US 4,478,046 AGranted

Cryogenic refrigerator

AssigneeShimadzu Corporation

InventorsHidefumi Saito, Munehiro Hayashi, Hisashi Mitani, Hiromu Isaka, Masanao Andoh

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A cryogenic refrigerator of rotary type which comprises a generally cylindrical rotor and an expander formed about a first axial portion of the rotor which is used as the expander rotor, with a plurality of radial vanes for defining about the expander rotor a series of expansion compartments which vary in volume as the rotor rotates. A regenerator is provided inside or outside and about a second axial portion of the rotor adjacent to and in fluid communication with the expander compartments. A compressor supplies compressed gas to the expander compartments for adiabatic expansion accompanied by a temperature drop of the expanded gas, which is conducted through the regenerator back to the compressor. The compressor may be of a rotary type and formed about a third axial portion of the rotor adjacent to the regenerator, with the third rotor portion being used as the compressor rotor having a plurality of radial vanes for defining about the compressor rotor a series of compression compartments which, as the rotor rotates, vary in volume in a predetermined correlation to the variation of volume of the expansion compartments.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A cryogenic refrigerator comprising:

a rotor in the form of an elongated generally cylindrical member rotatable about an axis;
an expander comprising a casing surrounding a first portion of said rotor so as to form an expander chamber about said first rotor portion within said casing, said chamber being sealed against the adjacent space, and means associated with said first rotor portion and said casing inner wall for dividing said expander chamber into a plurality of compartments which vary in volume and relative position in said casing as said rotor rotates about said axis;
a regenerator associated with a second portion of said rotor adjacent said first rotor portion and having a low-temperature and a high-temperature end and being capable of passing fluid between said ends, said low-temperature end being disposed adjacent said expander compartments for fluid communication between said regenerator and said expander compartments;
and means associated with said high-temperature end of said regenerator for supplying compressed gas to, and receiving expanded gas from said expander compartments through said regenerator, whereby said compressed gas introduced successively into said expander compartments expands adiabatically as said compartments successively increase in volume.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.