Heat exchanger for a gas compression/expansion apparatus and a method of manufacturing thereof

A heat exchanger for use in a gas compression/expansion apparatus, including a gas compressor having a piston and a compression space for compressing a working gas and a gas expander having a displacer and an expansion space for expanding said working gas, said compression space connected with said expansion space via a gas passage, said piston and said displacer driven by a crank mechanism out of phase by a predetermined phase, and said heat exchanger serving as a low temperature heat source by transferring heat to said working gas expanded in said expansion space, said heat exchanger comprising:

• a heat transfer cylinder contiguous with said expansion cylinder;
• a partition member which surrounds a piston rod of said piston and is disposed in said heat transfer cylinder and between said expansion cylinder and said machinery room, such that a narrow gap is formed between said partition member and said heat transfer cylinder for allowing said working gas to pass through, said gap communicating with said expansion space via said regenerator;
• and
• a gas transitional area for communication between said gap and said compression space of said compression cylinder.

A heat exchanger for use in an apparatus which includes both a gas compressor and a gas expander so that said heat exchanger serves as both a high temperature heat source and a low temperature heat source, respectively, by transferring heat between a working gas in a compression space and an expansion space, respectively, of a compression cylinder and an expansion cylinder, respectively, of said apparatus, said working gas compressed and expanded, respectively, in said compression space and said expansion space, respectively, by a piston driven by a crank mechanism in a machinery room via a piston rod connected with said piston and transported through a gas passage connected with said compression cylinder and said expansion cylinder, respectively, said heat exchanger comprising:

• a regenerator surrounding an outer surface of said expansion cylinder;
• a exterior cover means for covering said regenerator and said expansion cylinder, said expansion cylinder having an opening at the distal end thereof for communicating with said expansion space;
• a heat transfer cylinder contiguous with said expansion cylinder;
• a partition member which surrounds a piston rod of said piston and is disposed in said heat transfer cylinder between said expansion cylinder and said machinery room such that a narrow gap is formed between said partition member and said heat transfer cylinder for allowing said working gas to pass therethrough, said gap communicating with said expansion space via an arrangement of transitional portions and said regenerator;
• a gas transitional area for communication between said gap and said compression space of said compression cylinder;
• and
• wherein said compression cylinder having at a base section thereof said compression space which communicates with said heat exchanger of said expansion cylinder.