Tab joint in etched foil regenerator
US6732785B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 20, 2002 |
| Grant date | May 11, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 27, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49366
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A joint connecting consecutive sheets of etched regenerator foil for a spiral-wrapped regenerator of a regenerative gas cycle machine such as a Stirling cycle engine or Stirling, pulse tube, or Gifford-McMahon cryocooler. The joint comprises a multiplicity of tabs on the end of one sheet of regenerator foil interlocked with a multiplicity of tabs on the end of another piece of regenerator foil. The joint is no thicker than the original thickness of the sheets of etched regenerator foil that it connects together, and the tabs substantially fill the holes into which they are locked, minimizing undesirable leakage through the joint after it has been incorporated in a regenerator.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.