US 7,484,366 B2
Multistage stirling engine
Masayoshi Mori, Saitama (Japan)
Assigned to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/553,237
PCT Filed Apr. 28, 2004, PCT No. PCT/JP2004/006151
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Jan. 11, 2007,
PCT Pub. No. WO2004/101983, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 25, 2004.
Claims priority of application No. 2003-134131 (JP), filed on May 13, 2003; and application No. 2004-112485 (JP), filed on Apr. 06, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2007/0169477 A1, Jul. 26, 2007
Int. Cl. F01B 29/10 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 60—517  [60/525] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A multistage Stirling engine comprising: a plurality of cylinders each internally holding a working fluid and provided with a displacer piston and a power piston disposed in series and fitted in the cylinder; a plurality of heaters respectively combined with the cylinders to heat the working fluid contained in the plurality of cylinders and using a high-temperature heating fluid provided by a heat source; and a heating fluid passage for passing the heating fluid sequentially through the heaters;
wherein the plurality of cylinders include adjacent cylinders disposed in parallel arrangement; and
wherein a plurality of heat exchangers are provided which comprise respectively said plurality of heaters, a plurality of coolers for cooling the working fluid within the plurality of cylinders, and a plurality of regenerators each interposed between an associated heater being one of the plurality of heaters and an associated cooler being one of the plurality of coolers; each of the plurality of heaters is connected to one end of each of the plurality of cylinders; each of the plurality of coolers is connected to the other end of each of the plurality of cylinders; the plurality of heat exchangers are each in the form of a stack of each heater, each regenerator and each cooler; and two of the heat exchangers forming adiacent stacks are interposed closely between adjacent two cylinders of the plurality of cylinders to form an integral structure having a shape of a flat rectangular solid including the adjacent cylinders and the heat exchangers.