Patent ID: 6910332

Claim:
A combined thermoacoustic heat engine and electrical generator comprising: a) a thermally conductive envelopment means, a housing, for containing a compressible working fluid, b) said compressible working fluid being capable of supporting propagation of periodic acoustical traveling waves, c) in a first section of the housing, a combination first heat exchanger means and acoustic traveling wave guiding means, a first heat exchanger-waveguide means, for admitting thermal energy to the compressible working fluid and vectoring acoustic traveling waves moving through said compressible working fluid, d) in a second section of the housing, a second heat exchanger means for removing thermal energy from said compressible working fluid, e) a thermal insulating means dividing said first and second sections of said housing, and said first heat exchanger-waveguide means and second heat exchanger means contained respectively therein, with ported openings that permit communication of the compressible working fluid between said first and second heat exchanger means, f) an acoustical traveling wave generating means for causing periodic acoustical traveling waves to propagate on a path through the compressible working fluid in communication between said first heat exchanger-waveguide means and second heat exchanger means, g) an acoustical traveling wave driven means for converting periodic acoustical traveling waves into mechanical kinetic energy, h) an energy conversion means for converting said mechanical kinetic energy into electrical energy, i) a metering means for admitting and regulating a flow of heated, high pressure working fluid from said first heat exchanger-waveguide means and said acoustical traveling wave driven means, into said second heat exchanger means, j) a first check valve means for causing the admittance of cooler working fluid from said second heat exchanger means into the acoustical traveling wave generating means, thereby completing an acoustic and thermodynamic circuit in the working fluid, k) a second check valve means to prevent acoustic traveling waves from being reflected back into said acoustical traveling wave generating means from the first heat exchanger-waveguide means.