Non-pollution motor

• US 4,311,917 A
• Filed: 03/31/1980
• Issued: 01/19/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CRYO Power Incorporated, James E. Stinson, Joseph V. Thompson
• Original Assignee: Thomas R. Hencey Jr
• Inventors: Murphy, William J., Hencey, Thomas R. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Truhe, J. V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wade, Shelley
• Application Number:
  US06/135,233
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• Field of Search: 60/671, 290/1 A, 290/1 R, 290/52, 290/2, 62/505, 180/302
• US Class Current: 290/1.00A
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 3/00 Arrangement or mounting of steam or gaseous-pressure propulsion units B60K7/00 takes precedence; arrangement or mounting of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion B60K6/00; gaseous-pressure transmission arrangements B60K17/10
• CPC Class Codes: F01B 17/02 Engines
• CPC Class Codes: F01K 25/10 the vapours being cold, e.g. ammonia, carbon dioxide, ether
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 1/00 Gas-turbine plants characterised by the use of hot gases or unheated pressurised gases, as the working fluid by the use of combustion products F02C3/00, F02C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/14 Gas-turbine plants having means for storing energy, e.g. for meeting peak loads

Abstract

A non-pollution motor powered from a source of a low pressure liquified cryogenic is disclosed. A means for converting, upon demand, a quantity of the cryogenic into a high pressure gas is connected between a gas expander and a storage volume tank. The high pressure gas stored in the volume tank is used to power a gas turbine motor. The gas turbine in turn drives a DC-generator to produce a voltage that both charges a battery pack and drives an output DC-drive motor. When the battery pack is fully charged, the gas turbine is turned off, and the DC-drive motor is powered solely from the battery pack. When the batteries have discharged, the turbine is turned on to drive the DC-generator once again. Both the DC-generator and the DC-drive motor are contained in the cryogenic in heat exchange relationship to cool the units to essentially the temperature of the cryogenic.

Claims

1. A motor powered from a source of a low pressure liquified cryogenic comprising:

(a) a means for converting the low pressure cryogenic into high pressure gas; and

(b) a power generating means, including a voltage generator and a drive motor, responsive to the high pressure gas, for generating the output drive of said motor, said generator and said drive motor maintained in heat exchange relationship to the cryogenic source thereby to cool said generator and said drive motor to essentially the temperature of the cryogenic, said generator and said motor contained in the source but isolated from direct contact with the liquified cryogenic.

2. The motor of claim 1 wherein said means for converting from low pressure liquified cryogenic into the high pressure gas comprises:

(a) a volume tank, for storing the high pressure gas, said tank including a pressure sensor for sensing the pressure within said tank;

(b) a valving means responsive to the pressure in said tank, for providing a quantity of low pressure cryogenic from the source for conversion into the high pressure gas; and

(c) a turbo-expander for expanding the cryogenic from said valving means.

3. The motor of claims 1 or 2 wherein said power generating means further comprises:

(a) a gas turbine motor responsive to the passage therethrough of the high pressure gas, for driving said generator, said gas motor having a run valve for periodically applying the high pressure gas to said gas motor; and

(b) a battery pack having at least one battery for storing a portion of the power generated by said generator.

4. The motor of claim 3 wherein said battery pack further includes:

(a) a charging regulator connected to the output of said generator and responsive to a charging rate control signal, for supplying a regulated charging current to said battery pack; and

(b) a charge level sensor connected to said battery and responsive to a charge level control signal, for generating a power level signal indicative of the power stored in said battery pack, the power level signal controlling the run valve of said gas turbine to apply high pressure gas to said motor when the charge level on said battery pack is below a predetermined level.

5. The motor of claim 3 wherein said drive motor further includes:

(a) first and second steering diodes connected respectively to the output from said battery pack and the output from said generator, for respectively applying the output from said generator to said drive motor when said gas turbine is running, and for applying the output of said battery to said drive motor when said gas turbine is not running, said generator charging said battery pack while supplying power to said drive motor; and

(b) a current regulator connected to said steering diodes and responsive to a speed control signal, for supplying a drive current to said drive motor to produce the output drive of the motor.

6. The motor of claim 1 wherein the source of liquified cryogenic is stored in a cryogenic tank having means therein for receiving said drive motor and said generator, said receiving means isolating the liquified gas within the tank from direct contact with said drive motor and said generator.

7. The motor of claim 6 wherein said receiving means is a stainless steel tube passing through said cryogenic tank such that the driveshafts of said generator and said drive motor protrude from opposite ends of the tube, and wherein said tube further includes means for maintaining atmospheric pressure in said tube while maintaining the super cool temperature within.

