COMPACT THERMOACOUSTIC ARRAY ENERGY CONVERTER
First Claim
1. A thermoacoustic energy converter for converting heat energy to electricity, comprising:
- a plurality of resonators, each having a first end, a second open end, defining a resonator chamber and a stack disposed within said resonator chamber;
an acoustic chamber coupled to and in fluid communication with each of the second open ends of the plurality of resonators,a working fluid disposed within the resonator chambers interior chamber;
an electro-mechanical transducer coupled to the acoustic chamber and in communication with the working fluid, wherein vibrations from the working fluid on the electro-mechanical transducer actuate the electro-mechanical transducer to generate electricity; and
an acoustic chamber disposed at the second end of the resonator, wherein the acoustic chamber reflects and amplifies at least a portion of a sound wave back towards the first end of each of said resonators;
whereby the acoustic chamber reflects and amplifies at least a portion of a sound wave generated by said plurality of resonators back toward a first end of each of said plurality of resonators.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermoacoustic array energy converter consists of heat driven thermoacoustic prime movers in parallel coupled by means of an acoustic cavity to a piezoelectric electrical generator whose output is rectified and fed to an energy storage element. The prime movers convert heat to sound in a resonator. The sound form a phase-locked array is converted to electricity by means of the piezoelectric element. The generated electric energy is converted to DC by means of a rectifier set and it is then stored in a battery or supercapacitor. The generated electric energy can also be converted to power line frequency.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A thermoacoustic energy converter for converting heat energy to electricity, comprising:
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a plurality of resonators, each having a first end, a second open end, defining a resonator chamber and a stack disposed within said resonator chamber; an acoustic chamber coupled to and in fluid communication with each of the second open ends of the plurality of resonators, a working fluid disposed within the resonator chambers interior chamber; an electro-mechanical transducer coupled to the acoustic chamber and in communication with the working fluid, wherein vibrations from the working fluid on the electro-mechanical transducer actuate the electro-mechanical transducer to generate electricity; and an acoustic chamber disposed at the second end of the resonator, wherein the acoustic chamber reflects and amplifies at least a portion of a sound wave back towards the first end of each of said resonators; whereby the acoustic chamber reflects and amplifies at least a portion of a sound wave generated by said plurality of resonators back toward a first end of each of said plurality of resonators. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A thermoacoustic energy generator, comprising:
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a heat coupling element; a plurality of thermoacoustic resonators coupled to said heat coupling element, each of said resonators capable of generating a standing wave therein when subjected to a heat energy from said heat coupling element and having a closed first end and a second open end; an acoustic chamber having a first end coupled to and in fluid communication with each of the second open ends of the plurality of resonators, the acoustic chamber having a volume that is greater than the resonator chamber of one of said plurality of resonators; a working fluid disposed within the resonator chambers and the acoustic chamber; a piezoelectric transducer coupled to a second end of the acoustic chamber and in communication with the working fluid, wherein vibrations from the working fluid on the piezoelectric transducer actuate the piezoelectric transducer to generate electricity. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification