Patent ID: 8677745

Claim:
A Stirling cycle engine comprising: at least one pair of annular chambers of the same internal dimensions joined together forming a sealed continuous Figure-8 shaped chamber; the Figure-8 shaped chamber is filled with a gaseous working fluid; one of the paired annular chambers is supplied with thermal energy and functions as a hot cylinder and the other annular chamber has thermal energy removed and functions as a cold cylinder; a slidable piston comprised of multiple segments linked together disposed within the contiguous Figure-8 chamber and in constant slidable contact against the Figure-8 chamber; the slidable piston traverses the Figure-8 shaped chamber when thermal energy is injected into the hot cylinder and removed from the cold cylinder; the slidable piston, when in motion, moves the working fluid alternately between the hot cylinder and the cold cylinder; the slidable piston's segment's cross-sectional shape and cross-sectional area are the same as that of the Figure-8 shaped chamber; and at least one inter-annulus passage between the hot cylinder and the cold cylinder, wherein the working fluid traverses the inter-annulus passage in both directions.