44 results about "Linear alternator" patented technology

A free piston engine is configured with a pair of opposed engine cylinders located on opposite sides of a fluid pumping assembly. An inner piston assembly includes a pair of inner pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with a push rod connected between the inner pistons. The push rod extends through an inner pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. An outer piston assembly includes a pair of outer pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with at least one pull rod connected between the outer pistons. The pull rod extends through an outer pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. The movement of the inner and outer piston assemblies during engine operation will cause the fluid plungers to pump fluid from a low pressure container into a high pressure chamber as a means of storing the energy output from the engine. Alternatively, the piston assemblies may drive a linear alternator. The exhaust ports for each engine cylinder are sized and located to retain the desired amount of internal EGR in each cylinder without the need for exhaust valves. As an alternative, an external EGR system may supplement the internal EGR in order to obtain the desired EGR at the desired temperature.

A beta-type free-piston Stirling cycle engine or cooler is drivingly coupled to a linear alternator or linear motor and has an improved balancing system to minimize vibration without the need for a separate vibration balancing unit. The stator of the linear motor or alternator is mounted to the interior of the casing through an interposed spring to provide an oscillating system permitting the stator to reciprocate and flex the spring during operation of the Stirling machine and coupled transducer. The natural frequency of oscillation, ω_s, of the stator is maintained essentially equal to ω_p

and the natural frequency of oscillation of the piston, ∩_p, is maintained essentially equal to the operating frequency, ω_o of the coupled Stirling machine and alternator or motor. For applications in which variations of the average temperature and/or the average pressure of the working gas cause more than insubstantial variations of the piston resonant frequency ω_p, various alternative means for compensating for those changes in order to maintain vibration balancing are also disclosed.

An energy converting system is comprised of a track, a controller, and a magnetized body located on the track and including an energy converting unit. The track comprises electrically connected coil windings spaced apart in a series way along the track to form a 3-phase linear stator. The controller is electrically connected with the linear stator and generates a combination waveform consisting of a multi-phase propulsion signal and a power signal. The propulsion and power signals are at different frequencies. The propulsion signal causes the interaction of the magnetized body with the linear stator, thus propelling the magnetized body along the track. The energy converting unit comprises electrically connected energy consuming means and at least one pick-up coil inductively coupled to the linear stator, thus providing power to the energy consuming means.

A control system for a Stirling engine including the use of a synchronous power converter (“SPC”) which is connected to the terminals of the alternator in a linear alternator/FPSE power system. According to the teachings of the present invention, the attached SPC is small and portable and further ensures that piston and displacer excursion within the system remain within design limits. The system and method are designed such that it is possible to adjust both the voltage amplitude and the waveform frequency at the terminals of the linear alternator. By controlling these operational aspects, both the speed and the range of travel associated with the piston and the displacer in the FPSE can be controlled.

A free piston engine is configured with a pair of opposed engine cylinders located on opposite sides of a fluid pumping assembly. An inner piston assembly includes a pair of inner pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with a push rod connected between the inner pistons. The push rod extends through an inner pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. An outer piston assembly includes a pair of outer pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with at least one pull rod connected between the outer pistons. The pull rod extends through an outer pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. The movement of the inner and outer piston assemblies during engine operation will cause the fluid plungers to pump fluid from a low pressure container into a high pressure chamber as a means of storing the energy output from the engine. Alternatively, the piston assemblies may drive a linear alternator. Piston guide posts are fixed and guide the outer pistons as they reciprocate within the engine cylinders.

A free piston engine is configured with a pair of opposed engine cylinders located on opposite sides of a fluid pumping assembly. An inner piston assembly includes a pair of inner pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with a push rod connected between the inner pistons. The push rod extends through an inner pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. An outer piston assembly includes a pair of outer pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with at least one pull rod connected between the outer pistons. The pull rod extends through an outer pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. The movement of the inner and outer piston assemblies during engine operation will cause the fluid plungers to pump fluid from a low pressure container into a high pressure chamber as a means of storing the energy output from the engine. Alternatively, the piston assemblies may drive a linear alternator. At least one of the pistons includes one or more generally axially extending bores partially filled with a sodium compound. As the piston reciprocates, the sodium moves back and forth in each cooling bore, thereby better distributing heat in the piston.

