Patent ID: 8667797

Claim:
A heat engine system comprising: a first pump operable to pump a first fluid from an inlet to an outlet thereof; a regenerator having first and second inlets and first and second outlets, the first inlet being fluidically coupled to the outlet of the first pump and to the first outlet of the regenerator, the second inlet being fluidically coupled to the second outlet of the regenerator; a heat source fluidically coupled to the first outlet of the regenerator and in thermal communication with the first fluid after exiting the regenerator through the first outlet thereof; a mixer having an outlet and first and second inlets, the first inlet receiving the first fluid from the heat source; a second pump operable to pump a second fluid from an inlet to an outlet thereof, the outlet of the second pump being fluidically coupled to the heat source to deliver the second fluid into thermal communication with the heat source, the outlet of the second pump being further fluidically coupled to the second inlet of the mixer so that the first and second fluids are mixed and brought into thermal communication by the mixer as a fluid mixture after the first and second fluids are in thermal communication with the heat source; an expansion device having an inlet fluidically coupled to the outlet of the mixer, the expansion device further having an outlet through which the fluid mixture exits the expansion device; a separator having an inlet and first and second outlets, the inlet of the separator receiving the fluid mixture from the outlet of the expansion device, the separator being operable to separate the first fluid from the second fluid and cause the first and second fluids to exit the separator through the first and second outlets, respectively, thereof, the first outlet of the separator being fluidically coupled with the second inlet of the regenerator and the second outlet of the separator being fluidically coupled with the inlet of the second pump; and a heat sink fluidically coupled to the second outlet of the regenerator and in thermal communication with the first fluid after exiting the regenerator through the second outlet thereof, the inlet of the first pump being fluidically coupled to the heat sink to receive the first fluid from the heat sink.