Friction heat generator

A friction heat generator, comprising:

• a casing, with end walls and with a side wall;
• a drive shaft for receiving power input rotatably mounted in the end walls of the casing;
• at least one rotatable disc assembly, coaxially mounted on the drive shaft, and keyed to rotate with the drive shaft while being free to slide axially along the drive shaft;
• at least one stationary disc assembly, mounted on the side wall, adjacent to one side of and in frictional contact with the rotatable disc assembly, keyed to remain rotationally stationary with respect to the side wall while being free to slide axially along the drive shaft, and surrounding but not keyed to the drive shaft;
• and
• means responsive to the generator's driving power input for varying the interface pressure between the rotatable disc assembly and the stationary disc assembly.

A friction heat generator for heating fluids comprising:

• a casing, with end walls and a side wall, said casing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;
• a drive shaft, rotatably mounted in the end walls of the casing and adapted to be driven by a power source;
• at least one rotatable disc assembly, coaxially mounted on the drive shaft, and keyed to rotate with the drive shaft, said assembly having openings therein communicating with the inlet for receiving fluid, said openings being so configured as to promote the circulation therethrough and the forcible discharge therefrom of fluid as the assembly rotates;
• at least one stationary disc assembly, mounted on the side walls, adjacent to and in frictional contact with the rotatable disc assembly, keyed to remain rotationally stationary with respect to the side walls, and surrounding, but not keyed to, the drive shaft, said assembly having openings therein for receiving fluid discharged from the rotatable disc assembly, said openings being so configured as to conduct the fluid therethrough and pass it towards the fluit outlet only;
• and
• means for preventing fluid discharged from each rotatable disc assembly from bypassing the openings of its associated adjacent stationary disc assembly,
• whereby fluid within the generator is caused to flow generally from the fluid inlet, through each and every disc assembly and to the fluid outlet as the shaft rotates.

A friction heat generator for heating fluids comprising:

• a casing, with end walls and a side wall, said casing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;
• a drive shaft, rotatably mounted in the end walls of the casing and adapted to be driven by a power source;
• a first means for generating fluid flow in proportion to the heat generator's driving power input;
• and
• a second means for communicating the fluid flow, generated by the first means, to the fluid inlet;
• whereby the fluid flow through the heat generator will be at a rate directly proportional to the driving power input.

In combination with a friction heat generator for heating fluids, said friction heat generator adapted to be driven by a power source;

• gas compression means, powered by the heat generator's driving power;
• compressed gas storage means, pneumatically communicating with the gas compression means, for the storage of compressed gas generated by the gas compression means;
• and
• conversion means for converting compressed gas energy to mechanical energy.

A friction heat generator for heating fluids comprising:

• a casing with end walls and with a side wall, said casing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;
• a drive shaft, rotatably mounted in the end walls of the casing and adapted to be driven by a power source;
• at least one rotatable disc assembly, coaxially mounted on the drive shaft, and keyed to rotate with the drive shaft while being free to slide axially along the drive shaft, said assembly having openings therein communicating with the inlet for receiving fluid, said openings being so configured as to promote the circulation therethrough and the forcible discharge therefrom of fluid as the assembly rotates;
• at least one stationary disc assembly, mounted on the side walls, adjacent to one side of and in frictional contact with the rotatable disc assembly, keyed to remain rotationally stationary with respect to the side wall while being free to slide axially along the drive shaft, and surrounding but not keyed to the drive shaft, said assembly having openings therein for receiving fluid discharged from the rotatable disc assembly, said openings being so configured as to cause such fluid to pass therethrough and to the fluid outlet only;
• whereby fluid within the generator is caused to flow generally from the fluid inlet, through the disc assemblies and to the fluid outlet as the shaft rotates;
• means responsive to the generator's driving power input for urging the rotatable disc assembly and the stationary disc assembly closer together as the driving power increases;
• a first means for generating fluid flow in proportion to the heat generator's driving power input;
• a second means for communicating the fluid flow, generated by the first means, to the find inlet;
• whereby the fluid flow through the heat generator will be at a rate directly proportional to the driving power input;
• gas compression means, powered by the heat generator's driving power;
• compressed gas storage means, pneumatically communicating with the gas compression means, for the storage of compressed gas generated by the gas compression means;
• first regulating means, to automatically deactivate the gas compression means when the heat generator's driving power reaches a preselected level;
• conversion means for converting compressed gas energy to mechanical energy;
• and
• second regulating means connected between the storage means and the conversion means to allow compressed gas to flow from the storage means to the conversion means only when both the pressure in the storage means and the temperature of the fluid, heated by the heat generator, are above predetermined values.

A method of converting mechanical energy into heat energy, comprising:

• rotating at least one rotatable disc assembly, relative to at least one stationary disc assembly;
• pressing each rotatable disc assembly against each adjacent stationary disc assembly;
• and
• directing heat transfer fluid sequentially through the series of disc assemblies, such that substantially all the fluid entering the series must pass sequentially through each disc assembly and then must be discharged from the series of disc assemblies.

A method of converting mechanical energy into heat energy, comprising:

• rotating, by the use of driving power input, at least one rotatable disc assembly, relative to at least one stationary disc assembly;
• pressing each rotatable disc assembly against each adjacent stationary disc assembly;
• and
• circulating heat transfer fluid through each disc assembly at a rate proportional to the driving power input.

A method of converting mechanical energy into heat energy, comprising:

• rotating, by the use of driving power input, at least one rotatable disc assembly, relative to at least one stationary disc assembly;
• pressing each rotatable disc assembly against each adjacent stationary disc assembly;
• circulating heat transfer fluid through each disc assembly;
• compressing a gas;
• storing said compressed gas;
• and
• converting the energy stored in said compressed gas into mechanical energy.

A method of converting mechanical energy into heat energy, comprising:

• rotating, by the use of driving power input, at least one rotatable disc assembly, relative to at least one stationary disc assembly;
• pressing each rotatable disc assembly against each stationary disc assembly with an amount of pressure which is directly proportional to the driving power input;
• directing heat transfer fluid sequentially through the series of disc assemblies, such that fluid entering the series must pass through each disc assembly and then must be discharged from the series of disc assemblies;
• circulating heat transfer fluid through each disc assembly at a rate proportional to the driving power input;
• compressing a gas;
• storing said compressed gas;
• and
• converting the energy stored in said compressed gas into mechanical energy.