U.S. patent application number 11/436785 was filed with the patent office on 2007-11-22 for self-contained refrigerant powered system.
Invention is credited to Marios K. Rapitis, Markos Rapitis.
Application Number | 20070266708 11/436785 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38710724 |
Filed Date | 2007-11-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070266708 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rapitis; Marios K. ; et
al. |
November 22, 2007 |
Self-contained refrigerant powered system
Abstract
A self-contained refrigerant powered system is provided having a
plurality of boilers each for heating a liquid refrigerant to form
a gaseous refrigerant; a motor in fluid communication with each of
the plurality of boilers for receiving the gaseous refrigerant,
wherein the gaseous refrigerant is used to power the motor; and a
condenser in fluid communication with the motor for receiving the
gaseous refrigerant and for converting the gaseous refrigerant to a
liquid refrigerant; and a return pipe in fluid communication with
the condenser and the plurality of boilers for returning the liquid
refrigerant to at least one of the plurality of boilers.
Inventors: |
Rapitis; Marios K.; (Coram,
NY) ; Rapitis; Markos; (Port Jefferson, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CARTER, DELUCA, FARRELL & SCHMIDT, LLP
445 BROAD HOLLOW ROAD, SUITE 225
MELVILLE
NY
11747
US
|
Family ID: |
38710724 |
Appl. No.: |
11/436785 |
Filed: |
May 18, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
60/651 ;
60/676 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01K 25/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
60/651 ;
60/676 |
International
Class: |
F01K 25/08 20060101
F01K025/08; F01K 13/00 20060101 F01K013/00 |
Claims
1. A self-contained refrigerant powered system comprising: a
plurality of boilers each for heating a liquid refrigerant to form
a gaseous refrigerant; a motor in fluid communication with each of
the plurality of boilers for receiving the gaseous refrigerant,
wherein the gaseous refrigerant is used to power the motor; a
condenser in fluid communication with the motor for receiving the
gaseous refrigerant and for converting the gaseous refrigerant to a
liquid refrigerant; and a return pipe in fluid communication with
the condenser and the plurality of boilers for returning the liquid
refrigerant to at least one of the plurality of boilers.
2. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a control
mechanism having a plurality of sensors and a controller for
receiving data from said plurality of sensors and determining none
or at least one boiler for returning the liquid refrigerant.
3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the controller
controls a valve associated with a respective boiler of the
plurality of boilers for controlling the amount of liquid
refrigerant provided to said respective boiler.
4. The system as recited in claim 2, further comprising a storage
unit for storing the liquid refrigerant if it is determined that
none of the plurality of boilers can be used to return the liquid
refrigerant.
5. The system as recited in claim 4, further comprising at least
one valve for controlling the flow of the liquid refrigerant to
said storage unit.
6. The system as recited in claim 4, further comprising a sensor
disposed within said storage unit and in operative communication
with said controller.
7. The system as recited in claim 4, further comprising a return
pump operatively associated with said storage unit for pumping the
liquid refrigerant stored within said storage unit to a pipe in
fluid communication with said return pipe.
8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the liquid refrigerant
is selected from a group consisting of freon, butane, helium and
nitrogen.
9. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the motor is selected
from a group consisting of a turbine and an internal combustion
engine.
10. A self-contained refrigerant powered system comprising: a
boiler for heating a liquid refrigerant to form a gaseous
refrigerant; a motor in fluid communication with the boiler for
receiving the gaseous refrigerant, wherein the gaseous refrigerant
is used to power the motor; and a condenser in fluid communication
with the motor for receiving the gaseous refrigerant and for
converting the gaseous refrigerant to a liquid refrigerant; and a
return pump in fluid communication with the condenser for pumping
the liquid refrigerant receiving from the condenser to the boiler
via a return pipe.
11. The system as recited in claim 10, further comprising a valve
positioned between the boiler and the motor for controlling fluid
flow to the motor.
12. The system as recited in claim 10, further comprising a valve
positioned between the return pump and the boiler for controlling
fluid flow to the boiler.
13. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the liquid
refrigerant is selected from a group consisting of freon, butane,
helium and nitrogen.
14. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the motor is
selected from a group consisting of a turbine and an internal
combustion engine.
15. A method for operating a self-contained refrigerant powered
system, the method comprising: heating a liquid refrigerant to form
a gaseous refrigerant using at least one of a plurality of boilers;
powering a motor using the gaseous refrigerant; converting the
gaseous refrigerant to a liquid refrigerant; and returning the
liquid refrigerant to at least one of the plurality of boilers.
16. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising
determining one of none and at least one of the plurality of
boilers for returning the liquid refrigerant to.
17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising storing
the liquid refrigerant in a storage unit if it is determined that
the liquid refrigerant can be returned to none of the plurality of
boilers.
18. The method as recited in claim 17, further comprising providing
a sensor within said storage unit.
19. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the liquid
refrigerant is selected from a group consisting of freon, butane,
helium and nitrogen.
20. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the motor is
selected from a group consisting of a turbine and an internal
combustion engine.
Description
SUMMARY
[0001] The present disclosure is directed to a self-contained
refrigerant powered system for powering a motor using a refrigerant
which is continuously converted from a liquid to a gas for use in
powering the motor and back to a liquid. A plurality of boilers is
provided in one embodiment for receiving the liquefied refrigerant
and converting the liquefied refrigerant to a gas. After the gas is
used to power the motor, the gaseous refrigerant is directed to a
condenser of the self-contained refrigerant powered system where it
is converted to a liquid prior to being redirected to at least one
of the plurality of boilers.
[0002] A control mechanism having a plurality of sensors and a
controller with at least one processor is provided for controlling
the flow of the liquefied refrigerant to the plurality of boilers.
The at least one processor receives boiler-related data from the
plurality of sensors, where the data can include at least one of
temperature, operational status (on or off), pressure and capacity
data, and the at least one processor determines at least one boiler
of which to direct the liquefied refrigerant to by appropriately
controlling one or more valves. After processing the boiler-related
data and determining at least one boiler to direct the liquefied
refrigerant to, the controller generates and transmits signals to
the one or more valves for opening and closing the same, and the
liquefied refrigerant is directed to the at least one boiler.
[0003] In an alternate embodiment of the self-contained refrigerant
powered system in accordance with the present disclosure, one
boiler is provided instead of a plurality of boilers. Further, a
return pump is provided between the condenser and the boiler for
controlling the flow of liquefied refrigerant to the boiler.
[0004] Other features of the presently disclosed self-contained
refrigerant powered system will become apparent from the following
detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the presently
disclosed self-contained refrigerant powered system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The features of the presently disclosed self-contained
refrigerant powered system will be described hereinbelow with
reference to the figures, wherein:
[0006] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a self-contained refrigerant
powered system according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure; and
[0007] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a self-contained refrigerant
powered system according to an alternate embodiment of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] Referring now to the drawing figures, wherein like
references numerals identify identical or corresponding elements,
various embodiments of the presently disclosed refrigerant powered
system will now be described in detail.
[0009] The present disclosure describes two embodiments of a
self-contained powered system. Self-contained as used herein
describes the systems of the present disclosure as being able to
power a motor with a predetermined amount of refrigerant for a
plurality of operational cycles without requiring an operator to
add additional refrigerant. An operational cycle is a cycle where
the liquefied refrigerant is converted to gas using heat energy and
then back to a liquid using a condenser. Optimally, the systems are
designed such that they do not lose any refrigerant due to exhaust
or waste and can be operated for a long period of time using the
predetermined amount of refrigerant without the need to refuel or
add additional refrigerant.
[0010] With initial reference to FIG. 1, a self-contained
refrigerant powered system in accordance with the present
disclosure is illustrated and described and is designated generally
by reference numeral 100. During each operational cycle, the system
100 as described herein uses a refrigerant to power a motor, where
the refrigerant is converted from a liquid to a gas for use in
powering the motor and back to a liquid. Several refrigerants that
can be used in system 100 include freon, butane, helium and
nitrogen.
