Apparatus for use as a heat pump
First Claim
Patent Images
1. Apparatus for use as a heat pump comprising:
- a compression chamber;
an inlet for allowing gas to enter the compression chamber;
a compression piston stage comprising a compression piston for compressing gas contained in the compression chamber;
a heat exchanger for receiving thermal energy from gas compressed by the compression piston;
an expansion chamber for receiving gas after exposure to the heat exchanger;
an expansion piston stage comprising an expansion piston for expanding gas received in the expansion chamber; and
an exhaust for venting gas from the expansion chamber after expansion thereof;
wherein the compression piston and the expansion piston are substantially rigidly coupled together by a linkage; and
the compression piston comprises a compression piston aperture with a compression delivery valve for allowing gas to pass through the compression piston from the compression chamber to the heat exchanger.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus (10′) for use as a heat pump comprising: compression chamber means (40′); inlet means (30′) for allowing gas to enter the compression chamber means; compression means (60′) for compressing gas contained in the compression chamber means; heat exchanger means for receiving thermal energy from gas compressed by the compression means; expansion chamber means (124′) for receiving gas after exposure to the heat exchange means; expansion means (120′) for expanding gas received in the expansion chamber means; and exhaust means (100′) for venting gas from the expansion chamber means after expansion thereof.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. Apparatus for use as a heat pump comprising:
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a compression chamber; an inlet for allowing gas to enter the compression chamber; a compression piston stage comprising a compression piston for compressing gas contained in the compression chamber; a heat exchanger for receiving thermal energy from gas compressed by the compression piston; an expansion chamber for receiving gas after exposure to the heat exchanger; an expansion piston stage comprising an expansion piston for expanding gas received in the expansion chamber; and an exhaust for venting gas from the expansion chamber after expansion thereof; wherein the compression piston and the expansion piston are substantially rigidly coupled together by a linkage; and the compression piston comprises a compression piston aperture with a compression delivery valve for allowing gas to pass through the compression piston from the compression chamber to the heat exchanger. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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8. Apparatus for use as a heat pump comprising:
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a compression chamber; an inlet for allowing gas to enter the compression chamber; a compression piston stage comprising a compression piston for compressing gas contained in the compression chamber; a heat exchanger for receiving thermal energy from gas compressed by the compression piston; an expansion chamber for receiving gas after exposure to the heat exchanger; an expansion piston stage comprising an expansion piston for expanding gas received in the expansion chamber; and an exhaust for venting gas from the expansion chamber after expansion thereof; wherein the compression piston and the expansion piston are substantially rigidly coupled together by a linkage; and the expansion piston comprises an expansion piston aperture with an expansion inlet valve for allowing gas to pass through the expansion piston from the heat exchanger to the expansion chamber. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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22. Apparatus for use as a heat pump comprising:
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a compression chamber; an inlet for allowing gas to enter the compression chamber; a compression piston stage comprising a pair of compression pistons for compressing gas contained in the compression chamber; a heat exchanger for receiving thermal energy from gas compressed by the compression pistons; an expansion chamber for receiving gas after exposure to the heat exchanger; an expansion piston stage comprising an expansion piston for expanding gas received in the expansion chamber; and an exhaust for venting gas from the expansion chamber after expansion thereof; wherein the pair of compression pistons are substantially rigidly coupled together by a linkage; and each compression piston comprises a compression piston aperture with a compression delivery valve for allowing gas to pass through the compression piston from the compression chamber to the heat exchanger.
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23. Apparatus for use as a heat pump comprising:
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a compression chamber; an inlet for allowing gas to enter the compression chamber; a compression piston stage comprising a compression piston for compressing gas contained in the compression chamber; a heat exchanger for receiving thermal energy from gas compressed by the compression piston; an expansion chamber for receiving gas after exposure to the heat exchanger; an expansion piston stage comprising a pair of expansion pistons for expanding gas received in the expansion chamber; and an exhaust for venting gas from the expansion chamber after expansion thereof; wherein the pair of expansion pistons are substantially rigidly coupled together by a linkage; and each expansion piston comprises an expansion piston aperture with an expansion inlet valve for allowing gas to pass through the expansion piston from the heat exchanger to the expansion chamber.
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24. Apparatus for use as a heat pump comprising:
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a compression chamber; a compression inlet valve for allowing gas to enter the compression chamber; a compression piston stage for compressing gas contained in the compression chamber; a heat exchanger for receiving thermal energy from gas compressed by the compression piston stage; a compression delivery valve for allowing gas to pass from the compression piston stage to the heat exchanger; an expansion chamber for receiving gas after exposure to the heat exchanger; an expansion inlet valve for allowing gas to pass from the heat exchanger to the expansion chamber; an expansion piston stage for expanding gas received in the expansion chamber; and an exhaust valve for venting gas from the apparatus after expansion thereof; wherein at least one of the expansion inlet valve and the exhaust valve is configured to open when gas pressures on either side of the said at least one valve are substantially equal. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification