Patent · US Expired

Viscous fluid type heat generators

US5788151A · kind A · utility

16Cited by
1References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 7, 1997
Grant dateAug 4, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 7, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
  • CPC primaryF24V40/00
  • WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A viscous fluid type heat generator includes a housing assembly defining a heat generating chamber and a heat receiving chamber for permitting a heat exchanging fluid to circulate therethrough to receive heat from the heat generating chamber. A rotor element is supported by the housing assembly separately from the drive shaft to be rotationally driven by the drive shaft for rotation within the heat generating chamber. A viscous fluid is held in a gap defined between the inner wall surfaces of the heat generating chamber and the outer faces of the rotor element, for heat generation under a shearing stress applied by the rotation of the rotor element. Frictional coupling means are provided for frictionally coupling the drive shaft with the rotor element and for mechanically transmitting a rotation of the drive shaft to the rotor element to permit the rotor element to rotate in the heat generating chamber at a speed not higher than a predetermined thermal limit speed. If the rotation speed of the rotor element 22 exceeds the predetermined thermal limit speed, the viscous fluid could generate excessive heat, which would probably accelerate the thermal degradation of the viscous fluid.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.