[0011] With continued reference to FIG. 1, self-contained
refrigerant powered system 100 includes a motor 102 in fluid
communication with a main outlet pipe 104 and an outlet pipe 106,
and a plurality of boilers 108a-c each capable of heating a liquid
refrigerant using a heating mechanism as known in the art. Each of
the boilers 108a-c is in fluid communication with a respective
inlet branch pipe 111a-c of a main inlet pipe or return pipe 111
and with a respective outlet branch pipe 104a-c of the main outlet
pipe 104. Each inlet branch pipe 104a-c includes a check valve
115a-c for preventing backflow of the gaseous refrigerant to the
boilers 108a-c. Additionally, each of the outlet branch pipes
111a-c includes a check valve 114a-c for preventing backflow of the
liquefied refrigerant to main inlet pipe 111.
[0012] Each of the plurality of boilers 108a-c is adapted for
heating under pressure the liquefied refrigerant received via one
of the inlet branch pipes 111a-c and for converting the refrigerant
from a liquid to a gas using heat energy. The gaseous refrigerant
is outputted into outlet branch pipes 104a-c and directed towards
check valve 105 positioned in main outlet pipe 104.
[0013] The gaseous and high temperature refrigerant is received via
the main outlet pipe 104 by the motor 102 and is used for powering
the motor 102 before being outputted to outlet pipe 106. Powering a
motor using a gaseous refrigerant having a high temperature is well
known in the art and is not described in detail herein. The motor
102 may be a turbine and/or internal combustion engine.
[0014] The gaseous refrigerant outputted to outlet pipe 106 is
provided to a condenser 110 in fluid communication with the outlet
pipe 106. Condenser 110 is a heat exchanger for condensing the
gaseous and high temperature refrigerant and converting it from a
gas to a liquid as known in the art. During the condensation
process, the gaseous and high temperature refrigerant releases
latent heat energy which can be harnessed for powering a cooling
mechanism of condenser 110 or for other applications, such as
powering a mechanism of a system in proximity to system 100. The
cooling mechanism of condenser 110 may include, for example, a
cooling fan (i.e. air cooled condenser), a water cooling mechanism,
and other cooling mechanisms known in the art. The condensed and
liquefied refrigerant flows from condenser 110 to main inlet pipe
111.
[0015] With continued reference to FIG. 1, a control mechanism 120
can be integrated with system 100 to the opening and closing of
control valves 114a-c and thereby, control to which boiler or
boilers 108a-c the liquefied refrigerant is provided to. It is
contemplated that the control mechanism 120 can also be adapted and
configured for controlling the opening and closing of the other
valves of system 100, e.g., check valves 105 and 115a-c.
[0016] The control mechanism 120 includes a plurality of sensors
116a-c and a controller 112 having at least one processor in order
to control the flow of the liquefied refrigerant to the plurality
of boilers 108a-c. The at least one processor receives
boiler-related data from the plurality of sensors 116a-c via wires
117a-c, where the data can include at least one of temperature,
operational status (on or off), pressure and capacity data, and the
at least one processor determines at least one boiler of which to
direct the liquefied refrigerant to by appropriately controlling
one or more of the check valves 114a-c. The plurality of sensors
116a-c are selected from the group consisting of temperature
sensors, sensors capable of sensing the operational status of the
boiler (on or off), pressure sensors and sensors capable of sensing
the amount or volume of the refrigerant in the boiler.
[0017] After processing the boiler-related data and determining at
least one boiler to direct the liquefied refrigerant to, the
controller 112 generates and transmits signals to the one or more
check valves 114a-c via wires 119a-c for opening and closing the
same, and the liquefied refrigerant is directed to the at least one
boiler. It is provided that if the at least one processor
determines that none of the boilers 108a-c are capable of receiving
the liquefied refrigerant, the at least one processor is programmed
to shut down the motor 102 or the entire system 100.
