Stirling cycle epitrochoidal heat engine
OwnerGoodwin F. Hansoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An epitrochoidal Stirling type engine operating on a Carnot cycle. The engine has a hot end and a cool end. Each end has a three-lobed rotary piston or rotor eccentrically mounted. Each rotor is in a four-lobed housing. There are connections for fluid flow between pairs of lobes with regenerators in the connections. The thermodynamic cycle corresponds to that of the Stirling engine. Heat is applied to one end of the engine and heat is discharged at the other end. As each rotor moves in and out of the housing lobes, a hydrodynamic fluid film of gas is produced between the rotor and the housing which keeps the rotor from contacting the housing.
Claims20
A Stirling-type engine comprising:
- a hot end and a cool end, each comprising an epitrochoidal piston housing having a plurality of lobes;
- a lobed rotary piston in each housing;
- a crankshaft extending through the engine from the hot end to the cool end, and through each lobed rotary piston position, such that each lobed piston rotates as the crankshaft rotates moving a portion of the lobed rotary piston into and out of the lobes of its respective piston housing;
- and
- connections for gas flow between at least two lobes of each piston housing for transfer of gas, such that as each lobed rotor is rotated the gas flow produces a hydrodynamic fluid film of gas between each rotor and the respective housing which keeps the rotor from contacting the housing at an operational speed.
A method of operating a Stirling-type engine on a Carnot cycle, the method comprising:
- providing an engine having
- a hot end and a cool end, each end comprising an epitrochoidal piston housing having a plurality of lobes,
- a lobed rotary piston in each housing,
- a crankshaft extending through the engine and each lobed rotary piston position, such that each lobed piston rotates as the crankshaft rotates moving a portion of the lobed rotary piston into and out of the lobes of its respective piston housing, and
- connections for gas flow between at least two lobes of each piston housing for transfer of gas;
- applying heat to the hot end of the engine to provide energy to rotate each lobed rotor into and out of the lobes of its respective piston housing, and to create a gas flow between the lobes of the piston housings;
- creating a hydrodynamic fluid film of gas between each rotor and the respective housing from the gas flow which keeps each rotor from contacting the housing when an operational speed is reached.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.