Patent Application
20080072597
Reference may now be made to the following detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompany single drawing FIGURE, showing the inventive concept as applied to a Stirling engine, wherein the drawing FIGURE does not represent a complete engine, but a schematic thereof.
Referring now, more specifically, to the single drawing FIGURE, there is diagrammatically illustrated an electronically or electrically conductive liquid piston engine 10, generally in the form of a Stirling engine, wherein heat from a suitable heat source 12 is applied to preferably into the upper portion 14 of a hot cylinder 16, and whereby the heat is removed from a cold cylinder 18. The lower portion 20 of the hot cylinder 16 and the lower portion of the cold cylinder are filled with an electronically or electrically conductive liquid 22. Thus, when a major portion of the liquid 22 is primarily present in the cold cylinder 16, gas 24, which is filled into a duct 26 connecting the respective upper ends 28, 30 of the hot and cold cylinders 16, 18 is primarily positioned into the upper region 14 of the hot cylinder 16. The heat present therein from the heat source 12 causes the gas 24 to be heated and expand, whereby the expanded gas pushes against an electrically or electronically conductive liquid 32, which is contained in a magneto-hydrodynamic generator 34, which communicates with the duct 26 between the hot and cold cylinders 16,18 by means of a duct 36 extending from at one side 38 thereof. This duct 36 is also filled with the gas 24 from the hot and cold cylinders 16, 18. As the heated expanding gas 24 pushes against the liquid 32 in the magneto-hydrodynamic generator 34, and the expansion phase thereof is completed, liquid 22 is pumped from the lower portion 40 of cold cylinder 18 through duct 42 towards the hot cylinder 16 in the direction of arrow A by means of a magneto-hydrodynamic pump 44, which is interposed in the duct 42 communicating between the two lower end portions of the respective hot and cold cylinders. This causes the gas 24 to flow through duct 26 mostly into the cold cylinder 18 from the hot cylinder 16, wherein the cooling gas volume shrinks and the liquid 22 is drawn back into the system through the shrinkage of the gas in the upper duct 36 communicating with the main gas duct 26 between the hot cylinder 16 and the cold cylinder 18.
The magneto-hydrodynamic pump 44, which is arranged in the duct 42 extending between the lower ends of the hot and cold cylinders, and which is essentially of a known structure, consists of a pump with no moving components.
In an electric motor (not shown) comprising a constituent of pump 44, a conductor is set in motion by passing an electrical current through the conductor in a direction perpendicular to a magnetic field. The direction of the conductor is perpendicular to both the magnetic field and a direction of the electric current. In this instance, the conductor is the liquid 22. Thus, by changing the direction of the electrical current, it is possible to pump the liquid 22 from the hot cylinder 16 to the cold cylinder 18, and conversely from the cold cylinder 18 to the heat cylinder 16. However, other methods can be employed in order to accomplish the pumping of the electrically or electronically conductive liquid 22, using electromagnetic principles. For instance, the so-called Einstein refrigerators utilize several different concepts, as is known in the technology.
Reverting to the magneto hydrodynamic generator 34, the structure thereof is essentially the reverse that of the magneto-hydrodynamic pump 44, and whereby a conductor is moved through a magnetic field perpendicular to the flux lines of the field, so as to cause an electrical current in the conductor to flow perpendicular to both the direction of the conductor and the flux lines of the magnetic field. Thus, the energy that is put into the engine 10 as heat from the heat source 12 is removed as work or energy from the engine in the form of electricity at the magneto hydrodynamic generator 34.
The foregoing, in effect, provides for an extremely simple and efficient manner of converting heat into electrical energy, and resultingly into work, without the use of any mechanical components or moving mechanical parts.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in forms and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention not be limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated but fall within the scope of the appended claims.
