US20140109598A1

US20140109598A1 - Stirling refrigerator for vehicle

Info

Publication number: US20140109598A1
Application number: US13/710,262
Authority: US
Inventors: Taewan Kim; Kwangweon AHN
Original assignee: Hyundai Motor Co
Current assignee: Hyundai Motor Co
Priority date: 2012-10-24
Filing date: 2012-12-10
Publication date: 2014-04-24
Also published as: KR101405194B1; CN103776190A; JP2014084095A; DE102012113222B4; JP6125220B2; KR20140052432A; CN103776190B; DE102012113222A1

Abstract

A Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle may include a drive portion receiving driving torque to be rotated, a compression portion that may be connected to the drive portion to isothermally compress operational fluid through rotation of a rotation shaft, an expansion portion that may be disposed at one side of the compression portion and isothermally expands the operational fluid that may be compressed by the compression portion through the rotation of the rotation shaft to perform an endothermic reaction, and a regeneration portion that may be disposed at one side of the expansion portion and connects the compression portion with the expansion portion such that the compressed operational fluid may be supplied to the expansion portion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0118515 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 24, 2012, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle that uses an operating fluid to cool the interior of a vehicle in an air-conditioning system of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an air conditioning system includes a compressor that compresses a coolant, a condenser that condenses the compressed refrigerant of the compressor, an expansion valve that expands the liquid refrigerant of the condenser, and an evaporator that evaporates the expanded refrigerant of the expansion valve, wherein evaporation heat of the refrigerant cools air flowing through the evaporator and the cooled air is supplied to the interior of a vehicle.
However, a conventional air-conditioning system uses a CFC/HCFC group compound as an operating refrigerant, and the compound gradually destroys the ozone layer.
Also, when the CFC/HCFC group compound is exchanged for another refrigerant, there is a problem in that cost is increased.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle having advantages of using helium or nitrogen as a refrigerant instead of a CFC/HCFC group compound, preventing pollution, reducing the number of constituent elements, simplifying the layout thereof, and saving cost.
Also, the present invention has advantages of using an operating fluid that flows inside, eliminating complicated connection pipes, preventing leakage of a fluid, making maintenance easy, and effectively satisfying environmental regulations.
In an aspect of the present invention, a Stirling refrigerator apparatus for a vehicle, may include a drive portion receiving driving torque to be rotated, a compression portion that is engaged to the drive portion to isothermally compress operational fluid through rotation of a rotation shaft receiving the driving torque from the drive portion, an expansion portion that is disposed at one side of the compression portion to isothermally expand the operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion through the rotation of the rotation shaft so as to perform an endothermic reaction, and a regeneration portion that is disposed at one side of the expansion portion and fluid—connects the compression portion with the expansion portion such that a compressed operational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion therethrough.
The drive portion may include a pulley disposed at one end of the rotation shaft, wherein the other end of the rotation shaft is disposed to penetrate the compression portion and the expansion portion.
The compression portion may include a first housing wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposed and a plurality of compression chambers are formed therein, a first slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotation shaft in the first housing and rotates with the rotation shaft, a plurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate, and a plurality of first pistons that are mounted on the first slanted plate through the first shoes and are slidably inserted into the compression chambers such that according to rotation of the first slanted plate, the first pistons compress the operational fluid in the compression chambers.
The compression chambers are formed inside the first housing at a predetermined angular distance from each other in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft.
The first shoes and the first pistons are formed to correspond to the compression chambers at a predetermined angular distance in a circumferential direction of the first slanted plate.
The expansion portion may include a second housing that is disposed at the one side of the compression portion, wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposed therein, and a plurality of expansion chambers are formed therein, a second slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotation shaft in the second housing and rotates with the rotation shaft, a plurality of second shoes that are mounted on the second slanted plate, and a plurality of second pistons that are mounted on the second slanted plate through the second shoes and are slidably inserted into the expansion chambers such that according to the rotation of the second slanted plate, the second pistons compress the operational fluid in the expansion chambers.
The expansion chambers are formed in the second housing at a predetermined angular distance in a circumference direction based on the rotation shaft.
The second shoes and the second pistons are formed to correspond to the expansion chambers at a predetermined angular distance in a circumferential direction of the second slanted plate.
The first slanted plate and the second slanted plate may have a phase of a predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft passing through the compression portion and the expansion portion, wherein slant angles thereof are in opposite directions from each other.
The compression chambers and the expansion chambers are coaxially positioned along an imaginary line to correspond to each other.
The regeneration portion receives the operational fluid that is isothermally compressed to may have a high temperature in the compression portion and absorbs heat of the operational fluid to supply the expansion portion with the operational fluid, and receives the operational fluid that is isothermally expanded to may have a low temperature, adds the heat to the operational fluid, and supplies the compression portion with the operational fluid.
The compression portion, the expansion portion, and the regeneration portion are sequentially disposed along the rotation shaft, and the compression portion is fluidly connected to the regeneration portion through a connection pipe that is disposed outside of the compression portion corresponding to the compression chamber.
The compression portion is fluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.
The expansion portion is fluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.
In another aspect of the present invention, a Stirling refrigerator apparatus for a vehicle, may include a drive portion receiving driving torque of an engine in the vehicle to be rotated, a compression portion that is engaged to the drive portion and is coupled to a rotation shaft of the drive portion to isothermally compress an operational fluid through rotation of the rotation shaft, an expansion portion that is disposed at one side of the compression portion to isothermally expand the operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion, and a regeneration portion that is disposed between the compression portion and the expansion portion and fluid-connects the compression portion with the expansion portion such that a compressed operational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion therethrough.
The compression portion may include a first housing wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposed and a plurality of compression chambers are formed therein, a first slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotation shaft in the first housing and rotates with the rotation shaft, a plurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate, and a plurality of first pistons that are mounted on the first slanted plate through the first shoes and are slidably inserted into the compression chambers such that according to rotation of the first slanted plate, the first pistons compress the operational fluid in the compression chambers.
The expansion portion may include a second housing that is disposed at one side of the compression portion, wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposed therein, and a plurality of expansion chambers are formed therein, a second slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotation shaft in the second housing and rotates with the rotation shaft, a plurality of second shoes that are mounted on the second slanted plate, and a plurality of second pistons that are mounted on the second slanted plate through the second shoes and are slidably inserted into the expansion chambers such that according to the rotation of the second slanted plate, the second pistons compress the operational fluid in the expansion chambers.
The first slanted plate and the second slanted plate may have a phase of a predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft of the compression portion and the expansion portion, wherein slant angles thereof are in opposite directions from each other.
The compression portion is fluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.
The expansion portion is fluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.
As described above, a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses helium or nitrogen instead of a CFC/HCFC group refrigerant to perform isothermal compression, an isometric process, isothermal expansion, and an isometric process, uses an endothermic reaction during the isothermal expansion to the interior chamber of a vehicle, and prevents pollution.
Further, the layout of the system becomes simple by reducing the number of constituent elements, the space of the engine compartment is effectively used, and cost is saved by substituting for the conventional refrigerant.
In addition, the isothermal compression, the isothermal expansion, and the isometric process are performed inside the system, separate complicated connection pipes are eliminated, and leakage of the operating fluid is prevented to reduce maintenance
Also, the helium or nitrogen as a refrigerant prevents pollution, and it is possible to satisfy environmental regulations.
The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a transparent perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a transparent side view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show operational conditions of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.
In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
While the invention will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a transparent perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a transparent side view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to the drawings, a Stirling refrigerator 100 for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses helium or nitrogen instead of a CFC/HCFC group refrigerant to perform isothermal compression, an isometric process, isothermal expansion, and an isometric process, and cools the interior of a vehicle by using an endothermic reaction during the isothermal expansion such that the pollution phenomenon is prevented, the layout becomes simple by reducing the number of constituent elements, and the cost can be reduced.
