Patent ID: 7143586

Claim:
A thermoacoustic device having an operating mode and a non-operating mode, the device comprising: a housing; a thermal core supported in the housing and having a first and a second surface, the thermal core including a first heat exchanger defining the first surface of the thermal core and a second heat exchanger defining the second surface of the thermal core; a main chamber in fluid communication with the first surface of the thermal core; a secondary multiplier chamber in fluid communication with the second surface of the thermal core; a working volume of a gaseous working fluid filling the main chamber, the multiplier chamber, and the thermal core at a pressure, an equilibrium pressure being defined as the pressure of the working volume of gaseous working fluid when the thermoacoustic device is in the non-operating mode; the main chamber including a first oscillating member, the first oscillating member being operable when the thermoacoustic device is in the operating mode to oscillate such that pressure in the main chamber is oscillated between a peak pressure greater than the equilibrium pressure and a minimum pressure less than the equilibrium pressure, a main pressure amplitude being defined as one half of the difference between the peak pressure and the minimum pressure in the main chamber; the secondary multiplier chamber including a second oscillating member, the second oscillating member being operable when the thermoacoustic device is in the operating mode to oscillate such that the pressure in the multiplier chamber is oscillated between a peak pressure greater than the equilibrium pressure and a minimum pressure less than the equilibrium pressure, a multiplier pressure amplitude being defined as one half of the difference between the peak pressure and the minimum pressure in the multiplier chamber; wherein the first and second oscillating members oscillate at substantially the same frequency and generally in phase; and the multiplier pressure amplitude is greater than the main pressure amplitude.