STIRLING ENGINE FOR VEHICLE

摘要

A Stirling engine for a vehicle which provides sufficient cooling of working fluid when a vehicle is traveling and stores temperature difference energy converted from kinetic energy of the vehicle produced during a brake operation, thus enhancing fuel economy. The Stirling engine is equipped with two pistons, and a phase difference alteration mechanism (6) for altering the relative phase between a piston (1) and a piston (2) is installed as an operation state alteration device. Furthermore, a heat accumulator (5) is disposed in the heating section (12) of the engine, and a circulation circuit of cooling medium in which a radiator (2B) is arranged is formed in a cooling section (22). During brake operation of a vehicle, the phase difference alteration mechanism (6) switches the operating state of the Stirling engine to operate it as a heat pump and, at the same time, blocks circulation of cooling medium to a radiator (22B), thus accumulating kinetic energy of the vehicle during a brake operation as temperature difference energy in the heat accumulator (5) and the cooling medium. The regenerated temperature difference energy is utilized during subsequent traveling.