Multi-cycle power generator
OwnerMartin Gordon Gillinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention relates to a multi-cycle power generator. More specifically, the invention relates to a power generator having a heat pump cycle and at least a hot power gener-ating cycle, the cycles being configured relative to one another to transfer heat there between two or more times in a single cycle thereby to recover energy through the reuse of unused heat energy that is typically discarded in conventional ther-modynamic cycles. The multi-cycle power gener-ator includes a heat pump cycle and a hot power cycle, wherein at least a pair of heat exchangers of the hot power cycle are common with a pair of heat exchangers of the heat pump cycle. The multi-cycle power generator may further include a cool power generating cycle In combination with the heat pump and hot power generating cycles.
Claims16
A multi-cycle power generator including:
- a heat pump cycle comprising at least a plurality of heat exchangers, a heat pump for pumping a first working fluid through the heat pump cycle and an expansion valve for throttling the first working fluid;
- a hot power cycle having a first pump for pumping a second working fluid through the hot power cycle, characterized in that the hot power cycle comprising at least a pair of heat exchangers through which the second working fluid flows, and a first power generating device operatively driven by the second working fluid expanding therein;
- and
- a cool power cycle comprising at least a pair of heat exchangers, a second pump for pumping a third working fluid through the cool power cycle and a second power generating device operatively driven by the third working fluid expanding therein;
- further characterized in that:
- (i) the pair of heat exchangers of the hot power cycle are common with two heat exchangers of the heat pump cycle;
- (ii) one of the heat exchangers of the cool power cycle is common with one of the heat exchangers of the heat pump cycle;
- (iii) the heat exchangers are same-direction flow heat exchangers or reverse flow heat exchangers;
- and
- (iv) the first of the common heat exchangers between the heat pump cycle and the hot power cycle acts as a primary condenser for condensing the second working fluid operatively passing there through, with the second of the common heat exchangers between the heat pump cycle and the hot power cycle acting as a primary evaporator for evaporating the second working fluid operatively passing there through.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.