WO2014075089A1

WO2014075089A1 - Improved non-combustion power take-off engine

Info

Publication number: WO2014075089A1
Application number: PCT/US2013/069724
Authority: WO
Inventors: Antal Toth
Original assignee: Lions Power & Electric, Llc
Priority date: 2012-11-09
Filing date: 2013-11-12
Publication date: 2014-05-15

Abstract

An improved engine has a first and a second cap end, at either end of the engine. A housing cover has at least one nozzle for dispensing a fluid therein, the housing cover being sealed to the first and second cap ends. The motor has at least one blade having a plurality of holes for transmission of fluid, at least two spacers between the blade(s) and the first and second caps; and a rod passing through and supporting the first and second cap ends and the spacers, the rod being affixed to the at least one blade that is turned by the dispensed fluid and which turns the rod to supply energy to other devices. Also disclosed is a method of providing power using the improved engine.

Description

IMPROVED NON-COMBUSTION POWER TAKE-OFF ENGINE

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The invention described herein is directed to an improved turbine in a closed system.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The numerous reports of dwindling energy supplies and rising fuel costs, particularly gasoline, has caused much research to be directed to alternative engines for transportation. Much of the research has been to make internal combustion engines more efficient, make longer range all-electric vehicles, or use both an internal combustion engine and electric engine in a hybrid vehicle.

[0003] An alternative to the Otto cycle used in the internal combustion engine is the Rankine cycle. Many Rankine cycle engines use heat to vaporize a liquid which drives a standard fan turbine. The prior art discloses fan designs for the turbine and uses relatively high energy expenditure for the amount of energy produced by the turbine.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0004] In one embodiment, there is an improved engine that has a first and a second cap end, at either end of the turbine; a housing cover with at least one nozzle for dispensing a fluid therein, the housing cover being sealed to the first and second cap ends; at least one blade having a plurality of holes for transmission of fluid; at least two spacers between the blade(s) and the first and second caps; and a rod passing through and supporting the first and second cap ends and the spacers, the rod being affixed to the at least one blade that is turned by the dispensed fluid and which turns the rod to supply energy to other devices.

[0005] In another embodiment, there is provided a method of providing power without combustion. The steps include a) providing an improved turbine with a first and a second cap end, at either end of the turbine; a housing cover with at least one nozzle for dispensing a fluid therein, the housing cover being sealed to the first and second cap ends; at least one blade having a plurality of holes for transmission of fluid; at least two spacers between the blade(s) and the first and second caps; and a rod passing through and supporting the first and second cap ends and the spacers, the rod being affixed to the at least one blade that is turned by the dispensed fluid and which turns the rod to supply energy to other devices. Fluid is provided to be pressurized and to act upon the blade to turn the blade. A pump is provided to pressurize the fluid. The fluid enters the pump to be pressurized and flows through the nozzle into the housing to act upon the blade and through boundary layer and adhesion effects forces the blade to rotate upon the rod which provides rotational force to others devices to produce electricity and other forms of energy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 is a schematic of an alternative engine in accordance with the present invention.

[0007] Figure 2 is an exploded view of the turbine showing the inventive blades that produce the high energy without need for preheating the solution.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] I have studied various types of engines, including the Rankine cycle engine. I have found an unmet need for an alternative engine that is clean, efficient, and uses readily available off the shelf components and mechanical advantages in each step to provide the rotational energy and the necessary horsepower currently being provided by internal combustion engines in many different uses. The Rankine cycle engines are used in many power plants where burning coal (or gas or different combustible fuels) or nuclear fission is used to heat a working fluid that subsequently drives a turbine. There the working fluid is water converted to steam. Alternately various other fluids are mixed with different chemicals to keep them from freezing. One of the problems of power plant Rankine turbines is that they operate at high temperatures, which wastes energy and decreases efficiency. Another significant problem is that steam tends to condense and cause rust inside the turbines, shortening their lives.

[0009] I have invented a turbine system that runs on liquid, preferably water, not steam or gas, so large amounts of energy are conserved by not converting liquid to gas (water to steam). My turbines are constantly filled with fluid so that there is no condensation and less risk of rust throughout the system. Furthermore, I have adjusted the number of disks, the disk spacing, angle of delivering the pressurized fluid, nozzle design and nozzle pressure to create a highly effective engine and method of transferring the kinetic energy efficiently to rotary power and necessary torque to be utilized in many ways for today's immediate use and far into the future.

