Integrated compressor/expansion engine

An air conditioning system comprising:

• condenser means with a high pressure hot fluid inlet and a high pressure warm fluid outlet,
• evaporator means with a low pressure cold fluid inlet and a cool low pressure fluid outlet,
• a compressor/expansion engine comprising a centrally mounted drive shaft, a cylinder barrel mounted on the drive shaft, a plurality of cylinders disposed in the barrel, a piston disposed in each of the cylinders, the piston defining a piston stroke as it reciprocates in the cylinder, at least one of the cylinders being a compression cylinder having a high pressure high temperature outlet for discharging a fluid at a first pressure from the compressor/expansion engine and a low pressure inlet, and at least one of the cylinders being an expansion cylinder having a high pressure high temperature inlet for receiving a fluid at a second pressure for providing energy to the compressor/expansion engine and a low pressure outlet,
• a first fluid passageway fluidly connecting the high pressure high temperature outlet from the compression cylinder to the high pressure hot fluid inlet of the condenser means,
• a second fluid passageway fluidly connecting the high pressure warm fluid outlet from the condenser means to the high pressure high temperature inlet of the expansion cylinder,
• a third fluid passageway fluidly connecting the low pressure outlet from the expansion cylinder to the low pressure cold fluid inlet of the evaporator means, and
• a fourth fluid passageway fluidly connecting the cool low pressure outlet from the evaporator means to the low pressure cold fluid inlet of the compression cylinder.

A compressor/expansion engine comprising:

• a housing having a centrally mounted drive shaft,
• a cylinder barrel mounted on the drive shaft, the cylinder barrel and the drive shaft rotating about a common axis of rotation,
• a plurality of cylinders disposed in the barrel, the cylinders oriented in spaced parallel relationship to the drive shaft with the cylinders having a long axis parallel to the axis of rotation,
• a piston disposed in each of the cylinders, the piston defining a piston stroke as it reciprocates in the cylinder,
• at least one of the cylinders being a compression cylinder for discharging a fluid at a first pressure from the compressor/expansion engine through a compression port, the compression port being located at a first radial distance from the axis of rotation,
• at least one of the cylinders being an expansion cylinder for receiving a fluid at a second pressure through an expansion port for providing energy to the compressor/expansion engine, the expansion port being located at a second radial distance from the axis of rotation which is different than the first radial distance.