초록 ▼

A construction of a variable volume chamber that allows cycling of a working fluid to occur substantially isothermally is disclosed. The present invention provides a fixed, rigid heat conductive element within the chamber. The heat conductive element has a surface area which is large relative to tha

A construction of a variable volume chamber that allows cycling of a working fluid to occur substantially isothermally is disclosed. The present invention provides a fixed, rigid heat conductive element within the chamber. The heat conductive element has a surface area which is large relative to that of the chamber itself. The volume of the chamber is varied by a mechanism which meshes with the heat conductive element to minimize dead volume. As a result the heat conductive element absorbs and returns heat energy to and from the working fluid in an efficient fashion, resulting in a high degree of isothermalization of the working fluid.

대표청구항 ▼

An isothermalizer system comprising: a chamber having a heat source end and a heat sink end and a heat source having a substantially constant temperature from cycle to cycle at said heat source end; a pair of thermally conductive walls comprising concentric tapered rings to increase their surface ar

An isothermalizer system comprising: a chamber having a heat source end and a heat sink end and a heat source having a substantially constant temperature from cycle to cycle at said heat source end; a pair of thermally conductive walls comprising concentric tapered rings to increase their surface area spanning the chamber and forming a heat source subchamber at the heat source end of the chamber, a heat sink subchamber at the heat sink end of the chamber, and a central subchamber between the respective thermally conductive walls; a piston located in the central subchamber and reciprocal between the respective thermally conductive walls, said piston having complementary tapered ridges which mesh with the rings of the thermally conductive walls; a heat source fluid in the heat source subchamber to maintain the thermally conductive wall proximate the heat source end of the chamber at substantially the temperature of the heat source; a heat sink fluid in the heat sink subchamber having a temperature different from that of the heat source to maintain the thermally conductive wall proximate the heat sink end of the chamber at a substantially constant temperature different from that of the heat source; a working fluid located between the respective walls and the piston, the working fluid adjacent the wall proximate the heat source end of the chamber having a temperature substantially equal to that of the heat source and the working fluid adjacent the wall proximate the heat sink end of the chamber having a temperature substantially equal to the temperature of the heat sink fluid; heat regenerative material; and means for cycling the working fluid to and from the opposite sides of the piston within the chamber through the regenerative material, said working fluid undergoing a thermodynamic cycle which achieves nearly Carnot efficiency.