The invention relates to a clearance type sealing Stirling thermoelectric converter supported by adopting plate springs. The clearance type sealing Stirling thermoelectric converter comprises a hot cylinder, a compression cylinder and a linear alternating current generator which are fixedly connected through a flange, wherein the interior of the hot cylinder is sequentially sleeved with a heat exchanger and an expansion cylinder towards the center, and an expansion piston is arranged in the expansion cylinder; the expansion piston is sleeved on an expansion piston rod; and an inner cavity of the expansion piston is provided with a plurality of groups of supporting flexible plate springs which are respectively sleeved on limit pipes on the inner wall of the expansion piston and the expansion piston rod for positioning so as to ensure that clearance sealing structures are radially formed between the expansion cylinder and the expansion piston and the expansion piston and the expansion piston rod. According to the clearance type sealing Stirling thermoelectric converter, the non-contact type clearance sealing structures are realized by adopting the flexible plate spring supporting systems, and meanwhile, the rigidity requirement of a generator active cell oscillation system can be met, so that the structural characteristic of no abrasion after long-term running of moving components is realized so as to guarantee the long service life and the high rigidity of the Stirling generator.

A thermoacoustic engine-generator that converts waste heat into electrical power. Thermal energy is converted to useful work via temperature-pressure amplification of periodic acoustic traveling waves in a compressible working fluid which cause the armature of a linear alternator to reciprocate and produce alternating current electrical energy. An external oscillator initiates reciprocating motion in the armature of a linear alternator. The armature is a combination fluid pump and fluid motor as well as the induction armature of a linear alternator. The pump end of the armature generates an acoustic traveling wave with each cycle of the armature. The traveling wave enters a waveguide-heat exchanger and is amplified in temperature, pressure and propagation velocity by thermal conduction of energy through the wall of the waveguide. The amplified traveling wave acts upon the opposite end of the armature, causing it to reciprocate within the magnetic field windings of the generator, and generate an electrical current as well as a new acoustic traveling wave. When the operating temperature gradient is attained across the hot and cold heat exchangers, the thermoacoustic engine-generator becomes acoustically resonant and self-regenerative, and will continue to operate as long as the thermal gradient is maintained. The theoretical conversion efficiency is dependent on the thermal gradient, and is 63% of Carnot.

A free piston engine is configured with a pair of opposed engine cylinders located on opposite sides of a fluid pumping assembly. An inner piston assembly includes a pair of inner pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with a push rod connected between the inner pistons. The push rod extends through an inner pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. An outer piston assembly includes a pair of outer pistons, one each operatively located in a respective one of the engine cylinders, with at least one pull rod connected between the outer pistons. The pull rod extends through an outer pumping chamber in the fluid pumping assembly and forms a fluid plunger within this chamber. The movement of the inner and outer piston assemblies during engine operation will cause the fluid plungers to pump fluid from a low pressure container into a high pressure chamber as a means of storing the energy output from the engine. Alternatively, the piston assemblies may drive a linear alternator. Each fuel injector is located so that it injects directly into its cylinder near the intake ports, while also being covered during combustion events in order to avoid exposing the fuel injector to the harsh environment of combustion.

A method is provided for controlling the operation of the alternator in such a way that during certain conditions, such as rapid acceleration of a marine vessel in combination with a trimming maneuver, the alternator of the marine propulsion system is deactivated so that it does not provide a mechanical load on the engine during the accelerating maneuvers. This allows the engine to provide more power to the propeller and achieve the desired operating speed commanded by the operator of a marine vessel.

An electric vehicle having good range and power is achieved by providing a vehicle having a motor side assembly and a power side assembly. A battery starts or activates a starter. The battery is connected to a direct current motor to start off or begin the engine function by activating a rear alternator. The rear alternator has three phases by using three hot lines, one neutral line, and one ground line. One hot line and the neutral are connected or will go to a transformer to bring the voltage to the correct voltage. From the transformer, the feed goes to an inverter, so the alternating current voltage is changed to a direct current voltage. This structure will feed the direct current motor for a continuous feed.

The invention relates to a free stroke piston expander generation device utilizing high pressure gas to output electric energy. The device comprises a free stroke piston expander, a linear alternator, an ECU (electronic control unit), a rectifier and an electric energy storage device. According to the device, the high pressure gas is outputted to drive two pistons in the piston expander, so that the active cell in the linear alternator does reciprocating motion and cuts magnetic lines of force to directly output electric energy. Compared with the existing expander, the free stroke piston expander generation device has the advantages of compact structure, superior balance performance, adjustable expansion ratio, low abrasion frictional loss, higher energy exchange efficiency and the like, and achieves a wider application prospect.

A piston position sensing circuit for sensing the instantaneous position of a piston of a free piston Stirling machine or a compressor mechanically connected to a reciprocating member of a linear electric motor or alternator. A source of a high frequency, alternating, electrical signal applies a high frequency signal to the winding circuit of the linear alternator or motor. A filter circuit is connected to the winding circuit and passes electrical signals at the frequency of the high frequency source and blocks signals at the operating frequency of reciprocation. A peak detector circuit is connected to the filter circuit and detects the peak of the filter circuit output signal to provide an instantaneous peak magnitude that is proportional to the instantaneous piston position.