WO2008150440A1

WO2008150440A1 - Integrated compressor/expansion engine

Info

Publication number: WO2008150440A1
Application number: PCT/US2008/006845
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rodney Hugelman
Original assignee: Whitemoss, Inc.
Priority date: 2007-05-31
Filing date: 2008-05-30
Publication date: 2008-12-11

Abstract

A multi cylinder compressor/expansion engine having a drive shaft that rotates a wobble plate or wedge mounted on the drive shaft. There is a plurality of cylinders in a fixed cylinder barrel with pistons disposed in each of the cylinders. Some of the cylinders are compressor cylinders and some of the cylinders are expansion cylinders. The compressor cylinders discharge a fluid at a first high pressure from the compressor/expansion engine. The expansion cylinders receive fluid at a second high pressure which provides recovered energy which is applied to assist the driver engine or motor thereby reducing the external net energy required for the engine to rotate the drive shaft to do work. Manifold plates and a reed valve assembly operable with the compressor and expansion pistons and ported cylinder sleeves control the flow of fluid into and out of the compressor and expansion cylinders.

Description

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

TITLE OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

I. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an axial compressor which integrates into itself a compressor and expansion engine. The compressor/expansion engine has a rotating wobble plate or wedge as compared to other axial devices which use a rotating cylinder barrel and hold the wobble plate

or wedge stationary. A schematic diagram of an heat pump air conditioning system as known in the prior art is shown in Figure 1. Air conditioning or heat pump systems use the process of using a compressor 5 to compress a gas to high pressure 11 which makes the gas hot. This hot gas 11 is then cooled down in a heat exchanger or condenser 6. Generally a fan 7 forces cooler air over or through the heat exchanger 6 to produce a cooled gas 13 by rejecting the heat to the air. The cooled gas 13 then passes through a throttling valve 8 which allows the cooled gas 13 to expand to a low pressure which creates a cold gas 17. The cold gas 17 then passes through another heat exchanger or evaporator 9, where a second fan 10 forces air over or through the evaporator 9 removing heat from the intended environment such as an automobile, home air conditioner, refrigerator, etc. The exiting low pressure gas 21, now warmed, is returned to the compressor

5 where the cycle is repeated. In the air conditioning system illustrated in Figure 1 , cooling took place by expanding the gas from a high pressure to a low pressure through the throttling valve 8. This is an inefficient process, producing the desired cooling effect, but with no work being done during the PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE; 2

expansion process. It is commonly known to use compressed air to power various devices. For example, in

an auto shop air wrenches are used to remove lug nuts from wheels. Air tools are used because they are compact, powerful, and reliable, unlike electric tools which remain cool during use. If

one holds his hand over the air tool exhaust he would feel the cool air exiting the tool. This process duplicates precisely the effect employed in common air conditioning systems, shown in

Figure 1 above. As can be seen in Figure 2, by replacing the throttling valve 8 of Figure 1 with a gas

powered expansion engine 20, a driving force may be applied to an electric motor, electric generator, or work producing engine of any configuration, with the same cooling achieved but with positive work being produced. Energy recovery is accomplished by means of a mechanical coupling 14 connecting the expansion engine 20 to the compressor 5. This energy can be used to help drive the compressor 5, thereby reducing the system energy requirements significantly. Energy savings on the order of 30% are not unreasonable.

The problem in implementing the system as illustrated in Figure 2 is the difficulty in mechanically coupling the separate expansion device 20 to the compressor 5. Further, the work

energy recovery is not sufficiently mechanically advantageous due to the relatively low operating pressure levels used in typical air conditioning and heat pump systems. However, the global PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 3

community has now banned fluorocarbons from the environment and is moving rapidly away from the use of low pressure hydro fluorocarbons to high pressure CO₂ gas refrigeration. The use of high pressure CO₂ enhances the performance advantages expected from expansion engine devices. Energy recovery of over 35% has been achieved with such test systems. The problem of coupling or returning that energy to the compressor system in practical application due to the power in, power out mechanical coupling is still unresolved.

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 4

II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To simplify the use of the expansion engine, a new compressor design has been developed which integrates the expansion engine with the compressor itself. A multi-cylinder axial dual function device is used encompassing two separate sets of expansion and compressor

cylinders. The cylinders are isolated from each other and are usually concentrically located within a cylinder barrel or block. The one set of compressor cylinders is used to supply compressed fluid for the compressor function and the remaining set of expansion cylinders is used to supply recovered power for assisting the operation of the expansion engine function. A reed valve and manifold cluster is used to control the input/output of the compressor and expansion cylinders. The compressor cylinders are interconnected through the compressor

manifold plate and the expansion cylinders are interconnected through the expansion manifold plate. A unique reed valve with a protruding pin is used to allow high pressure gas into the expansion cylinders. The user can mix the piston set by selecting the desired size and ratio of compressor cylinders to expansion cylinders. For example, a nine cylinder set could be arranged so that five cylinders are used for air conditioning compression with the remaining four cylinders

