Magnetic heat pump and magnetic refrigeration cycle apparatus

A magnetic heat pump comprising:

• at least one magnetocaloric member made of a magnetocaloric material;
• an impeller having a center axis and at least one accommodation chamber aligned in a circumferential direction with respect to the center axis and accommodating the at least one magnetocaloric member;
• at least one deformable member facing the at least one accommodation chamber and having a shape individually changing;
• a casing having an interior space accommodating the at least one magnetocaloric member, the impeller, and the at least one deformable member and allowing a heat transport medium to circulate, a first inlet for the heat transport medium to flow into the interior space, and a first outlet spaced apart from the first inlet in the circumferential direction and for the heat transport medium to flow out of the interior space;
• an electric motor to integrally rotate the impeller, the at least one magnetocaloric member, and the at least one deformable member in a first direction from the first inlet toward the first outlet in the circumferential direction;
• and
• a magnetic field generator including a magnet configured to produce a magnetic field becoming stronger along the first direction, in a first region extending from the first inlet to the first outlet in the first direction in the interior space, wherein
• the at least one accommodation chamber is open toward an outside of the impeller in a radial direction with respect to the center axis,
• the shape of the at least one deformable member individually changes with a rotation of the impeller,
• the at least one accommodation chamber has a volume individually increasing and decreasing with the change of the shape of the at least one deformable member, and
• the volume when the at least one accommodation chamber is located in the first region is larger than the volume when the at least one accommodation chamber is located in a second region located backward of the first inlet in the first direction and the volume when the at least one accommodation chamber is located in a third region located forward of the first outlet in the first direction.