Also, an operating fluid flows inside the system, and therefore separate complicated connection pipes are eliminated and leakage of the operating fluid is prevented to reduce maintenance.
Further, the helium or nitrogen as a refrigerant prevents pollution, and it is possible to satisfy all environmental regulations.
For this, a Stirling refrigerator 100 for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, includes a drive portion 110, a compression portion 120, an expansion portion 130, and a regeneration portion 140, and these will he described in detail.
Firstly, the drive portion 110 includes a rotation shaft 112 that receives driving torque from an engine of a vehicle to be rotated.
Here, a pulley 114 is disposed at one side of the rotation shaft 112 to be connected to an engine through a belt, and the other end portion of the rotation shaft 112 penetrates the compression portion 120 and the expansion portion 130.
That is, the drive portion 110 receives the driving torque of the engine through the belt and the pulley 114 to rotate the rotation shaft 112.
The compression portion 120 is connected to the drive portion 110 and isothermally compresses operational fluid through rotation of the rotation shaft 112 to generate heat in the present exemplary embodiment.
The compression portion 120 includes a first housing 122, a first slanted plate 124, a first shoe 126, and a first piston 128, and these will be described as follows.
Firstly, the rotation shaft 112 is rotatably disposed to penetrate a central portion of the first housing 122, and a plurality of compression chambers 121 are formed in the housing 122.
Here, the compression chambers 121 are formed in the first housing 122 at a predetermined distance in a circumference direction based on the rotation shaft 112, and six chambers 121 are formed inside the first housing 122 in the present exemplary embodiment.
The first slanted plate 124 is slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft 112 inside the first housing 122 to be rotated with the rotation shaft 112 in the present exemplary embodiment.
A plurality of first shoes 126 are prepared to be mounted on an exterior circumference of the first slanted plate 124 at a predetermined distance.
Also, the first piston 128 reciprocates in the compression chamber 121 depending on the rotation of the first slanted plate 124 to compress the operational fluid, and the first piston 128 is mounted on the first slanted plate 124 through the first shoe 126.
Here, the first shoe 126 and the first piston 128 are disposed on an exterior circumference of the first slanted plate 124 at a predetermined angle (or distance) based on the rotation shaft 112 to correspond to the compression chamber 121.
The first shoe 126 and the first piston 128 are mounted on an exterior circumference of the first slanted plate 124 at 60 degree intervals to correspond to the six compression chambers 121.
Accordingly, the first piston 128 reciprocates in the compression chamber 121 by the first slanted plate 124 that is rotated by the rotation shaft 112 to isothermally compress the operational fluid in the compression chamber 121, and the compressed fluid radiates heat.
The heat radiation of the operational fluid heats the compression portion 120 in a high temperature condition.
Here, the operational fluid can he helium or nitrogen gas.
The expansion portion 130 is disposed at one side of the compression portion 120, receives the compressed fluid from the compression portion 120 through the rotation of the rotation shaft 112 to isothermally expand the compressed fluid, and the expanded fluid absorb heat from the outside in the present exemplary embodiment.
The expansion portion 130 includes a second housing 132, a second slanted plate 134, a second shoe 136, and a second piston 138, and these will be described as follows.
Firstly, the second housing 132 is disposed at one side of the compression portion 120, the rotation shaft 112 is rotatably disposed to penetrate a central portion of the second housing 132, and a plurality of expansion chambers 131 are formed in the housing 122 to correspond to the compression chamber 121.
Here, the expansion chambers 131 are formed in the second housing 132 at a predetermined distance in a circumference direction based on the rotation shaft 112, and six chambers 131 are formed inside the second housing 132 in the present exemplary embodiment.
The second slanted plate 134 is slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft 112 inside the second housing 132 to be rotated with the rotation shaft 112 in the present exemplary embodiment.
A plurality of second shoes 136 are prepared to be mounted on an exterior circumference of the second slanted plate 134 at a predetermined distance.
Also, the second piston 138 reciprocates in the expansion chamber 131 depending on the rotation of the second slanted plate 134 to expand the operational fluid, and the second piston 138 is mounted on the second slanted plate 134 through the second shoe 136,
Here, the second shoes 136 and the second pistons 138 are disposed on an exterior circumference of the second slanted plate 134 at a predetermined angle (or distance) based on the rotation shaft 112 to correspond to the expansion chamber 131.
The second shoes 136 and the second piston 138 are mounted on an exterior circumference of the second slanted plate 134 at 60 degree intervals to correspond to the expansion chambers 131 of which six are formed in the second housing 132 at 60 degree intervals.
