阅读说明：本技术 用于驱动热力设备中的置换器的中心定位线性致动器 (Centrally located linear actuator for driving a displacer in a thermal plant ) 是由 T·圣乔治 于 2018-09-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种热泵,其具有热置换器部分和冷置换器部分,其中在所述热置换器部分与所述冷置换器部分之间布置了线性致动器部分。通过在置换器之间提供线性致动器部分,将线性致动器部分中的致动器耦接至它们各自的置换器的轴比线性致动器部分位于冷置换器底部的情况短。较短的轴会不太硬,以避免屈曲。由于更不容易翘起,因此在往复运动时轴的摩擦力较小。(A heat pump is disclosed having a hot displacer portion and a cold displacer portion with a linear actuator portion disposed between the hot displacer portion and the cold displacer portion. By providing linear actuator sections between the displacers, the axes coupling the actuators in the linear actuator sections to their respective displacers are shorter than if the linear actuator sections were located at the bottom of the cold displacers. The shorter shaft will be less stiff to avoid buckling. The friction of the shaft during reciprocating motion is less because tilting is less likely.)

1. A thermodynamic device comprising:

a heat displacer disposed in the heat displacer cylinder;

a cold displacer disposed in a cold displacer cylinder, wherein a central axis of the cold displacer cylinder is collinear with a central axis of the hot displacer cylinder; and

a linear actuator portion disposed between the hot displacer cylinder and the cold displacer cylinder; the linear actuator portion includes a hot displacer linear actuator and a cold displacer linear actuator.

2. The thermal device of claim 1, wherein the heat displacer linear actuator comprises:

a first coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a first axial position within the linear actuator portion;

a second coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a second axial location within the linear actuator portion; and

a heat displacer armature disposed between the first coil and the second coil.

3. A thermal device according to claim 1, wherein the thermal displacer actuator of the thermal device comprises:

the thermal displacer linear actuator;

a shaft coupled between an armature of the hot displacer linear actuator and the hot displacer; and

at least one spring disposed between the displacer and the linear actuator.

4. The thermal device of claim 3, wherein the at least one spring comprises one of:

a tension-compression spring coupled at a first end to the displacer and at a second end to a stationary element of the thermal device; and

a pair of compression springs disposed in the heat pump, a first of the compression springs biased to exert an upward force on the heat displacer and a second of the springs biased to exert a downward force on the heat displacer.

5. The thermal device of claim 4 wherein the linear actuator portion has a first end plate and a second end plate; and the fixation element is the first end plate.

6. The thermal device of claim 1, wherein a cold displacer actuator to move the cold displacer comprises:

a cold displacer shaft coupled between the cold displacer linear actuator and the cold displacer;

a first coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a first axial position within the linear actuator portion;

a second coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a second axial location within the linear actuator portion;

a cold displacer armature coupled to the cold displacer shaft, the cold displacer armature disposed between the first coil and the second coil; and

a spring having a first end coupled to the cold displacer and a second end coupled to a stationary element of the thermal device.

7. The thermal plant of claim 1, wherein the linear actuator portion has a first end plate proximate the cold displacer cylinder and a second end plate proximate the hot displacer cylinder; the thermodynamic device further comprises:

a hot displacer shaft coupled to the hot displacer linear actuator;

a cold displacer shaft coupled to the cold displacer linear actuator;

a first aperture defined in the first end plate, wherein a first seal is disposed in the first aperture; and

a second aperture defined in the second end plate, wherein a second seal is disposed in the second aperture, wherein the hot displacer shaft passes through the first seal and the cold displacer shaft passes through the second seal.

8. The thermal device of claim 7, wherein a channel through the cold shaft fluidly couples a volume within the cold displacer with a volume within the linear actuator portion.

9. The thermodynamic device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a gas spring disposed between the hot displacer and the cold displacer, the gas spring being comprised in part of a charged volume within the linear actuator portion and a volume within the cold displacer.

10. The thermal device of claim 2, wherein the cold displacer linear actuator comprises:

a third coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a third axial position within the linear actuator portion;

a fourth coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a fourth axial position within the linear actuator portion; and

a cold displacer armature disposed between the third coil and the fourth coil, the thermal device further comprising:

a cold displacer shaft coupled between the cold displacer armature and the cold displacer; and

a hot displacer shaft coupled between the hot displacer armature and the hot displacer.