[0010] The disks are made with currently improved materials such as metal, carbon fiber, plastics and any other material that can withstand constant rotations and high pressures. These materials are chosen for compatibility with the adhesion principle. We must maintain a certain disk spacing. I have found efficiencies are improved with smaller spacing, and efficiencies are decreased with larger disk spacing. The angle of which the pressurized fluid acts upon the disks is important as well; angling the pressurized fluid closer to the edge of the disk increases efficiencies and designed mechanical advantages. Having invented this highly effective engine design, I found I can increase the size of the disks, increasing the mechanical leverage, which in turn increases the capabilities and horsepower. With the most recent design (described in more detail below), I used a digital laser photo tachometer to measure revolutions per minute at over 7,000 rpm. Adding an adjustable nozzle, I throttled the rpm's up or down.

[0011] Figure 1 shows one embodiment of my alternative engine 10 that includes a fluid container 12 holding working liquid 13, typically water, that is delivered to a "pressure washer" pump and engine system 14. The pressure washer 14 uses the mechanical advantages of leverage via levers and compression valves (not shown) to pressurize the working fluid 13 to a predetermined higher pressure. The pressure pump 14 moves the working fluid 13 through a high pressure hose and nozzle 16 to a turbine 18. The working fluid 13 acts on the turbine 18 to create rotational motion and then is returned to the fluid container 12.

[0012] The pressure pump 14 may be any conventional pump such as a centrifugal, positive displacement or a rotary screw pump. The turbine 18 may be multi-bladed or bladeless, as with a rotary screw, which uses the boundary layer effect and not a fluid impinging upon the blades as in a conventional turbine, or a hybrid of both types.

[0013] Figure 2 shows the internal details of the turbine 18 of Figure 1. At either end of turbine 18 are end caps. End cap 28 and housing cover 30 are sealed together (not shown) to form the turbine 18 of Figure 1. The end caps 28 and housing cover 30 can be made from any strong, durable material, including but not limited to plastics such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), Lexan® and composite plastics, carbon fiber, metals, alloys, and fiberglass. Because my system does not operate at high temperature, a wide variety of materials can be used. Quality seals are essential for the operation of this engine. Multiple different seal designs can be utilized, including but not limited to, compression seals, contact seals and labyrinth seals.

[0014] Inside the end cap 28 and the housing cover 30 resides at least one turbine blade 32 and preferably at least two blades that are either evenly or irregularly spaced on the turbine shaft 20. The turbine blade(s) 32 are spaced apart from the end caps and any other turbine blade(s) with spacers 34. Because of the achievable high rotational speeds, it is essential that the blades, shaft and spacers are formed from strong, durable materials, including but not limited to rust-resistant sheet metal, carbon fiber and fiber glass. Initially, I experimented with rust-resistant sheet metals , rubber materials and common washers.

[0015] I experimented extensively with the blade design. I avoided straight cuts, edges, and corners on the outside edges of the circular blades. I used rounded corners for the vent holes, because circles tend to spread stress evenly and reduce potential future stress and failures such as cracks. However, other vent hole designs are possible. No surface treatment was used on the prototype; however, to improve surface adhesion and boundary layer effects, I avoid a smooth surface and will experiment with various treatments. Blade thickness is chosen for adequate strength to handle the high rpm's and fluid pressures acting upon the blades.

[0016] In my experimental design capable of producing 7,000 rpms, I used blades with a diameter of 15.24 cm and thickness of about 0.6 mm. After experimenting with 2-10 holes, I found that three holes having diameters of 0.635 cm worked best with this diameter. Obviously one skilled in the art would adapt my experimental model for more or less power by adjusting the diameters of the blades and holes, as well as the number of holes per blade.

[0017] I experimented with several thicknesses of spacers 34 to optimize the pressurized fluid delivery to all the blades. Too few blades and spacers did not utilize enough of the pressurized fluid kinetic energy. I found that I can scale my engine designs to increase horsepower. The design is scalable but respects and follows a ratio that utilizes mechanical advantages.

[0018] The housing cover 30 is shown with at least one high pressure hose and nozzle 16 that supply the working fluid 13 to the turbine 18, but more hose and nozzle combinations can be utilized to increase efficiencies, horsepower and torque, particularly if increasing the overall size of the engine. The turbine shaft 20 is rotated by the direct impingement of the water on the blades and by the spinning water within the turbine chamber. The turbine shaft 20 may have a cogged wheel, centrifugal clutch or belt/chain 21 that connects to an alternator 22 to produce electricity.

[0019] The system alternatively includes a deep cycle car battery 24 connected normally as in conventional vehicles, i.e., grounded to a terminal that distributes the charge as necessary, alternator wires connected to positive, and connected to a terminal that is used as ground. A DC- AC converter 26 is also connected together to the battery and grounding terminal, which provides the power to run the water pressure pump/engine.

[0020] Distilled water can be used as the working fluid, but at colder temperatures it is fortified with, for example, conventional radiator fluid.

[0021] In other embodiments, a solar panel connected to a DC engine can operate pressure valves which pressurize the fluid. Almost anything that provides motion can be connected to the pressure valves which provides pressurized fluid, for example, a windmill, a flowing stream or a buoy system that oscillates and provides pressurized fluid and the like. Typically, the entire system uses an alternator and DC-AC converter, but if conditions require, the system can utilize DC engines along with the pressure valves in the pressure washer system, instead of AC engine, which then removes the DC-AC converter from the system. Solar panels can be used in place of the battery; a wind turbine can be used to pressurize the working fluid to turn the turbine. In applications other than a land vehicle, the system may utilize floating buoys oscillating in the ocean to pressurize working fluid, or moving stream/river flows can be used to turn pressure valves, pressurizing the fluid to turn the turbine.

[0022] My alternative engine described above can be used in cars, trucks, trains, busses, unmanned air vehicles, all sorts of water vessels, boats, ATV's, motorcycles, generators for backup power, or primary base load stations, future electric based rocket propulsion, jets, airplanes, power supply units for the International Space Station, and vehicles of all sorts being planned and needing any charging or recharging.

[0023] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is illustrative of the invention. The disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments described above. The details of the materials used, the uses described, and the arrangement and type of mechanical objects of the invention can be altered without materially changing the scope of the instant invention. It is to be understood that the above description has been made in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art. The scope of the various embodiments of the invention includes any other applications in which the extension device is used. Therefore the scope of the inventive concept, including all of its embodiments and appended claims, along with a full range of equivalents should be considered to be the full inventive concept.

[0024] The organization of the foregoing examples and description should not be construed to be the only features of the invention, nor should the examples be limiting to the inventive concept. The claims appended to this disclosure reflect subsets of the instant invention. The appended claims, and all claims which may be later added are hereby incorporated into the description of the embodiments of the invention, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An improved engine comprises:

a) a first and a second cap end, at either end of the turbine;

b) a housing cover with at least one nozzle for dispensing a fluid therein, the housing cover being sealed to the first and second cap ends;

c) at least one blade having a plurality of holes for transmission of fluid;

d) at least two spacers between the blade(s) and the first and second caps; and

e) a rod passing through and supporting the first and second cap ends and the spacers, the rod being affixed to the at least one blade that is turned by the dispensed fluid and which turns the rod to supply energy to other devices.

2. A method of providing power without combustion, the steps comprising a) providing an improved turbine comprising: i. a first and a second cap end, at either end of the turbine;

ii. a housing cover with at least one nozzle for dispensing a fluid therein, the housing cover being sealed to the first and second cap ends;

iii. at least one blade having a plurality of holes for transmission of fluid;

iv. at least two spacers between the blade(s) and the first and second caps; and v. a rod passing through and supporting the first and second cap ends and the

spacers, the rod being affixed to the at least one blade that is turned by the dispensed fluid and which turns the rod to supply energy to other devices;

b) providing a fluid to be pressurized and to act upon the blade to turn the blade; and c) providing a pump to pressurize the fluid;

whereby the fluid enters the pump to be pressurized and flows through the nozzle into the housing to act upon the blade and through boundary layer and adhesion force the blade to rotate upon the rod which provides rotational force to other devices to produce electricity and other forms of energy.