JPH07247808A - Agricultural machinery - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To completely prevent generation of noise ant, environmental pollution such as noise, exhaust gas and the like, and obtain high output by sealing discharging operation medium in a rotor housing, convert electric energy into gas pressure of high pressure, applying driving force to a turbine rotor by this high pressure gas. CONSTITUTION:The plasma engine 10 of an agricultural machinery is provided with a boost part 12b for sealing a discharging operation medium and a rotor housing 12 having a low pressure part and an operating chamber 12a communicated with the low pressure part. And the engine 10 is provided with a turbine rotor 16 which is rotatably housed in the operating chamber 12a and having a plurality of blade means which is opened on the boost part 12b and the low pressure part. And the engine 10 is provided with electrode means 20, 22, 23 which are arranged on the boost part 12b and for applying driving force on the blade means of the turbine rotor 16 by being generated and expanding plasma by arc-discharge on the operating medium of the boost part 12b by high voltage pulse from a pulse discharge power supply 38 instantly. It is thus possible to eliminate necessity of petroleum group energy so as to obtain high output with a small size.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an agricultural machine, and more particularly to an agricultural machine driven by a plasma engine as a next-generation engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, agricultural machinery driven by a diesel engine or a gasoline engine not only consumes a large amount of energy such as gasoline, light oil, heavy oil, and LP gas, but also causes pollution by a large amount of noise and a large amount of pollutants. Was rapidly depleting the global environment.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an earth-friendly agricultural machine that does not require conventional petroleum-based energy and does not generate pollution such as noise and exhaust gas.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above object comprises a main body of an agricultural machine and a plasma engine drivingly connected to the main body of the agricultural machine, and the plasma engine communicates with a booster section and a low pressure section in which a working medium for discharge is enclosed in the plasma engine. A rotary housing having a working chamber, a turbine rotor having a plurality of blade means rotatably housed in the working chamber and exposed to a booster section and a low-pressure section, and a pulse discharge power supply arranged in the booster section. It is achieved by the construction of the electrode means for giving a driving force to the blade means of the turbine rotor by instantaneously generating plasma by arc discharge in the working medium of the booster section by the high voltage pulse from It

[0005]

In the agricultural machine of the present invention, the working medium for discharge is enclosed in the rotor housing provided with the pressure rising part and the low pressure part of the plasma engine and the working chamber communicating with these parts, and the electric energy is directly converted into the high pressure gas pressure. Then, a high output is obtained by directly applying a driving force to the turbine rotor by this high pressure gas.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of an agricultural machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG.
The agricultural machine 1 includes an agricultural machine body 8 including a known power cultivator, rice transplanter, combine harvester, and the like, and a plasma engine 10 drivingly connected to the agricultural machine body 8. The plasma engine 10 functions as a main drive source for driving each movable part of the agricultural machine body 8.

2 and 3 show a preferred embodiment plasma engine 10 according to the present invention. The plasma engine 10 has a working chamber 12a having an arcuate portion, and an arcuate discharge chamber 12b adjacent to the working chamber 12a and acting as a booster.
And a rotor housing 12 having a low pressure portion 12c ',
The turbine rotor 16 is rotatably arranged in the working chamber 12a and is supported by the output shaft 14. The rotor housing 12 includes a center housing 12-1 and side housings 12-2 and 12-3, which are screwed together. The rotor housing 12 communicates with the first and second low pressure portions (gas contraction portions) 12c ′ that are close to the outer circumference of the turbine rotor 16 and the first and second boosting portions 12b that are partitioned by the segment portions 12c. .
The rotor housing 12 may be composed of a side housing and a center housing made of an insulating material such as tempered glass or ceramic.

