Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8096118 | Engine for utilizing thermal energy to generate electricity Disclosed are systems and methods for generating power. The system includes a sealed chamber, a displacer located inside the chamber, a magnetic mechanism to actuate the displacer, and a linear alternator. The chamber includes a first side, a first top surface, and ... | 01/17/2012 |
| 8087242 | Stirling cycle epitrochoidal heat engine An epitrochoidal Stirling type engine operating on a Carnot cycle. The engine has a hot end and a cool end. Each end has a three-lobed rotary piston or rotor eccentrically mounted. Each rotor is in a four-lobed housing. There are connections for fluid flow between p... | 01/03/2012 |
| 7937939 | Bicycle thermodynamic engine A thermodynamic cycle heat engine including a regenerator; a chamber in fluid communication with the regenerator; first and second rotors within the chamber, forming at least a pair of spaces within the chamber; and at least one actuator. The regenerator and the cha... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7677039 | Stirling engine and associated methods A stirling engine is disclosed. The engine includes at least two fluid chambers; a displacer, which may be rotary; and a movable seal. At least one displacer may be included in each of the at least two fluid chambers. The movable seal separates the at least two flui... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7584613 | Thermal engine utilizing isothermal piston timing for automatic, self-regulating, speed control A method and apparatus for converting thermal energy to mechanical energy. Operating on a thermodynamic cycle of isentropic compression, isothermal expansion, isentropic expansion and finally constant pressure cooling and contraction, an external heat engine utilize... | 09/08/2009 |
| 7549289 | Hybrid engine A rotary Wankel-Stirling machine operating upon a compressible working fluid, having a rotary expander having a hot side housing with a heat input interface, a hot side rotor having rotor passages adapted to allow passage of the working fluid between the rotor hub a... | 06/23/2009 |
| 7353057 | Apparatus and method for detecting atrial fibrillation A lightweight, battery-operated, voltage-stabilized, bioelectronic and non-invasive measuring apparatus derives the electrical heart potentials using measuring electrodes fixed to the patient and uses electronic numerical evaluation to produce therefrom an electroni... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7320218 | Method and system for generation of power using stirling engine principles A heat engine enclosing a chamber in housing has two zones maintained at different temperatures. The first zone receives heat energy from an external power source. The second zone is connected to the hot zone by two conduits, such that a fluid (e.g., air, water, or ... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7284372 | Method and apparatus for converting thermal energy to mechanical energy A method and apparatus for converting thermal energy to mechanical energy which can use a wide range of fuels and perform with a high efficiency. Operating on a little utilized thermodynamic cycle of isentropic compression, isothermal expansion, isentropic expansion... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7281383 | Reciprocating four-stroke Brayton refrigerator or heat engine A thermal machine that can function as either a refrigerator or an external combustion heat engine is disclosed. A working gas undergoes four thermodynamic processes that comprise a Brayton cycle. Two of these processes, adiabatic compression and adiabatic expansion... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7185492 | Stirling engine having slidable piston The present invention is a rotary engine having a rotor and a slidable piston that are contained within a stator. ... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7080509 | System for obtaining rotational energy from ambient forces The intended purpose of my invention is to create a point of origin in system from which driving thrusts could evolve. In this system, vacuum can be developed with less force than it naturally is required to create said vacuum. By posting a cylinder, containing two ... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7017344 | Machine spring displacer for Stirling cycle machines A displacer spring and displacer/spring assembly for use in an FPSE and with improved wear characteristics. One embodiment calls for the use of a single machined spring operating alternately in a tension mode and a compression mode and wherein the operating frequenc... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7000424 | Refrigerant cycling device A refrigerant cycling device is provided. The refrigerant cycling device comprises a compressor, an intermediate cooling circuit and a three-way valve device. The compressor is connected to a heat exchanger and a depressurizing means, for performing a cooling operat... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6968703 | Mechanical freezer The Mechanical Freezer of this invention closely approaches an ideal freezer cycle composed of constant temperature compression, expansion, and constant volume heating (load transfer) by using power piston 106 that power input shaft 50 moves up and dow... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6701708 | Moveable regenerator for stirling engines A Stirling cycle engine comprises a substantially sealed engine block that defines a working fluid space, a hot path and a cold path. A heat source and a heat sink are configured to keep the hot path and the cold path at different temperatures. The engine... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6442935 | Driving system for machinery, such as a motor, compressor etc. A driving system (13) comprises a housing (10) having spherical hollow space (11), a rotatable main shaft (14), a driving means (16) and a piston construction (15). The piston construction (15) is rockable about a first rocking axis (15a) in a rectilinear... | 09/03/2002 |
| 6205782 | Stirling cycle machine A Stirling cycle machine has a piston (11) which reciprocates in a cylinder (12) and defines a hot chamber (23) between the piston (11) and end of cylinder (12). Heat exchange for the working fluid in the hot chamber (23) is effected while the working flu... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6195992 | Stirling cycle engine A Stirling cycle engine having two chambers (formed by 12-14, or 12, 15 and 16) containing a working fluid and rotatable rotor disks (10, 11) coupled to a common output power shaft (3). Each chamber has a hot zone and a cold zone, and a passage (23) leads... | 03/06/2001 |
