JP4161978B2 - External combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a kind of so-called external combustion engine in the sense that it does not burn inside the engine and moves by externally supplied thermal energy, such as waste heat and solar heat, geothermal, seawater temperature difference, etc. Clean natural energy can be widely used, and it provides an external combustion engine that is more efficient than conventional Stalin engine systems, solar cells, etc., and has a very wide application range.

  Conventionally, a Stirling engine has been proposed as an external combustion engine. However, the mechanical friction loss is large, the fluid always maintains a gas phase, and a large temperature difference is necessary to improve efficiency. However, it has not been put into practical use because of its insufficient efficiency due to a large thermal energy loss associated with heating and cooling of a reciprocating gas. In addition, when sunlight is used as a heat source, there is a method of directly generating power using a so-called solar panel. However, its use is limited because of its low efficiency and high cost.

However, the need for a power engine that can use waste heat and clean natural energy is increasing day by day due to the increase in carbon dioxide gas from petroleum fuel and the problem of radioactive material treatment in nuclear power generation.
As a countermeasure against this, there is a patent pending by the present applicant, but the present invention further simplifies the structure and enables cost reduction and improvement in thermal efficiency.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-406705

  The present invention has been established under the above background, and by using gravity in a rational arrangement and the like, the mechanical loss is extremely small with a simple structure, and it is relatively easy to use vaporization absorption heat and liquefaction heat dissipation. Since it can be operated with a small temperature difference, it provides an external combustion engine that is inexpensive, has high thermal efficiency, and has a very wide application range suitable for solar and geothermal use.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a power mechanism unit, a heat receiving unit, and a heat radiating unit driven by a gas phase fluid are provided in a circulation channel in which a heat medium is sealed in a state where a gas phase and a liquid phase coexist. It is an object of the present invention to provide an external combustion engine characterized in that the external combustion engine is disposed below the power mechanism and the heat radiating unit.

  According to a second means of the present invention, a check valve is provided in each of the flow paths branched into a plurality of heat receiving portions in the circulation flow path in applications where the external combustion engine is mainly heated using sunlight. The present invention provides an external combustion engine characterized in that a cylindrical concave reflector is disposed on the back surface of the flow path.

  The external combustion engine of the present invention is provided with a power mechanism portion, a heat receiving portion, and a heat radiating portion driven by a heat medium in a gas phase state in a circulation passage enclosing the heat medium in a state in which the gas phase and the liquid phase coexist, The part is arranged below the power mechanism part and the heat radiating part. The medium discharged from the power mechanism is cooled from the outside by cooling water or the like in the heat radiating portion and liquefied. The cooling water is not particularly limited and may be general tap water. The cooling water is heated by about 20 ° C. to 40 ° C. and discharged as warm water. The liquefied medium flows downward in the circulation flow by gravity, and the pressure is increased by the specific gravity and height difference of the liquid under gravity. The medium that has become high pressure is vaporized again at the heat receiving part, but the pressure loss while flowing upward and reaching the power mechanism part after vaporization is low because the medium is a gas and the specific gravity is light, so it is a liquid. It is extremely small compared to the pressure change. As a result, the heat medium that has been vaporized by absorbing heat from the outside at the heat receiving portion does not flow backward in the direction of the heat radiating portion, and power is output to the outside by driving a power mechanism such as a turbine by the vaporization expansion energy of the heat medium. I can do it. Thus, the external combustion engine of the present invention does not require a special means for moving the heat medium like the conventional one, and moves the heat medium by gravity acting on the heat medium in the liquid phase state. It enables continuous operation. It enables continuous operation. In addition, the heat transfer of the heat medium in the present invention uses the latent heat of vaporization and the latent heat of liquefaction, and since the transfer of a large amount of heat is performed with almost no temperature change, the operating range is limited to operate with a small temperature difference. Extremely wide.

In addition, the external combustion engine of the present invention can be operated by heating the heat receiving part using the energy of sunlight, but in that case, the temperature of the heat receiving part rises on average, and even partially increases to a high temperature. When this happens, the internal pressure rises and the operating efficiency can be increased. In general, it is known to use a concave mirror to collect sunlight, but since the condensing position moves as the sun moves, it is necessary to always move the position of the heat receiving part, It causes a complicated structure and a significant increase in cost. In order to solve this problem, the external combustion engine of the present invention has a structure in which a check valve is provided in each flow path branched into a plurality of branches in the heat receiving portion, and a cylindrical concave reflector is disposed on the back face of the flow path. It has become. With this structure, when the concentrating position of the cylindrical concave mirror is changed due to the change of the position of the sun, the one at the condensing position in the many flow paths becomes high temperature. It rises and vaporizes. That is, since the pressure in this portion rises, the check valve in the upper part of the flow path is opened, and the gas phase medium is ejected. The medium in the other channel remains in the channel in the liquid phase state. If the condensing position is moved by the movement of the sun, the flow path heated to a high temperature is automatically switched, and the high-pressure gas phase medium is continuously ejected. Only a check valve that automatically opens and closes according to the pressure of the medium operates in this operation, and no external drive or control is required.

  As is clear from the above description, the external combustion engine of the present invention has a simple structure and extremely small mechanical loss by using gravity in a rational arrangement, and is compared by using vaporization absorption heat and liquefaction heat dissipation. Therefore, it is possible to provide an external combustion engine that is inexpensive, has high thermal efficiency, and has a very wide application range.

  Furthermore, the water used for cooling by the external combustion engine of the present invention is heated to an appropriate temperature so that it can be used as hot water as it is for household use, or when heated and used as hot water, it is also heated from cold water. Compared to the case, the amount of heat can be greatly reduced.

  In the structure of the present invention, a power mechanism unit, a heat receiving unit, and a heat radiating unit driven by a gas phase heat medium are provided in a circulation channel sealed in a state where a gas phase heat medium and a liquid phase heat medium coexist. By providing and arranging the heat receiving part below the power mechanism part and the heat radiating part, the heat medium that has absorbed and heat-heated from the outside in the heat receiving part outputs power to the outside by a power mechanism such as a turbine. As the heat medium, an ether type, particularly a diethyl ether type, which has a relatively small latent heat of vaporization and a specific heat ratio and has little chemical influence on the structural member, is suitable. In order to prevent a fire at the time of breakage, it is possible to use a part of the molecular structure of diethyl ether replaced with a stable one such as chlorofluorocarbon. Furthermore, there are uses for purposes such as geothermal use that operates at higher pressures and temperatures, and in that case, it is not limited to ethers. In the case of this invention, it is comprised like taking out an electrical output from the generator couple | bonded with the power mechanism part by the magnetic coupling. The medium discharged from the power mechanism is cooled from the outside by cooling water or the like in the heat radiating portion and liquefied. The cooling water is not particularly limited and may be general tap water. The cooling water is heated at about 20 ° C. to 40 ° C. and discharged as warm water. The liquefied heat medium flows downward in the circulation flow by gravity, and the pressure is increased by the specific gravity and the height difference of the liquid under gravity. The high-pressure heat medium is vaporized again at the heat receiving part, but the pressure loss while flowing upward after reaching the power mechanism part is low because the specific gravity is low because the heat medium is gas. The pressure change is extremely small compared to the case of. Thus, the heat medium flows continuously without flowing back in the circulation flow path, and can be output to the outside by driving the power mechanism with the vaporization expansion energy. Thus, the external combustion engine of the present invention does not require a special means for moving the heat medium like the conventional one, and moves the heat medium by gravity acting on the heat medium in the liquid phase state. It enables continuous operation.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the structure of an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a power mechanism unit 4 and a heat receiving unit 5 that are driven by a heat medium 1 in a gas phase state in a circulation flow path 3 enclosed in a state where a heat medium 1 in a gas phase state and a heat medium 2 in a liquid phase state coexist. And the heat radiating part 6, and the heat receiving part 5 is disposed below the power mechanism part 4 and the heat radiating part 6. The generated heat medium can output power to the outside by driving the power mechanism 4 such as a turbine with the vaporization expansion energy. In the case of this invention, it is comprised so that an electrical output may be taken out from the generator 7 couple | bonded with the power mechanism part 4 by the below-mentioned magnetic coupling. The gas phase heat medium 1 discharged from the power mechanism unit 4 is cooled from the outside by the cooling water 8 or the like in the heat radiating unit 6 and liquefied. The cooling water 8 is not particularly limited and may be general tap water. The cooling water 8 injected at 5 ° C. to 20 ° C. at normal temperature is heated by 20 ° C. to 40 ° C. and discharged as hot water 9. The liquefied liquid phase heat medium 2 flows downward in the circulation flow path 3 by gravity, and the pressure is increased by the specific gravity and height difference of the liquid under gravity. Reference numeral 10 denotes a liquid surface as a boundary between the heat medium 1 in a gas phase and the heat medium 2 in a liquid phase. The heat medium 2 in the liquid phase that has become high pressure is vaporized again in the heat receiving section 5 to become the heat medium 1 in the gas phase, but the pressure loss while flowing upward and reaching the power mechanism section after vaporization is Since the specific gravity is light because the heat medium 1 is in a gas phase, the change in pressure in the case of liquid is extremely small. As a result, the heat medium continuously flows in the circulation flow path 3 and can be output to the outside by driving the power mechanism 4 with the vaporization expansion energy. As described above, the external combustion engine of the present invention does not require a special means for moving the heat medium as in the prior art, and moves the heat medium by gravity acting on the heat medium 2 in the liquid phase state. , Enabling continuous operation.
Further, the heat receiving portion 5 and the heat radiating portion 6 of the present invention exchange heat energy with the outside by vaporizing the heat medium 2 in the liquid phase and liquefying the heat medium 1 in the gas phase. This utilizes vaporization latent heat and liquefaction latent heat, and a large amount of heat is transferred with little temperature change.
Furthermore, the phenomenon of vaporization and liquefaction is due to a change in vapor pressure, which converts a change in temperature into a change in pressure. Therefore, the thermal conductivity in the heat receiving part 5 and the heat radiating part 6 is changed to a so-called heat pipe. As with the theory of, it can be made extremely good. In addition, the diethyl ether-based heat medium has little energy loss when it is volume-expanded in a vaporized state, and has high mechanical efficiency in power conversion.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the structure of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the heat receiving portion of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 viewed from the XX direction.
2 and 3, the circulation flow path 3 is branched into a plurality of branch pipes 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, and 11F inside the heat receiving portion 5, and a plurality of heat absorption fins are provided in each of the branch pipes 11A to 11F. 16 and check valves 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F are provided at the top. A partially cylindrical concave reflecting mirror 13 is disposed on the back of the branch pipes 11A to 11F. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, and 10F are liquid levels in the branch pipes 11A to 11F. The lower the liquid level, the higher the internal pressure. Arrows 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 14E, and 14F shown in FIG. 2 indicate incident light from the sun, and 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, and 15F indicate the reflected light.

  In the state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, incident light 14 </ b> A to 14 </ b> F incident from the right direction is reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 13 and becomes reflected light in the directions 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> F. As is apparent from this state, the reflected lights 15A to 15F are collected around the branch pipe 11B. Accordingly, the branch pipe 11B has a large amount of heat absorbed and becomes high temperature, so that the internal heat medium evaporates and changes from the liquid heat medium 2 state to the gas phase heat medium 1 state. Evaporation means that the vapor pressure of the heat medium becomes larger than the internal pressure, and the check valve 12B attached to the upper part of the branch pipe 11B where the pressure is increased opens, so that the heat medium 1 in the gas phase is opened. Erupts. This pressure difference H can be known from the difference between the liquid level 10 of the circulation channel 3 and the liquid 10B in the branch pipe 11B. As an example, if the specific gravity in the liquid phase state is 1.5, when H is 2 m, the pressure difference is 0.3 atm. In the case of the above description, a large part of the solar energy irradiated on the entire area of the concave reflecting mirror 13 is condensed on the branch pipe 11B to heat the heat medium, but the other branch pipes 11A and 11C to 11F Since the heat medium is stopped by the check valves 12A, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F, it is heated little by little by the amount of heat from the outside, and when the vapor pressure increases, it is vaporized and ejected in the same manner as the branch pipe 11B. Sometimes the amount is small. When viewed comprehensively, the amount of energy that can be used is higher when the temperature of the heat receiving unit 5 is partially increased than when the entire heat receiving unit 5 is averagely heated.

  This condensing position sequentially moves to the left as the sun moves to the right. However, by sequentially heating the branch pipes 11A to 11F, as described above, the check valves 12A to 12F can be sequentially opened to automatically eject the heat medium 1 in the gas phase state continuously. Conventionally, some mirrors are moved by external control in order to satisfy these purposes. However, due to the complexity of the structure, cost increase and difficulty in maintenance, the benefits of using natural energy are greatly increased. It was damaged. Such a defect can be greatly improved by the structure of the heat receiving portion 5 described above. In practice, it is effective to provide a plurality of the heat receiving portions 5 described above connected in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the structure of one embodiment of the power mechanism unit 4 of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a top sectional view of the power mechanism unit 4 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the YY direction.
6 is a top sectional view of the power mechanism unit 4 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the ZZ direction. It is.
4, 5, and 6, a partition wall 21 is fixed to the center of the cylindrical sealed container 20, and between the center portion of the lower surface 22 of the cylindrical sealed container 20 and the center portion of the partition wall 21. A rotary shaft 24 is rotatably supported via a bearing 23. The rotating shaft 24 is provided with two disks 25 and 26, and a plurality of crescent-shaped blades 27 are fixed therebetween. Further, the outer peripheral portion of the sealed container 20 is provided with an ejection pipe 29 having a throttle portion 28 at a position close to the blades 27 in a direction oblique to the circumferential direction, and an exhaust pipe 30 in the vicinity of the partition wall 21. The disk 26 is provided with a plurality of exhaust holes 31. A circular multipolar magnet 32 is fixed to a portion of the rotating shaft 24 that penetrates the partition wall 21, and its outer shape is close to the thin cylindrical portion 33 fixed to the partition wall. A cylindrical plate 35 having a notch 34 that is close to and opposed to the multipolar magnet 32 is fixed to a drive shaft 37 of a generator 36 that is arranged concentrically with the rotary shaft 24 on the outside of the thin cylindrical portion 33. Yes.

