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US 4,512,394 AGranted
Variable effect absorption machine and process
AssigneeKenneth W. Kauffman
InventorKenneth W. Kauffman
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AssigneeKenneth W. Kauffman
InventorKenneth W. Kauffman
Estimating the term…
A thermal machine includes a horizontal rotatable shaft extending through a cylindrical housing which contains the at least high and low pressure stages. The shaft carries a pair of cylindrical drum heat transfer means within the housing to rotate with the shaft. All or part of both drums contain an intermediate pressure stage, with pool collection capability within the drums using annular rims to retain the absorbent solutions. The outer housing has means to permit collection of absorbent solutions in separate pools in contact with the respective outer sidewall surfaces of the drums. Such contact provides thermal coupling between stages. Additional sections of the drums may contain pools for external circulants, which drum sections also contact the pools in the outer housing. Sealing means permits rotation of the respective drum means but isolates the vapors within the drums from the pools within the outer housing and vapors from the outer housing pools from one another. Piping is provided for the flow of an absorbent solution among the vessels in different stages and conduits may permit vapor flow from one vessel to a second within a stage. In some applications, the drum may be corrugated and wiped for enhanced heat transfer.
A thermal machine for producing variable effect thermal processes comprising:
A housing which permits collection of a gravity pool, a generally horizontally-oriented, rotatable drum heat exchanger and vapor absorbing and releasing device supported relative to the housing for rotation about a generally horizontally positioned axis, which drum extends into the gravity pool of the housing and which drum is used for heat exchange between fluids respectively on the inside and outside walls of the drum and used simultaneously for absorbing or releasing a volatile component of at least one of the fluids between the drum surface and a contiguous vapor space, such that at least one of the fluids interacting with the vapor space is an absorption fluid which is carried through the vapor space as a thin film on the drum surface, and has end walls at least sufficient to permit the collection of a gravity pool of fluid within the drum and separate the pool within the drum from the pool outside the drum within the housing, and conduit means supported relative to the housing to permit the passage of fluids into and out of the drum interior.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.