| 5983636 | Power converter according to the principle of the hot-air engine The publication relates to a power converter according to the principle of the hot-air engine (Stirling engine), comprising a cylinder containing a main piston (4) and a displacement piston (3), each of which can be moved forward and backward on the axis ... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5644917 | Kinematic stirling engine A hot gas engine operating with a Stirling cycle includes a hot chamber, displacer piston, regenerator, cold chamber, and power piston. A displacer piston is associated with a kinematic transmission train employing non-circular gears so as to convert rota... | 07/08/1997 |
| 5533335 | Cam driving apparatus for a stirling cycle module A cam driving apparatus for a Stirling cycle module in which a circumferential surface of a rotary cam is equipped with an upper cam curve profile and a lower cam curve profile thus achieving a light and compact cam module. It includes a displacer dispose... | 07/09/1996 |
| 5485726 | Pressure control apparatus for stirling module An improved pressure control apparatus for a stirling module capable of controlling a pressure between compression space and a bounce space by providing an improved pressure control apparatus, so that a high speed operation of a stirling module can be obt... | 01/23/1996 |
| 5442913 | Stirling cycle system driving device A stirling cycle system driving device comprises a circumference cam having a circumferential guiding groove formed in the outer peripheral surface thereof, a piston rod and a displacer rod respectively having a wheel guided along said circumferential gui... | 08/22/1995 |
| 5433078 | Heat loss preventing apparatus for stirling module The present invention relates to a heat loss preventing apparatus for preventing a working gas of a high temperature which exist in an expansion space to flow directly to a compression space by providing a tip upwardly formed with the displacer and integr... | 07/18/1995 |
| 5367878 | Transient energy release microdevices and methods A microdevice in the form of an electrical switch. A microdevice for providing switching at a high repetition rate, including a cell divided into two chambers by a bistable movable membrane. A charge of gas in the cell and a source for directly heating th... | 11/29/1994 |
| 5337562 | Stirling engine In a Stirling engine having a housing chamber (1) which is divided by a reciprocating gas-permeable regenerator plate (4) into two part chambers (6, 7), of which one can be heated and the second is provided with cooling (13), the second part chamber (7) c... | 08/16/1994 |
| 5335506 | Regenerative heat pump A regenerative heat pump includes a main compartment divided into three chambers by two reciprocable displacers. Gas in the main compartment is heated. A drive mechanism is driven by a start-up motor and is connected to the displacers to reciprocate those... | 08/09/1994 |
| 5335497 | Rotary Stirling cycle engine A rotary Stirling cycle engine which has a pair of hollow chambers (20) each having an elliptical rotor (30) positioned inside and rotatably sealed to the chambers inner walls. A crankshaft (40) connects the rotors in tandem to transmit rotational energy ... | 08/09/1994 |
| 5325671 | Rotary heat engine Engine energized by an external heat source and cooled by an external cooling source, driven by a closed body of gas contained in chambers of variable volume and passages connected thereto, and operating on a Carnot cycle. The apparatus of the engine also... | 07/05/1994 |
| 5309716 | Rotary pump or engine with spherical body There is disclosed a rotary pump or engine or compressor or expander comprising a spherical cavity divided by a pivotable disc into two sections. First and second wedges are pivotally connected at opposed disc surfaces. One wedge may be driven causing the... | 05/10/1994 |
| 5211017 | External combustion rotary engine An external combustion rotary engine having a configuration which allows spatial separation of the heaters and coolers, and a process which enables rotary motion of the rotors to be performed without internal combustion. The engine includes the triangular roto... | 05/18/1993 |
| 4998460 | Piston engine A piston engine comprising a piston movable in a recriprocating manner in a cylinder, while during operation a wedge-shaped gap is present between piston and cylinder. The piston divides the cylinder into a first chamber and a second chamber, which commun... | 03/12/1991 |
| 4938025 | Power conversion machine having pistons which are moved in a turning movement in a spherical housing A power conversion machine which is provided with a spherical housing (10) with piston construction (36,37) having two-double-acting pistons (36) turnable about a first axis (x--x) cooperating with a partition plate (40) tiltable about a second axis (z--z... | 07/03/1990 |
| 4819432 | Installation for harnessing thermal energy In an installation for harnessing thermal energy, in which in a first part of an operating cycle the working fluid is positively displaced out of a first chamber into a second chamber, in which a higher temperature prevails than in the first, and in a sec... | 04/11/1989 |
| 4753073 | Stirling cycle rotary engine An improved rotary engine (10) utilizing essentially the Stirling cycle is provided having at least three rotors (12, 34, 56) each separately rotatable within a toroidal housing cavity (15) and about a common axis. Each rotor has a pair of diametrically o... | 06/28/1988 |
| 4621497 | Heat engine A heat engine including a closed case having a cylindrical chamber with circumferential heat transfer surfaces in the form of radially projecting ribs. A displacer having complementary ribs around the outer surface is rotatably mounted within the chamber.... | 11/11/1986 |
| 4511805 | Convertor for thermal energy into electrical energy using Stirling motor and integral electrical generator The present invention relates to external combustion engines and more precisely to motors using the Stirling cycle designed to directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy. In accordance with the invention, this transformation is carried out inside ... | 04/16/1985 |
| 4502284 | Method and engine for the obtainment of quasi-isothermal transformation in gas compression and expansion The present invention refers to a procedure and a machine which make it possible to produce a quasi-isothermal compression or expansion process in any thermodynamic cycle consisting of such transformations. The procedure is possible owing to the fact that... | 03/05/1985 |
| 4392351 | Multi-cylinder stirling engine A multi-cylinder Stirling engine comprises a stationary casing, working fluid, at least one heat source, a first heat exchanger for carrying the working fluid and for transferring heat from the heat source to the working fluid thereby raising the working ... | 07/12/1983 |
