Thermoacoustic refrigerator
US5673561A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 12, 1996 |
| Grant date | Oct 7, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 12, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF25B2309/1416
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A thermoacoustic device having a thermal stack made from a piece of porous material which provides a desirable ratio of thermoacoustic area to viscous area, which has a low resistance to flow, which minimizes acoustic streaming and which has a high specific heat and low thermal conductivity is disclosed. The thermal stack is easy and cheap to form and it can be formed in small sizes. Specifically, in one embodiment, a thermal stack which is formed by the natural structure of a porous material such as reticulated vitreous carbon is disclosed. The thermal stack is formed by machining a block of reticulated vitreous carbon into the required shape of the thermal stack. In a second embodiment, a micro-thermoacoustic device is disclosed which includes a thermal stack made of a piece of porous material such as reticulated vitreous carbon. In another embodiment, a heat exchanger is disclosed which is formed of a block of heat conductive open cell foam material.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.