11. The thermodynamic device as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

a power electronics module coupled to the first, second, third, and fourth coils; and

an electronic control unit coupled to the power electronics module.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the arrangement of a linear actuation system for a heat pump internal exchanger.

Background

The Vuilleumier (Vuilleumier) heat pump has been known since the beginning of the 20 th century. As disclosed in U.S.1,275,507, such heat pumps have two displacers that divide the interior volume into a hot chamber, a warm chamber, and a cold chamber. The displacer is crank driven at a 90 degree offset. In a recent development, the displacer in a heat pump is driven by an electromechanical system, as described in commonly assigned US9,677,794. In fig. 1, based on the figures from the' 794 reference, a heat pump 100 has a hot displacer 102 reciprocating within a hot displacer cylinder 107 and a cold displacer 104 reciprocating within a cold displacer cylinder 106. Hot displacer cylinder block 107 and cold displacer cylinder block 106 share a center line 108. The displacers 102 and 104 are controlled by electromechanical actuators, the linear actuator part of which is arranged in the lower half of the heat pump 100. Hot displacer actuator 110 and cold displacer actuator 120 are coupled to hot displacer 102 and cold displacer 104, respectively. Each of the actuators 110 and 120 has a ferromagnetic bucket (bucket)116 and 126, respectively. The ferromagnetic buckets 116 and 126 act as armatures. The armature 116 has a plate portion extending outwardly from a cylindrical portion through which the spring 124 passes and to which the spring 114 is coupled. Spring 114 is associated with hot displacer 102; a spring 124 is associated with the cold displacer 104. The armature 126 has a plate portion and a barrel portion to which the springs 114 and 124 are coupled. In this example, the springs 114 and 124 are springs that move between compression and tension as the displacer coupled thereto moves between the ends of the stroke.

The actuator 110 has coils 112 and 118 on both sides of an armature 116. When the coil 112 is activated, the armature 116 is attracted toward the coil 112. When the coil 112 is deactivated, the spring 114 moves the armature 116 (and the displacer 102) downward. If the coil 118 is subsequently activated, it attracts the armature 116 toward the coil 118. By deactivating the coil 118, the spring 114 moves the armature 116 toward the coil 112. The displacer 102 is caused to reciprocate between the ends of its stroke within the cylinder 106 by acting on an armature 116 coupled to the displacer 102. Similarly, displacer 104 is reciprocated between the ends of its stroke by judiciously actuating coils 122 and 128 disposed on either side of armature 126. Springs 114 and 126 are provided to exert a force on displacers 102 and 104, respectively, to effect movement of the displacers between the ends of travel. Particularly when the displacer is in the middle portion of the stroke, the efficiency of the coil acting on the armature associated with the displacer is much less than when the displacer is closer to the end of the stroke. In the middle of the stroke, the armature-to-coil current consumption is high, increasing the coil size, increasing power consumption, and possibly overheating the coil. The spring provides a large force to move the displacer and the coil is used to control the final part of the stroke and to stop the displacer at the end of the stroke for a desired duration.

In heat pump 100, displacers 102 and 104 divide the volume within cylinders 106 and 107 into four volumes: hot volume 140, hot-warm volume 142, cold-warm volume 144, and cold volume 146. The bridge 150 separates the hot-warm volume 142 from the cold-warm volume 144.

In addition to the spring 114 acting on the hot displacer 102 and the spring 104 acting on the cold displacer 104, it has been found advantageous to provide a gas spring acting between the displacers 102 and 104. Part of the gas spring is a volume 138 in which the cold displacer 104 is disposed. Additionally, the gas spring may include volumes within hot displacer 102 and cold displacer 104. The bridge 150 has a plunger 151 that causes the volume 138 to be almost zero when the cold displacer 104 is at the upper end of its stroke. Cold displacer 104 is shown in fig. 1 at an intermediate position with volume 138 at an intermediate volume. By selecting the cross-sectional areas of the plunger 151 and shaft and selecting the total volume of the gas spring, the pressure in the gas spring can assist in the movement of the displacers 102 and 104.

In heat pump 100, displacers 102 and 104 divide the volume within cylinders 106 and 107 into four volumes: hot volume 140, hot-warm volume 142, cold-warm volume 144, and cold volume 146. The bridge 150 separates the hot-warm volume 142 from the cold-warm volume 144.

