Back to results
US 2017/0321630 A1Published application
External combustion engine with sequential piston drive
OwnerSeppo LAITINENinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
OwnerSeppo LAITINENinventor
Estimating the term…
Method and system for efficient energy recovery from heat source with external combustion engine. Invention include sequentially operating drive mechanism for power pistons and displacement pistons of gamma type Stirling engine, providing nearly ideal pistons operation sequence. Stirling engine is supplemented with working flow fluid control and separation member between working fluid reheater and rest of the engine during high pressure stage. Working fluid is circulated in flow control via one or more consecutive displacement cylinder/power cylinder stages before reheating. Control system is directing working fluid from inlet port to the first displacement cylinder, further to the first power cylinder and after expansion either to reheating or to the next displacement cylinder. Low temperature working fluid is finally directed back to the counter flow type reheater.
An engine unit embodiment based on modified gamma type Stirling engine (FIG. 1, FIG. 8) with additional working fluid flow control system by using Flow channels (FIG. 1, Flow channel and FIG. 8, Flow channel) in displacement pistons and openings in pressurizing cylinder walls (FIG. 1, Opening in cylinder wall and FIG. 8, Opening in cylinder wall) and sequentially operating pistons drive operating in sequences (FIG. 3, Sectors 1-4, Acceleration/deceleration), the invention characterized by:
Sequentially operating pistons drive system comprising:
Engine unit (FIG. 1) wherein set of two pressurizing cylinders and one power cylinder are connected for serial mode operation, invention characterized by working fluid flow route for one set is starting from first pressurizing cylinder (230) inlet port (Inlet port), then continues to power cylinder (250) and is ending to second pressurizing cylinder (210) outlet port (Outlet port).
Engine unit (FIG. 1) wherein method for heat to pressure conversion is implemented by connecting consecutive pressurizing cylinders (210, 211 and 220, 221) for serial mode operation, invention characterized by serially connected pressurizing cylinders, operating inversely to each others with open working fluid passage between the cylinders while hot space volume of the first cylinder is increasing or at maximum and cold space volume of the second cylinder is decreasing or at minimum.
An engine unit embodiment based on modified gamma type Stirling engine (FIG. 1, FIG. 8) wherein method to eliminate re-heater void volume effect during pressurizing phase is implemented by closing flow route from re-heater to pressurizing cylinder by using closing member (FIG. 1 Inlet port at 230 and 231, FIG. 8 Inlet port at 710 and 711), invention characterized by synchronously operating closing member in working fluid flow channel separating re-heater internal space and pressurizing cylinder internal space while displacement piston is moving towards pressurizing cylinder cold end or displacement piston is stand still at pressurizing cylinder cold end.
An engine unit embodiment based on modified gamma type Stirling engine (FIG. 1, FIG. 8) wherein multiple displacement cylinders (FIG. 1 211, 221, 231, 241;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.