Dual-crank Stirling engine with quad cylinder arrangement
In a Stirling engine having a reciprocating apparatus consisting of a crankcase, a plurality of cylinders adjacent said crankcase, double-acting pistions in each of said cylinders, each piston having a piston rod extending into said crankcase, a crankshaft means within said crankcase, crank arm means drivingly connecting each of said piston rods with said crankshaft means, thermodynamic cycling means for said pistons, the improvement comprising: (A) said crankshaft means having at least one pair of spaced parallel arranged crankshafts, and (B) said cylinders being four in number and having the upper extremities of said cylinders spaced equi-distantly in a quad-cluster about a central engine axis transverse to said crankshafts, the longitudinal extent of all of the cylinders forming zero or negative angles with respect to said central engine axis.
- Assignee:
- Ford Motor Co
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4214447
- OSTI ID:
- 6928645
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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