US 7,804,046 B2Granted

Acoustic heater and acoustic heating system

AssigneeThe Doshisha

InventorsYoshiaki Watanabe, Shinichi Sakamoto

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Abstract

In order that an object can be warmed through the use of thermoacoustic effect, the acoustic heating apparatus includes a first stack 3a sandwiched between a high-temperature-side heat exchanger 4 and a low-temperature input-side heat exchanger 5 in a first tube portion 2a and a second stack 3b sandwiched between a low-temperature-side heat exchanger 6 and a high-temperature output-side heat exchanger 7 in a second tube portion 2b. A standing wave and a traveling wave are generated through self excitation in the first tube portion 2a by cooling the low-temperature input-side heat exchanger 5 to minus 20° C. to 60° C. A temperature gradient is generated in the second stack 3b by propagating the resulting standing wave and the traveling wave to the second tube portion 2b, and high-temperature heat is output due to this temperature gradient from the high-temperature output-side heat exchanger 7 disposed on the second stack 3b side.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An acoustic heating apparatus comprising:

a loop tube comprising a first tube portion and a second tube portion;
a first stack sandwiched between a high-temperature-side heat exchanger and a low-temperature input-side heat exchanger provided in the first tube portion, the first stack providing channels to connect the high-temperature-side heat exchanger with the low-temperature input-side heat exchanger, a liquid being circulated around the high-temperature-side heat exchanger:
and
a second stack sandwiched between a low-temperature-side heat exchanger and a high-temperature output-side heat exchanger provided in the second tube portion, the second stack providing channels to connect the low-temperature-side heat exchanger with the high-temperature output-side heat exchanger, the liquid being circulated around the low-temperature-side heat exchanger,
wherein a temperature gradient is generated in the second stack by propagating a standing wave and a traveling wave generated in the loop tube from the first stack to the second stack, and heat is output from the high-temperature output-side heat exchanger disposed on the second stack side.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.