Inventor: Stephen C. Baer, Corrales, New Mexico
Assignee: Energy Conversion Systems, Inc. (Albuquerque, NM)
Filed: July 2, 1969
Granted: February 9, 1971
Status: Expired — Lifetime
Note: Assigned to Energy Conversion Systems, Inc. — not Zomeworks. This is an early Baer patent predating Zomeworks (founded 1969).
Improved condensate return system for evaporation-condensation heat exchangers using osmotic action. Traditional heat pipes use capillary wicks limited to 1–4 feet of lift, weakened by gravity. This device inserts a semipermeable membrane (cellulose) at the liquid-vapor interface; osmotic pressure pumps condensed vapor back to the heat source more effectively than capillary action and independent of gravitational forces.
A hermetically sealed heat-conducting container with a solution return channel, vapor passage, and semipermeable membrane positioned to allow osmotic pressure to pump condensed vapor back to the heat source.