[0018] Alternatively, the at least one processor can be programmed
to direct the liquefied refrigerant to a storage unit 122 in fluid
communication with the condenser 110 for temporarily storing the
liquefied refrigerant to prevent the main inlet pipe 111 from being
over-pressurized in the case where none of the boilers 108a-c are
able to receive the liquefied refrigerant. As such, the controller
112 generates and transmits signal via wire 129 to a first check
valve 123 positioned along main inlet pipe 111 to cause the valve
123 to open for directing the liquefied refrigerant to the storage
unit 122 via storage inlet pipe 121. The controller 112 further
generates and transmits a signal via wire 128 to a second check
valve 124 also positioned along main inlet pipe 111 to cause the
valve 124 to close for maintaining the liquefied refrigerant in the
storage unit 122.
[0019] When the at least one processor determines that one or more
boilers 108a-c is ready to receive the liquefied refrigerant, the
controller 112 generates and transmits a signal via wire 129 to the
first check valve 123 to cause the valve 123 to close for
preventing any additional liquefied refrigerant from entering the
storage unit 122. The controller 112 also generates and transmits a
signal to the second check valve 124 via wire 128 to cause the
valve 124 to open for enabling the stored, liquefied refrigerant to
flow to the main inlet pipe 111 and to one or more of the boilers
108a-c. A pump 125 is operatively associated with the storage unit
122 for pumping the liquefied refrigerant out from the storage unit
122 and into the main inlet pipe 111 via storage outlet pipe 126.
When the liquefied refrigerant has been pumped out of the storage
unit 122 as relayed by sensor 127 to the controller 112, the
controller generates and transmits a signal to the second check
valve 124 via wire 128 to cause the valve 124 to close. During
normal operation (i.e., when one or more boilers 108a-c are capable
of receiving the liquefied refrigerant), the first and second check
valves 123, 124 are both closed.
[0020] With reference to FIG. 2, a self-contained refrigerant
powered system according to an alternate embodiment of the present
disclosure is illustrated and described and is designated generally
by reference numeral 200. The self-contained refrigerant powered
system 200 of FIG. 2 is substantially similar to system 100
described hereinabove and thus will only be discussed in detail
herein to the extent necessary to identify differences in
construction and/or operation.
[0021] As illustrated in FIG. 2, self-contained refrigerant powered
system 200 includes a motor 202 in fluid communication with a main
outlet pipe 204 and an outlet pipe 206, and a boiler 208 having a
heating mechanism as known in the art in fluid communication with
the main outlet pipe 204 and a main inlet pipe 213. Boiler 208 is
adapted for heating under pressure a liquid refrigerant for
converting the refrigerant from a liquid to a gas. The gaseous and
high temperature refrigerant is then provided to main outlet pipe
204 and directed to motor 202 for operating motor 202. A safety
valve 214 is provided in main inlet pipe 213 for controlling the
amount of liquefied refrigerant going to the boiler 208. A check
valve 215 is positioned in main outlet pipe 204 for preventing
backflow of the gaseous refrigerant to the boiler 208.
[0022] With continued reference to FIG. 2, motor 202 is adapted for
receiving the gaseous and high temperature refrigerant from boiler
208 via main outlet pipe 204. After using the gaseous refrigerant
to power the motor 202, the gaseous and high temperature
refrigerant flows to outlet pipe 206 which is in fluid
communication with a condenser 210.
[0023] Condenser 210 condenses the refrigerant and converts it from
a gas to a liquid in the same manner as described above with
reference to condenser 110. The liquefied refrigerant then flows to
a return pump 212 via pipe 216. The return pump 212 pumps the
liquefied refrigerant towards the boiler 208 via main inlet pipe
213.
[0024] One or more components of the systems 100, 200, such as the
valves, the controller 112, the pump 125, the sensor 127, and the
return pump 212, can be solar and/or wind powered. It is envisioned
that the system 100 can be designed as a cascaded system.
[0025] Therefore, it will be understood that numerous modifications
and changes in form and detail may be made to the embodiments of
the present disclosure. Accordingly, the above description should
not be construed as limiting the disclosed self-contained
refrigerant powered systems but merely as exemplifications of the
various embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will envision
numerous modifications within the scope of the present disclosure
as defined by the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *