Patent ID: 9267489
Filing Date: 2016-02-23
CPC Classification: F03B,Y02E

Claim Text:
1. An energy conversion apparatus comprising: a housing having an upper end, which is located at a first elevation, and a lower end, which is located at a second elevation lower than said first elevation, said housing having a first zone located adjacent said upper end and a second zone located adjacent said lower end; a movable loop extending between said lower and upper ends and passing through said first and second zones; a plurality of cylinders attached to said loop, each of said cylinders being movable through said first zone and said second zone conjointly with said loop, each of said cylinders being sized and shaped so as to receive a varying amount of working fluid and to assume expanded and contracted configurations when a corresponding one of said cylinders passes through said first zone and said second zones, respectively, each of said cylinders receiving said working fluid therein so as to have a first weight when it assumes its said expanded position and discharging said working fluid therefrom so as to have a second weight when it assumes its said contracted position, said first weight of each of said cylinders being greater than said second weight, said cylinders being arranged on said loop such that at least one of said cylinders is positioned on one side of said loop in its said expanded configuration after passing through said first zone and such that at least another one of said cylinders is positioned on an opposite side of said loop in its said contracted configuration after passing through said second zone, said at least one of said cylinders on said one side of said loop having a weight that is greater than the weight of said at least another one of said cylinders on said opposite side of said loop such that gravity causes said at least one of said cylinders to move downwardly toward said lower end of said housing and said at least another one of said cylinders to move upwardly toward said upper end of said housing so as to impart motion to said loop; and a hose connected to all of said cylinders such that said cylinders are in fluid communication with each other through said hose, said working fluid flowing from one of said cylinders to another of said cylinders as said cylinders move through said first and second zones, wherein said hose and said cylinders form a closed fluid system containing said working fluid, each of said cylinders receiving said working fluid from at least another of said cylinders through said hose when said each of said cylinders moves through said first zone, each of said cylinders discharging said working fluid through said hose to at least another of said cylinders when said each of said cylinders moves through said second zone, and wherein said hose includes a plurality of valves, each of said valves being connected to a corresponding one of said cylinders such that as said corresponding one of said cylinders enters said first zone, said each of said valves is opened to allow flow of said working fluid into said corresponding one of said cylinders, such that as said corresponding one of said cylinders leaves said first zone, said each of said valves is closed to inhibit discharging of said working fluid from said corresponding one of said cylinders, such that as said corresponding one of said cylinders enters said second zone, said each of said valves is opened to allow discharging of said working fluid from said corresponding one of said cylinders, and such that as said corresponding one of said cylinders leaves said second zone, said each of said valves is closed to inhibit flow of said working fluid into said corresponding one of said cylinders.