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Alpha configured stirling engines and heat pumps with stepped pistons

A graded, piston technology, used in the improvement of multi-cylinder Stirling engines and heat pumps.

Active Publication Date: 2007-03-21
GLOBAL COOLING
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The second difficulty with the alpha free-piston construction is that it requires four linear alternators (or motors in heat pumps), since each piston requires a
Linear alternators are somewhat bulky compared to the counterparts they rotate, and this creates the impression in the art that alpha machines are bulky and have cylinders far from each other, which is inconvenient and makes the machine heavier
The balance to the conventional α construction is not negligible and does not appear to have been resolved in the open literature

Method used

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  • Alpha configured stirling engines and heat pumps with stepped pistons
  • Alpha configured stirling engines and heat pumps with stepped pistons
  • Alpha configured stirling engines and heat pumps with stepped pistons

Examples

Experimental program
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Embodiment Construction

[0037] Figure 4 shows an nth element embodying the invention connected in a multi-cylinder Stirling machine of alpha configuration having n replicas of the element shown in Figure 4 . Cylinder 50 is a stepped cylinder having a larger diameter inner wall 52 and a smaller diameter inner wall 54 . Piston 56 is a stepped piston comprising a first piston assembly 58 and a second piston assembly 60 . The first piston assembly 58 is matingly reciprocable within the smaller diameter cylinder wall 54 and has an end surface 62 facing one axially. In the illustrated embodiment, the end face 62 faces upwardly and defines an expansion space 64 . The second piston assembly 60 is matingly reciprocable within the larger diameter cylinder wall 52 and has an annular end face 66 facing the same axial direction as the end face 62 . In the illustrated embodiment, the end face 66 defines a compression space 68 . Since the functions of these spaces can be reversed, it is only necessary that one o...

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Abstract

An improved, free-piston Stirling machine has at least three pistons connected in series in an alpha Stirling configuration. Each cylinder is staged. Each piston is also stepped so as to have a first piston assembly and a second piston assembly. One of the end faces of the two piston assemblies defines a compression space and the other defines an expansion space. Improvement in balance and / or reduction in vibration is achieved by connecting the expansion and compression spaces of four in-line cylinders in series in the order 1, 3, 2, 4. The three cylinder embodiment provides a very desirable volume phase angle of 120° and is advantageously arranged on three parallel longitudinal reciprocating axes arranged at the vertices of an equilateral triangle.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims priority to US Provisional Application 60 / 717,319, filed September 15,2005. [0003] Statement Regarding Federally Funded Research and Development [0004] none [0005] References to Appendix [0006] none technical field [0007] The present invention relates generally to Stirling engines and heat pumps, and more particularly to improvements to free-piston, multi-cylinder Stirling engines and heat pumps arranged in an alpha configuration. Background technique [0008] The Stirling machine has been known for nearly two centuries, but has undergone significant development in the last few decades due to the advantages it has to offer. In a Stirling machine, the working gas is confined in a working space which includes an expansion space and a compression space. The working gas expands and compresses alternately to do work or to extract heat. The Stirling machine circulates the working gas b...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(China)
IPC IPC(8): F02G1/044
CPCF02G1/0435F02G1/044F02G2243/20F02G2244/52F02G1/053
Inventor D·M·贝尔舒维兹Y-R·权
Owner GLOBAL COOLING