  The operation of the power mechanism unit 4 of the present invention configured as described above will be described. When the heat medium 1 in a gas phase generated in the heat receiving part 5 is accelerated by the throttle part 28 of the ejection pipe 29 and ejected toward the blades 27 at a high speed, the disks 25 and 26 are rotated by the dynamic pressure. The force is transmitted to the multipolar magnet 32 via the rotating shaft 23. The cylindrical plate 35 that is close to and faces the multipolar magnet 32 via the thin cylindrical portion 33 rotates at a speed synchronized with the rotary shaft 24 by the magnetic force generated in the notch 34 and is connected to the generator via the drive shaft 37. 36 is driven. Note that the heat medium 1 in a gas phase ejected into the cylindrical sealed container 20 is guided to the heat radiating unit 6 through the exhaust hole 31 and the exhaust pipe 30. The power transmission during this time is transmitted through the thin cylindrical portion 33 by the multipolar magnet 32 and the cylindrical plate 35, so that the heat medium does not leak to the outside.

  A plurality of the ejection pipes 28 can be provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical airtight container 20, and these ejection pipes 28 are arbitrarily opened and closed according to the amount of heat received by the heat receiving part 5 from the outside. Needless to say, controlling the ejection speed is included in the gist of the present invention.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the structure of the power mechanism unit 4 has been described with respect to the turbine type. However, depending on the application, a heat medium in a gas phase state can be obtained even if other mechanisms such as a reciprocating piston type and a rotary piston type are used. It is not contrary to the gist of the present invention as long as it is used and moved.

  As is clear from the above description, the external combustion engine of the present invention has a simple structure and extremely small mechanical loss by utilizing gravity in a rational arrangement, and by utilizing vaporization absorption heat and liquefaction heat dissipation. It can operate at a relatively small temperature difference and has high thermal conductivity in the heat receiving part and the heat radiating part, so that it is possible to provide an external combustion engine that is inexpensive, has high thermal efficiency, and has a very wide application range. .

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of other embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic block diagram seen from the XX direction of the heat receiving part of embodiment shown in FIG. It is a sectional side view which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the power mechanism part 4 of this invention. FIG. 5 is an upper cross-sectional view of the power mechanism unit 4 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the YY direction. FIG. 5 is an upper cross-sectional view of the power mechanism unit 4 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the ZZ direction.

Explanation of symbols

1: Heat medium in gas phase 2: Heat medium in liquid phase 3: Circulating flow path 4: Power mechanism unit 5: Heat receiving unit 6: Heat radiation unit 7: Generator 8: Cooling water 9: Hot water 10: Liquid surface 10A 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10F: Liquid surfaces 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, 11F in the branch pipes 11A to 11F: Branch pipes 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, 12F: Check valves 13: Concave reflecting mirrors 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 14E, 14F: Incident light from the sun 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15F: Reflected light 16: Fins 20: Cylindrical sealed container 21: Partition 22: Lower surface 23: bearing 24: rotating shaft 25, 26: disk 27: blade 28: restrictor 29: ejection pipe 30: exhaust pipe 31: exhaust hole 32: multipolar magnet 33: thin cylindrical part 34: notch 35 : Cylindrical plate 3 : Generator 37: drive shaft H: pressure differential

Claims (1)

A power mechanism driven by a gas phase heat medium, a heat receiving part, and a heat radiating part are provided in a circulation channel enclosing the heat medium in a state where the gas phase and the liquid phase coexist, and the heat receiving part is the power mechanism part and the heat radiating part. An external combustion engine characterized in that a check valve is provided in each of the plurality of flow paths branched in the heat receiving portion, and a cylindrical concave reflecting plate is disposed on the rear face of the flow path.

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