Multiple-cylinder, free-piston, alpha configured stirling engines and heat pumps with stepped pistons

1. An improved, free-piston, alpha configuration, Stirling machine having at least three pistons and at least three cylinders, each piston reciprocatable in a mating cylinder, each piston and cylinder bounding an expansion space and a compression space in each cylinder, the expansion space in each cylinder being series connected in an alpha Stirling configuration through a regenerator to a compression space in another cylinder and the compression space in each cylinder being series connected in an alpha Stirling configuration through a regenerator to the expansion space in another cylinder, wherein the improvement comprises:

(a) each cylinder being a stepped cylinder having a relatively larger diameter interior wall and a coaxial, relatively smaller diameter interior wall;

(b) each piston being a stepped piston comprising

(i) a first component piston having a first end face facing in one axial direction and matingly reciprocatable in the smaller diameter cylinder wall; and

(ii) a second component piston having a second end face facing in the same axial direction as the first end face and matingly reciprocatable in the larger diameter, cylinder wall; and

(c) one of said end faces of each piston bounding the compression space in the cylinder in which the piston reciprocates and the other said end face of each piston bounding the expansion space in the cylinder in which the piston reciprocates.

2. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 1 wherein the stepped piston has peripheral, cylinder walls that are axially adjacent and joined at a shoulder forming the end face of the larger diameter component piston.

3. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 1 or 2 wherein the Stirling machine comprises three and only three cylinders and associated stepped pistons.

4. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 3 wherein the three cylinders are physically arranged with three, parallel, longitudinal axes of reciprocation arranged at the apexes of an equilateral triangle.

5. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 1 or 2 wherein the Stirling machine comprises four cylinders and associated stepped pistons.

6. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 5 wherein the cylinders are arranged in-line in a physical sequence of 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 and wherein the expansion and compression spaces are series connected in an alpha configuration in the sequence 1 , 3 , 2 , 4 whereby adjacent pair 1 and 2 operate 180° out of phase with each other and adjacent pair 3 and 4 operate 180° out of phase with each other.

7. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 1 or 2 and further comprising:

(a) an opposed, mirror second Stirling machine constructed as described in claim 1 or 2 , each stepped piston of a first Stirling machine connected by a linkage to a stepped piston of the second Stirling machine; and

(b) a plurality of prime movers or loads, each prime mover or load drivingly connected to a different linkage.

8. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 7 wherein the opposed Stirling machines are operational as Stirling engines and a linear alternator is connected as a load to each linkage.

9. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 8 wherein each of the opposed Stirling machines has three and only three pistons and cylinders.

10. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 9 wherein the three cylinders of each Stirling machine are physically arranged with three, parallel, longitudinal axes of reciprocation arranged at the apexes of an equilateral triangle.

11. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 8 wherein each of the opposed Stirling machines has four pistons and cylinders.

12. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 7 wherein the opposed Stirling machines are operational as Stirling heat pumps and a linear motor is connected as a prime mover to each linkage.

13. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 12 wherein each of the opposed Stirling machines has three and only three pistons and cylinders.

14. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 13 wherein the three cylinders of each Stirling machine are physically arranged with three, parallel, longitudinal axes of reciprocation arranged at the apexes of an equilateral triangle.

15. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 12 wherein each of the opposed Stirling machines has four pistons and cylinders.

16. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 1 or 2 and operational as a Stirling engine and further comprising an opposed, second Stirling machine constructed as described in claim 1 or 2 , operational as a Stirling heat pump and connected to form a duplex configuration, each stepped piston of the Stirling engine connected by a linkage to a stepped piston of the Stirling heat pump.

17. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 16 wherein each of the opposed Stirling machines has three and only three pistons and cylinders.

18. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 17 wherein the three cylinders of each Stirling machine are physically arranged with three, parallel, longitudinal axes of reciprocation arranged at the apexes of an equilateral triangle.

19. A Stirling machine in accordance with claim 18 wherein each of the opposed Stirling machines has four pistons and cylinders.