Patent ID: 9670836
Date: 2017-06-06
CPC Classifications: F01K,F01N,F02B,F02G,Y02T

Claim:
1. A drive unit for a motor vehicle, comprising: an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle; an exhaust gas system via which exhaust gas can be discharged from the internal combustion engine; and a cyclic device configured to convert the thermal energy contained in the exhaust gas into mechanical work in a clockwise thermodynamic cycle, wherein the cyclic device comprises a first heat exchange device comprising a working medium, an expansion device comprising a working medium, and a second heat exchange device comprising a cooling medium, whereby the cycle comprises wherein the first heat exchange device comprises a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger as well as an intermediate circuit containing a transfer medium, whereby in the first heat exchanger, thermal energy is transferred from the exhaust gas to the transfer medium, and in the second heat exchanger, thermal energy is transferred from the transfer medium to the working medium; the drive unit further comprising a heat storage tank integrated into the cyclic device.