JP3846420B2 - Stirling engine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a Stirling engine, and more particularly to a Stirling engine that operates a fluid rotating machine by the flow of working gas.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A Stirling engine generally includes a cylinder, a displacer slidably disposed in the cylinder, an expansion chamber and a working chamber into which working gas flowing in accordance with the operation of the displacer flows, and an operation in the working chamber. A power piston that is actuated in response to a change in gas pressure, and an actuating rod that is connected to the displacer and actuates the displacer at a predetermined timing. Such a displacer-type Stirling engine operates a power piston in response to a pressure change in the working chamber accompanying expansion and contraction due to heating and cooling of the working gas. (For example, see Patent Document 1.)
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-44576
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Thus, since the conventional Stirling engine is configured to operate the power piston in response to the pressure change in the working chamber accompanying the expansion and contraction of the working gas, the expansion of the working fluid is recovered more than the stroke of the power piston. It cannot be said that the thermal efficiency is not necessarily good.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, the principal object can be recovered all expansion amount of the working fluid, it is to provide a good Stirling engine thermal efficiency, and further, such It is to operate a simple Stirling engine with a simple configuration.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the main technical problem, according to the present invention,
A pair of displacer cylinders, a pair of displacers slidably disposed in the pair of displacer cylinders, and a pair of expansion chambers and contractions into which working gas flowing in accordance with the operation of the pair of displacers flows in and out A displacer mechanism with a chamber;
A displacer operating mechanism that operates the pair of displacers with a phase difference of 180 degrees from each other;
A working gas circuit communicating between the pair of displacer cylinders, and a fluid rotating machine disposed in the working gas circuit ,
The working gas circuit includes a first inflow passage that communicates one displacer cylinder and a fluid inlet of the fluid rotator, and a first outflow passage that communicates one displacer cylinder and a fluid outlet of the fluid rotator. A second inflow passage communicating the other displacer cylinder and the fluid inlet of the fluid rotator, and a second outflow passage communicating the other displacer cylinder and the fluid outlet of the fluid rotator, And,
The working gas is allowed to flow from one displacer cylinder to the fluid rotator side disposed in the first inflow passage, but the working gas flow from the fluid rotator side to the one displacer cylinder side is blocked. The first check valve and the first check valve are disposed in the first outflow passage and allow the working gas to flow from the fluid rotator side to the one displacer cylinder side, but from the one displacer cylinder to the fluid rotator side. A second check valve that blocks the flow of the working gas, and the flow of the working gas from the other displacer cylinder side to the fluid rotating machine side that is disposed in the second inflow passage but allows the fluid rotation. A third check valve for shutting off the flow of the working gas from the machine side to the other displacer cylinder side, and an operation from the fluid rotary machine side to the other displacer cylinder side disposed in the second outflow passage Distribution of the body is allowed and a fourth check valve for blocking the flow of working gas from the other displacer cylinder side to the fluid rotary machine side,
A Stirling engine is provided.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a Stirling engine constructed according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0009]
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a Stirling engine constructed according to the present invention.
The Stirling engine of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a displacer mechanism 2. The displacer mechanism 2 includes a pair of displacer cylinders 21a and 21b, a pair of displacers 22a and 22b slidably disposed in the pair of displacer cylinders 21a and 21b, and an operation of the pair of displacers 22a and 22b. It consists of a pair of expansion chambers 23a and 23b and a pair of contraction chambers 24a and 24b into and out of which the working gas that flows with them flows. The pair of displacer cylinders 21 a and 21 b are formed of an aluminum alloy or the like and are connected to each other by the support frame 3. The ends of the pair of displacer cylinders 21a and 21b on the side of the pair of expansion chambers 23a and 23b are heated by appropriate heating means (not shown). Further, the ends of the pair of displacer cylinders 21a and 21b on the side of the pair of contraction chambers 24a and 24b may be naturally cooled, but are desirably cooled by appropriate cooling means. A working gas having a small specific heat, such as hydrogen or helium, is enclosed in the pair of displacer cylinders 21a and 21b and the working gas circuit described later. The pair of displacers 22a and 22b is formed in a cylindrical shape with a material having a small specific gravity, and is configured to be slidable with a predetermined gap between the inner peripheral surfaces of the pair of displacer cylinders 21a and 21b. The pair of displacers 22a and 22b operate in the pair of displacer cylinders 21a and 21b in the vertical direction in the drawing, so that the working gas passes through the gap and the pair of contraction chambers 24a and 24b and the pair of expansion chambers 23a and 23b, respectively. In and out.