8. The motor of claim 1 wherein said generator and said drive motor are direct current units.

9. The motor of claim 2 wherein said valving means comprises:

(a) a metering tank, for receiving a quantity of the liquified cryogenic from the source;

(b) high and low side valves associated with said metering tank, for respectively allowing the quantity of cryogenic in said metering tank to be expanded and allowing the cryogenic from said source to enter said metering tank;

(c) a check valve connected between said low side valve and said metering tank, for preventing the high pressure gas from reaching the source;

(d) a vent valve connected to said metering tank, for depressurizing said metering tank and releasing to atmosphere the expanded gas in said metering tank during filling from the source; and

(e) a valve control means responsive to the pressure in said accumulator for controlling said high and low side valves and said vent valve to provide cryogenic to said turboexpander when the pressure in said volume tank has dropped to a predetermined lower level, said control means disabled when the pressure in said volume tank has reached a predetermined upper level.

10. A non-pollution motor comprising:

(a) a cryogenic tank for containing a supply of a liquified cryogenic at a low pressure;

(b) a means for obtaining a quantity of high pressure gas through expansion of a quantity of the low pressure cryogenic from said tank;

(c) a gas turbine connected to said accumulator and responsive to the passage therethrough of the pressurized gas, for generating an output drive; and

(d) an electro-motive means responsive to said gas turbine, for converting the output drive of said gas turbine into the output drive of the non-pollution motor, said motive means including,

(i) a generator responsive to the output drive of said gas turbine, for generating electrical power,

(ii) a power storage means connected to the output of said generator, for storing electrical power, said power storage means generating a power level signal indicative of the stored power, and

(iii) a drive motor responsive to said generator and said storage means, for producing the output drive of the non-pollution motor, said generator and said drive motor contained in said cryogenic tank in heat exchange relationship with the liquified cryogenic thereby cooling said generator and said motor to essentially the cryogenic temperature of the cryogenic, said generator and said motor isolated from direct contact with the liquified cryogenic.

11. The motor of claim 10 wherein the cryogenic tank further includes a means therein for receiving said drive motor and said generator, said receiving means isolating the cryogenic from direct contact with said drive motor and said generator.

12. The motor of claim 11 wherein said receiving means is a stainless steel tube passing through said cryogenic tank such that the driveshafts of said generator and said drive motor protrude from opposite ends of said tube, and wherein said tube further includes means for maintaining atmospheric pressure in said tube while maintaining the super cold temperature within.

13. The motor of claim 10 wherein said generator is a DC-generator.

14. The motor of claim 10 wherein said drive motor is a DC-motor.

15. The motor of claim 10 wherein said means for obtaining a quantity of high pressure gas comprises:

(a) an accumulator, for containing the high pressure gas, the pressure in said accumulator regulated within a predetermined range;

(b) a metering means connected to said cryogenic tank and responsive to the pressure in said accumulator, for metering out a quantity of the low pressure cryogenic from said cryogenic tank; and

(c) a gas expansion means connected between said metering means and said accumulator, for expanding the cryogenic in said metering means into the pressurized gas.

16. The motor of claim 15 wherein said accumulator further comprises:

(a) a run valve responsive to the power level signal, for applying the high pressure gas to said gas turbine when the power level in said power storage means drops below a predetermined level; and

(b) a pressure sensor, for sensing the pressure in said accumulator.

17. The motor of claim 15 wherein said metering means comprises:

(a) a metering tank, for receiving a quantity of cryogenic from said cryogenic tank;

(b) high and low side valves connected to said metering tank, for respectively allowing the cryogenic contained in the metering tank to enter said gas expansion means and allowing the liquified gas from said cryogenic tank to enter said metering tank;

(c) a check valve connected between said low side valve and said metering tank, for preventing the high pressure gas from reaching said cryogenic tank;

(d) a vent valve connected to said metering tank, for depressurizing said metering tank and releasing to atmosphere the expanded gas in said metering tank during filling from said cryogenic tank; and

(e) a valve control means responsive to the pressure in said accumulator, for controlling said high and low side valves and said vent valve to provide the cryogenic to said gas expansion means when the pressure in said accumulator has dropped to a predetermined lower level, said control means disabled when the pressure in said volume tank has reached a predetermined upper level.

18. The motor of claim 10 wherein said power storage means comprises:

(a) at least one electrical storage battery, for storing electrical power generated by said generator;

(b) a charging regulator connected to the output of said generator and responsive to a charging rate control signal, for supplying a regulated charging current to said storage batteries; and

(c) a charge level sensor connected to said battery and responsive to a charge level control signal, for generating the power level signal indicative of the power stored in said battery.

19. The motor of claim 14 wherein said drive motor includes:

(a) first and second steering diodes connected respectively to the output from said battery and the output from said generator, for respectively applying the output from said generator to said drive motor when said gas turbine is running, and for applying the output of said battery to said drive motor when said gas turbine is not running; and

(b) a current regulator connected to said steering diodes and responsive to a speed control signal, for applying a drive current to said drive motor to produce the output drive of the non-pollution motor.

20. A non-polluting automobile engine powered from a source of a liquified cryogenic existing at cryogenic temperatures comprising:

(a) a cryogenic tank for containing the supply of the liquified cryogenic at a low pressure;

(b) an accumulator, for containing high pressure gas that is obtained by expanding the cryogenic into its gaseous state, and where the pressure in said accumulator is regulated within a predetermined range, said accumulator including,

(i) a run valve, for controllably releasing the high pressure gas from within said accumulator, and

(ii) a pressure sensor, for sensing the pressure within said accumulator;

(c) a metering means connected to said cryogenic tank and responsive to the pressure in said accumulator, for metering out a quantity of the cryogenic from said cryogenic tank;

(d) a gas expansion means connected between said metering means and said accumulator, for expanding the quantity of the cryogenic in said metering means into the pressurized gas;

(e) a gas turbine connected to said run valve and responsive to the passage therethrough of the pressurized gas, for generating an output drive; and

(f) an electro-motive means responsive to said gas turbine, for converting the output drive of said gas turbine into the output drive of the non-polluting engine, said motive means including,

(i) a DC-generator responsive to the output drive of said gas turbine, for generating a DC voltage,

(ii) a battery pack connected to the output of said generator, for storing electrical power, said battery pack generating a power level signal indicative of the charge level of said battery pack, the power level signal controlling said run valve to operate said gas turbine, and

(iii) a DC-drive motor operably connected to said DC-generator and said battery pack and responsive to a speed control signal, for producing the output drive of the automobile engine, said DC-generator and said DC-drive motor contained in said cryogenic tank in heat exchange relationship with the liquified cryogenic to cool said generator and said drive motor to essentially the cryogenic temperature of the cryogenic, said generator and said motor isolated from direct contact with the liquified cryogenic.

21. A non-polluting automobile engine powered from a source of low pressure liquified cryogenic existing in liquified form at cryogenic temperatures comprising:

(a) a converter for converting the low pressure liquified cryogenic into a high pressure gas; and

(b) an electro-motive means, including a voltage generator and a drive motor, responsive to the high pressure gas, for generating the output drive of the engine, the cryogenic source containing said generator and said motor, and cooling said generator and said drive motor to essentially the temperature of the cryogenic without direct contact between the liquified cryogenic and either said generator or said motor.

22. The engine of claim 21 wherein said converter comprises:

(a) a volume tank, for storing the high pressure gas, said tank including a pressure sensor for sensing the pressure within said tank;

(b) a valving means responsive to the pressure in said tank, for providing a quantity of low pressure cryogenic from the source for conversion into the high pressure gas; and

(c) a turbo-expander for expanding the cryogenic from said valving means.

23. The engine of claims 21 or 22 wherein said electromotive means further comprises:

(a) a gas turbine motor responsive to the passage therethrough of the high pressure gas, for driving said generator, said gas motor having a run valve for periodically applying the high pressure gas to said gas motor; and

(b) a battery pack having at least one battery for storing a portion of the power generated by said generator.

24. The engine of claim 23 wherein said battery pack further includes:

(a) a charging regulator connected to the output of said generator and responsive to a charging rate control signal, for supplying a regulated charging current to said battery pack; and

(b) a charge level sensor connected to said battery and responsive to a charge level control signal, for generating a power level signal indicative of the power stored in said battery pack, the power level signal controlling the run valve of said gas turbine to apply high pressure gas to said motor when the charge level on said battery pack is below a predetermined level.

25. The engine of claim 23 wherein said drive motor further includes

means for respectively applying the output from said generator to said drive motor when said gas turbine is running, and for applying the output of said battery to said drive motor when said gas turbine is not running, said generator charging said battery pack while supplying power to said drive motor.

26. The engine of claim 21 wherein the source of liquified cryogenic is stored in a cryogenic tank having means therein for receiving said drive motor and said generator, said receiving means isolating the liquified gas within the tank from direct contact with said drive motor and said generator.