used for gas expansion to drive the pistons, such as in a CO₂ gas motor or engine. Since all of

the pistons are driven by, or drive, the same wedge or wobble plate on one shaft there is no change in the parts count or complexity of drive coupling. Five piston/cylinders compress the working gas for the refrigeration cycle and the remaining four receive the high pressure working gas and operate as a motor, expanding the gas and returning work to the same drive shaft. All PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 5

pistons are reciprocated as they follow the angled wedge face as the wedge is rotated. Those pistons which are used for compression work are powered by the rotating wedge. Those pistons used for energy recovery add work back to the wedge and shaft as the high pressure gas is

expanded through the expansion cylinders. Since the compressor uses isolated compressor/expansion cylinders, the user can alter the compressor/expansion set ratio, or split, by changing out the reed valve, manifold arrangement, and reorienting the cylinder porting sleeves. A range of valves and manifolds could be kept on hand to customize any given compressor. By using cylinder sleeves of differing wall thicknesses, it is possible to select matched cylinder and pistons of differing diameters to further customize performance. A further embodiment of this invention similarly applies as a hydraulic or liquid pump combined with an expansion recovery engine. Said configuration would compress a working fluid which is liquid such as hydraulic oil pumped in a conventional manner to high pressure with compressor pistons. However, recovered fluid pressure from any high pressure fluid source may serve to drive the alternate expansion pistons to recover energy in the same liquid pumping device.

A further embodiment of this invention uses a unique CO₂ compressor configuration capable of dynamically altering the compressor displacement as well as the compressor pressure

ratio, each independently of each other. This is achieved by independently changing the wedge PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 6

angle while the shaft is rotating the wedge. Thus the reciprocating stroke is changed which

changes the displacement. A further embodiment is to move the position of the wedge axially which would independently change the piston top-dead-center clearance volume and, therefore, the compression ratio. Collectively, this would produce a compressor which could independently and dynamically: 1. Adjust compressor displacement, 2. Adjust compressor compression ratio, 3. Recover thermal cycle expansion energy. Computer control of these compressor factors allow for broader environmental application, optimum performance, at optimum efficiency. Any improvement in efficiency results in a smaller, more compact, and less expensive system for the same cooling performance (or heating performance for heat pump cycles). To summarize, the compressor will allow a modern CO₂ system, under computer control, to size the compressor and to change the compression ratio, as required, and to produce

improved performance and efficiency for any given installation under most environmental conditions. The integrated expansion engine would couple performance seamlessly altered in synchronization with any changes in the performance of the compressor side. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 7

IH. OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES It is an object of the invention to provide a new compressor that integrates both a gas compressor and a gas expansion engine into one device which utilizes multiple cylinders with selected pistons which are driven and selected pistons which drive a rotating wobble plate or wedge.

It is another object to provide a multi-cylinder compressor/expansion engine having isolated sets of compressor and expansion cylinders in which one manifold receives the high pressure fluid from the compressor cylinders to supply it to the heat exchanger condenser or in the case of a transcritical cycle such as CO₂ is a gas cooler and another manifold which supplies high pressure fluid to the expansion cylinders from the condenser or gas cooler, with the two manifolds segregated from each other. Yet another object is to provide a valve assembly that is controlled by the expansion piston to control the flow of high pressure fluid into the expansion cylinders. It is an advantage of the compressor/expansion engine to use both compressor cylinders

and expansion cylinders coupled to one shaft as it provides energy recovery over conventional compressors while retaining compressor compactness and configuration.

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 8

IV. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional prior art heat pump air conditioning system. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a compressor/expansion engine coupled to a common shaft.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an alternate embodiment of a compressor/expansion engine having a diversion control valve and a throttling valve for adjusting the amount of expansion boost delivered to the compressor. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a compressor/expansion engine as utilized in a heat pump air conditioning system, with the compressor/expansion engine shown in cross section and showing the expansion and compressor cylinders and paths of fluid flow to and from the device. Fig. 5 is a side view, partially in cross section, of the compressor/expansion engine. Fig. 5 A is an enlarged view in cross section of the compressor/expansion engine components, or port end of the device showing the expansion and compressor cylinders and paths of fluid flow to and from the cylinders. Fig. 6 is a front view of the cylinder cover plate of the compressor/expansion engine.

Fig. 7 is a front view of the output reed valves of the compressor/expansion engine showing the orientation of the reed valves disposed radially about its center. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 9

Fig. 8 is a front view of the output reed valve pocket. Fig. 9 is a front view of the compressor manifold plate designed for three compressor cylinders and six expansion cylinders showing the location of the expansion and compressor

slots in relation to the compressor manifold. Fig. 9A is a cross sectional view taken along line 9A-9A of Fig. 9 of the compressor manifold plate of Fig. 9. Fig. 10 is a front view of the expansion manifold plate showing the location of the expansion and compressor slots in relation to the expansion manifold. Fig. 1OA is a cross sectional view taken along line 10A- 1OA of Fig. 10 of the expansion

manifold plate. Fig. 11 is a front view of the ported compressor/expansion end cap. Fig. 12 is a side view in cross section of the ported compressor/expansion end cap

illustrated in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is an enlarged side view in cross section of the expansion piston pushing the reed valve to the open position.

