US 6,490,881 B1Granted

Generating displacement and theroacoustic refrigerator

AssigneeCsir

InventorsRobert Henry Sinclair, Philip Loveday, David Ronald Jones, Michael Yuri Shatalov, Frederik A. Koch, Jeremy Wallis, Johannes Nicolaas Bothma, Jonathan Du Pre Le Roux

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Abstract

A displacement generator (10) has a housing (12) defining a chamber (14) containing an incompressible liquid (15). A port (22) of the housing (12) is closed by a movable member (24). Within the chamber (14), opposing, convex, flexible walls (16.1, 16.2) form an internal modulating chamber (18), which optionally contains a compressible gas. Opposed ends of the walls (16.1, 16.2) can be displaced toward and away from each other by a motion transducer, e.g. a stack of ceramic piezoelectric members (20), respectively to pressurize and depressurize the chamber (14) and thus to displace the member (24) to and fro to form an output of the displacement generator.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A displacement generator (10, 110, 210) which includes

a housing (12, 112, 212) defining an enclosed chamber (14, 114, 214), the housing including a port (22, 122, 222) exposed to the chamber;
at least one flexible wall (16.1, 16.2;
116.1, 116.2;
216.1, 216.2) exposed to the chamber and being flexible in a general flex direction;
a fluid (15, 115, 215) contained within the chamber;
a movable member (24, 124, 224) in the port which movable member is exposed to the fluid;
a motion transducer (20, 120, 220) able to generate motion in a motion transducer direction and being operatively connected to said at least one flexible wall selectively to flex said at least one flexible wall, characterized in that
the motion transducer is separate and apart from said flexible wall other than said operative connection to said flexible wall and in that said general flex direction is transverse to said motion transducer direction.

5 more elements

A method of generating displacement by a displacement generator (10, 110, 210) which includes

a housing (12, 112, 212) defining an enclosed chamber (14, 114, 214), the housing including a port (22, 122, 222) exposed to the chamber;
at least one flexible wall (16.1, 16.2;
116.1, 116.2;
216.1, 216.2) exposed to the chamber and being flexible in a general flex direction;
a fluid (15, 115, 215) contained within the chamber;
a movable member (24, 124, 224) in the port which movable member is exposed to the fluid;
a motion transducer (20, 120, 220) which is operatively connected to said flexible wall and which is separate and apart from said flexible wall other than said operative connection to said flexible wall;
the method being characterized by actuating said motion transducer to move in a motion transducer direction transverse to said general flex direction selectively to flex said at least one flexible wall to change the volume of the chamber to move the movable member.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/743,595Filed 21 Mar 2001
Priority: ZA 98/624314 Jul 1998
Granted: 10 Dec 2002
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

H02N 2/043
Constructional details: mechanical transmission means, e.g. for stroke amplification
F01B 11/08
Reciprocating-piston machines or engines without rotary main shaft, e.g. of free-piston type: with direct fluid transmission link
F02G 1/0435
The engine being operated by expansion and contraction of a mass of working gas which is heated and cooled in one of a plurality of constantly…:…
F16H 43/02
Other fluid gearing, e.g. with oscillating input or output: fluid gearing actuated by pressure waves