Power generation apparatus

Abstract

A power generation apparatus includes an expander and a power transmission shaft that extracts a rotational driving force generated by the expander to the exterior of a housing of the expander. The housing of the expander contains a driving unit of the expander within a space enclosed by a partition wall of the housing. The power transmission shaft includes a magnetic coupling, divided between the interior and exterior of the housing of the expander through the partition wall. The rotational driving force extracted via the magnetic coupling is used as auxiliary power that supplements the power of a driving source provided separately from the expander when driving a rotating machine using the power of the driving source. A clutch mechanism and a speed variator are provided in a power transmission path that transmits the rotational driving force extracted by the power transmission shaft to the driving source.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A power generation apparatus comprising:
 an expander;   a housing that houses the expander, the housing containing a driving unit of the expander within a space enclosed by a partition wall of the housing;   a power transmission shaft that extracts rotational driving force generated by the expander to the exterior of the housing, the power transmission shaft including a magnetic coupling, for transmitting the rotational driving force from the expander to the exterior of the housing, that is divided between the interior and exterior of the housing of the expander through the partition wall;   a driving source provided separately from the expander, the rotational driving force extracted by the power transmission shaft being used as auxiliary power for supplementing the power of the driving source when driving a rotating machine using the power of the driving source;   a clutch mechanism, provided in the power transmission path that transmits the rotational driving force extracted by the power transmission shaft to the driving source, that controls a transmission state of the rotational driving force; and   a speed variator, provided in the power transmission path, that changes and transmits a rotational speed of the power transmission shaft.   
     
     
         2 . The power generation apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein an electricity generator that generates electricity using the rotational driving force is provided in the power transmission path. 
     
     
         3 . The power generation apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein an electricity generator that generates electricity using the rotational driving force extracted via the driving unit of the expander and transmits power generated by the expander to the power transmission shaft is provided within the housing. 
     
     
         4 . A power generation apparatus that drives a compressor that compresses a gas to a high pressure, the apparatus comprising:
 a thermal engine, the thermal engine including an evaporator that evaporates a liquid working medium using heat supplied from a heat source, an expander that produces rotational driving force by expanding the working fluid evaporated by the evaporator, a condenser that converts the working fluid expanded by the expander into a liquid working medium by condensing the working fluid, and a medium circulation pump that pressure-transfers the liquid working medium to the evaporator;   a housing that houses the expander, the housing containing a driving unit of the expander within a space enclosed by a partition wall of the housing;   a power transmission shaft that extracts rotational driving force generated by the expander to the exterior of the housing, the power transmission shaft including a magnetic coupling, for transmitting the rotational driving force from the expander to the exterior of the housing, that is divided between the interior and exterior of the housing of the expander through the partition wall; and   a driving source provided separately from the expander, the rotational driving force extracted by the power transmission shaft being used as auxiliary power for supplementing the power of the driving source when driving the compressor using the power of the driving source,   wherein heat of the gas that has been adiabatically compressed by the compressor is supplied to the evaporator as the heat source for evaporating the liquid working medium.   
     
     
         5 . The power generation apparatus according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein the power generation apparatus drives a multi-stage compressor that includes two or more compressors; and   the high-pressure gas discharged from each compressor in the multi-stage compressor is supplied to the evaporator as the heat source for evaporating the working medium within the thermal engine.