The hot displacer 102 is coupled to a shaft 130 coupled to a shaft 134 via a coupler 132. The shaft 134 is coupled to the armature 126. Movement of armature 126 moves hot displacer 102. Cold displacer 104 is coupled to armature 116 via hollow shaft 136.

Some less desirable features are inherent in the actuation system shown in fig. 1. By moving the shaft 134 within the hollow shaft 136 (i.e., concentric shaft), undesirable friction forces may result. Because the shaft 134 is very long, it must have a certain diameter and strength to prevent buckling. The critical buckling load is inversely proportional to the square of the length. Thus, the longer the length of the shaft, the greater the challenge to avoid buckling. In addition to the buckling problem, the longer shaft complicates maintaining concentricity and avoiding cocking of hot displacer 102 within cylinder 106. Another problem is the number of gas seals that largely prevent gas flow between the shafts 134 and 136 and at the bridge 150, etc. Such seals cause additional friction.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome at least one of the problems of the prior art, linear actuators are arranged between displacers. A thermodynamic device is disclosed having a hot displacer disposed in a hot displacer cylinder and a cold displacer disposed in a cold displacer cylinder. A central axis of the cold displacer cylinder is collinear with a central axis of the hot displacer cylinder. A linear actuator portion (section) is disposed between the hot displacer cylinder block and the cold displacer cylinder block. The linear actuator portion includes a hot displacer linear actuator and a cold displacer linear actuator.

The thermal displacer linear actuator includes: a first coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a first axial position within the linear actuator portion; a second coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a second axial location within the linear actuator portion; and a hot displacer armature disposed between the first coil and the second coil.

The heat displacer actuator of the thermal device includes: the thermal displacer linear actuator; a shaft coupled between an armature of the hot displacer linear actuator and the hot displacer; and at least one spring disposed between the displacer and the linear actuator.

The cold displacer linear actuator has: a third coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a third axial position within the linear actuator portion; a fourth coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a fourth axial position within the linear actuator portion; and a cold displacer armature disposed between the third coil and the fourth coil. The thermodynamic device comprises: a cold displacer shaft coupled between the cold displacer armature and the cold displacer; a hot displacer shaft coupled between the hot displacer armature and the hot displacer.

In some embodiments, the spring is a tension-compression spring coupled at a first end to the displacer and at a second end to a stationary element of the thermal device. The linear actuator portion has a first end plate and a second end plate; and the fixation element is the first end plate. In other embodiments, the at least one spring is a pair of compression springs disposed in the heat pump, a first of the compression springs being biased to exert an upward force on the heat displacer and a second of the springs being biased to exert a downward force on the heat displacer.

A cold displacer actuator to move the cold displacer includes: a cold displacer shaft coupled between the cold displacer linear actuator and the cold displacer; a first coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a first axial position within the linear actuator portion; a second coil disposed within the linear actuator portion at a second axial location within the linear actuator portion; a cold displacer armature coupled to the cold displacer shaft, the cold displacer armature being disposed between the first coil and the second coil; a spring having a first end coupled to the cold displacer and a second end coupled to a stationary element of the thermal device.

The linear actuator portion has a first end plate proximate the cold displacer cylinder and a second end plate proximate the hot displacer cylinder. The thermodynamic device also has: a hot displacer shaft coupled to the hot displacer linear actuator; a cold displacer shaft coupled to the cold displacer linear actuator; a first aperture defined in the first end plate, wherein a first seal is disposed in the first aperture; and a second aperture defined in the second end plate, wherein a second seal is disposed in the second aperture. The hot displacer shaft passes through the first seal and the cold displacer shaft passes through the second seal.

A passage through the cold shaft fluidly couples a volume within the cold displacer with a volume within the linear actuator portion.

The hot displacer shaft has a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of the cold displacer shaft.

The thermodynamic device comprises: a power electronics module electrically coupled to the first, second, third, and fourth coils, and an electronic control unit coupled to the power electronics module.

The thermodynamic device comprises: a gas spring disposed between the hot displacer and the cold displacer, the gas spring being comprised in part of a charged volume within the linear actuator portion and a volume within the cold displacer.

