Stirling engine
OwnerAustin Liuinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A Stirling engine that implements a Stirling cycle is described. The Stirling engine may have a power piston and a main displacer coupled to a camshaft by means of a 90°-dwell positive return cam and yoke system. The Stirling engine achieves gaseous working fluid displacement using the main displacer and the co-displacer. The co-displacer alternately locks between the main displacer and the power piston, which enables the main displacer to displace a different volume of gaseous working fluid during a cooling phase of the Stirling cycle than during a heating phase of the Stirling cycle.
Claims20
A Stirling engine that implements a Stirling cycle that is a closed cycle engine that continuously reuses its gaseous working fluid from cycle to cycle, comprising;
- a power piston and a main displacer coupled to a camshaft by means of a 90°-dwell positive return cam and yoke system,
- a co-displacer, in which the Stirling engine achieves gaseous working fluid displacement using the main displacer and the co-displacer, where the co-displacer alternately locks between the main displacer and the power piston, which enables the main displacer to displace a different volume of gaseous working fluid during a cooling phase of the Stirling cycle than during a heating phase of the Stirling cycle.
A method for generating work from a Stirling engine that implements a Stirling cycle, comprising;
- governing movement of a power piston and a main displacer coupled to a camshaft that is a driveshaft for the engine by means of a 90°-dwell positive return cam and yoke system,
- alternately locking a co-displacer between the main displacer and the power piston a co-displacer to achieve gaseous working fluid displacement using the main displacer and the co-displacer, which enables the main displacer to displace a different volume of gaseous working fluid during a cooling phase of the Stirling cycle than during a heating phase of the Stirling cycle, wherein the movement of the power piston and the main displacer are mutually exclusive;
- when one moves, the other must remain still, and vice versa, and thus the reciprocating movement of both the power piston and the main displacer is punctuated by pauses where each dwells at the end of its stroke as long as the other one is moving.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.