초록 ▼

An improved crank driven reciprocating piston hot gas engine in which virtually the entire working gas mass performs the same Ericsson cycle loop, thereby achieving maximized thermal efficiency. The invention engine embodiments consist of paired hot and cold cylinders, connected together through lea

An improved crank driven reciprocating piston hot gas engine in which virtually the entire working gas mass performs the same Ericsson cycle loop, thereby achieving maximized thermal efficiency. The invention engine embodiments consist of paired hot and cold cylinders, connected together through leak sealed flow paths with included valves and regenerator. Embodiments are presented for both the open cycle and closed cycle operations. The improvements consist of relative piston crank positioning and timed valve operation such that the working gas that started the isothermal expansion in a hot cylinder essentially remains in that hot cylinder for the entire duration of the isothermal expansion step, and the working gas that started the isothermal compression in a cold cylinder essentially remains in that cold cylinder for the entire duration of the isothermal compression step. The second improvement concerns the heat transfer within the cylinders. In the invention embodiments heat transfer area is generated inside the cylinders, within the volumes swept by the pistons, thus minimizing the void or dead space inside the cylinders.

대표청구항 ▼

A method for converting heat to mechanical shaft work in a reciprocating piston crank driven hot gas engine, said engine consisting of a pair of hot and cold cylinders connected together with leak sealed flow paths, said flow paths having included valves and regenerator, said method comprising: (a)

A method for converting heat to mechanical shaft work in a reciprocating piston crank driven hot gas engine, said engine consisting of a pair of hot and cold cylinders connected together with leak sealed flow paths, said flow paths having included valves and regenerator, said method comprising: (a) drawing the working gas, from a working gas supply source, into the cold cylinder; (b) compressing the working gas in the cold cylinder with simultaneous removal of heat to keep the compression isothermal; (c) trapping the working gas in the cold cylinder during the isothermal compression, so that no working gas may enter or leave the cold cylinder during the isothermal compression; (d) setting the crank angular relationship between the hot and cold cylinder pistons such that the hot cylinder piston leads the cold cylinder piston by an angle whose magnitude determines the compression ratio of the engine; (e) transferring the working gas after the isothermal compression, from the cold cylinder to the hot cylinder, with addition of heat from the regenerator; (f) expanding the working gas in the hot cylinder with the simultaneous addition of heat to keep the expansion isothermal; (g) trapping the working gas in the hot cylinder during the isothermal expansion, so that no working gas may enter or leave the hot cylinder during the isothermal expansion; (h) expelling the expanded working gas from the hot cylinder to the working gas supply source with deposition of heat in the regenerator for addition to the compressed working gas of the next cycle in step (e); (i) selecting the hot and cold cylinder volumes to be approximately in the same ratio as the absolute temperatures of their respective isothermal processes such that the working gas transfers between them are isobaric.