Abstract:
An externally heated engine is provided which has a piston and a displacer. The position of the piston can be adjusted by a yoke and disk assembly on one end of a link and spacers and gaskets in the cylinder. The relative position of the displacer with respect to the piston can be changed by changing the relative position of a pair of disks in the crankshaft assembly. The displacer is caused to reciprocate by a link which is moved by a displacer cam assembly. The displacer cam assembly includes a first cam and a second cam. The first cam and the second cam each have a groove path. The displacer link follows the groove path of the cams to cause the displacer to dwell at the two ends of its stroke and to move rapidly from one end to the other.
Abstract:
A thermal hydro-machine on hot gas with recirculation (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) belongs to the group of multi-cylinder piston rotational machines for converting the heat into the mechanical work. The heat is conducted to on the outer side of one part of rotational tubular heat exchanger (1) and is simultaneously conducted away from the other part of same exchanger (1). The exchanger is composed of a set of independent segment collectors (1) arranged in the form of a cylindrical shell, made pair wise with a set of independent segment cylinders with free pistons (2) in which there is the independent gas under pressure.
Abstract:
An improved, free-piston, Stirling machine having at least three pistons series connected in an alpha Stirling configuration. Each cylinder is stepped so that it has a relatively larger diameter interior wall and a coaxial, relatively smaller diameter interior wall. Each piston is also stepped so that it has a first component piston having an end face facing in one axial direction and matingly reciprocatable in the smaller diameter cylinder wall and a second component piston having an end face facing in the same axial direction and matingly reciprocatable in the larger diameter, cylinder wall. One of the piston end faces bounds the compression space and the other end face bounds the expansion space. Preferably, each stepped piston has peripheral, cylinder walls that are axially adjacent and joined at a shoulder forming the end face of the larger diameter component piston. Stirling machines with these stepped features are also arranged in various opposed and duplex configurations, including arrangements with only one load or prime mover for each opposed pair of pistons. Improved balancing or vibration reduction is obtained by connecting expansion and compression spaces of a four cylinder in-line arrangement in a 1, 3, 2, 4 series sequence. Three cylinder embodiments provide a highly favorable volume phase angle of 120° and are advantageously physically arranged with three, parallel, longitudinal axes of reciprocation at the apexes of an equilateral triangle.
Abstract:
A stirling engine includes a flow path which communicates a working space of the stirling engine and a crankcase of the stirling engine. An output of the stirling engine is controlled so that the output lowers when a pressure inside the working space is higher than a pressure in the crankcase, with a transfer of a fluid in the working space to the crankcase via the flow path thereby causing a decrease in the pressure of the working space.
Abstract:
A Stirling cycle engine of a simplified structure, having enhanced reliability by improving abrasion resistance and lubricity of components thereof. When a piston reciprocates in a cylinder along the axial direction thereof by a driving mechanism, a displacer reciprocates in the cylinder along the axial direction thereof accompanying the reciprocation of the piston. The piston and the displacer slide in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder, but the piston and the displacer are each integrally made from an engineering plastic such as PPS having fine strength, dimensional stability, abrasion resistance and formability, while PPS is made CFRP. Moreover, solid lubricity agent is added to PPS. Accordingly, abrasion resistance, lubricity, strength and precision of the piston and displacer are enhanced, while the piston and the displacer can be simply produced by a well-known plastic molding.
Abstract:
A Stirling engine comprising: a displacer unit having displacer cylinders, displacers slidably arranged in the chambers of the displacer cylinders, expansion chambers and contraction chambers into which, and from which, the operation gas flows with the operation of the displacers; and a power piston unit having a power cylinder having an operation chamber communicated with either the expansion chamber or the contraction chamber of the displacer unit, and a power piston slidably arranged in the power cylinder; wherein the displacer cylinders of the displacer unit are equipped with a heating wall surrounding a heat source and cooling walls forming a plurality of cylinder chambers surrounding the heating wall; and the displacers of the displacer unit are slidably arranged in the plurality of cylinder chambers in the directions to approach the heat source and to separate away from the heat source.
Abstract:
A thermal cycle engine having a heat exchanger for transferring thermal energy across the heater head from a heated external fluid to the working fluid. The heat exchanger has a set of heat transfer pins each having an axis directed away from the cylindrical wall of the expansion cylinder. The height and density of the heat transfer pins may vary with distance in the direction of the flow path, and the pin structure may be fabricated by stacking perforated rings in contact with a heater head. Ribs are provided interior to the heater head to enhance hoop strength and thermal transfer.
Abstract:
A thermal cycle engine having a heat exchanger for transferring thermal energy across the heater head from a heated external fluid to the working fluid. The heat exchanger has a set of heat transfer pins each having an axis directed away from the cylindrical wall of the expansion cylinder. The height and density of the heat transfer pins may vary with distance in the direction of the flow path, and the pin structure may be fabricated by stacking perforated rings in contact with a heater head. Ribs are provided interior to the heater head to enhance hoop strength and thermal transfer.
Abstract:
An apparatus and method for determining the rate of angular rotation of a moving body and, in particular, for alignment of the dither motion and the Coriolis acceleration sensing direction in a sensor adapted to be formed, i.e. micromachined, from a silicon substrate.
Abstract:
A symmetrical link device for linking first and second coplanar devices each movably mounted in a frame such that when one of the first and second coplanar devices is moved, a substantially equal and opposite motion is imparted to the other of the first and second coplanar devices.