Efficient energy conversion apparatus and method especially arranged to employ a stirling engine or alternately arranged to employ an internal combustion engine
AssigneeEpoch Engineering, Inc.
InventorEugene H. Beach
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stirling engine or an internal combustion engine having one or more cylinders, each having a moveable piston which is coupled to a drive shaft to drive a load. The engine load coupling also includes a set of Class 1 elliptical gears of the first type which means each gear rotates about one of its focal points. The load and the engine are efficiently operated as a result of the operation of the coupling arrangement. In apparatus employing a Stirling engine, apparatus and engine efficiencies are enhanced through elliptical gear operation which enables the Stirling engine to operate very closely to the idealized Stirling cycle.
Claims31
A drive apparatus comprising:
- an engine having one or more cylinders, each cylinder having a moveable piston contained therein;
- a system for generating heat and for converting the heat into linear motion of the piston within each cylinder;
- a load;
- a drive system having a mechanical drive path through which the piston of each cylinder is coupled to the load to apply driving force thereto;
- the drive system including a drive shaft in the drive path;
- and
- gear mechanism means connected between the piston of each cylinder and the drive shaft and having at least a set of Class I elliptical gears of the first type to increase efficiency of the engine and overall efficiency of the apparatus.
An apparatus having a Stirling engine drive comprising:
- at least a pair of cylinders having respective moveable pistons contained therein;
- a system for heating a first cylinder of the pair of cylinders to heat gas entrapped therein;
- a system for cooling a second cylinder of the pair of cylinders to cool gas entrapped therein;
- a regenerator connected between the first and second cylinders to absorb heat from the entrapped gas when piston motion causes movement of the gas in one direction from the first cylinder to the second cylinder and to transfer heat to the gas when piston motion causes the gas to move in a direction opposite to the one direction;
- a load;
- a drive system having a mechanical drive path through which each piston is coupled to the load to apply driving force thereto;
- the drive system including a drive shaft;
- and
- gear mechanism means connected between the pistons and the drive shaft and having at least a set of Class 1 elliptical gears of the first type to increase the thermodynamic efficiency of the Stirling engine and the overall efficiency of the apparatus.
An apparatus for driving a load comprising:
- an engine having one or more cylinders, each cylinder having a moveable piston contained therein;
- a system for generating heat and for converting the heat into linear motion of the piston within each cylinder;
- a drive system having a mechanical drive path through which the piston of each cylinder applies driving force to a load;
- the drive system including a drive shaft in the drive path;
- and
- gear mechanism means connected between the piston of each cylinder and the drive shaft and having at least a set of Class 1 elliptical gears of the first type to increase efficiency of the engine and the overall efficiency of the apparatus.
A Stirling engine apparatus for driving a load comprising:
- at least a pair of cylinders having respective moveable pistons contained therein;
- a system for heating a first cylinder of the pair of cylinders to heat gas entrapped therein;
- a system for cooling a second cylinder of the pair of cylinders to cool gas entrapped therein;
- a regenerator connected between the first and second cylinders to absorb heat frown the entrapped gas when piston motion causes movement of the gas in one direction from the first cylinder to the second cylinder and to transfer heat to the gas when piston motion causes the gas to move in a direction opposite to the one direction;
- a drive system having a mechanical drive path through which each piston is coupled to the load to apply driving force thereto;
- the drive system including a drive shaft;
- and
- gear mechanism means connected between the pistons and the drive shaft and having at least a set of Class 1 elliptical gears of the first type to increase the thermodynamic efficiency of the Stirling engine and the overall efficiency of the apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.