The turbine rotor 16 is preferably made of a conductor such as aluminum or copper, and acts as a trigger electrode for generating a local discharge by shortening the discharge distance between the main electrodes as described later. When the turbine rotor 16 is made of an insulating material such as ceramic, a conductive layer may be formed on each surface of the blade means by coating or another method. This turbine rotor 16 has an acute angle α with respect to the tangent line L.
It has a plurality of blades 16a having cavities 16a 'formed at regular intervals in the outer circumferential direction so as to be inclined at an angle of 45 degrees. As described above, each of the blades 16a has a plurality of pressure receiving surfaces having a predetermined angle (α °) with respect to a radial line passing through the rotation axis of the turbine rotor 16. Blade 1 of turbine rotor 16
6a is divided into a portion exposed to the boosting portion 12b and the low pressure portion 12c '. That is, while the turbine rotor 16 is rotating, the blades 16a alternately pass through the booster section 12b and the low pressure section 12c '.

In the turbine rotor 16, a plurality of slide grooves may be formed in the turbine rotor 16 instead of the blades 16a at the same angle as the blades, and vanes may be arranged in these slide grooves. At this time, the working chamber 12a may be partially formed in a cylindrical shape so that the vane does not protrude from the slide groove. Here, the blade and the vane are collectively referred to as blade means. 2 and 3, the blade means of the turbine rotor 16 is shown as being formed on the outer circumference of the turbine rotor 16, but the blade means may be formed on the side surface of the turbine rotor 16 in an appropriate shape. In this case, the segment portion and the boosting portion of the rotor housing 12 may be formed corresponding to the blade means on the side surface of the turbine rotor 16. The turbine rotor 16 is formed of sintered metal or aluminum die casting, and the cost can be reduced. Turbine rotor 16 and rotor housing 1
A side seal 18 for preventing the expanded working gas from leaking is arranged between the two.

The booster portion 12b is partially provided with the turbine rotor 1.
6 is larger than the outer diameter, and the working medium is enclosed therein, and functions as a gas expansion portion during discharge. Both side surfaces 16b of the turbine rotor 16 in the low pressure portion 12c '
Are arranged in close contact with the side surfaces 12-2a and 12-3a of the side housing. Therefore, the low pressure part 12
Cavity 16 of turbine rotor 16 located at c '
The pressure of a ′ is low, and therefore, when the pressure of the booster section 12b increases, the cavity 16 of the turbine rotor 16
The high pressure gas at a ′ tends to move toward the low pressure portion 12c ′ of the rotor housing 12. As a result, the turbine rotor 16 rotates counterclockwise R in FIG.
The anode 20 and the cathode 22 are provided with a predetermined gap G from the end of the turbine rotor 16 at both ends in the axial direction of the booster portion 12b so that a local discharge is generated.
2 side walls, that is, the side housings 12-2, 12
-3 arcuate groove portions 25 and 27. Code 2
Reference numerals 4 and 26 denote insulating agents such as ceramic sealing materials. The rotor housing 12 is an annular recess 16 of the turbine rotor 16.
The output shaft 14 is rotatably supported by the bearings 28 and 30 of the boss portion 12d. The end portion of the output shaft 14 is the boss portion 12.
It is supported by the bearing 31 of d '. With this configuration, the plasma engine 10 has a thin and extremely compact structure.

In the working chamber 12a, the pressure boosting portion 12b and the low pressure portion 12c ', the working medium 32 is preferably 1 atm.
Enclosed at 5%. The booster unit 12b has a radiation source liner 13 made of tritium or polonium for promoting the initial ionization of the working medium and increasing the current density or ion density to further increase the temperature and pressure of the discharge gas and increase the efficiency. When the current density or the ion density of the discharge working medium increases, the temperature and pressure at the time of discharge of the booster increases, and the engine efficiency rises. Other methods may be used instead of tritium and polonium. That is, the radiation source has a half-life of over 10 years, a radioactivity of 100 Bq to 1000 Bq, and an energy of 0.7 M.
You may comprise from the radiation source which radiate | emits only the beta ray below eV. A Si-based alkoxide-alcohol solution, that is, a sol-gel solution mixed with a single powder of technesium 99 is applied to the pressurizing section 12b and dried.
Technesium-9 when heated in nitrogen for 1 hour at ℃
9 are evenly distributed in the booster 12b. Next, the Si-based sol-gel solution not mixed with technesium 99 is applied to the surface of technesium and heated in vacuum at 600 ° C. for 1 hour to obtain the sealed radiation source liner 13. By forming the liner 13 in the boosting portion 12b of this sealed radiation source, stable instantaneous discharge characteristics can be obtained.

