Stirling cycle heat engines

Abstract

A Stirling cycle heat engine comprises hot and cold variable volume chambers intercommunicating through a regenerator. Various components flexibly mounted to provide the variable volume chambers are tuned to resonate with a relationship compatible with operation of the engine. In one embodiment the whole engine is flexibly mounted for bodily oscillation. In another embodiment a gas-displacer member and a gas-actuated member are disposed in a closed vessel of cylindrical form.

I claim: 
     
       1. A Stirling cycle heat engine comprising hot and cold variable volume chambers intercommunicating through a regenerator through which gas is displaced between the chambers in a reciprocating manner, a closed vessel of cylindrical form, a gas-displacer member and a gas-actuated member disposed in tandem .Iadd.and located independently of one another so as to be free of frictional sliding movement relative to each other and .Iaddend.with at least one of said .[.chambers.]. .Iadd.members .Iaddend.disposed within the vessel, resilient supports for flexibly supporting the members .Iadd.so that they are out of frictional contact with the vessel and arranged so that at least one of the members is supported radially by the resilient supports.Iaddend., the resilience of said supports permitting working movement of the members by oscillation towards and away from each other, one of the hot and cold chambers being formed between one of said members and the adjacent end of the vessel and the other of said hot and cold chambers being formed between adjacent parts of the two members, and means for converting oscillating movement of one of the members into useful work. 
     
     
       2. A Stirling cycle heat engine comprising a hot chamber at one end of the engine and a cold chamber at the other end of the engine, each of the hot and cold chambers being of variable volume, at least one regenerator disposed between and connected to the hot and cold chambers to provide intercommunication through which, in operation of the engine, gas is displaced between the chambers in a reciprocating manner, means for flexibly supporting the engine .Iadd.radially .Iaddend.so that in operation it is free to oscillate bodily along an axis passing through the hot and cold chambers and tuning means for constraining operating components of the engine to resonate with a relationship compatible with operation of the engine. 
     
     
       3. A Stirling cycle heat engine comprising hot and cold variable volume chambers intercommunicating through at least one regenerator through which, in operation of the engine, gas is displaced between the chambers in a reciprocating manner, each of the chambers comprising relatively rigid structure joined by relatively flexible structure capable of repetitive deflection, and resilient coupling means for converting some of the output of the engine into a force which maintains reciprocating displacement of gas between the chambers. 
     
     
       4. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vessel and the said member disposed within it together define a regenerator gap. 
     
     
       5. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein both members are disposed within the vessel. 
     
     
       6. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein one member is disposed within the vessel and the other member forms part of an end wall of the vessel and is connected to the remainder of the vessel by flexible means. 
     
     
       7. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vessel is supported by flexible support means so that it can oscillate about an axis passing through both members. 
     
     
       8. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient supports for flexibly supporting one of the members comprise flexible support means extending radially between the said one of the members and the vessel. 
     
     
       9. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient supports for flexibly supporting one of the members comprise tension spring means extending between said one of the members and an end wall of the vessel. 
     
     
       10. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for converting oscillating movement of one of the members into useful work comprise an electromechanical transducer. 
     
     
       11. An engine as claimed in claim 10 wherein said electromechanical transducer is connected to said gas-actuated member by flexible means. 
     
     
       12. An engine as claimed in claim 1, provided with means for feeding back to the engine some of the work done by the engine, said feed back means comprising magnetic means tending to draw the gas-displacer member and the gas-actuated member together and resilient means tending to subsequently move said members apart. 
     
     
       13. An engine as claimed in claim 8, wherein said flexible support means are disposed in cavities formed in said one of the members. 
     
     
       14. An engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said gas-actuated member or said gas-displacer member is supported by a guide structure extending axially through the said one member. 
     
     
       15. An engine as claimed in claim 2 wherein each chamber comprises a rigid wall and a flexible wall. 
     
     
       16. An engine as claimed in claim 2, provided with means for converting oscillating movement of the engine into useful work. 
     
     
       17. An engine as claimed in claim 16 wherein said means comprise an electro-mechanical transducer. 
     
     
       18. An engine as claimed in claim 15 provided with an electromechanical transducer connected to the rigid wall of one of said chambers. 
     
     
       19. An engine as claimed in claim 3 wherein each chamber comprises a rigid wall and a flexible wall. 
     
     
       20. An engine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said resilient coupling means comprise positive spring means interconnecting the rigid walls of the hot and cold chambers. 
     
     
       21. An engine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said resilient coupling means comprise negative means interconnecting the rigid wall of one of the hot and cold chambers and the flexible wall thereof. 
     
     
       22. An engine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilient supports comprise spring means.