  One or more opener wedges 907 (two shown in FIG. 9B) are provided on the walls of the fluid pump. In the detailed embodiment of FIG. 9A, an opener wedge 907 is provided on the end wall of each fluid pump. An open wedge 907 can be inserted between the octopus shaft latches 901 (steps 1 and 8 in FIG. 9B) or between each octopus shaft latch 901 and the pull block 903, and the shaft blocker extension 913 (and thus the pump piston 113). Is quickly released from connection with the pull block 903 (and thus the power piston 103) so that the shaft blocker extension 913 can slide upwards when pumping occurs (step 2-4 in FIG. 9B). ).

  A latch spring 911 is provided to move the octopus mechanism 9144 from step 4 to step 5 (FIG. 9B). In one or more embodiments, the latch spring 911 is a lightweight tension spring. In some embodiments, external means (not shown) on the walls of the pump chamber are used for the same purpose.

  In the embodiment illustrated in detail, the shaft blocker extension 913 is T-shaped. However, other configurations are not excluded.

  In the operation illustrated in FIG. 9B, the pump piston 113 is latched to the pump piston 103 in step 5-8 and released in step 1-4. Specifically, when the fluid pump is almost full (step 8), the power piston 103 pulls the octopus shaft latch 901 in the direction of the opener wedge 907 via the pull block 903, and the wedge is connected to each octopus shaft latch 901. And the pull block 903 to release the latch (step 1). As a result, the pump piston 113 (through the shaft blocker extension 913) is released from the connection with the power piston 103 (through the pull block 903) and pushed forward by the biasing element 709 to perform a quick pumping action. Complete. The shaft blocker extension 913 stops at a position corresponding to the BDC of the pump piston 113 as shown in step 2-4. As the power piston 103 approaches the BDC, the pull block 903 moves from step 2 to step 4 in the direction of the shaft blocker extension 913 to prepare the octopus mechanism 9144 for the next latch stage. In step 4, the latch spring 911 or external means (not shown) moves the octopus shaft latch 901 inward toward the pull block 903, leading to the state of step 5. The pump piston 113 is now locked to the pump piston 103 and this process is repeated.

  This embodiment halves the size of the engine, thus substantially reducing manufacturing costs. As disclosed in some embodiments, this example has one cylinder with two chambers and two power pistons 103L / R, unlike having two cylinders with four chambers. Rather than providing a rotary drive shaft to ensure continuous operation of the piston, the pendulum 9001 accumulates inertia and vibrates back and forth with the movement of the power piston 103R / L, but in one or more embodiments Can be combined with a single power piston 103. The oscillation linear generator 9001 is driven by the operation before and after this. With the two cylinders described above and / or below, a four chamber engine has overlapping chamber operation to ensure that the engine is continuous. The configuration of FIG. 9A with a single cylinder, two chamber engine overcomes this lack of overlap by the oscillating behavior of the continuous engine. Overall, the average pressure difference between the work output in the expansion chamber (similar to 107 in FIG. 1) and the work input in the compression chamber (similar to 100 in FIG. 1) is sufficient to drive the engine. However, expansion force and compression force act on both ends of a single piston. When the expansion side opens, the end of the expansion stroke becomes weaker, and when the compression side closes, the end of the compression stroke becomes stronger.

  FIG. 10 illustrates a variable condition adjuster for use in one or more embodiments as disclosed, for example, in FIGS. In order to optimize the expansion capacity of the working fluid under the variable conditions of the heat exchanger 500, particularly when the heat exchanger 500 is powered by solar energy, in some embodiments, the sony engine may vary in temperature. / Self-regulation for pressure conditions.

  For example, as the temperature / pressure of the heated working fluid in the heat exchanger 500 increases, the volume of the piston chamber 104 is fixed, so the size of the initial volume of the first pump subchamber 114 is reduced and increased. It will accept higher expansion rates of pressure. Since the working fluid is more dense at higher pressures, the adjacent portion allows for greater flow rates even if the initial value of the first pump subchamber 114 is smaller. Similarly, for intermediate pressure / temperature in the heat exchanger 500, the initial volume of the first pump subchamber 114 is expanded to accept lower temperature / pressure conditions.

  For example, in the numerical example above, the volume expansion for a temperature drop from 212 ° F. to 170 ° F. is 108.8%. The decrease in volume for a temperature increase from 212 ° F. to 300 ° F. is 118.9%. At the initial volume of the first pump subchamber 114, i.e., 212 <0> F, 2.1778 units are divided by the above percentage to determine the change in volume.

  In particular, if there is a drop in temperature and pressure from 212 ° F and 480 psi higher, eg, 170 ° F and 408.4 psi, which occurs with solar energy under variable solar conditions, the first pump The initial volume (at TDC) in subchamber 114 increases from 2.1877 units to 3.0913 units or up to 171%. By adjusting these volumes (replaceable), in a variant, it is ensured that the total volume expanding during the engine downstroke always matches the optimum expansion parameters of the working fluid at a given temperature / pressure. Optimize the work potential imposed by changing solar conditions. The same applies to the use of accumulated waste heat.

  In some embodiments, the initial volume of the first pump subchamber 114 can be adjusted by the variable condition adjuster 1001 disclosed in FIG. The variable condition regulator 1001 is a regulator piston 875 that is acted on from below by the heated working fluid of the heat exchanger 500, a movable pump floor 882, and a regulation between the movable pump floor 882 and the regulator piston 875. A mechanical spring 880. In some embodiments, the surface area of the regulator piston 875 is greater than the movable pump floor 882. Although not shown, in some embodiments, the total weight of the variable condition regulator 1001 is sufficient to minimize vibrations caused by changing pressure conditions. This arrangement ensures that the operation of the variable condition regulator 1001 is careful but stable with varying pressures. However, other configurations for the variable condition regulator are not excluded. For example, in some embodiments, a solenoid with variable contacts is used.

  As the pressure increases, regulator piston 875, regulator spring 880 and movable pump floor 882 erode the initial volume of first pump subchamber 114 of fluid pump 700. The higher the pressure, the higher the compression rate. For example, in the example disclosed in detail, at 408.4 psi, the compression ratio is 1.3175, at 480 psi, the ratio is 1.4571, and at 653 psi, the ratio is 1.7329.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the variable condition adjuster 1001 at low pressure and high pressure in two states of the heating working fluid, that is, an open pump and a closed pump. Although it is not necessary to include the variable condition adjuster 1001 and switching in the same configuration, a switching mechanism for adjusting the opening / closing timing of the spool inlet valve 115 is also shown in FIG.

  Thus, in the illustrated configuration, two aspects change in accepting the adjustment. 1) The initial volume of the first pump sub-chamber 114 is controlled by the regulator piston 875, and 2) the moving length of the spring bracket 987 for switching the opening and closing of the spool inlet valve 115 is controlled by the wedge 980. In some embodiments of the first aspect, the changing initial volume of the first pump subchamber 114 adjusted by the regulator piston 875 is further stabilized by a weighting mechanism (not shown). Again, other configurations such as solenoids with variable contacts are not excluded.

  In some embodiments of the second aspect, the variable switching mechanism accommodates the varying travel length of the spring bracket 975 under varying temperature / pressure conditions by controlling the contacts of the switching mechanism. In particular, the changing distance of the contact of the switching mechanism is adjusted by filling the gap at the lower contact of the arm of the spool inlet valve 115 by inserting a wedge 980. When the wedge 980 fills the gap, the spring bracket 987 contacts the wedge 980, which in turn contacts the blocker / contact 979 on the arm of the spool inlet valve 115, thereby pulling and closing the spool inlet valve. . The closing of the air gap is adjusted by the changing pressure acting on the switch piston 983. Closing of the spool inlet valve 115 is also electrically adjusted. However, the mechanical switches described above eliminate the need for such complexity.

  When the heat exchanger 500 is at high pressure and the pump is open (lower left drawing), the regulator piston 875 is moved to the upper contracted position by the high pressure heated working fluid. As a result, the movable pump floor 882 is also moved to the upper position, and the volume of the first pump subchamber 114 is reduced. The switch piston 983 is pushed by high pressure heated fluid to extend the wedge 980 and to move the contact of the spring bracket 987 shortened as it moves over the contact 979 and eventually closes the spool inlet valve 115. To fill in the voids.

  When the heat exchanger 500 is at high pressure and the pump is closed (lower right figure), the spring bracket 987 moves and contacts the stretched wedge 980, which in turn contacts the contact 979 and enters the spool inlet. Pull valve 115 to close.

  When the heat exchanger 500 is at low pressure and the pump is open (upper left figure), the regulator piston 875 is in the lower retracted position. The movable pump floor 882 of the pump is also in a corresponding lower position, and the volume of the first pump subchamber 114 is higher. Due to the low pressure of the heated working fluid, the wedge 980 is retracted compared to FIG. 10B, opening the movement of the spring bracket 987 contact as it moves over the contact 979 and eventually closes the spool inlet valve.

  When the heat exchanger 500 is at a high pressure and the pump is closed (upper right figure), the spool inlet valve 115 is closed. The spring bracket 987 moves to contact the thin tip of the wedge 980, which in turn contacts the blocker point 979 and pulls the spool inlet valve 115 closed.

  Another configuration of the variable condition adjuster 1001 has been described with reference to FIG. 8C.

  A variable regulator stabilizer according to one or more embodiments is disclosed in FIG. The gyro ballast is used as an example of a means for stabilizing the slow operation of the variable condition adjustment. Other means for achieving the same or similar effects are also covered by this disclosure. For example, the wedge described above with respect to FIG. 8C also achieves a stabilizing effect. As described above, the variable condition adjuster 1001 changes the initial volume of the first pump subchamber 114 to adapt to the variable pressure / temperature conditions of the heat exchanger 500 imposed by, for example, variable solar heat or exhaust heat. To do. The variable condition adjuster 1001 is operated by the pressure of the heating working fluid in the heat exchanger 500. However, the pressure conditions in the fluid pump 700 and the first pump subchamber 114 can vary considerably. An average force that adjusts the floor position of the fluid pump 700, ie, the movable pump floor 882, can be designed into the system. However, it is necessary to stabilize the effects of pressure fluctuations so that the mechanism and pump volume are stably maintained under variable conditions. Therefore, a gyro stabilization device (rotation stabilization device) 890 is provided. The gyro stabilization device 890 has a fixed position, but the gyro stabilization device 890 is free to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, i.e., through the shaft 879, the movable pump floor 882, with the push / pull variation of the regulator piston 875. Between the ball bearings 892 to allow rotation. The gyro stabilizer 890 changes direction each time a reverse movement occurs, so that the movement is stable.

  In some embodiments, a gyro stabilization device 890 is placed in the regulator spring 876, for example as shown in FIG. 12, for device miniaturization. Two bellows structures (no reference number) are provided to prevent leakage.

  FIGS. 13A and 13B show that an engine according to one or more embodiments, such as the above and / or below Soonie engine, was developed by Swedish company Kockums AB (hereinafter referred to as the Kokums engine). Examples of various configurations integrated with various Stirling engines are shown.

  The Kokumski Nematic Stirling Engine is a 4-cylinder reciprocating engine that receives compressed and heated hydrogen gas from a solar receiver to drive the Stirling cycle. The cylinder block of the Stirling engine incorporates four sealed cylinder assemblies (pistons, piston rods and connecting rods) along with a cooler, regenerator and heater head.

  The “back pressure” configuration of the Kokums engine refers to the “back pressure” of Kokums re-pressure that is behind the power piston during the downstroke. Expansion and compression occur by operating simultaneously on the same rotating journal shaft. Since the sony engine in one or more embodiments uses the same cylinder to house both the expansion and compression chambers, it can be applied to the Kokums engine by neutralizing the back pressure compression chamber, which is / Can be a low pressure cooling sink. With such an application illustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B, by connecting all four applied back pressure chambers so that the total volume is balanced and the volume change is zero, a series of cooling sinks can be achieved. Maintain a back pressure state.

  Specifically, the fluid and pressure behind the main drive piston during the expansion downstroke is held at a low and stable sink pressure during the downstroke in one or more of the following.

  (1) Maintain a cold / low pressure cooling sink using an existing Kokums cooling system.

  (2) Seal the access to other parts of the circulatory system of the existing Kokums compression chamber of the upstroke valve and convert the existing Kokums compression chamber to a back pressure sink.

  (3) Interconnect the converted back pressure sink chambers to keep the volume in the sink constant and avoid back pressure compression.

  (4) Minimize bleeding or leakage through the power piston between the converted expansion / compression chamber and the converted cooling sink.

  (5) Provide a fluid pump that returns the leaked fluid to the circulation system.

  (6) The piston will do its plus work during the downstroke, and the piston will do the minus work (or, for example, pumping into another sony engine as described with respect to FIG. 3) during the upstroke. Convert the expansion chamber to the dual function of the expander and compressor chamber (expansion / compression chamber).

  In some embodiments of materials that do not retain or absorb heat, they constitute the walls of the applied engine expansion / compression chamber. Ceramics that can handle engine piston friction are one possible material. Leakage between the expansion / compression chamber and the cooling sink remains zero.