Next, a working medium used in the plasma engine 10 of the present invention will be exemplified.

(1) As the working medium 32, a discharge gas composed of a metal vapor of any one of mercury vapor and sodium vapor and a starting gas is used. The starting gas is composed of xenon at 1 to 50 atm and helium or argon at 0.066 to 2 atm, and the filling pressure of helium or argon with respect to the total filling pressure is preferably 50% or less. In this way, not only the starting voltage of the discharge gas can be lowered, but also a stable and fast discharge of the working fluid can be instantaneously performed.

(2) The discharge gas is helium, argon,
In addition to at least one inert gas selected from xenon and neon, a radiation source such as α rays, β rays, γ rays, and χ rays or a radiation source made of krypton 85 may be included.
The krypton (Kr) 85 causes the working fluid to be electronically excited by radiation to improve the starting characteristics and the instantaneous discharge characteristics and improve the efficiency of the engine. From the viewpoint of safety, the amount of krypton 85 enclosed is 0.2 to 50 per 1 cm ^{3 of the} pressure booster internal volume.
A range of microcurie is desirable.

(3) The discharge gas is preferably a rare mixed gas of 36% helium, 26% neon, 17% argon, 13% krypton and 8% xenon in order to prevent an abnormal temperature rise during discharge. , About 1 to 10 atm, preferably 1 atm ± 5% or less.

(4) The discharge gas has a volume ratio of 40 to 60%.
Of argon, 30 to 40% of xenon, 6 to 8% of neon and other noble gases may be used.

(5) The discharge gas is composed of a predetermined amount of mercury, a rare gas and a hydrogen gas. Since constant power control is performed to promote the expansion pressure due to evaporation of mercury, the discharge current decreases as the discharge voltage increases. At this time, the pulse discharge power supply can be downsized and the engine life is extended. The amount of hydrogen to be enclosed is 5 × 10 ^{−4 in} terms of the mole ratio of mercury and rare gas.
Up to, the discharge voltage rises sharply, and even if the hydrogen amount is further increased, the discharge voltage rises only slightly. That is, hydrogen gas whose hydrogen amount is 5 × 10 ^{−4 and} whose discharge voltage changes critically may be directly enclosed in the working chamber together with xenon gas.

(6) The discharge gas may be formed of a mixture of at least one selected from deuterium or hydrogen gas and at least one rare gas selected from helium and neon. When helium or neon is mixed in this discharge gas, recombination occurs due to three-body collision between two free hydrogen atoms or deuterium atoms and helium or neon atoms. Does not decrease and high efficiency can be obtained.

(7) As the working medium, a carbon lattice structure having 60 to 200 carbon atoms in a simple substance or in at least one gas selected from the above rare gases, preferably C _60.
A mixture of C ₇₀ and C ₇₀ may be used. Since the ionization potential of C ₆₀ is 7.5 eV, which is significantly lower than that of Xe (12.1 eV), there is an advantage that the energy cost per pulse discharge is significantly reduced.

(8) The working medium is fluorine (F ₂ ) and a fluorine compound (NF ₃ , SF ₆ ) and He, Ne, Ar, K.
A mixed gas of noble gases such as r is used.

(9) The working medium is chlorine (Cl ₂ ) gas or chlorine compound (HCl, BCl ₂ , Cl ₄ ) and He, N
A mixed gas of noble gases such as e and Ar is used.

(10) As the working medium, a mixed gas of bromine (Br ₂ ) or hydrogen bromide (HBr ₂ ) and a rare gas such as He, Ne and Ar is used.

(11) The working medium is a mixed gas of iodine (I ₂ ) or hydrogen iodide (HI) and a rare gas such as He, Ne and Ar.

The electrode means consisting of the anode 20 and the cathode 22 is made of thorium-containing tungsten for causing electronic excitation in the working medium and promoting ionization. As another example, the cathode 22 is a powder of tungsten material, at least one alkaline earth oxide selected from barium oxide, strontium oxide, and calcium oxide, and at least one selected from zirconium oxide and scandium oxide. It may be formed from a sintered electrode body of a mixture with a thermionic emission material containing a mixture of. Zirconium oxide and scandium oxide increase the rate of increase in the electrical conductivity of the cathode 22 when the temperature of the cathode 22 rises. Therefore, the discharge is stable. As another example, the cathode 22 is made of a sintered electrode body obtained by mixing and firing a base metal powder made of nickel, for example, with an emitter made of a thermoelectron emitting substance such as barium oxide, strontium oxide, or calcium oxide. It may be configured. At this time, the mixing ratio of the emitter 10 to the base metal powder 100 is selected by weight ratio. This sintered electrode body is high in length, has a large amount of emitter content, and is strong against vibration and shock. As another example, the cathode 2
In No. 2, by embedding a tantalum chip, which is a highly ductile material, in a hole processed into a ribbon-type hot cathode, an electrode body with a smaller amount of surface loss compared to brittle materials such as tungsten against ion bombardment is formed. It Current is applied to the ribbon type hot cathode to 2000 to 2500. When a potential difference is applied in a certain direction when K is reached, thermoelectrons are emitted from the tantalum chip in the direction of lower potential.

Pulse discharge power source 3 of plasma engine 10
8 is shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 shows various waveforms in FIG. The pulse discharge power supply 38 includes a high-voltage DC power supply 42, and the output of the power supply 42 has two primary windings 46 a and 46 b of the output transformer 46.
, The auxiliary switches SW1 and SW2 are connected in anti-parallel. In FIG. 4, the black circle symbols in the output transformer 46 indicate the winding directions of the windings. The two secondary windings 46c and 46d of the output transformer 46 are internally connected in series, and a connection point and the other end of the two secondary windings, that is, three points in total, are extracted to the outside, and a full-wave rectification circuit is configured by the diodes D1 and D2. Then, the capacitor C1 is charged.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit diagram of FIG. When the auxiliary switches SW1 and SW2 are alternately operated by an external control signal, positive and negative voltages are alternately applied to the primary winding. When a positive voltage is applied, D1 conducts, and the primary winding 46a and the secondary winding 46
The capacitor C1 is resonantly charged via the leakage impedance between c. After that, when the high-speed switch 48 is turned on by the control signal from the outside, the electric charge of C1 is discharged and flows into the discharging means 23 including the electrodes 20 and 22.

When a negative voltage is applied to the primary winding,
D2 becomes conductive and the capacitor C1 is resonantly charged through the leakage impedance between the primary winding 46 and the secondary winding 46d. The discharge process is as described above. By doing so, if the control signal of the auxiliary switch is given so that the next discharge is started after the post-discharge rest time T of the high-speed switch, it is completely prevented that the insulation recovery of the high-speed switch becomes unstable. it can. The operating frequency of the auxiliary switch may be half the operating frequency of the discharging means. In this way, when the high-speed switch is turned off, the auxiliary switch is energized to perform resonance charging from the DC power supply to the capacitor through the leakage inductance of the output transformer, and when the auxiliary switch is turned off, the high-speed switch is energized to perform pulse discharge. . Therefore, by sufficiently delaying the timing of energizing the auxiliary switch from the energization of the high speed switch, it is possible to take a rest time of charging until the insulation of the anode-cathode tube of the high speed switch is restored,
It is possible to prevent the switch element from being destroyed. A gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) is suitable as the auxiliary switch.

As shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 4, the electrodes 20, 22 are
When a current pulse of 20 to 40 KV is supplied for a short time of several μ (micro) to several + μ seconds, a sufficient gas pressure expansion occurs in one arc discharge and a sufficient rotational force is applied to the turbine rotor. The discharge time for each time is as short as several microseconds,
The input energy for driving the turbine rotor is also very small, which increases the efficiency of the engine. The temperature of the working fluid also does not rise abnormally.

A plurality of pairs of electrode means 20 and 22 are connected to the high voltage pulse discharge power supply 38 of FIG. 4, and a high voltage pulse of 20 to 40 KV of several μ to several + μ is periodically supplied.
At that time, a local discharge occurs between the electrode means 20, 22 and the side wall 16b of the turbine rotor 16, and then the electrode 2
Between 0 and 22, the plasma is transferred by arc discharge. As a result, the booster unit 1 partitioned by the segment unit 12c
The working medium 32 of 2b abruptly expands, and the expansion pressure acts on the cavity 16a 'and the blade 16a of the turbine rotor 16 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3 to give a driving force to the turbine rotor 16 in the counterclockwise direction R. That is, the high-pressure gas gives a rotational force to the turbine rotor 16 so as to flow into the cavity 16a ′ and escape to the low-pressure portion 12c ′.
The working medium 32 contracts in the low pressure portion 12c '. Booster 12
Since b is composed of the first and second arcuate expansion chambers and extends over most of the outer circumference of the turbine rotor 16 and the volume of the space does not change, the working medium 32 of the booster 12b is expanded by plasma due to arc discharge. When the booster 12
The gas pressure of b becomes extremely large and gives a strong driving force to most of the pressure receiving surface of the turbine rotor 16. in this way,
Since the output per high voltage pulse is large, the efficiency of the engine is good. Turbine rotor 16 is first and second
A rotor element and a partition plate in the middle, the angles of the first and second blades are arranged in opposite directions, and the electrode means are respectively arranged in the first and second discharge chambers partitioned by the partition plate. Thus, a reversible plasma engine can be obtained.

FIG. 6 shows a pulse discharge power source 3 according to another example.
8'is shown. The DC charging power source 41 charges the large-capacity capacitor Co connected in parallel with the electrode means 23 at a low voltage. Switching element 4 connected in series to the electrode means 23
9, for example GTO (GateTurn Off SC)
When a short pulse signal (Fig. 7a) is input to R), the GTO becomes a closed circuit only during the pulse time width, so that the charge stored in the large-capacity capacitor Co (Fig. 7d) flows into the discharging means 23 (Fig. 7g). . On the other hand, the resonance charging capacitors C2 and C3 of the resonance charging circuits 43 and 45 connected in parallel to the large-capacity capacitor Co are also resonance charged at the same time (see FIG. 7).
e, f), it is charged up to about twice the charging voltage of the large-capacity capacitor Co. Here, during the time when the GTO is a closed circuit, a gate signal (FIG. 7b, FIG. 7b) is output to switching elements, for example, SCR1 and SCR2, which are serially connected to the capacitors C1 and C2 of the resonance charging circuits 43 and 45, respectively.
When c) is added, the electric charge stored in the capacitors C2 and C3 is supplied to the discharging means 23 (FIG. 7h, i). Therefore, the discharge current waveform of the electrode means 23 is as shown in FIG. 7j, and the waveform control becomes possible. Thus, by arbitrarily changing the discharge current waveform, it is possible to control the expansion pressure of the working medium and arbitrarily control the engine torque to always obtain an optimum output. If the number of resonance charging circuits of the pulse discharge power supply is increased, the control time of the discharge power supply becomes more precise. Further, the voltage of the discharge pulse can be further increased by connecting the discharge coil in parallel between the final stage of the resonance charging circuit and the electrode means.

In the above embodiments, the booster portion of the rotor housing in the plasma engine of the agricultural machine is described as being formed so as to be partially common to the working chamber. However, the common booster portion is independent of the working chamber, You may comprise so that the expansion pressure of a pressure | voltage rise part may be transmitted to a working chamber.

