The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 04, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 04, 2002
Joseph P. Maceda, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
Randall L. Peeters, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
Felix F. Chen, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
Ross A. Hewitt, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
Jackson I. Ito, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
Kenneth P. Klaas, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
John L. Grimes, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
Svein Hestevik, El Dorado Hills, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
The present invention provides heat exchanging elements for use in Stirling engines. According to the present invention, the heat exchanging elements are made from muliple platelets that are stacked and joined together. The use of platelets to make heat exchanging elements permits Stirling engines to run more effiecient because the heat transfer and combustion processes are improved. In one embodiment, multi-stage combustion can be introduced with platlets, along with the flexibility to use different types of fuels. In another embodiment, a single component constructed from platelets can provide the heat transfer requirements between the combustion gas/working gas, working gas in the regenerator and the working gas/coolant fluid of a Stirling engine. In another embodiment, the platelet heat exchanging element can recieve solar energy to heat the Stirling engine's working gas. Also, this invention provides a heat exchanging method that allows for multiple fluids to flow in opposing or same direction.