Also disclosed is a heat pump having a hot displacer disposed in a hot displacer cylinder, a cold displacer disposed in a cold displacer cylinder, a first linear actuator coupled to a shaft of the hot displacer, and a second linear actuator coupled to a shaft of the cold displacer. The first linear actuator is adjacent to the second linear actuator. A shaft of the cold displacer extends outwardly from the first linear actuator in a first direction. A shaft of the hot displacer extends outwardly from the second linear actuator in a second direction. The first direction is opposite to the second direction.

The heat displacer is disposed proximate to the first end of the heat pump. The cold displacer is disposed proximate the second end of the heat pump. The first and second linear actuators are arranged in a linear actuator portion. The linear actuator portion is disposed between the hot displacer and the cold displacer.

Each of the first and second linear actuators has: first and second coils displaced from each other along a central axis of the hot displacer cylinder and disposed within the linear actuator portion, and an armature. The armature has one of a permanent magnet and a ferromagnetic material.

The armature of the first linear actuator is coupled to the shaft of the hot displacer and the armature of the second linear actuator is coupled to the shaft of the cold displacer.

The heat pump further comprises: a power electronics module electrically coupled to the first and second coils of each of the first and second linear actuators; a first position sensor proximate to one of: the hot displacer, a shaft associated with the hot displacer, and an armature associated with the hot displacer; and a second position sensor proximate to one of: the cold displacer, a shaft associated with the cold displacer, and an armature associated with the cold displacer. The heat pump also includes an electronics control unit electrically coupled to the first and second position sensors and electrically coupled to the power electronics module.

The heat pump includes a gas spring coupled between the hot displacer and the cold displacer. A portion of the volume comprising the gas spring is arranged within the linear actuator member.

A shaft coupled to the hot displacer has a smaller diameter than a shaft coupled to the cold displacer. The shaft reciprocates within an aperture defined in an end plate of the linear actuator portion as the displacer moves.

Also disclosed is a heat pump having a hot displacer disposed in a hot displacer cylinder, a cold displacer disposed in a cold displacer cylinder, a central axis of the cold displacer cylinder being collinear with a central axis of the hot displacer cylinder. The heat pump has a hot displacer actuator coupled to the hot displacer, the hot displacer actuator including a hot displacer linear actuator and a hot displacer spring. The heat pump also has a cold displacer actuator coupled to the cold displacer, the cold displacer actuator having a cold displacer linear actuator and a cold displacer spring. The hot and cold displacer linear actuators are arranged in a linear actuator section. The linear actuator portion is located between the hot displacer cylinder and the cold displacer cylinder.

The linear actuator portion is defined by a cylinder, a first end plate, and a second end plate. The first and second end plates each have an aperture defined therein. The heat pump further comprises: a first seal disposed in an aperture of the first end plate; a second seal disposed in an aperture of the second end plate; a heat displacer shaft coupled between the heat displacer and the heat displacer linear actuator, the heat displacer shaft passing through the first seal; and a cold displacer shaft coupled between the cold displacer and the cold displacer linear actuator, the cold displacer shaft passing through the second seal.

Advantages of the disclosed embodiments include at least:

smaller shaft bending;

eliminating the friction of the shafts reciprocating one inside the other;

easier assembly;

the ability to remove the hot end from the cold end for repair without completely disassembling both ends;

reduced conduction between the hot and cold ends;

improved alignment of the shaft and displacer;

reduced number of seals (reduced parts count; better overall seal; easier assembly; less chance of failure; and lower friction); and

the electromechanical volume is used as a gas spring.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a linear actuation system for a gas heat pump with a linear actuator at one end of the heat pump;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a linear actuation system for a heat pump in which a linear actuator is disposed between two actuators within the heat pump;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of a seal in an aperture in an end plate of a linear actuator portion and a shaft passing through the aperture;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are illustrations of a displacer driven by two compression springs biased against each other, shown in an upper position of the displacer and a lower position of the displacer, respectively; and

fig. 6 is a diagram of power and control electronics coupled to a hot displacer actuator and a cold displacer actuator.

Detailed Description

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, various features of the embodiments shown and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features shown in one or more other figures to produce alternative embodiments that are not explicitly shown or described. The combination of features shown provides a representative embodiment for a typical application. However, various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated for particular applications or implementations. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize similar applications or implementations whether or not explicitly described or illustrated.