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 10

V. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning to Fig. 5, there is illustrated a multi-cylinder axial compressor/expansion engine 20 referred to herein as compressor/engine 20 of the present design. The compressor/engine 20 is contained within a housing or case 22 which may be one piece and having a left or drive end 24 and a right or port end 26. There is a motor end cap 28 at the left or drive end 24 and a ported compressor end cap 30 at the right or port end 26. An electric motor 31 having a field section 32 and a rotor section 33 spin a drive shaft 34 when the motor is energized. Other power

options could be uses such as hydraulic motors or other types of motors. A wobble plate, also called a swash plate or hereinafter referred to as wedge 36, is securely mounted on the shaft 34 so that the wedge 36 rotates with the shaft 34. There is an electric wire passageway 38 in the front end 24 to supply power to the electric motor 31. The motor 31 may also be provided with coolant entering through coolant inlet 40 to control the motor temperature. The drive shaft 34 and wedge 36 are supported for rotation by ball thrust bearing 42. Oil lubrication sump fill and oil bypass return is provided for all rotational parts by means of an oil

fill port 4 land oil return port 43. A slipper plate 44 is driven so that it oscillates horizontally,

as viewed in Fig. 5, as the wedge 36 rotates. An expansion piston 46 reciprocates in a stationary expansion cylinder 47 applying driving force to the slipper plate 44 on the down stroke caused by high pressure expanding gas in expansion cylinder 47 . This driving force assists rotation of

the wedge 36 and drive shaft 34. A compressor piston 48 similarly reciprocates in a stationary expansion cylinder 49 accepting driving force from slipper plate 44 as the wedge 36 rotates. The PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 11

expansion pistons, expansion cylinders, compressor pistons and compressor cylinders are all mounted within a cylinder barrel 50 which is securely mounted to as part of, or within housing

22. This drive mechanism is disclosed in PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2006/030759 filed August 8, 2006 incorporated herein by reference. In order to have a rotating wedge and a mix of both expansion and compressor cylinders using the same cylinder barrel or block, one needs to understand how the unique valve and manifold arrangement is constructed and operates. Fig. 5A is an enlarged view showing a compressor cylinder 49 and an expansion cylinder 47. First we will consider the construction and operation of the configured compressor cylinder 49. Viewing a cross section of the right port end 26, as seen in Fig. 5 A, we see the top dead center end of the expansion or compressor cylinders 47, 49, which are capped by a cylinder cover plate 56. The front view of the cover plate 56 is illustrated in Fig. 6. The cover plate 56

has a plurality of spaced porting slots 58 which are illustrated as slots but may be holes or other opening configurations designed for optimal fluid flow. The porting slots 58 align with the cylinders and there is a central opening 60 for mounting and radially aligning the cover plate 56

with the ported compressor end cap 30 shown in Fig 11 and Fig. 12.

As illustrated, there are nine porting slots 58 for the cylinder barrel 50 that has a total of nine cylinders and pistons acting in any mixed combination for compressor and expansion

purposes. Other embodiments may use more or fewer cylinders as well as any mix of differing cylinder diameters. Thus, each cylinder may be configured as a unique machine unto itself operating with its own manifold while all pistons are commonly reciprocating with a common PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGEj l2 ___

rotating wedge whether driving or driven allowing dual compressor and expansion energy recovery functions

As illustrated in Fig. 13, mounted next to the cover plate 56 is a reed valve 62. A front view of the reed valve 62 is clearly illustrated in Fig. 7. The reed valve 62 is made of spring steel flat stock suitable for the fluid and pressure it is intended to control. The reed valve has a central opening 64 for mounting and positioning the reed valve 62 on the ported compressor end cap 30. Although a reed valve is illustrated, other valves such as piston actuated electronic valves or spring check valves can be used.

During the compressor cycle, the compressor piston 48 is withdrawn or pulled back from top dead center retracting from the compressor cylinder 49. The piston 48 sucks the reed valve 62 against the porting slot 58 in the cylinder cover plate 56 and no gas can enter the compressor cylinder 49 through the reed valve porting slot 58. As the compressor piston moves away from top dead center, it passes by an open gas inlet port 66 and gas enters through the inlet port 66

into the compressor cylinder 49. The compressor piston 48 then begins its compression return stroke and compresses the gas in the compressor cylinder 49. As the piston 48 covers the inlet port 66, the gas cannot escape back through the inlet port 66. The compressed gas pushes against the reed valve 62 which is flexible and opens when the pressure exceeds the resistance of the reed valve 62 forcing the gas to exit the compressor cylinder 49 through porting slots 58 in cylinder cover plate 56. The compressed gas exits the compressor/engine 20 at a compressor

discharge port 68 in ported end cap 30. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 13

