Cam drive for cryogenic refrigerator
First Claim
1. A modified Stirling cycle refrigerator having a first piston for compressing a working gas in a first cylinder, a second piston for expanding the working gas in a second cylinder, a channel connecting the cylinders, and a cold head in thermal contact with the working gas in the second cylinder, comprisingfirst and second camming elements mounted for rotation at a phase angle with respect to one another;
- a first cam follower mounted in contact with said first camming element and coupled to said first piston for reciprocally driving said first piston in said first cylinder in response to rotation of said first camming element;
a second cam follower mounted in contact with said second camming element and coupled to said second piston for reciprocally driving said second piston in said second cylinder at a predetermined phase angle with said first piston in response to rotation of said second camming element; and
motive means for rotating said first and second camming elements.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Modified Stirling cycle refrigerators having a cam drive unit which is illustrated as being implemented either as a rotatable cylinder having a pair of circumferential camming grooves or as wobble plates having camming tracks on the periphery thereof. The cam drive unit drives the compressor and expander piston of the refrigerator through cam followers. Refrigerator embodiments having a plurality of compressor-expander piston pairs driven from a single cam drive are also disclosed.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A modified Stirling cycle refrigerator having a first piston for compressing a working gas in a first cylinder, a second piston for expanding the working gas in a second cylinder, a channel connecting the cylinders, and a cold head in thermal contact with the working gas in the second cylinder, comprising
first and second camming elements mounted for rotation at a phase angle with respect to one another; -
a first cam follower mounted in contact with said first camming element and coupled to said first piston for reciprocally driving said first piston in said first cylinder in response to rotation of said first camming element; a second cam follower mounted in contact with said second camming element and coupled to said second piston for reciprocally driving said second piston in said second cylinder at a predetermined phase angle with said first piston in response to rotation of said second camming element; and motive means for rotating said first and second camming elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. The modified Stirling cycle refrigerator having a plurality of compressor pistons for compressing a working gas in a corresponding plurality of compressor pistons, a plurality of expander pistons for expanding the working gas in a corresponding plurality of expander cylinders, said compressor and expander cylinders being arranged in a plurality of compressor-expander piston pairs, channel means separately coupling the compressor and expander cylinders of each of said pairs for conducting the working gas therebetween, and a cold head in thermal contact with the working gas in said expander cylinders, comprising;
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first and second camming elements mounted for rotation about an axis; means coupling said compressor pistons to said first camming element for a reciprocally driving said compressor pistons in said compressor cylinders upon rotation of said first camming element; means coupling said expander pistons to said second camming element for reciprocally driving said expander pistons in said expander cylinders upon rotation of said second camming element at pre-determined phase angles with respect to the corresponding compressor piston of each compressor-expander piston pair; and motive means for rotating said first and second camming elements about said access. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification