Hot-gas reciprocating apparatus

Claim 1

A HOT-GAS RECIPROCATING APPARATUS COMPRISING CYLINDER MEANS, AT LEAST TWO PISTON-SHAPED MEMBERS ADAPTED TO RECIPROCATE THEREIN WITH A MUTUAL PHASE DIFFERENCE, SAID CYLINDER MEANS AND PISTON-SHAPED MEMBERSD DEFINING AN EXPANSION SPACE AND A COMPRESSION SPACE, A MEDIUM IN SAID SPACES, SAID SPACES HAVING DIFFERENT MEAN TEMPERATURES, MEANS CONNECTING SAID SPACES INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE REGENERATOR THROUGH WHICH SAID MEDIUM FLOWS, A BUFFER SPACE ADJACENT TO SAID COMPRESSION SPACE AND CONNECTED TO SAID CYLINDER MEANS, AND A DEVICE FOR REGULATING THE POWER OF SAID APPARATUS BASED ON CHANGES IN THE PHASE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MOVEMENTS OF SAID PISTON-SHAPED MEMBERS WHEREBY WHEN SAID PHASE RELATIONSHIP IS SUCH THAT SAID POWER BECOMES ZERO THE VOLUMES OF THE EXPANSION SPACE AND COMPRESSION SPACE VARY SUBSTANTIALLY IN PHASE OPPOSITION, THE PISTON-SHAPED MEMBERS HAVING SUCH A STROKE VOLUME RATION THAT TEMPERATURE INFLUENCES THEREON ARE ELIMINATED WHEREBY NO PRESSURE VARIATIONS WILL OCCUR IN THE CYLINDER MEANS WHEN THE POWER IS ZERO, SAID PISTON-SHAPED MEMBERS BEING A COMPRESSION PISTON AND A DISPLACER RESPECTIVELY, AND THE RATIO BETWEEN THE VOLUME TRAVERSED BY SAID COMPRESSION PISTON AND THE VOLUME TRAVERSED BY SAID DISPLACER IS SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO 1-$ WHERE $ REPRESENTS THE RATIO BETWEEN THE ABSOLUTE COMPRESSION TEMPERATURE AND THE ABSOLUTE EXPANSION TEMPERATURE.