Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invention
2
Current hybrid vehicle has improved its city fuel consumption; however, the
highway fuel
4 consumption has not yet been improved. It is necessary to decrease the waste
heat in
order to significantly decrease the fuel consumption. Without waste heat, the
deteriorating
6 environment will be preserved as it is and global warming will be halted.
8 The energy efficiency of the current internal combustion engine is
approximately 30
percent to 35 percent, the remaining 65 percent of the energy is dissipated
through the
engine block and the exhaust air. The conventional hybrid vehicles only
harvest the energy
with the regenerative brake system which only improves the city fuel
consumption. In order
12 to increase the fuel economy of the current hybrid vehicle, the present
invention harvests
the heat energy dissipated from the engine block and the exhaust air and
stores as
14 electrical energy.
16 In order to efficiently harvest the waste heat, a steam system is
implemented into the
cooling and exhaust system. For maximum output capability, a two-stage heating
process
18 is used to provide maximum temperature and pressure difference. The coolant
is first
drawn from the radiator into the engine for cooling, and then a controlled
amount of heated
coolant is delivered to the boiler for steam generation. The steam is injected
through a
turbine to power a generator and then condensed in a condenser before
returning to the
22 radiator. The electricity generated is used to propel the vehicle. During
operation, the boiler,
the turbine, the condenser, and the corresponding piping will be filled with
pressurized
24 steam; after system shutdown, the steam will cool down and condense, and
the
condensation of the steam will possibly cause the pressure to drop below
atmospheric
26 pressure and damage the system. This pressure change created a serious
problem in
current radiators. Current vehicles now have a coolant recovery tank that
operates on the
28 principle of pressure change, which draws the coolant from the coolant
recovery tank into
the radiator when the radiator is below atmosphere pressure. If the condenser
is not
isolated from the radiator with pressure regulator means, the vehicle will
have to carry an
excessively large coolant recovery tank, or have no coolant recovery tank.
Therefore a
32 pressure isolation and regulatory system is also introduced in this system
to ensure the
adaptability and safe operation of the cooling system.
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2 In short, the present invention generates power from two sources, one source
is the
mechanical energy directly from the engine to the output shaft, another source
is the
4 thermo energy dissipated from the engine block and the exhaust air, the
thermo energy is
transformed into electrical energy and stored within a battery to power a
drive motor
6 connecting to the transmission; the rate of the thermo energy converting to
electrical
energy is controlled by regulating the coolant temperature within the boiler
or the heat
8 exchanger.
To achieve better adaptability with smaller hybrid vehicle system, another
embodiment of
the present invention implements a separate radiator which draws coolant from
a
12 condensing tank; the coolant exiting the radiator is used to mix with the
steam from the
steam turbine for rapid condensation. This embodiment can greatly reduce the
system
14 dimension.
16
18
22
24
26
28
32
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Summary of the Invention
2
The primary objective of the present invention is to decrease highway fuel
consumption.
4 Associated with the reduced highway fuel consumption is the decrease of city
fuel
consumption. The secondary objective is to provide the general public with a
reliable and
6 light-weighted hybrid system in order to encourage the desire to purchase
hybrid vehicles.
Present invention leads civilization one step closer to full electric driven
vehicles which in
8 turn will prevent global warming entirely.
12
14
16
18
22
24
26
28
32
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Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
2
Referring to FIG.1, the present invention of the hybrid vehicle system
comprises, an engine
4 101, a charged intake system 141, a radiator 102, a boiler 103, a steam
turbine 104, a
steam turbine generator 105, an exhaust pipe 107, a boiler feed pump 108, a
coolant
6 delivery pipe 109, an engine cooling channel 110, a boiler feed pipe 111, a
radiator return
pipe 112, a coolant feed pump 124, a battery (not shown), a condenser 131, a
condenser
8 pump 132, and a steam exit channel 121.
The charged intake system 141 is required for controlling the temperature of
the exhaust
air through the exhaust pipe 107 so that the pressure difference between the
inlet and the
12 outlet of the steam turbine 104 can be sustained within the operational
range of the steam
generator 105. When the hybrid vehicle system operates, the coolant from the
radiator 102
14 is pumped with the coolant feed pump 124 through the coolant delivery pipe
109 to the
engine cooling channel 110 in the engine 101, the coolant then absorbs the
heat from the
16 engine 101 and flows out of the engine cooling channel 110.The coolant is
heated up close
to the boiling temperature and distributed to the boiler feed pipe 111 and the
radiator return
18 pipe 112. The boilerfeed pump 111 draws a controlled amount of the coolant
into the boiler
103, and the rest of the coolant flows back the radiator 102 through the
radiator return pipe
112. Then the coolant inside the boiler 103 absorbs the heat from the exhaust
pipe 107
and vaporizes. The vaporized coolant expands and generates electricity with
the steam
22 turbine 104 and the steam turbine generator 105. Then the vaporized coolant
flows through
the steam exit channel 121 into the condenser 131. The condenser pump 132 then
draws
24 the liquidized coolant from the condenser 131 to the radiator 102.
26 The rate of the electricity generation depends on the coolant temperature
within the boiler
103, and the coolant temperature within the boiler 103 is controlled by the
temperature and
28 pressure of the exhaust air flowing through the exhaust pipe 107,
therefore, a by-pass
exhaust pipe is used to control the exhaust air flow so that the steam
generator can
operate within its operational range. The by-pass exhaust pipe redirects a
controlled
amount of the exhaust air to the atmospheric air without transferring the heat
into the boiler.
32 The electricity generated by the steam turbine generator 105 is stored in
the battery for
providing power to the drive motor of the hybrid vehicle system.
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Another method of controlling the rate of the electricity generation is by
implementing the
2 engine with cylinder reduction control to lower the exhaust air temperature
and the boiler
temperature without the by-pass exhaust pipe.
4
The boiler 103 is preferably in contact with the section of the exhaust pipe
107 following the
6 catalytic converter(not shown) to increase the efficiency of the boiler 103
when the hybrid
vehicle is operating with a gasoline engine. Pressure control means is
required to control
8 the pressure between the boiler 103 and the steam turbine 104. A filter may
be used to
prevent the gaseous coolant from entering the condenser pump 132.
The boiler 103 can be replaced with a heat exchanger coiled around the exhaust
pipe 107,
12 the coolant inside the heat exchanger is heated up and kept at liquid state
under high
pressure, then the coolant is distributed with a series of nozzles which blows
the coolant
14 onto the steam turbine 104 to generate electricity, the coolant is
vaporized due to the
pressure difference when it exits through the series of nozzles.
16
When the hybrid vehicle system operates in regular hybrid mode, the engine is
engaged to
18 the transmission and providing torque to the drive wheels, the electricity
generated by the
steam turbine generator 105 is stored in battery and used to power drive
motor.
When the steam turbine generator 105 is malfunctioning, the hybrid vehicle can
operate
22 with the engine only, while all the exhaust air is directed to the by-pass
pipe.
24 FIG.2 is another embodiment of the present invention. This hybrid vehicle
system
comprises, an engine 201, a radiator 202, a boiler 203, a steam turbine 204, a
steam
26 turbine generator 205, a condensing tank 206, an exhaust pipe 207, a boiler
feed pump
208, a radiator feed pipe 209, a coolant return pipe 210, a boiler feed pipe
211, a battery
28 (not shown), a steam exit channel 221, a radiator feed pump 212, and a
charged intake
system (not shown).
The charged intake system is required for controlling the temperature of the
exhaust air
32 through the exhaust pipe 207 so that the pressure difference between the
inlet and the
outlet of the steam turbine 204 can be sustained within the operational range
of the steam
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generator 205. When the hybrid vehicle system operates, the boiler feed pump
208 draws
2 a controlled amount of the coolant from the condensing tank 206 into the
boiler 203
through the boiler feed pipe 211. Then the coolant inside the boiler 203
absorbs the heat
4 from the exhaust pipe 207 and vaporizes. The vaporized coolant expands and
generates
electricity with the steam turbine 204 and the steam turbine generator 205.
Then the
6 vaporized coolant flows through the steam exit channel 211. The radiator 202
draws the
coolant from the condensing tank 206 with the radiator feed pump 212, and then
the cold
8 coolant from the radiator 202 is mixed with the vaporized coolant from the
steam exist
channel 211 and delivered through the coolant return pipe 210. The vaporized
coolant
from the steam exit channel 211 is condensed rapidly when mixed with the cold
coolant
from the radiator 202, thus maintaining the pressure drop between the steam
turbine 204
12 and the steam exit channel 221. Then the mixture of the condensing coolant
is delivered
back into the condensing tank 206.
14
The cold coolant from the radiator 202 can be sprayed into the coolant return
pipe 210 to
16 mix with the vaporized steam for better condensation effect.
18 The boiler 203 can be replaced with a heat exchanger coiled around the
exhaust pipe 207,
the coolant inside the heat exchanger is heated up and kept at liquid state
under high
pressure, then the coolant is distributed with a series of nozzles which blows
the coolant
onto the steam turbine 204 to generate electricity, the coolant is vaporized
due to the
22 pressure difference when it exits through the series of nozzles.
24 Both of the embodiments can be applied to the current hybrid vehicles with
any type of
internal combustion engines which use engine as the main power source and
electricity for
26 powering the driver motor in order to decrease the highway fuel consumption
rate.
28 Both of the embodiments explained above can further include a regenerative
brake system
which is already a standard component in most hybrid vehicle systems.