Looking at the expansion cylinder 47 in Fig. 5 A, one sees that a high pressure gas inlet means is needed when the expansion piston 46 is in the position illustrated. Thus, a valving means is needed to allow a high pressure gas charge into the expansion cylinder 47 to perform the work required to impart a driving force to the drive shaft 34. In order to solve this problem, a pin or protuberance 70 is mounted exclusively onto each selected expansion cylinder leaf of reed valve 62. This is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 13. In another embodiment, the protuberance may be integral with the top of expansion piston 46 to extend through cylinder cover plate porting slot 58 to control the operation of expansion cylinder reed valve 62. High

pressure gas enters the compressor/engine 20 as a high pressure gas at expansion engine inlet 72. The high pressure gas flows through the high pressure expansion engine gas passageway 74. As the expansion piston 46 rises to top dead center it contacts the pin 70 and pushes the reed valve open. This allows a charge of high pressure gas into the expansion cylinder 47 from the high pressure gas passageway 74. The high pressure gas charge can only fill the available clearance volume which is controlled by the length of the pin 70, which controls exactly how long the reed valve will remain open. Thus, by increasing or decreasing the length of the pin 70, the cycle

position of valve opening and duration of time during which the valve remains open, is

controlled. The expansion piston 46 and pin 70 become an integral part of the valve mechanism and valve timing. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 14

The expansion piston 46 is forced away from top dead center by the high pressure gas and imparts a driving force to the wedge 36 and drive shaft 34. When the expansion piston 46 moves far enough away from top dead center, the piston 46 moves past and exposes an expansion cylinder outlet port 76 in the side of the expansion cylinder 47 wall. The expanded high pressure gas is discharged as a low pressure gas through the expansion cylinder outlet port 76 and through the expanded gas exhaust port 78. Expansion cylinder 47 and compressor cylinder 49 may be a sleeve as illustrated in Fig. 13 or one piece integral with the cylinder barrel

50.

The expansion piston 46 does not impact the pin 70 with such force as to destroy the pin 70 as the piston 46 follows a sinusoidal path with zero axial velocity at top dead center where

movement of the piston reverses. The piston face and pin 70 must be made of appropriate materials hardened for wear, such as currently used for cam and valve stems in automobile

engines.

The compressor/expansion engine in the illustrated embodiment allows the user to

conveniently decide the ratio of compressor cylinders to expansion cylinders. The ratio can be altered by rotating any given cylinder sleeve 47 180 degrees within its bore in the cylinder barrel

50. As seen in Fig. 13, 180 degree rotation of the expansion cylinder sleeve 47 places the expansion cylinder outlet port 76 in fluid communication with the gas inlet port 66 which converts the cylinder from an expansion cylinder to a compressor cylinder. Clearly the overall

total number PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 15

of pistons is optional, however as illustrated the compressor/expansion engine has nine cylinders which can be configured in any ratio of expansion and compressor cylinders as desired.

The assembly of the components making up the manifold and valve assembly is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 13 with the individual components illustrated in Figs. 6-12. Moving from the end of the cylinders, there is the cylinder cover plate 60 as seen in Fig. 6. The kidney shaped openings or porting slots 58 are aligned with the cylinders. The next component is the reed valve 62 illustrated in Fig. 7. The reed valve 62 is mounted adjacent to the cover plate 60 with one reed aligned with and covering each of porting slots 58. The next component is the output reed valve pocket 80 as seen in Fig. 8. This is a disc with cutouts 82 for each cylinder so that it segregates, isolates, and seals each cylinder from all other cylinders. Each cutout 82 receives one of the reed valves in the cutout 82 as more clearly seen in Fig. 13. Each of the reeds

operates independently of adjacent reeds. The outer solid ring 83 of the valve pocket 80 acts as a spacer to hold the manifold plates 84 and 90 in position. The output reed valve pocket 80 also forms a passageway through each isolated pocket 82 to allow the axial flow of high pressure

fluid, or in this case CO₂ into the expansion cylinder 47. Adjacent to the output reed valve pocket 80 is a compressor manifold plate 84. As seen in Fig. 9, there are three compressor slots 86 and six expansion slots 88, which are in fluid communication with the compressor or expansion

cylinders respectively. All of the slots 86, 88 are identical. The three compressor slots 86 are in fluid communication with each other by means of a compressor manifold formed with the PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 16

output reed valve pocket 80. There is a compressor manifold area 87 formed around the perimeter of the compressor manifold plate 84. As seen in Figs. 9 and 9A, this compressor manifold area 87 along with the compressor slots 86 define a portion of the passageway for the

compressed fluid to flow out from the compressor cylinders. Along the perimeter of the compressor manifold plate 84 there is a compressor exit port 89 that is in fluid communication with the compressor discharge port 68. As seen in Fig. 5 A the compressor slots 86 are open to and allow compressed fluid discharged from the compressor cylinder 49 through the ported compressor end cap 30 by means of the compressor discharge port 68.