[0010]
The Stirling engine in the illustrated embodiment includes a displacer operating mechanism 4 that operates the pair of displacers 22a and 22b with a phase difference of 180 degrees from each other. The displacer operating mechanism 4 in the illustrated embodiment includes an electric motor 41, a pair of crank journals 42a and 42b provided on the pair of drive shafts 411a and 411b of the electric motor 41 with a phase difference of 180 degrees, and the pair of crank journals 42a and 42b. A pair of connecting rods 43a, 43b each having one end (lower end in the figure) connected to each of the crank journals 42a, 42b, and the other end (upper end in the figure) and one end (lower end in the figure) of the pair of connecting rods 43a, 43b. ) Are connected via a pair of connecting mechanisms 44a and 44b, and are composed of a pair of displacer rods 45a and 45b. The other ends (upper ends in the figure) of the pair of displacer rods 45a and 45b are the pair of displacers 22a. , 22b. When the electric motor 41 is rotationally driven, the displacer operating mechanism 4 configured as described above has a pair of crank journals 42a and 42b, a pair of connecting rods 43a and 43b, a pair of connecting mechanisms 44a and 44b, and a pair of displacer rods 45a and 45b. The pair of displacers 22a and 22b are operated in the vertical direction in the drawing with a phase difference of 180 degrees.
[0011]
The Stirling engine in the illustrated embodiment includes a working gas circuit 5 that communicates between the pair of contraction chambers 24 a and 24 b of the displacer mechanism 2, and a vane motor 6 as a fluid rotating machine disposed in the working gas circuit 5. It has. The working gas circuit 5 in the illustrated embodiment communicates the first inflow passage 51 that communicates one contraction chamber 24 a with the inlet 61 of the vane motor 6, and the one contraction chamber 24 a and the outlet 62 of the vane motor 6. The first outflow passage 52, the second inflow passage 53 communicating the other contraction chamber 24b and the inlet 61 of the vane motor 6, and the second outflow passage 53 communicating the other contraction chamber 24b and the outlet 62 of the vane motor 6. 2 outflow passages 54. The working gas circuit 5 configured in this way has a configuration in which the working gas flows from one shrinking chamber 24a to the other shrinking chamber 24b through the vane motor 6 and the working gas flows from the other shrinking chamber 24b to the other shrinking chamber 24b. A control mechanism 7 for controlling the flow to 24a is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, the control mechanism 7 includes a first inflow passage 51, a first outflow passage 52, a second inflow passage 53, and a second outflow passage 54. The check valve 71, the second check valve 72, the third check valve 73, and the fourth check valve 74 are included. The first check valve 71 allows the working gas to flow from the one shrinking chamber 24a side to the vane motor 6 side, but blocks the working gas flow from the vane motor 6 side to the one shrinking chamber 24a side. It is configured. The second check valve 72 allows the working gas to flow from the vane motor 6 side to the one shrinking chamber 24a side, but blocks the working gas flow from the one shrinking chamber 24a side to the vane motor 6 side. It is configured. The third check valve 73 allows the working gas to flow from the other contraction chamber 24b side to the vane motor 6 side but blocks the working gas flow from the vane motor 6 side to the other contraction chamber 24b side. It is configured as follows. The fourth check valve 74 allows the working gas to flow from the vane motor 6 side to the other shrinking chamber 24b side, but blocks the working gas flow from the other shrinking chamber 24b side to the vane motor 6 side. It is configured. A generator (not shown) is mounted on the rotating shaft 63 of the vane motor 6.
[0012]
The Stirling engine of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below.
