Prime mover system

Claim 2

A prime mover system comprising a closed sealed circuit containing a drive medium selected from the group of fluorocarbon compounds containing at least 2 carbon atoms and three fluorine atoms per molecule and mixtures thereof and having a latent heat of vaporization of less than 100 gram calories per gram and a boiling point less than 95* C at atmospheric pressure, said closed sealed circuit comprising: a vapor engine including a housing having an inlet and an outlet and rotor means delineating a plurality of expansion chambers positioned in said housing and advancing with the rotation of said rotor from a contracted condition communicating with said inlet to an expanded condition communicating with said outlet; means including an input and an output for heating and vaporizing said drive medium; means including an condenser having an input and output for cooling and liquifying said drive medium; means for injecting liquid drive medium from said cooling and liquifying means into said heating and vaporizing means input; means connecting the output of said heating and vaporizing means in a vapor state to the inlet of said engine; means for feeding said drive medium in a liquid state into said engine inlet concurrently with said drive medium in a vapor state; and means connecting the outlet of said engine to the input of said cooling and liquifying means.

Claim 3

A prime mover system comprising a closed sealed circuit containing a drive medium selected from the group of fluorocarbon compounds containing at least 2 carbon atoms and three flourine atoms per molecule and mixtures thereof and having a latent heat of vaporization of less than 100 gram calories per gram and a boiling point less than 100* C at atmospheric pressure, said closed sealed circuit comprising: a vapor expansion engine including a pair of rotatable male and female rotors having different numbers of lobes and grooves respectively which intermesh with the rotation of said rotors, a casing housing said rotors and delineating therewith a plurality of substantially fluid right expansion chambers which expand in volume with the rotation of said rotors between contracted and expanded conditions, said casing having an inlet and an outlet therein communicating with said chambers at relatively contracted and expanded conditions thereof respectively; means including an input and an output for heating and vaporizing said drive medium; means including a condenser having an input and output for cooling and liquifying said drive medium; means for injecting liQuid drive medium from said cooling and liquifying means into said heating and vaporizing means input; means connecting the output of said heating and vaporizing means in a vapor state to the inlet of said engine; means for feeding said drive medium in a liquid state into said engine inlet concurrently with said drive medium in a vapor state; and means connecting the outlet of said engine to the input of said cooling and liquifying means.

Claim 4

A prime mover system comprising a closed sealed circuit containing a drive medium selected from the group of fluorocarbon compounds containing at least 2 carbon atoms and three flourine atoms per molecule and mixtures thereof and having a latent heat of vaporization of less than 100 gram calories per gram and a boiling point less than 100* C at atmospheric pressure, said closed sealed circuit comprising: a vapor expansion engine including a pair of rotatable male and female rotors having different numbers of lobes and grooves respectively which intermesh with the rotation of said rotors, a casing housing said rotors and delineating therewith a plurality of substantially fluid right expansion chambers which expand in volume with the rotation of said rotors between contracted and expanded conditions, said casing having an inlet and an outlet therein communicating with said chambers at relatively contracted and expanded conditions thereof respectively; means including an input and an output for heating and vaporizing said drive medium; means including a condenser having an input and output for cooling and liquifying said drive medium; means for injecting liQuid drive medium from said cooling and liquifying means into said heating and vaporizing means input; means connecting the output of said heating and vaporizing means in a vapor state to the inlet of said engine; means for feeding said drive medium in a liquid state into said engine inlet concurrently with said drive medium in a vapor state; and means connecting the outlet of said engine to the input of said cooling and liquifying means.

Claim 5

The prime mover system of claim 2 including means for cutting off communication between said expansion chambers and said inlet at a predetermined expanded position of said expansion chamber.

Claim 6

The prime mover system of claim 3 wherein said predetermined cut off point is adjustable.

Claim 7

The prime mover system of claim 2 wherein said drive medium has admixed therewith a lubricant compatible with said drive medium and liquid at the temperature and pressures of said drive medium throughout said closed circuit.

Claim 8

The prime mover system of claim 2 wherein the temperature and pressure of said drive medium at said engine inlet are between 90* C and 325* C and between 45 psia and 1,000 psia.

Claim 9

The prime mover system of claim 2 wherein the temperature and pressure of said drive medium at said engine outlet are between 25* C and 150* C and between 5 psia and 250 psia.

Claim 10

The prime mover system of claim 2 including an adjustable throttle valve between said heating means output and said engine input.

Claim 11

The prime mover system of claim 2 wherein said vapor engine rotors are defined by oppositely pitched male and female helical screws intermeshing along a longitudinally extending area of engagement and extending from a leading input end to a trailing outlet end, said casing housing said screws and having faces in substantially fluid tight engagement with the peripheries of said screws, said inlet communicating with the leading section of said female screw, said female screw having chamber defining helical grooves and said male screw having helical lobes engaging said chambers along said intermeshing area, said screws rotating in predetermined opposite directions under the influence of a pressurized fluid introduced through said input port.

Claim 12

The prime mover system of claim 9 wherein said helical chamber includes a radially projecting helical first surface having a component facing a direction opposite to that of the rotation of said female screw, and means for guiding the flow of said vaporized drive medium entering said engine input port in a direction toward said first surface.

Claim 13

The prime mover system of claim 10 wherein the angle between the direction of flow of said guided vaporized drive medium and said first surface proximate the leading section thereof is between a right angle and an obtuse angle with said flow direction being toward the axis of the respective rotor.

Claim 14

The prime mover system of claim 9 including means for selectively alternatively connecting said heating and vaporizing means output to said engine input or output and said cooling and liquifying means input to said engine output and input respectively.

Claim 15

The prime mover system of claim 9 wherein the trailing section of said engine female screw helical chamber forward of the engagement thereof with said helical lobe communicates with said engine outlet.

Claim 16

The prime mover system of claim 9 wherein said male and female screws are multi-threaded.

Claim 17

The prime mover system of claim 2 wherein said vapor engine comprises a gerotor including inner and outer eccentric gerotor elements defining said male and female rotors respectively, said outer gerotor element having a longitudinal bore and said inner gerotor element registering with said bore, said inner gerotor elements having regularly circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending outwardly directed lobes and said outer gerotor element bore having regularly circumferentially spaced lOngitudinally extending grooves, one greater in number than said lobes, said lobes being in peripherally movable fluid tight longitudinal linear engagement with the face of said outer gerotor element bore.

Claim 18

The prime mover system of claim 1 including a pair of said inlets communicating with said expansion chambers at opposite sides of the fully contracted condition thereof, and means for selectively connecting said inlets to said heating and vaporizing means to control the direction of rotation of said vapor engine.