Adjacent to the compressor manifold plate 84 and also mounted on the ported compressor end cap 30 is an expansion manifold plate 90 as seen in Figs. 5 A, 10 and 1OA. The expansion manifold plate 90 has its own expansion slots 92 and compression slots 94. There is also an expansion exit port 91 in the perimeter of the expansion manifold plate 90 that is in fluid communication with the high pressure gas expansion engine inlet 72. There is an expansion

manifold area 93 formed around the perimeter of the expansion manifold plate 90. As seen in Figs. 10 and 1OA this expansion manifold area 93 along with the expansion slots 92 define a

portion of the passageway for the high pressure fluid to flow from the gas expansion engine inlet 72 into the expansion cylinders 47. As seen in Fig. 5 A the compression slots 94 in the expansion manifold plate 90 are blocked off from allowing compressed fluid to communicate with the

expansion slots 92 and direct any compressed fluid to the compressor slot 86 and exit through PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 17

the compressor discharge port 68. The compression slots 94 allow high pressure gas from the gas expansion engine inlet 72 to pass through the expansion engine high pressure gas passageway 74 through the expansion slots 92, through the expansion slot 88 in the compressor

manifold plate 84 and into the expansion cylinder when the reed valve 62 is pushed into the open

position. This is more clearly illustrated in the enlarged view of Fig. 13. As seen in Fig. 10, the expansion manifold plate 90 blocks off the three compression slots 94 from discharging any fluid, while allowing the expansion slots 92 to communicate high pressure fluid to flow into the expansion cylinder 47. As will also be seen, the expansion slots and the compressor slots and their respective manifolds are isolated from each other. However, the manifold connects all the compressor slots so that they are all in fluid communication with each other, and connects the expansion slots so that they are in fluid communication with each other.

Figs. 5, 1 1 and 12 illustrate the ported compressor end cap 30. There is a central cylindrical inlet manifold dowel 95 that extends axially from the end cap 30. The cylinder cover plate 56, valving, and manifold cluster 54 are all positioned on and mounted on the central circular dowel 95. The high pressure gas 13 enters from the perimeter at the high pressure gas expansion engine inlet 72 and passes radially through the passageway 74 in end cap 30 to

provide the high pressure gas to the expansion cylinder 47. The expanded gas exhaust port 78 extends radially through the end cap 30 and connects with the expansion cylinder outlet port 76 to allow the gas to be expelled from the expansion cylinder 47 after the gas has expended its

force on the expansion piston 46. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 18

The compressor discharge port 68 extends radially through the end cap 30 and is fluidly connected to the output of the compressor cylinder 49. It can also be seen that there is a compressor inlet manifold or passageway 96 that provides the gas or fluid to be compressed in the compressor cylinder 49. The fluid to be compressed enters through the passageway 96, goes

into the gas inlet port 66 and enters the compressor cylinder 49 when the compressor piston 48

is drawn back in its stroke beyond the gas inlet port 66 as illustrated in Fig. 5A. When the compressor piston 48 moves toward top dead center, it covers the gas inlet port 66 so that the fluid is confined within the compressor cylinder 49 until the reed valve 62 opens to discharge the compressed fluid.

By changing the compressor manifold plate 84 and the expansion manifold plate 90, and properly orienting the expansion and compressor cylinders, any ratio of expansion and compressor cylinders can be created. The reed valve pocket 80 is unchanged. For example to change the expansion cylinder 47 as seen in Fig. 5 A to a compressor cylinder, one needs to rotate the cylinder 180° so that the high pressure gas outlet port 76 will instead function as the gas inlet port 66 for the compressor cylinder. Of course the compressor manifold plate 84 and expansion

manifold plate 90 will also have to change to correspond to the new ratio and orientation of the compressor and expansion cylinders. One feature that remains unchanged is that all of the compressor cylinders are fluidly connected together and all of the expansion cylinders are fluidly connected together. Additionally, the manifold for the compressor cylinders remains separate PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 19

from the manifold for the expansion cylinders keeping the expansion and compressor gas

circuits isolated and separated.

The distance of the stroke is generally controlled by adjusting the angle of the wedge 36 which in turn varies the distance a piston travels within the cylinder and thus the amount of fluid pumped with each stroke. Alternative flow control means are known in the art such moving the entire wedge forward or backward which accomplishes the same purpose of varying the length of stroke and amount of fluid compressed by a cylinder in a given cycle. This is commonly known in the art of axial compressors/pumps. It can either be manually controlled or computer controlled with conventionally known control systems. Fig. 4 illustrates an air conditioning or heat pump system using the compressor/engine 20. The compressor cylinders 49 and compressor pistons 48 compress the gas, which is preferably CO₂ to a high pressure, approximately 1800 psi, but may be as high as 2500 psi, with the compression raising the temperature of the gas to a high temperature. The high pressure high temperature gas 11 is discharged through the compressor discharge port 68. The high pressure

gas 11 then enters and passes through a heat exchanger condenser 6 where a fan 7 forces cooler air over the condenser 6 producing a cooled gas 13. The high pressure cooled gas 13 is then directed back to the compressor/engine 20 where it is received through the high pressure gas expansion engine inlet 72. The cooled gas 13 passes through the high pressure gas passageway