The Stirling engine shown in FIG. 1 is driven by operating the pair of displacers 22a and 22b with a phase difference of 180 degrees from each other by the displacer operating mechanism 4. In the state where the pair of displacers 22a and 22b are indicated by solid lines in FIG. 1, one displacer 22a is located at the bottom dead center and the other displacer 22b is located at the top dead center. In this state, the working gas in one expansion chamber 23a of one displacer cylinder 21a is heated and expands, and the working gas in the other contraction chamber 24b of the other displacer cylinder 21b is cooled and contracts. Accordingly, the working gas expanded in the one expansion chamber 23a of the one displacer cylinder 21a flows into the one contraction chamber 24a through the gap between the displacer cylinder 21a and the displacer 22a, and further the first inflow passage 51. Then, the air flows into the vane motor 6 from the inlet 61 of the vane motor 6 through the first check valve 71. As a result, the vane motor 6 is rotationally driven. The working gas that rotationally drives the vane motor 6 flows into the other contraction chamber 24b of the other displacer cylinder 21b from the outlet 62 of the vane motor 6 through the fourth check valve 74 and the second outlet passage 54 .
[0013]
As described above, when the working gas is flowing, the pair of displacers 22a and 22b is also operated by the displacer operating mechanism 4, and the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The other displacer 22b is positioned at the bottom dead center. In the state where the pair of displacers 22a and 22b is positioned at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the working gas in one expansion chamber 23a flows into one contraction chamber 24a and the other in the other contraction chamber 24b. The working gas flows into the other expansion chamber 24a. As a result, the working gas in the other expansion chamber 23b of the other displacer cylinder 21b is heated and expanded, and the working gas in one contraction chamber 24a of the one displacer cylinder 21a is cooled and contracted. Therefore, the working gas expanded in the other expansion chamber 23b of the other displacer cylinder 21b flows into the other contraction chamber 24b through the gap between the other displacer cylinder 21b and the displacer 22b, and then the second inflow. It flows into the vane motor 6 from the inlet 61 of the vane motor 6 through the passage 53 and the third check valve 73. As a result, the vane motor 6 is rotationally driven. The working gas that rotationally drives the vane motor 6 flows from the outlet 62 of the vane motor 6 through the second check valve 72 and the first outflow passage 52 into the other contraction chamber 24a of one displacer cylinder 21a.
[0014]
By repeating the above-described operation, the working gas flowing out from one contraction chamber 24a of one displacer cylinder 21a and the working gas flowing out from the contraction chamber 24b of the other displacer cylinder 21b alternately flow into the vane motor 6. The vane motor 6 is driven to rotate, and a generator (not shown) mounted on the rotating shaft 63 is operated. Since the fluid rotating machine such as the vane motor 6 that is rotationally driven by the working gas in this way has an infinite stroke, all of the expansion of the working gas can be collected, and a Stirling engine with high thermal efficiency can be obtained.
[0015]
Next, a second embodiment of the Stirling engine configured according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the configuration of the displacer operating mechanism is different from that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but the other configuration is the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The displacer operating mechanism 40 of the Stirling engine in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 includes a drive shaft 46 having a pair of crank journals 42a and 42b provided at both ends with a phase difference of 180 degrees, and the drive shaft 46. The pulley 47 is attached to the rotary shaft 63 of the vane motor 6 as a fluid rotary machine, and the belt 49 is wound around the pulley 48 and the pulley 47. The displacer operating mechanism 40 configured as described above operates the drive shaft 46 by other operating means when the Stirling engine is started. When the vane motor 6 is rotated as in the first embodiment described above, the rotation is caused by the rotation shaft 63, the pulley 48, the belt 49, the pulley 47, the drive shaft 46, the pair of crank journals 42a and 42b, and the pair of crank journals 42a and 42b. It is transmitted to the pair of displacers 22a and 22b via the connecting rods 43a and 43b, the pair of connecting mechanisms 44a and 44b, and the pair of displacer rods 45a and 45b. The pair of displacer rods 45a and 45b has a phase difference of 180 degrees. Operate vertically.
