Radial hot gas engine

A radial, hot-gas engine of the stirling cycle class, comprised of a plurality of working cylinders of even number, said cylinders being disposed on perpendicular planes around the perimeters of a multiplicity of crankcase sections in the manner of a radial arc, half of said cylinders comprising hot-side heat exchangers fitted with heating means, and the remaining half comprising cold-side heat exchangers fitted with cooling means, each hot-side cylinder connected via a connecting means and regenerator apparatus through which a working fluid can pass, to a cold-side cylinder located ninety degrees around the perimeter of the crankcase from said hot-side cylinder, each pair of hot and cold cylinders so connected comprising a working pair, each of said cylinders housing a close fitting, sliding piston, said piston being fitted with sealing means, and with a roller-follower bearing assembly at the base;

• and passing through the central axis of the aforementioned crankcase, a crankshaft to which is affixed a multiplicity of eccentrics, said crankshaft being supported at multiple points by bearings which fit around the crankshaft, said bearings in turn being supported on their outside diameter by bearing support plates which are disposed at multiple points along the length of the sectional crankcase, between said crankcase sections and at the terminus ends of the consolidated crankcase;
• a pressure pump assembly comprised of a similarly designed crankcase, piston and cylinder arrangement, said pump piston being driven by one of the aforementioned eccentrics, the working fluid passages of said pump being connected to the engine crankcase and working cylinders via a connecting means which permits the pumping of a working fluid from the crankcase reservoir into the working cylinders of the engine, and its return from the working cylinders to the crankcase reservoir;
• a multiplicity of valves, said valves constituting the means by which the working fluid is controlled, and by which the internal working-fluid passages are isolated from the external environment, or connected to external charging and evacuation apparatus;
• filter apparatus and cooler apparatus which removes lubricant vapors from the working-fluid extracted from the crankcase;
• a cavity within the crankshaft eccentrics for housing electrical windings and pole-pieces, said windings and pole-pieces comprising the rotor of a combination electrical generator and starter motor;
• a fixed stator winding which is housed in the crankcase endplate, and disposed inside the aforementioned crankshaft rotor when the engine is assembled;
• an electric transmission which is housed in the crankcase endplate;
• and a cooler apparatus which cools the working fluid returned to the crankcase reservoir from the working cylinders.