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OwnerJean-Pierre Budligerinventor
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A method for transmitting mechanical energy between a transfer piston of a Stirling machine and a moveable member of a generator or of an electric motor. A subject of this invention is also a device for implementing this method. The replacing of the driving piston by a completely static pneumatic resonator makes it possible not only to considerably simplify the device, since this method makes it possible to dispense with the driving piston, but also to facilitate the servocontrol as will be explained subsequently. This signifies that not only does the invention make it possible to substantially simplify the device and to reduce the production costs thereof, but also that the reliability of the device is thereby increased. However, for such a device to have an economical benefit, not only must it be possible to produce it at a competitive price, but it must also be capable of operating for many years without requiring any servicing or adjustment.
A method for transmitting mechanical energy between a transfer piston (6, 6a) of a Stirling machine and a moveable member (11) of a generator or of an electric motor, the transfer piston (6, 6a) being mounted in a cylinder (2), according to which a working gas is periodically displaced between an expansion chamber (VE) and a compression chamber (VC) with the aid of said transfer piston (6, 6a), said chambers being associated respectively with two working faces of said transfer piston (6, 6a), by making said gas pass through a hot (7), alternatively cold exchanger linked to a heat source, a regenerator (9) and a cooling exchanger (8) linked to a heat sink, and an elastic restoring force is exerted on this transfer piston (6, 6a), characterized in that between the two working faces of said piston (6, 6a) there is created a section ratio (aC/aE) able to transmit all of said mechanical energy between this piston (6, 6a) and said moveable member (11), and that a pressure wave is formed, by linking a pneumatic resonator (18) to one of said compression (VC), expansion (VE) chambers and by adjusting it in such a way that the pressure wave is amplified and phase-shifted with respect to the displacement of said transfer piston (6, 6a), so as to exchange said mechanical energy and transmit to this pneumatic resonator (18), energy able to compensate for its frictional losses.
The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an end (6a) of said piston (6, 6a) is made to exit said cylinder (2) in a leaktight manner so as to place said end in communication with a closed volume (3) in which said electric generator is disposed and said elastic restoring force is exerted with the aid of the pressure variations of the working gas contained in said closed volume (3), consecutively upon the displacement of said piston (6, 6a).
The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that to avoid the formation of steep-fronted waves, the section of a tubular duct (18) intended to form said pneumatic resonator is varied.
The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the natural frequency of said resonator (18) is adjusted by forming said working gas by mixing gases of various molecular masses in a specified proportion.
The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said moveable member is a rotary member, linked to said piston (6′a, 21) by a connecting-rod assembly (23, 24), linear means of guidance (31) being associated with said piston (6′a, 21).
The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said resonator consists of two identical tubular elements (T1, T2) disposed in diametral opposition with respect to said transfer piston (6, 6a).
The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tubular resonator (18) is linked to the expansion chamber (VE) of the Stirling machine and that it is associated with heating means constituting the hot source of said Stirling machine.
The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said heating means exhibit the form of a solar radiation collector (28, 29).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.