Accordingly, the second piston 138 reciprocates in the expansion chamber 131 by the second slanted plate 134 that is rotated by the rotation shaft 112 to isothermally expand the operational fluid in the expansion chamber 131, and the expanded fluid absorbs heat.
The heat absorption of the operational fluid cools the expansion portion 130 in a low temperature condition.
Meanwhile, the first slanted plate 124 and the second slanted plate 134 have a phase of a predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft 112 of the compression portion 120 and the expansion portion 130, wherein the slant angles thereof are in opposite directions from each other in the present exemplary embodiment.
Also, the compression chambers 121 and the expansion chambers 131 are positioned at the same line to correspond to each other.
Also, the regeneration portion 140 is disposed at one side of the expansion portion 130 and connects the compression portion 120 with the expansion portion 130 such that the compressed operational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion 130.
The regeneration portion 140 receives the operational fluid that is isothermally compressed to have a high temperature in the compression portion 120 and absorbs heat of the operational fluid to supply the expansion portion 130 with it.
Thereafter, the regeneration portion 140 receives the operational fluid that is isothermally expanded to have a low temperature from the expansion portion 130, transfers the heat to the operational fluid, and supplies the compression portion 120 with it.
Here, the regeneration portion 140 includes six regeneration filters 142 to respectively correspond to the compression chambers 121 and the expansion chambers 131. The regeneration filters 142 can be formed as a thin wire mesh type in a united state to absorb heat from the operational fluid or supply the operational fluid with heat.
As described above, the compression portion 120, the expansion portion 130, and the regeneration portion 140 can be sequentially disposed.
Also, the compression portion 120 is connected to the regeneration portion 140 through a plurality of connecting pipes 150 that are mounted outside of the compression portion 120 corresponding to the compression chamber 121 such that the operational fluid flows from the compression portion 120 to the regeneration portion 140.
The first slanted plate 124 of the compression portion 120 and the second slanted plate 134 of the expansion portion 130 having the above-described configuration are slantedly disposed in opposite directions and therefore when they are rotated with the rotation shaft 112 they have opposite phases.
Accordingly, the compression portion 120 compresses the operational fluid by reciprocating the first piston 128 that is inserted in the compression chamber 121 through the first slanted plate 124.
Thus, the operational fluid that is compressed by the compression chamber 120 is supplied to the regeneration filter 142 to shed the heat thereof therein, is supplied to the expansion chamber 131 of the expansion portion 130, and is isothermally expanded by the second piston 138 that reciprocates through the first slanted plate 124 and the second slanted plate 134 that is moved in an opposite phase of the first slanted plate 124.
That is, the compression chamber 121 is coaxially disposed with the expansion chamber 131, and when the operational fluid is isothermal compressed by the compression chamber 121, the expansion chamber 131 performs isothermal expansion of the operational fluid.
The isothermal compression and the isothermal expansion are sequentially performed in the compression chamber 121 and the expansion chamber 131 through the first piston 128 and the second piston 138 that are moved by the slanted plates 124 and 134, and these processes is performed by the driving torque transferred from the engine.
Here, the compression portion 120 radiates heat to a cooling apparatus 160 through a non-illustrated water jacket covering the outside of the compression portion 120 to be cooled.
Further, the expansion portion 130 cools the coolant by absorbing heat from the coolant that is supplied from an air conditioning device 170 through a non-illustrated water jacket covering the outside of the expansion portion 130, the air flows through the air conditioning device 170 to be cooled by the cooled coolant, and the cooled air to be supplied to the interior of the vehicle.
Hereinafter, operation and function of a refrigerator for a vehicle 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described.
FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show operational conditions of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to the drawings, in a Stirling refrigerator 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, driving torque of the engine is transferred to the pulley 114 of the drive portion 110 through a belt from a non-illustrated engine to rotate the pulley 114.
The first slanted plate 124 of the compression portion 120 and the second slanted plate 134 of the expansion portion 130 that are disposed on the rotation shaft 112 are rotated in opposite phases from each other, and the first piston 128 is inserted into/drawn out of the compression chamber 121 and the second piston 138 is drawn out of/inserted into the expansion chamber 131.
Firstly, if the first piston 128 is inserted into the compression chamber 121, the operational fluid is isothermally compressed in the compression chamber 131 to generate heat, and the compression portion 120 is sustained at a high temperature through the heat generation.
Here, the cooling apparatus 160 supplies the non-illustrated water jacket covering the compression portion 120 with coolant to cool the compression portion 120 and the heated coolant is cooled by the cooling apparatus 160.
The operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion 120 is supplied to the regeneration portion 140 through the connection pipe 150, passes the regeneration filter 142 that is disposed to correspond to the compression chamber 121 and the expansion chamber 131 to lose the heat thereof, and is supplied to the expansion portion 130.
Then, the operational fluid that flows in the expansion portion 130 is expanded in the expansion chamber 131 that corresponds to the compression chamber 121 that performs compression by the movement of the second piston 138 to occur an endothermic reaction (heat absorption).
The heat absorption of the operational fluid through the isothermal expansion cools the expansion portion 130 to have a lower temperature condition.
Here, the air conditioning device 170 supplies the coolant to the non-illustrated water jacket covering the expansion portion 130 to cool the coolant through the heat exchange with the expansion portion 130, the cooled coolant is circulated to cool the air, and the cooled air is supplied to cool the interior of the vehicle.
As described above, the first piston 128 is inserted into or drawn out of the compression chamber 121 by the first slanted plate 124 that is slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft 112 to compress the operational fluid of the compression chamber 121, and the compressed operational fluid of the compression chamber 121 passes the regeneration portion 140 along the connection pipe 150 to be supplied to the expansion chamber 131 of the expansion portion 130.
In this process, when the operational fluid sequentially flows in the expansion chamber 131, the second piston 138 is drawn out of or inserted into the expansion chamber 131 by the second slanted plate 138 that is slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft 112, wherein the phase of the second slanted plate 138 is opposite to that of the first slanted plate 124.
Accordingly, the operational fluid flows between the compression chamber 121 and the expansion chamber 131 by the first and second pistons 128 and 138 that are inserted into or drawn out of the compression chamber 121 and the expansion chamber 131, wherein the first and second slanted plates 124 and 134 are rotated on the rotation shaft 112 with opposite phases.
That is, the operational fluid that is supplied from the compression portion 120 to the regeneration portion 140 through the connection pipe 150 and passes the regeneration portion 140 to flow into the expansion portion, the operational fluid of the expansion portion 130 passes the regeneration portion 140 and passes the connection pipe 150 to be supplied to the compression portion 120, and these processes are repeated by the rotation of the rotation shaft 112.
That is, the operational fluid is isothermally compressed in the compression portion 120 to generate heat, passes the regeneration portion 140 in an isometric process, is isothermally expanded in the expansion portion 130 to absorb heat, passes the regeneration portion 140 in an isometric process, and is isothermally compressed in the compression portion 120, wherein the operational fluid repeats the isothermal compression, the isometric process, the isothermal expansion, and the isometric process.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, the Stirling refrigerator 200 includes a drive portion 210, a compression portion 220, an expansion portion 230, and a regeneration portion 240.
Firstly, the drive portion 210 includes a rotation shaft 212 that receives driving torque from an engine of a vehicle to be rotated.
The compression portion 220 is connected to the drive portion 210 and is disposed at one side of the rotation shaft 212 to isothermally compress operational fluid through the rotation of the rotation shaft 212 to generate heat according to the current exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
The expansion portion 230 is disposed at the other end portion of the rotation shaft 212 and isothermally expands the operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion 220.
Further, the regeneration portion 240 is disposed between the compression portion 220 and the expansion portion 230 and fluidly connects the compression portion 220 with the expansion portion 230 to supply the operational fluid that is isothermally compressed by the compression portion 220 to the expansion portion 230.
That is, unlike the previous exemplary embodiment, a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle 200 according to the current exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes the regeneration portion 240 that is disposed between the compression portion 220 and the expansion portion 230, and the detailed description for the configuration and the operation thereof will be omitted.
Accordingly, a Stirling refrigerator 100, 200 for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses helium or nitrogen instead of a CFC/HCFC group refrigerant to perform isothermal compression, an isometric process, isothermal expansion, and an isometric process, uses an endothermic reaction during the isothermal expansion to cool the interior of the vehicle, and prevents pollution.
Also, the layout of the system becomes simple by reducing the number of constituent elements, the space of the engine compartment is effectively used, and the cost is saved by substituting for the conventional refrigerant.
Also, since the isothermal compression, isothermal expansion, and isometric process are performed inside the system, separate complicated connection pipes are eliminated, and leakage of the operating fluid is prevented to reduce maintenance.
Further, the helium or the nitrogen as a refrigerant prevents pollution, so it is possible to satisfy environmental regulations.
For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner” and “outer” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures.
The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A Stirling refrigerator apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