74 and eventually is received in the expansion cylinder 47 where it is received in the form of positive fluid pressure which helps drive the compressor/engine 20. The gas 13 is cooled further PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 20

as a result of its expansion in the expansion cylinder 47. It is then discharged from the expansion cylinder 47 through the gas outlet port 76 and then through the expanded gas exhaust port 78 as cold gas 17 at a low pressure of about 500 psi but can be as low as 200 psi. The cold gas 17 then passes through the heat exchanger or evaporator 9, where the second fan 10 forces air over or through the evaporator 9. This process may also be performed by a heat exchanger using liquid instead of air. The cooled fluid thus removes heat from the intended environment to be cooled. The cool low pressure gas 21 is still at approximately 500 psi and is returned to the compressor inlet port 96. From here, the gas enters the gas inlet port 66 and enters the compressor cylinder 49 where the cycle is repeated. In an alternate embodiment as seen in Fig. 3, a diversion control system 90 is added.

This includes a diversion control valve 92 added at the output of the heat exchanger or condenser 6. This diverts a controlled amount of the cooled gas 13 to either the compressor/engine 20 or to a throttle valve 94. The throttle valve allows a bypass of the gas 13 to the evaporator 9. This permits the adjustment of the amount of expansion boost delivered to the compressor/engine 20. Thus there has been provided an integrated compressor and expansion engine that fully

satisfies the objects set forth above. While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is

intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 21

VI. CLAIMS

What is claimed is: 1. A compressor/expansion engine comprising: a centrally mounted drive shaft, a wedge member mounted on the drive shaft, the wedge member and the drive shaft rotating about a common axis of rotation, a barrel mounted in the engine a plurality of cylinders disposed in the barrel, at least one of the cylinders being a compressor cylinder for receiving fluid at a first low pressure and for discharging the fluid at a first high pressure, the compressor cylinder having a bottom and top, v a compressor piston disposed in each of the compressor cylinders, the compressor piston driven by the wedge member and reciprocating from the bottom to the top of the compressor

cylinder when the drive shaft is rotated , a first valve means associated with the compressor cylinder for controlling the discharge flow of the fluid at the first high pressure, a first porting means associated with the compressor cylinder for controlling the intake

flow of the fluid at the first low pressure, at least one of the cylinders being an expansion cylinder for receiving a fluid at a second PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 22 high pressure for providing energy to the drive shaft and for discharging the fluid at a second low pressure, the expansion cylinder having a bottom and a top, an expansion piston disposed in each of the expansion cylinders, the expansion piston

receiving an applied force from the fluid at the second high pressure to assist in forcing the expansion piston away from the top of the expansion cylinder as it reciprocates in driving relationship with the wedge member, the wedge member imparting a rotational kinetic force to

the drive shaft a second valve means associated with the expansion cylinder for controlling the intake

flow of fluid at the second high pressure into the expansion cylinder, and a second porting means associated with the expansion cylinder for controlling the discharge flow of the fluid at the second low pressure from the expansion cylinder.

2. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 1 wherein the first valve means comprise a first reed valve member mounted adjacent to the top of the compressor cylinder operable with the compression piston for controlling the flow of compressed fluid out of the compressor

cylinder.

3. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 2 wherein the second valve means comprise

a second reed valve member mounted adjacent to the top of the expander cylinder operable with the expansion piston for controlling the flow of fluid into the expander cylinder. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 23

4. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 3 wherein the first and second valve means comprise a single piece reed valve array which incorporates both the first reed valve member and the second reed valve member mounted adjacent to the top of both the compressor and expansion cylinders for controlling the flow of fluid out of the compressor cylinders and into the expansion cylinders.

5. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 3 wherein the second reed valve member has a protrusion extending axially from the second reed valve member into the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston engaging the protrusion as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston pushing the second reed valve member to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the second pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion piston.

6. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 3 wherein the expansion piston has a protrusion extending axially from the expansion piston and out of the top of the cylinder to engage the second reed valve member as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the

expansion cylinder, the expansion piston pushing the second reed valve member to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the second pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion piston. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

PAGE: 24

7. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 2 and further comprising a compressor manifold mounted within the compressor/expansion engine for fluidly connecting all of the

compressor cylinders and receiving the fluid discharged at the first high pressure from the compressor cylinders.

8. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 3 and further comprising an expansion manifold mounted within the compressor/expansion engine for fluidly connecting all of the expansion cylinders for supplying fluid at the second high pressure to all of the expansion

cylinders.

9. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 3 and further comprising means for isolating each reed valve member from every other reed valve member.

10. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 9 wherein the means for isolating each reed

valve member is a segmented plate, with each segment defining a compartment which receives one reed valve member.

11. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 1 and further comprising means for converting the compressor cylinder to the expansion cylinder or vice versa. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE; 25 ___

12. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 11 wherein the means for converting the compressor cylinder to the expansion cylinder or vice versa comprise converting the compressor cylinder first porting means to the expansion cylinder second porting means or vice versa causing a change in cylinder function from the first low pressure porting means to the second low pressure porting means or vice versa resulting in a different ratio of expansion to compressor cylinders.

13. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 11 wherein the means for converting the

compressor cylinder to the expansion cylinder comprise a moveable cylinder sleeve with a fluid port.

14. The compression/expansion engine of claim 11 and further comprising means for converting the compressor cylinder to the expansion cylinder or vice versa by substituting the first valve means with the second valve means, or vice versa.

15. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 5 wherein the second reed valve member protrusion may be removed causing it to be a first valve member.

16. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 6 wherein the expansion piston protrusion may be removed causing it to be a compressor piston. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

PAGE: 26

17. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 7 wherein the compressor manifold is removable and may be replaced by another compressor manifold having compressor and expansion porting slots that correspond to a selected different number of expansion and compressor cylinders allowing the ratio of compressor cylinders to expansion cylinders to

change.

18. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 8 wherein the expansion manifold is removable and may be replaced by another expansion manifold having expansion and compressor porting slots that correspond to a selected different number of expansion and compression cylinders allowing the ratio of compressor cylinders to expansion cylinders to change.

19. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 1 wherein the fluid is carbon dioxide.

20. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 1 wherein the first pressure is between 200

psi and 2500 psi.

21. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 1 wherein the second pressure is between

200 psi and 2500 psi. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 27

22. An axial engine comprising:

a centrally mounted drive shaft, a wedge member mounted on the drive shaft, the wedge member and the drive shaft rotating about a common axis of rotation, a barrel mounted in the engine, at least one cylinder disposed in the barrel being an expansion cylinder for receiving a

fluid at a first high pressure, the expansion cylinder having a bottom and a top, an expansion piston disposed in each expansion cylinder, the expansion piston receiving an applied force from the fluid at the first high pressure to assist in forcing the expansion piston away from the top of the expansion cylinder as it reciprocates in driving relationship with the

wedge member, the wedge member imparting a rotational kinetic force to the drive shaft a first valve means associated with the expansion cylinder for controlling the flow of fluid at the first high pressure into the expansion cylinder, a first porting means associated with the expansion cylinder for controlling the flow of the fluid at a first low pressure from the expansion cylinder, and ^v an expansion manifold mounted within the axial engine for fluidly connecting all of the

expansion cylinders and for supplying fluid at the first pressure to all of the expansion cylinders. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

PAGE: 28

23. The axial engine of claim 22 wherein the first valve means is operated by the expansion piston as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston operating the first valve means to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the first high pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion piston.

24. The axial engine of claim 22 wherein the first valve means comprise a first reed valve member mounted adjacent to the top of the expansion cylinder for controlling the flow of fluid into the expansion cylinder.

25. The axial engine of claim 24 wherein the first reed valve member has a protrusion

extending axially from the first reed valve member into the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston engaging the protrusion as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the expansion

cylinder, the expansion piston pushing the first reed valve member to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the first pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion piston.

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE; 29

26. The axial engine of claim 24 wherein the expansion piston has a protrusion extending axially from the expansion piston and out of the top of the cylinder to engage the first reed valve member as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston pushing the first reed valve member to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the first pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion

piston.

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

PAGE: 30

27. The axial engine of claim 22 and further comprising at least one cylinder being a compressor cylinder for discharging a fluid at a second high pressure, the compressor cylinder having a bottom and top, a compressor piston disposed in each of the compressor cylinders, the compressor piston

driven by the wedge member when the shaft is rotated and reciprocating axially in the compressor cylinder thereby defining a compressor piston stroke, a second valve means associated with the compressor cylinder for controlling the flow of fluid at the second high pressure out from the compressor cylinder, a second porting means associated with the compressor cylinder for controlling the flow of the fluid at a second low pressure into the compressor cylinder, a compressor manifold mounted within the axial engine for fluidly connecting all of the compressor cylinders and receiving the fluid discharged at the second high pressure to do work, and means for separating and isolating the expansion manifold from the compressor manifold.

28. The axial engine of claim 27 wherein the second valve means comprise a second reed

valve member mounted at the top of the compressor cylinder for controlling the flow of fluid out from the compressor cylinder at the second pressure. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 31

29. The axial engine of claim 28 and further comprising means for isolating each reed valve

member from every other reed valve member.

