Mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12523210-B2
Application number	US-202418636695-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 16, 2024
Priority date	Apr 17, 2023
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor ( 1 ) comprises a liquid cylinder ( 8 ) which pivots about a tilt axis ( 9 ) and into which a hydraulic piston ( 10 ) translates, which is fixedly secured to a connecting rod ( 11 ) connected to a crank ( 26 ) of a crankshaft ( 24 ), the axis of rotation of which is parallel to the tilt axis ( 9 ), while piston guiding means ( 23 ) maintain the connecting rod ( 11 ) and the hydraulic piston ( 10 ) always parallel to the liquid cylinder ( 8 ), these two latter forming a variable hydraulic volume ( 12 ) filled with a working liquid ( 13 ) which communicates with a gas and liquid reservoir ( 14 ) in which heat exchange and accumulation means ( 16 ) are housed, said reservoir ( 14 ) and said liquid ( 13 ) forming a variable pneumatic volume ( 2 ) in which a working gas ( 5 ) is compressed or expanded.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor defining a variable pneumatic volume which forms a compressor or an expander, a working gas being able to enter said volume via an input port or exit from said volume via an outlet port, comprising:
A liquid cylinder which can, directly or indirectly, pivot about a tilt axis which is perpendicular to the axis of said cylinder and which is secured to a static frame; A hydraulic piston which can sealingly translate into the liquid cylinder to form with the latter, a variable hydraulic volume which is totally or partially filled with a working liquid; A gas and liquid reservoir which is connected to the variable hydraulic volume by a communication conduit, such that said reservoir is mainly or totally filled with working liquid when the variable hydraulic volume is minimum, and is totally or partially filled with working gas when the variable hydraulic volume is maximum, the variation of absolute volume of the working gas contained in the variable pneumatic volume forming on the one hand, the variable pneumatic volume, and being on the other hand, approximately equal to the variation of absolute volume of the working liquid contained in the variable hydraulic volume; Heat exchange and accumulation means housed in the gas and liquid reservoir, said means being able, on the one hand, to exchange heat with the working gas or with the working liquid and on the other hand, to temporarily store all or some of said heat; Heat export or input means which take or which transfer, directly or indirectly, heat to the heat exchange and accumulation means and/or to the working liquid and/or to the working gas, said heat taken then being transferred to heating means or said transferred heat having been taken beforehand to cooling means, said heating means and said cooling means being external to the gas and liquid reservoir; Filling means which enable or prohibit the passage of working gas from an intake plenum to the gas and liquid reservoir via the inlet port; Draining means which enable or prohibit the passage of working gas from the gas and liquid reservoir to a repression plenum via the outlet port; A connecting rod a first rod end of which is fixedly secured to the hydraulic piston, said rod being approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of said piston; Piston guiding means which maintain the hydraulic piston and the connecting rod parallel to said cylinder, whatever the position of said piston in said cylinder; A crankshaft which can rotate about an axis parallel to the tilt axis in at least one shaft bearing, and which has at least one crank around which a second rod end of the connecting rod is articulated; At least one drive motor which directly or indirectly rotates the crankshaft; Kinetic energy storage means, which are directly or indirectly connected to the crankshaft.

2 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the tilt axis is a tubular ball joint which is disposed at an end of the liquid cylinder, and the inside of which totally or partially forms the communication conduit, said ball joint being able to sealingly pivot in a female ball joint housing secured to the gas and liquid reservoir.

3 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 2 , wherein the tubular ball joint receives in its centre, a ball joint axis which is parallel to the tilt axis, said axis being articulated around a ball joint bridle which is directly or indirectly secured to the gas and liquid reservoir.

4 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 3 , wherein the ball joint bridle is connected to the gas and liquid reservoir by way of an articulated bridle connection around which said bridle can rotate.

5 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid cylinder and the gas and liquid reservoir form a rigid assembly which pivots about the tilt axis.

6 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the heat exchange and accumulation means are constituted of a porous medium which has porosities into which and from which the working liquid and the working gas alternatively enter and exit.

7 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the heat export or input means are constituted of a circulating part of the working liquid, said part exiting from the liquid cylinder or from the gas and liquid reservoir via a liquid outlet conduit to return into said cylinder or into said reservoir via a liquid inlet conduit, this after having transferred heat to the heating means or after having taken heat to the cooling means.

8 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the heat export or input means are constituted of at least one heat exchanger conduit housed in the gas and liquid reservoir and in which a heat-transfer fluid circulates, which transports the heat taken or transferred to the heat exchange and accumulation means and/or to the working liquid and/or to the working gas up to the cooling means or to the heating means via heat transport conduits.

9 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the heat exchange and accumulation means are constituted of at least one liquid spray nozzle supplied by a liquid spray pump, said nozzle being able to atomise the working liquid into fine droplets in the internal volume of the gas and liquid reservoir.

10 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the tilt axis is constituted of a rolling track which is secured to the static frame and on which a rolling surface which is directly or indirectly secured to the liquid cylinder can roll, a rolling track gearwheel, the primitive circle of which coincides with the contact line between the rolling track and the rolling surface being secured to the static frame and engaging with a rolling surface gearwheel, which is directly or indirectly secured to the liquid cylinder.

11 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the piston guiding means are constituted of a sliding pivot connection formed between an external cylindrical surface that the connecting rod has, and a sliding ring which is securely connected to the liquid cylinder by way of a ring carrier structure.

12 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the piston guiding means are constituted of a guiding skirt provided at the periphery of the hydraulic piston, said skirt being able to translate at a low clearance into said cylinder.

13 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein the filling means and/or the draining means are constituted of at least one compressor flap or at least one controlled compressor valve, wherein in operation, the working gas is expelled from the gas and liquid reservoir via the repression plenum under a pressure greater than that under which it has been introduced beforehand in said reservoir via the intake plenum, while the heat export or input means transfer heat to the heating means, such that the variable pneumatic volume forms a compressor.

14 . The mechanical liquid piston slow expansion compressor according to claim 1 , wherein characterised in that the filling means or the draining means are constituted of at least one controlled expander valve, wherein in operation, the working gas is expelle

Assignees

• Rabhi Vianney

Inventors

• Rabhi Vianney

Classifications

• F04B53/08

  Cooling; Heating; Preventing freezing · CPC title

• F04B53/162

  Adaptations of cylinders · CPC title

• F04B39/06

  Cooling; Heating; Prevention of freezing · CPC title

• F04B53/141

  Intermediate liquid piston between the driving piston and the pumped liquid (F04B43/06 and F04B43/10 take precedence) · CPC title

• F04B39/12

  Casings; Cylinders; Cylinder heads; Fluid connections · CPC title