  (1) Create a low-temperature and low-pressure cooling sink using the existing Kokums engine cooling system.

  The four cylinder configuration of the sony engine according to one or more embodiments corresponds to the four cylinder configuration of Kokums shown in FIG. 13A. The volume of one cylinder chamber has the opposite volume of the other, i.e., interconnects four back pressure volumes (of the former compression chamber), while isolating and utilizing the cooling coils of the former Kokums compression chamber Thus, the four pistons of the four cylinders are equally spaced so that the four journals are 90 ° apart to form a cross shape, so that the average volume of the sink remains constant and at the BDC of the working stroke The resulting low pressure / cold level remains.

  (2) Seal upstroke valve access between the existing Kokums compression chamber and the modified sony cooling system.

  In one or more embodiments, the means of the Kokums engine that allow access to the valve during the upstroke in converting Kokums to a sony engine is permanently sealed from the circulatory system.

  (3) Connect the recompression chambers together to maintain a constant volume and avoid compression.

  Maintaining a constant low pressure in the cooling sink, the former Kokums compression chambers are interconnected according to one embodiment. This eliminates the combined volume change of the traversing motion, thus ensuring that volume erosion during the downstroke of each power stroke is equal to volume expansion during the upstroke.

  (4) Minimize bleeding or leakage through the power piston between the expansion chamber and the converted cooling sink.

  If there is no leakage and there is a working fluid mass flow to the cooling sink, the adapted engine is considered to provide a constant ideal temperature / pressure condition. In reality, however, unless a physical barrier (such as the bellows described in one or more embodiments) is provided for each working piston, the working fluid leaks into the low pressure cooling sink.

  (5) Provide a fluid pump that returns the leaked fluid to the circulation system.

  The leaked fluid is returned to the circulatory system using a rotary pump or the device shown in FIG. 13B. The device uses a piston to return fluid back to the circulation at the BDC when the pressure at the BDC is essentially equal to the sink. As shown in FIG. 13B, the sink pump 1307 functions at the lower end of the pressure cycle. Instead of pumping during high pressure equilibration at the TDC, the sink pump 1307 returns the fluid leaked by pumping to circulation during low pressure equilibration at the BDC. Since the leakage is considered to be minimal, a gear system is provided so that the pump can only operate after several cycles of engine rotation. The spring 1309 is cocked in the same manner as the fluid pump 700 in the circulatory system and is released in a balanced pressure state as in the circulatory system. However, the sink pump 1307 achieves its pumping action at a low pressure point.

  (6) The piston does its plus work during the four downstrokes, and the minus work (or pumps to another sony engine described for example with respect to FIG. 3) during the four upstrokes. Convert the expansion chamber to the dual function of the expansion / compression chamber. This small internal pump configuration is consistent with the principles of fluid pump 700 described above.

  A sony device according to one or more embodiments is mounted on the head of the working cylinder of each Kokums engine illustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B, and functions as described above.

  In some embodiments, the following modifications are made to incorporate the sony engine disclosed in one or more embodiments into a Kokums engine.

  1) The expansion working cylinder and its power piston are converted to serve as a chamber that combines expansion and compression in a dual capacity. First, the back pressure compression chamber is abolished so that the valve advances from the expansion chamber during the upstroke and the back pressure compression chamber stops operating as a compression non-work chamber and becomes a simple low pressure sink. This low pressure sink is then interconnected to the other three (out of four) sinks to ensure that the low pressure is constant. In other words, the compression chamber of the Kokumus engine is converted to a low pressure sink with four interconnected chambers to ensure pressure equalization and stabilization. The cooling system previously used in this compressor of the Kokums engine is used to maintain the low pressure. The fluid in this low pressure sink is separated from the circulating working fluid as much as possible.

  2) The combination of expansion / compression work and non-work chamber in an adapted configuration has an inlet and an outlet.

  3) The regenerator generated by the adaptation of the Kokums engine is generated in the large high temperature / high pressure reservoir as described above. Since the working fluid is completely recirculated from the engine body, the efficiency is greatly improved.

  FIG. 14 discloses a rotary shutter valve for use with any of the sony engines disclosed herein.

The operation of the sony engine disclosed in one or more embodiments relies on rapid exchange of volume as opposed to a Stirling engine, which is an engine that performs heat exchange. Effective volume exchange is highly dependent on the speed of the circulating working fluid flow. To ensure a rapid and reliable flow between the heat exchanger 500 and the expansion chamber 107 and between the latter and the cooling exchanger 600 when functioning as a compression / pump erosion chamber. , Make the opening of the valve according to some embodiments as wide as possible.

  Thus, the rotary shutter valve 1469 is provided with two compartments 1421 and 1422, one for intake (such as the inlet port 121) and one for discharge (such as the discharge boat 122), respectively. In some embodiments, the intake 1421 is released about 1/20 or 5% of the total stroke time during the BDC to TDC upstroke, and the discharge 1422 is released about 50% at the same time. Is done. In some embodiments, drain 1422 is closed before capture 1421 is opened. According to some embodiments, the valve slit of the discharge 1422 is larger than that of the intake 1421.

  In one or more embodiments, the rotary shutter valve 1469 is driven directly or indirectly by the power piston shaft 141, spinning continuously at a constant speed. The opening speed of the exchange discharge 1422 and the intake 1422 occurs in parallel with the volume change rate. The intake 1421 is opened in some embodiments immediately after the discharge 1422 is closed. In one or more embodiments, the long slit in the valve opening traverses the diameter of the head of the power piston 103 and the compression / pump erosion chamber.

  FIG. 15 illustrates a particular application in accordance with one or more embodiments of a high efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) engine 1500. The thermal CHP engine in one or more embodiments illustrated in FIG. 15 will be incorporated into a multi-purpose solar integrated utility package (electricity, hot water, heating and AC) and will generate electricity year-round as well as building heating and cooling. . Without being limited thereto, possible heat sources include: 1) passive solar heat received by homes and commercial buildings and / or 2) high temperatures for solar power plants and / or 3) industrial use Including the use of accumulated waste heat.

Claims (27)

A fluid pump (700) for moving fluid from a first fluid source (600) of the fluid in a low pressure state to a second fluid source (500) of the fluid in a high pressure state, wherein the fluid The pump
A chamber;
A partition member (113) that is displaceable in the chamber and divides the chamber into variable-volume first and second sub-chambers (114, 112),
The first subchamber (114) has inlet and outlet openings (121, 122) in controllable communication with the second and first fluid sources (500, 600), respectively;
The second sub-chamber (112) has inlet and outlet openings (125, 124) in controllable communication with the first and second fluid sources (600, 500), respectively;
In order to pump fluid under low pressure from the second subchamber (112) to the second fluid source (500) when the pressures on opposite sides of the partition member (113) are equalized, the partition member Is configured to move into the second sub-chamber (112).   The pump is a steam pump adapted to force the low pressure vapor of the fluid to move from a first fluid source to a second fluid source without a gas-liquid phase change. 2. The fluid pump according to 1. The pressure on the opposite side of the partition member is
(I) when the pump is closed, of the high pressure fluid on the opposite side of the compartment member; and (ii) of the intermediate pressure state fluid on the opposite side of the compartment member The fluid pump of claim 1, wherein the fluid pump is made equal by the presence of at least one of them.   The inlet opening (121) of the first sub-chamber (114) and the outlet opening (124) of the second sub-chamber (112) are operatively opened so that the fluid pressure in the sub-chamber is The fluid pump of claim 3, wherein the fluid pressure is equal to the fluid pressure of the two fluid sources, thereby achieving a uniform pressure.   The fluid pump of claim 1, wherein the partition member is biased toward closing the second subchamber.   The fluid pump of claim 1, further comprising a variable condition adjuster (1001) that adjusts a volume of the chamber of the pump according to a high pressure and / or temperature bracket width of the fluid in the second fluid source.   7. The fluid pump of claim 6, wherein the variable condition regulator further comprises stabilizing means for preventing pump fluctuations during variable pressure conditions.   The fluid of claim 1, further comprising a rotary shuttle valve (1469) for operatively closing and / or opening the inlet and outlet openings (121, 122) of the first sub-chamber (114) at different times. pump. A mechanism for operatively closing and / or opening the inlet and outlet openings (121, 122) of the first subchamber at different times;
The fluid pump of claim 1, wherein the mechanism is automatically adjustable in response to at least one of pressure and temperature of the fluid in a high pressure state.   In addition, a solenoid valve for operatively closing and / or opening the inlet and outlet openings (121, 122) of the first sub-chamber at different times in response to variable contacts distributed over the pump chamber. The fluid pump according to claim 1. A thermal system,
A heat exchanger (500) for supplying high pressure fluid;
An engine (400) coupled to the heat exchanger (500) for discharging the fluid in a low pressure state extending over the high pressure fluid;
The low pressure fluid from the engine exhaust (600) is fed to the heat exchanger (500) by a force that balances the resistance to the flow of working fluid pumped from the low pressure state to the high pressure state by balancing the internal pressure. A heat pump comprising a fluid pump (700) for return. The fluid pump comprises an expansion chamber, and the engine comprises a piston chamber;
Fluid expands in the expansion chamber and piston chamber in the downstroke of the engine power piston (103);
The expansion chamber is converted to a pump displacement chamber (114) in the engine's power piston upstroke, the piston chamber and the pump displacement chamber, both the previous piston chamber and the pump displacement chamber, both for compressing the expanded fluid. The thermal system of claim 11, which intrudes into the water.   The pump displacement chamber further includes a cooling chamber (110) and a pump chamber (112) that define a cooling consumption chamber (100) in which the expanded fluid is cooled and compressed before being pumped back to the heat exchanger. A thermal system in which the pressure of the fluid in the cooling chamber is reduced.   14. The thermal system of claim 13, wherein the engine exhaust comprises a cooling exchanger (600) for cooling expanded fluid in a cooling chamber disposed between the pump displacement chamber and the pump chamber.   The pump is movable between the pump displacement chamber and the pump displacement chamber and is at least indirectly operatively driven by the power piston during the upstroke of the power piston, together with the power piston. The thermal system of claim 12, further comprising a pump piston (113) penetrating into the interior.   A connector (800) for operatively connecting the pump piston to the movement of the power piston during the upstroke and operatively disconnecting the pump piston from the movement of the power piston during the downstroke. Item 15. The thermal system according to Item 15.   The thermal system of claim 16, wherein the connector comprises a cam mechanism.   The thermal system of claim 16, wherein the connector comprises a latching mechanism for releasably latching the pump piston and the power piston together depending on the position of the power piston.   12. The engine of claim 11, further comprising a valve sleeve that is a Stirling engine and is movable by a power piston of the heat engine and closes and / or opens at least one of an inlet and an outlet of a piston chamber of the power piston. The described thermal system. A fluid pump comprising a pump chamber and a partition member (8113) elastically movable in the pump chamber between an initial position and a biased position;
When the pressure on the opposite side of the compartment is equalized by the high pressure fluid accessed from the heat exchanger, the elastic return from the biased location of the compartment to the initial position causes the low pressure fluid to heat the exchanger. The thermal system of claim 11, which is sufficient for release into the interior.   The thermal system of claim 11, wherein the engine is a Wankel engine.   Two Wankel engines disposed adjacent to the Wankel piston on a common power piston shaft, 90 ° apart, and two or more fluid pumps on the outer wall of the Wankel engine The thermal system of claim 21, comprising: A fluid pump comprising a pump chamber (8708) elastically movable between an initial position and a biased position; and a partition member in the pump chamber;
When the pressure on the opposite side of the compartment is equalized by the high pressure fluid accessed from the heat exchanger, the elastic return of the pump chamber from the biased position to the initial position causes the low pressure fluid to heat the heat exchanger. The thermal system of claim 21, wherein the thermal system is sufficient to release into the interior.   The compartment member is movable in and out of two walls movable relative to each other and responsive to the pressure of the high pressure fluid accessed from the heat exchanger and / or temperature bracket. 23. The thermal system of claim 22, comprising a variable condition adjuster for automatically adjusting the size of the compartment member and the volume of the pump chamber.   The thermal system of claim 11, further comprising a generator (9001) coupled to the engine. The heat engine (403) comprises two or more expansion chambers (3107R / L) each coupled to one of the fluid pumps (700R / L), and the fluid expanding in one of the expansion chambers 12. The thermal system of claim 11, wherein the thermal system is compressed into a fluid pump associated with another expansion chamber and pumped back into the heat exchanger. A method of pumping fluid from a first fluid source of the fluid in a low pressure state to a second fluid source of the fluid in a high pressure state, the method comprising:
Dividing the chamber into first and second sub-chambers (114, 112) of variable volume in a chamber having an internally displaceable partition member (113);
Receiving in the second sub-chamber (112) a volume of the fluid in a low pressure state from a first fluid source (600);
The same volume of the fluid in the high pressure state from the second fluid source (500) in the first subchamber (114), but not the heat of the fluid in the low pressure state in the second subchamber (112). And exchanging with the method.

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