30. The compressor/expansion engine of claim 29 wherein the means for isolating each reed

PCT PATENT APPLICATION

PAGE: 32

31. A heat pump air conditioning system comprising: gas cooler means with a first high pressure hot fluid inlet and a second high pressure warm fluid outlet, evaporator means with a first low pressure cool fluid outlet and a second low pressure cold fluid inlet, a compressor/expansion engine comprising a centrally mounted drive shaft with a rotating wedge member mounted to the drive shaft, a cylinder barrel, a plurality of cylinders

having top and bottom ends disposed in the barrel, a piston disposed in each of the cylinders, at least one of the cylinders being a compressor cylinder with a compressor piston in driven relation to the wedge member causing the pistons to reciprocate when the wedge member is rotated as kinetic rotational force is applied to the drive shaft, and having a first high pressure high temperature outlet for discharging a fluid at a first high pressure and temperature from the compressor/expansion engine and a first low pressure inlet, a first valve means associated with the compressor cylinder for controlling the output discharge flow of the fluid at the first high pressure and temperature and a first porting means associated with the compressor cylinder for

controlling the intake flow of the fluid at the first low pressure into the compressor cylinder, and at least one of the cylinders being an expansion cylinder with an expansion piston in driving relation to the wedge member applying a force to assist rotation of the drive shaft and having a

high pressure warm fluid temperature inlet for receiving a fluid at a second high pressure and warm temperature, a second valve means associated with the expansion cylinder for controlling PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 33

the flow of fluid at the second high pressure into the expansion cylinder and a second porting means associated with the expansion cylinder for controlling the output flow of the fluid at a second lower pressure from the expansion cylinder, a first fluid passageway fluidly connecting the first high pressure high temperature outlet from the compressor cylinder to the high pressure hot fluid inlet of the gas cooler means, a second fluid passageway fluidly connecting the high pressure warm fluid outlet from the gas cooler means to the second high pressure warm temperature fluid inlet of the expansion cylinder,

a third fluid passageway fluidly connecting the second low pressure outlet from the expansion cylinder to the second low pressure cold fluid inlet of the evaporator means, and a fourth fluid passageway fluidly connecting the cool low pressure outlet from the evaporator means to the first low pressure cold fluid inlet of the compressor cylinder.

32. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 31 wherein the first valve means comprise a first reed valve member operable with the compressor piston and the second valve means

comprises a second reed valve member operable with the expansion piston, wherein both the first and second reed valve members are mounted adjacent to the top of the compressor and expansion cylinders for controlling respectively the flow of fluid out of the compressor cylinder and into the expansion cylinders. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

PAGE: 34

33. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 32 wherein the second valve means is operated by the expansion piston as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston operating the first valve means to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the first high pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion piston.

34. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 33 wherein the second reed valve member has a protrusion extending axially from the second reed valve member into the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston engaging the protrusion as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston pushing the second reed valve

member to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the second pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion piston.

35. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 33 wherein the expansion piston has a

protrusion extending axially from the top of the expansion piston and out of the top of the

cylinder to engage the second reed valve member as the expansion piston moves toward the top of the expansion cylinder, the expansion piston pushing the second reed valve member to an open position thereby allowing fluid at the second pressure to enter the expansion cylinder and impart the expansion force upon the expansion piston. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D. PAGE: 35

36. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 32 and further comprising means for isolating each reed valve member from every other reed valve member.

37. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 36 wherein the means for isolating each reed valve member is a segmented plate, with each segment defining a compartment which

receives one reed valve member.

38. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 31 wherein the compressor cylinder first porting means and expansion cylinder second porting means are convertible from compressor cylinders to expansion cylinders causing a change in cylinder function from a first porting means to a second porting means and vice versa resulting in a different ratio of expansion to

compressor cylinders.

39. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 38 wherein the compressor first porting

means and expansion cylinders second porting means comprise a cylinder sleeve with a fluid port.

40. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 34 and further comprising means for converting the expansion cylinder to a compressor cylinder by removing the protrusion on the second reed valve. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

PAGE: 36

41. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 31 and further comprising a plurality of manifold plates mounted adjacent to the top end of the compressor cylinders and expansion

cylinders for providing fluid passages into and out from the cylinders.

42. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 41 wherein the plurality of manifold plates comprise an expansion manifold plate for fluidly connecting together all of the expansion cylinders for supplying fluid at the second high pressure to all of the expansion cylinders, and a compressor manifold plate for receiving the fluid discharged at the first high pressure from the

compressor cylinders.

43. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 42 wherein the compressor manifold is removable and may be replaced by another compressor manifold having compressor porting slots that correspond to a selected different number of compressor cylinders allowing the ratio of compressor cylinders to expansion cylinders to change.

44. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 42 wherein the expansion manifold is removable and may be replaced by another expansion manifold having expansion porting slots that correspond to a selected different number of expansion cylinders allowing the ratio of compressor cylinders to expansion cylinders to change. PCT PATENT APPLICATION

NAME OF INVENTION : INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR / EXPANSION ENGINE

INVENTOR : HUGELMAN, RODNEY D.

PAGE: 37

45. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 31 wherein the first pressure is between 200 psi and 2500 psi.

46. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 31 wherein the second pressure is between 200 psi and 2500 psi. 46.

47. The heat pump air conditioning system of claim 31 wherein the fluid is carbon dioxide.