In fig. 2, heat pump 10 has a hot displacer portion 16 including a hot displacer 12 reciprocating within a hot displacer cylinder 22. The heat pump 10 also has a cold displacer portion 18 including a cold displacer 14 reciprocating within a cold displacer cylinder 24. For clarity, the burner section or other energy input section above the hot displacer section is not shown in fig. 1.

The hot displacer 12 is actuated by a linear actuator that includes coils 50 and 52 located within a back iron 56. Hot displacer 12 is coupled via shaft 38 to an armature that includes a permanent magnet 54, a pole piece 55 sandwiching magnet 54, and a disc 51. In some alternatives, the element 54 is a ferromagnetic material that is attracted when subjected to a magnetic field and largely unmagnetized in the absence of such an electric field. When coil 50 is energized, the armature moves upward, thereby moving hot displacer 12 upward; when the coil 52 is energized, the hot displacer 12 moves downward. This actual movement is more complex than that described when element 54 is a permanent magnet, because magnet 54 is attracted when current flows in one direction in the coil (50 or 52) and repelled when current flows in the opposite direction. If the energy to move the hot displacer 12 between the ends of its stroke is provided only from the energized coils, the electrical energy consumption will require too much electrical energy, severely compromising the overall efficiency of the heat pump 10. In order to provide most of the force to move the heat displacer 12, springs 34 and 36 are arranged between the heat displacer 12 and the linear actuator part 8 (i.e. the part of the chamber with the coil and the magnet or any fixed element within the heat pump 10). In the embodiment of fig. 1, the spring is in tension when the hot displacer 12 is in its upper position (furthest away from the linear actuator part 8) and in compression when the hot displacer 12 is in its lower position. Thus, springs 34 and 36 bias hot displacer 12 toward a position near the middle of the stroke and provide the majority of the force for hot displacer 12 to move from one end to the other. The current to coils 50 and 52 is activated to pull the heat displacer 12 through the stroke and control the rate of approach of the heat displacer 12 as the end of the stroke is approached.

A similar mechatronic system is provided for a cold displacer 14 having coils 250 and 252, the coils 250 and 252 being energized to act upon an armature including a permanent magnet 254 in back iron 256. The armature (including permanent magnet 244, pole piece 255, and disks 251) is coupled to cold displacer 14 via shaft 48. The spring 48 is arranged between the cold displacer 14 and a fixed element of the heat pump 10 (in this embodiment the linear actuator portion 8 of the heat pump 10).

The upper linear actuator in fig. 2 is delimited by end plates 57 and 58 (which also serve as back iron). The lower linear actuator is defined by end plates 257 and 258 (which also serve as back iron). End plate 57 and end plate 258 bound the linear actuator section 8 from the rest of the heat pump 10. In operation, shaft 38 reciprocates with displacer 12 and an armature coupled to shaft 38. An aperture is provided in end plate 57 to accommodate shaft 38; the shaft 48 reciprocates through an aperture defined in the end plate 258.

One embodiment of a sealing system for a reciprocating shaft passing through an orifice is shown in FIG. 3. An aperture is defined in the end plate 360 through which the shaft 350 passes. A circumferential groove is provided around the bore to accommodate a split ring seal 362, the outside of the split ring seal 362 having an O-ring 364. In one embodiment, the spring ring seal 362 is made of a metallic material and the O-ring 364 is made of an elastomeric material. The O-ring pushes the split ring seals 362 together so that the seals 362 largely prevent gas from flowing between the shaft 350 and the seals 362. The O-ring 364 also prevents shorting of the gas behind the seals 362 and 364.

Hot chamber 60 is defined by upper dome 20, hot displacer cylinder 22, and the top of hot displacer 12. In fig. 2, the hot displacer 12 is in its lowest position, where there is little volume in the hot-warm chamber. The hot-warm chamber is defined by the linear actuator portion 8, the bottom of the hot displacer 12, and the hot displacer cylinder 22. The cold chamber 66 is defined by the lower dome 24, the cold displacer cylinder 26, and the lower end of the cold displacer 14. The cold displacer 14 is shown in its uppermost position. Thus, the cold-warm chamber is not visible in fig. 2. The cold-warm chamber is defined by the linear actuator portion 8, the top of the cold displacer 14, and the cold displacer cylinder 24.

In addition to springs 34, 36 and 44, gas springs are provided between displacers 12 and 14. The volumes within the gas spring include volumes 70 and 72 within the linear actuator portion 8 and an internal volume 270 within the cold displacer 14. The linear actuator portion 8 has gas filled volumes 70 and 72 that move according to position on the position of the armature. The total volume contained within the gas spring depends on the position of the hot displacer 12, at least due to the shaft 38 displacing gas when reciprocating within the volume 70.

Since a portion of the volume of the gas spring is contained within the linear actuator portion 8, the volume within the linear actuator portion is isolated using seals between the shaft 38 reciprocating within the bore of the end plate 57 and the shaft 48 reciprocating through the end plate 258. FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a sealing system. The end plate 360 has an aperture through which the shaft 350 extends. The sealing system in fig. 3 has a groove in the end plate 360 near the aperture that receives the shaft 350. In which groove an O-ring 364 and a split ring 362 are arranged.

Fig. 4 and 5 show an alternative to the spring configuration shown in fig. 2. In fig. 4, a displacer 300 is coupled to a shaft 302 and a crosshead 304. The crosshead 304 is arranged between two fixing elements 320 and 322. Elements 320 and 322 may be held together with wall 324. Alternatively, the assembly shown in fig. 4 is installed in a heat pump having a receiving part to support the fixing elements 320 and 322. Compression springs 330 and 332 are disposed between crosshead 304 and stationary element 320 and between crosshead 304 and stationary element 322, respectively. In fig. 4, the displacer is in an upper position in which the spring 330 is compressed. In this configuration, the spring 330 presses down on the crosshead 304. In fig. 5, the compression of the spring 330 is less and therefore the pressure on the crosshead 304 is less compared to the configuration shown in fig. 4. The spring 332 is compressed in the configuration of fig. 5 and exerts an upward force on the crosshead 304. Such a pair of compression springs may be used in place of a spring system that is in compression at one end of the displacer stroke and in tension at the other end of the displacer stroke.

Current is supplied to the coils so that they exert a force on the armature. For clarity, the electronic and electrical hardware to achieve this is not shown in FIG. 2. But is shown in simplified form in figure 6. In fig. 6, a thermal plant 260 (or heat pump) is illustrated having a hot displacer 262 and a cold displacer 264. A linear actuator section 268 is located between displacers 260 and 262. Coils 290, 292, 294 and 296 are housed in 268. Hot displacer 262 is coupled to armature 282 via a shaft; the cold displacer 264 is coupled to the armature 284 via a shaft. The power electronics module 270 is electrically coupled to the coils 290, 292, 294, and 296. The power electronics module provides current to the coils 290, 292, 294, and 296. An electronic control unit 280 electrically coupled to the power electronics module 270 provides control signals to the power electronics module 270 to control the pulses of current flowing to the coils. The ECU 280 determines the desired current to be sent to the coil based on at least: desired heating or cooling output from the heat pump, signals from a position sensor 272 associated with hot displacer 262, signals from a position sensor 274 associated with cold displacer 264, and signals from other sensors 282, which may include sensors for determining environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, and temperature and pressure sensors within the heat pump.

Various embodiments of the present invention present advantages over prior art configurations of such heat pumps. One problem identified with the configuration shown in fig. 1 is that there is conduction between the hot displacer cylinder and the cold displacer cylinder. This conduction reduces system efficiency. The configuration of figure 2 with the linear actuator portion separating the hot end from the cold end reduces conduction losses.

The present configuration presents the advantage that the hot and cold ends of the heat pump are coupled via flanges. If a fault is found in either the hot or cold side, the operational side may be disconnected from the faulty side of the heat pump, while the operational side may otherwise remain assembled.

While the best modes have been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments within the scope of the appended claims. Although various embodiments may be described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments with respect to one or more desired characteristics, one or more characteristics may be compromised to achieve desired system attributes, as one skilled in the art is aware, depending on the particular application and implementation. These attributes include, but are not limited to: cost, strength, durability, life cycle cost, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, workability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, and the like. Implementations described herein that feature less than ideal in one or more features as compared to other implementations or prior art implementations do not depart from the scope of the invention and may be desirable for certain applications.