[0032]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION In the plasma engine of the agricultural machine of the present invention, the exhaust gas is evacuated to the working chamber in the closed housing and the pressure is reduced to 1 atm ±
A working fluid consisting of a discharge gas is enclosed at 5%, and a turbine rotor having a pressure receiving surface is placed therein, and a high voltage pulse is supplied to the electrode means provided in the discharge chamber to generate plasma in the working fluid due to discharge. Since the driving force is applied to the turbine rotor by the expansion pressure and the Lorentz force generated at this time, it is possible to provide a plasma engine having a long life without using petroleum energy. In particular, the plasma engine for agricultural machinery is small and has high output,
The structure is simple, the number of parts is small, the weight is low, the noise is low, and a plurality of torques are generated for each rotation. Therefore, the vibration is low, and the manufacturing cost and the maintenance cost are remarkably low. Moreover, since the working fluid can be used permanently, once the working fluid is enclosed in the housing, the engine can be driven for a long time without supplying any additional fuel from the outside. Furthermore, by providing the electrode means with a preliminary electrode means, the engine life can be extended over 20,000 to 40,000 hours. Since there is no pollution such as noise and exhaust gas from the engine, it is possible to completely prevent the destruction of the global environment and it is extremely effective in practical use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an agricultural machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the plasma engine of FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a pulsed discharge power supply for the plasma engine of FIGS.

5 is a diagram of various waveforms of the circuit of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing another example of a pulse discharge power supply.

FIG. 7 is various waveform diagrams of the circuit of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Agricultural Machinery 8 Agricultural Machinery Main Body 10 Plasma Engine 12 Rotor Housing 12a Working Chamber 13 Liner 14 Output Shaft 15 Liner 16 Turbine Rotor 18 Side Seal 20 Electrode 22 Electrode 32 Working Medium 38 Pulse Discharge Power Supply

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A rotary housing comprising an agricultural machine main body and a plasma engine drivingly connected to the agricultural machine main body, the plasma engine having a booster section and a low-pressure section in which a discharge working medium is enclosed, and a working chamber communicating with these sections. When,
A turbine rotor having a plurality of blade means rotatably housed in a working chamber and exposed to a booster and a low-pressure section, and an instantaneous booster arranged in the booster by a high-voltage pulse from a pulse discharge power supply. Agricultural machine comprising: an electrode means for applying a driving force to a plurality of blade means exposed in the boosting section by generating plasma by arc discharge in the working medium and expanding the plasma. 2. The agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein the working medium includes a discharge gas composed of at least one rare gas selected from helium, argon, neon, xenon, and krypton. 3. The agricultural machine according to claim 2, wherein the discharge gas contains a metal vapor selected from mercury vapor and sodium vapor. 4. The internal volume 1c of the working chamber according to claim 2.
An agricultural machine comprising a radiation source consisting of 0.2 to 50 microcurie of krypton (Kr) 85 per m ³ . 5. The agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein the electrode means comprises a cathode and an anode including a sintered electrode body formed by mixing a base metal powder with an alkaline earth metal-based thermionic emission material. 6. The agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein the electrode means includes the electrode means made of thorium-containing tungsten arranged in the booster. 7. The agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein the electrode means has a cathode and an anode made of at least one refractory metal selected from tungsten, molybdenum, and chrome, and a thermionic emission material. 8. The agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein the booster portion functions as an expansion chamber, and the rotor housing has an arc-shaped segment portion that divides the booster portion and the low pressure portion. 9. The agricultural machine according to claim 8, wherein the turbine rotor has a conductor portion, and has a predetermined gap for generating a local discharge between the turbine rotor and the electrode means. 10. The booster section and the low-pressure section each include a first booster section, a second booster section, and a first, second lower-pressure section, and a first booster section, a second booster section, and a first, second lower-pressure section. The agricultural machine in which the rotor housings are symmetrically arranged in the radial direction. 11. The agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein the low pressure portion is formed by the segment portion and the side wall of the rotor housing.