Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the energy field. In particular, electricity. Even more in detail, it relates to a new and innovative transformation installation which, starting from a steam- powered engine, by optimizing the transmission mechanics, is capable of producing considerable electrical power.

Prior art

Energy is the challenge of our century. For years now, solutions have been studied to make the production of electricity more efficient in an eco-sustainable way. In fact, it is known that the first power installations built are now to be decommissioned and transformed through other primary energy sources.

To date, the main ways of transforming energy, without describing the now obsolete coal power plants, are:

- hydroelectric: this method of transformation often stops or diverts the flow of rivers, with significant environmental impacts in the localities adjacent to the plant. Construction costs are exorbitant but, fortunately, these plants have a very long useful life;

- wind: it is based on the exploitation of the meteoric wind which moves a blade with optimized aerodynamics that activates internal mechanisms that transform the motion energy into electricity. The criticality of this completely eco-sustainable system lies in the high cost of con struction and maintenance of wind turbines;

- nuclear: electrical energy is generated starting from two possible reactions that can take place at the level of the nucleus of an atom. A heavy nucleus (with a high atomic number) can be split into two parts of seemingly equal mass (fission), or two light nuclei can join to form a heavy one (fusion). Both phenomena are associated with a release of energy, i.e. heat with which electricity is subsequently produced. The high risk linked to the radioactivity of these installations is more than enough reason to be able to consider them as dangers for the population and the ecosystem;

- photovoltaic: is based on the exploitation of sunlight that impinges on panels positioned on exposed surfaces. It is common to see villas or car parks provided with photovoltaic panels, however the efficiency of these systems is too much linked to atmospheric conditions and does not respect the aesthetics of buildings, especially in historic centers;

- steam (thermoelectric): it is based on the use of water, or other liquid, which occurs in two different phases during the work cycle, often in the form of vapor and liquid. In recent years, supercritical technologies have also been spreading, leading to the absence of an actual phase transition, which was previously the characteristic of steam power plants. Analyzing in more detail the transformation of energy starting from steam, it appears that this is an increasingly less studied technology, which will gradually be abandoned. Indeed, it has some features that are not in line with the new environmental trend. The generation of steam has been linked for too many years to gas, oil or diesel burners which, in addition to being expensive, also polluted. A first object of the present invention is therefore to recover the technology of steam-powered thermoelectric power stations by overcoming the criticalities due to pollution.

A further problem detected by the Applicant, which the present patent application intends to solve, is linked to the loss of power caused by the vibrations affecting the drive shaft. Although there are numerous motion transmission systems studied and sometimes even patented, nothing similar to what will be described below seems to have been claimed yet. Current crankshaft systems are still inefficient and certainly can be improved from a purely mechanical point of view.

The object of the present invention is therefore to propose a new and innovative energy transformation installation which is optimized from all the points of view just mentioned, namely the mechanical one and the primary energy one with which to create the steam.

Description of the invention According to the present invention, an optimized crank rod steam installation for the transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy is provided which effectively solves the above problems.

Like any steam installation, the one of the present invention also includes a boiler that feeds a steam engine downstream of which a condenser is connected. The steam engine used in our install ation, however, is not like those known to date. It comprises, in fact, one or more pistons, each of which is connected to a pair of connecting rods, one upper and one lower.

In turn, each connecting rod has, at its free end, a joint that connects it to a rigid arm which is stably but reversibly connected, by means of a mechanical coupling, to an optimized motion transmission system which determines the rotation of a drive shaft. The introduction of two connecting rods, rather than one, connected to the steam engine pistons is already a great innovation. In fact, each movement of the piston will correspond to the transmission of energy, while with the previously existing steam engines the motion was transmitted only by raising or lowering the piston.

The installation, which is advantageous in itself, also includes the aforementioned optimized motion transmission system which brings other advantages.

It includes at least a pair of rotors rigidly connected to each other by means of a connecting pin which is in turn constrained by m eans of a coupling to the free end of each rigid arm. When the rigid arm moves downwards and upwards, the particular connection system determines the simultaneous rotation of the rotors and, consequently, the rotation of the drive shaft which is installed perpendicular to the rotation of said rotors.

Advantageously, the positioning according to the vertical axis of the piston, connecting rods, rigid arms and rotors eliminates any possible loss of load or vibration during motion .

In addition, at the two ends of each drive shaft a revolution multiplier is installed, suitable to increase the number of revolutions transferred to at least one generator of electricity installed downstream of each multiplier.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one further multiplier is installed downstream of each revolution multiplier to increase the number of revolutions transferred to the relative generator.

Advantageously, said generators supply electricity to the grid, but at least one of them feeds, through a transformer, the boiler that supplies steam to the steam engine.

Said boiler, according to further increasingly advantageous embodiments of the same invention, may be completely or partially powered by a photovoltaic or wind power plant. Other variants of the installation object of the present invention include: a lubricating oil tank connected to said steam engine; a plurality of steam engines connected to the same boiler; a plurality of drive shafts for each pair of rotors; a system of anchors designed to support the drive shaft, connected to special seats, designed to dampen any vibrations or transverse stresses; an anchor system to support the rotors designed to dampen any vibrations or transverse stresses.

The gears included in the installation of the present invention may be of any type: toothed, chain or belt. The advantages offered by the present invention are clear in the light of the above description and will be even clearer from the accompanying figures and the related detailed description .

Description of the figures

The invention will hereinafter be described in at least one preferred embodiment thereof by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying figures, in which: - FIGURE 1 shows one of the possible operating schemes of an installation according to the present invention.

- FIGURE 2 illustrates a possible variant of the motion transmission system to a plurality of drive shafts. - FIGURE 3 shows an example of a three-piston steam engine, according to the present invention.

- FIGURE 4 schematically shows the mechanics of the motion transmission system. Detailed description of the invention

The present invention will now be described purely by way of non-limiting or binding example with the aid of the figures, which illustrate some embodiments relative to the present inventive concept.

With reference to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. A photovoltaic system 80 powers the boiler 10 through a transformer 50. In the event that the photovoltaic 80 is not sufficient, the boiler 10 will be able to draw from the same electrical energy produced by the installation described below, which is therefore configured as a self- powered or partially self-powered installation.

The boiler 10, in the case in question, feeds a steam engine 15 consisting of two pistons 25 whose alternating stroke guarantees not only the continuity of the energy transformation, but also the self-compensation of the mechanical stresses and therefore the reduction to the minimum possible, if not the elimination, of the vibrations that could cause a loss of efficiency of the entire installati on.

In Figure 1, however, other connections 35 are shown for any further steam engines 15. Each piston 25 is rigidly connected to an upper connecting rod 20’ and a lower connecting rod 20. Only the operation of the lower portion of the installation will be described below, since it is the same identical operation as the upper portion, that is, that connected to the upper connecting rods 20’ of the two subject pistons 25.

By means of a joint 21, each connecting rod 20 is connected to a rigid arm 22 which is in turn rigidly connected, by means of a mechanical coupling 23, to a pin 24 integral with a pair of rotors 40, to form a monolithic object.

This monolithic object which includes the rotors 40 also comprises a pair of external pins 41, each of which fits into a coupling 42 relative to an anchor 45. When the piston 25 is lowered, the connecting rods 20 and the rigid arm 22 are lowered accordingly and cause a rotation of the pair of rotors 40 by means of a common gear, toothed, chain or belt.

The drive shaft 30 is installed below the rotors 40, perpendicular to their rotation plane. This component too is provided with at least one pair of seats 32 which allow the connection between the shaft 30 itself and at least one pair of anchors 32 which support the shaft 30 and dampen any further vibrations thereof.

The rotations of the drive shaft 30 are multiplied by a pair of multipliers 60 each of which is installed at one end of the drive shaft 30.

Downstream of each multiplier 60 an alternator or a generator 100 of electrical energy is installed which supplies the grid 1000.

Finally, it is clear that modifications, additions or variants may be made to the invention described thus far which are obvious to a man skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of protection that is provided by the appended claims.