Patent ID: 7908856

Claim:
A Stirling energy conversion system comprising: a housing containing a compressible fluid capable of supporting propagation of acoustical traveling waves; two or more driven members positioned along a common central axis, wherein the driven members oscillate along the common central axis; the driven members having a first face and an opposed second face, the first face configured to accept acoustic power from the compressible fluid and the second face configured to deliver acoustic power to the compressible fluid; a plurality of transduction elements each operably coupled to one or more of the driven members, wherein the transduction elements are operable to extract mechanical energy from the one or more driven members and convert the extracted energy to electrical energy, or convert received electrical energy and input mechanical energy into the driven member; one or more Stirling cores positioned adjacent to and in acoustic communication with at least one driven member, wherein each Stirling core includes a rejector heat exchanger operable to reject heat to an external heat sink, an acceptor heat exchanger operable to absorb heat energy from an external source, and a regenerator, wherein acoustical traveling waves propagate through the rejector heat exchanger, the regenerator and the acceptor heat exchanger; and means for guiding acoustical waves sequentially through the driven members and the Stirling cores reducing the net vibration of the Stirling energy conversion system.