[0016]
Next, a third embodiment of a Stirling engine configured according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a turbine 8 is used as a fluid rotator, and a generator 9 is operated by the turbine 8. Other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG. Since it is substantially the same as each structural member of 1 embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the fluid inlet 81 of the turbine 8 is communicated with the first inlet passage 51 and the second inlet passage 53 as a fluid rotator, and the fluid outlet 82 of the turbine 8 is the first outlet. The outflow passage 52 and the second outflow passage 54 communicate with each other. A permanent magnet generator 9 is disposed on the rotating shaft 83 of the turbine 8. The Stirling engine in the third embodiment configured as described above is driven by operating the pair of displacers 22a and 22b with a phase difference of 180 degrees from each other by the displacer operating mechanism 4. Similarly to the first embodiment described above, the working gas flowing out from one contraction chamber 24a of one displacer cylinder 21a and the working gas flowing out from the contraction chamber 24b of the other displacer cylinder 21b are alternately supplied to the turbine 8. The turbine 8 is driven to rotate by flowing into the turbine 8 from the inlet 81 and flowing through the outlet 82. By rotating the turbine 8 in this manner, the generator 9 attached to the rotating shaft 83 of the turbine 8 is driven, and the energy in which the working gas is expanded is recovered by the electric power generated by the generator 9.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
The Stirling engine according to the present invention is configured as described above, and the fluid rotator is driven by the working gas. Therefore, since the fluid rotator has an infinite stroke, the entire expansion amount of the working gas can be recovered, and the heat efficiency is high. A Stirling engine can be obtained. Further, each displacer cylinder and the fluid rotating machine are communicated with each other by a working gas circuit including an inflow passage and an outflow passage, and a check valve is disposed in each of the inflow passage and the outflow passage. Since the inflow and outflow of the working gas that drives the fluid rotating machine are automatically controlled by a check valve, it is not necessary to provide a switching control valve for switching the working gas distribution, and the Stirling engine is operated with a simple configuration. be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a Stirling engine configured according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of a Stirling engine configured according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of a Stirling engine configured according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
2: Displacer mechanism 21a, 21b: Displacer cylinder 22a, 22b: Displacer 23a, 23b: Expansion chamber 24a, 24b: Shrink chamber 3: Support frame 4: Displacer operating mechanism 41: Electric motor 42a, 42b: Crank journal 43a, 43b : Connecting rod 44a, 44b: connecting mechanism 45a, 45b: displacer rod 5: working gas circuit 51: first inflow passage 52: first outflow passage 53: second inflow passage 54: second outflow passage 6: Vane motor 61: Inlet 62: Outlet 7: Control mechanism 71: First check valve 72: Second check valve 73: Third check valve 74: Fourth check valve 40: Displacer operating mechanism 46: Drive shaft 47: Pulley 48: Pulley 49: Belt 2: Turbine 81: Inlet 82: Outlet 9 Power generator

Claims (1)

A pair of displacer cylinders, a pair of displacers slidably disposed in the pair of displacer cylinders, and a pair of expansion chambers and contractions into which working gas flowing in accordance with the operation of the pair of displacers flows in and out A displacer mechanism with a chamber;
A displacer operating mechanism that operates the pair of displacers with a phase difference of 180 degrees from each other;
A working gas circuit communicating between the pair of displacer cylinders, and a fluid rotating machine disposed in the working gas circuit ,
The working gas circuit includes a first inflow passage that communicates one displacer cylinder and a fluid inlet of the fluid rotator, and a first outflow passage that communicates one displacer cylinder and a fluid outlet of the fluid rotator. A second inflow passage communicating the other displacer cylinder and the fluid inlet of the fluid rotator, and a second outflow passage communicating the other displacer cylinder and the fluid outlet of the fluid rotator, And,
The working gas is allowed to flow from one displacer cylinder to the fluid rotator side disposed in the first inflow passage, but the working gas flow from the fluid rotator side to the one displacer cylinder side is blocked. The first check valve and the first check valve are disposed in the first outflow passage and allow the working gas to flow from the fluid rotator side to the one displacer cylinder side, but from the one displacer cylinder to the fluid rotator side. A second check valve that blocks the flow of the working gas, and the flow of the working gas from the other displacer cylinder side to the fluid rotating machine side that is disposed in the second inflow passage but allows the fluid rotation. A third check valve for shutting off the flow of the working gas from the machine side to the other displacer cylinder side, and an operation from the fluid rotary machine side to the other displacer cylinder side disposed in the second outflow passage Distribution of the body is allowed and a fourth check valve for blocking the flow of working gas from the other displacer cylinder side to the fluid rotary machine side,
Stirling engine characterized by that.

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