a drive portion receiving driving torque to be rotated;

a compression portion that is engaged to the drive portion to isothermally compress operational fluid through rotation of a rotation shaft receiving the driving torque from the drive portion;

an expansion portion that is disposed at one side of the compression portion to isothermally expand the operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion through the rotation of the rotation shaft so as to perform an endothermic reaction; and

a regeneration portion that is disposed at one side of the expansion portion and fluid-connects the compression portion with the expansion portion such that a compressed operational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion therethrough.

2. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the drive portion includes a pulley disposed at one end of the rotation shaft, wherein the other end of the rotation shaft is disposed to penetrate the compression portion and the expansion portion.

3. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the compression portion includes:

a first housing wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposed and a plurality of compression chambers are formed therein;

a first slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotation shaft in the first housing and rotates with the rotation shaft;

a plurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate; and

a plurality of first pistons that are mounted on the first slanted plate through the first shoes and are slidably inserted into the compression chambers such that according to rotation of the first slanted plate, the first pistons compress the operational fluid in the compression chambers.

4. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 3, wherein the compression chambers are formed inside the first housing at a predetermined angular distance from each other in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft.

5. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 3, wherein the first shoes and the first pistons are formed to correspond to the compression chambers at a predetermined angular distance in a circumferential direction of the first slanted plate.

6. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 3, wherein the expansion portion includes:

a second housing that is disposed at the one side of the compression portion, wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposed therein, and a plurality of expansion chambers are formed therein;

a second slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotation shaft in the second housing and rotates with the rotation shaft;

a plurality of second shoes that are mounted on the second slanted plate; and

a plurality of second pistons that are mounted on the second slanted plate through the second shoes and are slidably inserted into the expansion chambers such that according to the rotation of the second slanted plate, the second pistons compress the operational fluid in the expansion chambers.

7. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 6, wherein the expansion chambers are formed in the second housing at a predetermined angular distance in a circumference direction based on the rotation shaft.

8. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 6, wherein the second shoes and the second pistons are formed to correspond to the expansion chambers at a predetermined angular distance in a circumferential direction of the second slanted plate.

9. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 6, wherein the first slanted plate and the second slanted plate have a phase of a predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft passing through the compression portion and the expansion portion, wherein slant angles thereof are in opposite directions from each other.

10. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 6, wherein the compression chambers and the expansion chambers are coaxially positioned along an imaginary line to correspond to each other.

11. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the regeneration portion receives the operational fluid that is isothermally compressed to have a high temperature in the compression portion and absorbs heat of the operational fluid to supply the expansion portion with the operational fluid, and receives the operational fluid that is isothermally expanded to have a low temperature, adds the heat to the operational fluid, and supplies the compression portion with the operational fluid.

12. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 6, wherein the compression portion, the expansion portion, and the regeneration portion are sequentially disposed along the rotation shaft, and the compression portion is fluidly connected to the regeneration portion through a connection pipe that is disposed outside of the compression portion corresponding to the compression chamber.

13. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the compression portion is fluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.

14. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the expansion portion is fluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.

15. A Stirling refrigerator apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

a drive portion receiving driving torque of an engine in the vehicle to be rotated;

a compression portion that is engaged to the drive portion and is coupled to a rotation shaft of the drive portion to isothermally compress an operational fluid through rotation of the rotation shaft;

an expansion portion that is disposed at one side of the compression portion to isothermally expand the operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion; and

a regeneration portion that is disposed between the compression portion and the expansion portion and fluid-connects the compression portion with the expansion portion such that a compressed operational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion therethrough.

16. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 15, wherein the compression portion includes:

a plurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate; and

17. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for e vehicle of claim 16, wherein the expansion portion includes:

a second housing that is disposed at one side of the compression portion, wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposed therein, and a plurality of expansion chambers are formed therein;

a plurality of second shoes that are mounted on the second slanted plate; and

18. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 17, wherein the first slanted plate and the second slanted plate have a phase of a predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft of the compression portion and the expansion portion, wherein slant angles thereof are in opposite directions from each other.

19. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 15, wherein the compression portion is fluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.

20. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 15, wherein the expansion portion is fluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.