Stirlingengineforum.com

http://youtu.be/YzBgoDeY3Ws
I know this is an internal combustion design, but couldn’t ’It be used as well on a free piston stirling engine. It looks like an easy way to convert linear movement to radial motion to turn a drive shaft

Iam conceding most of you don't grasp the way this engine works. The piston doesn't travel just up and down the cylinder as usual .It travel the cylinder as would a rifled bullet, it spins. Converting the up and down motion to radial motion without the need of anything, be it gears a flywheel etc.

Iam just curious. A lot of people have stopped to take peak but no comments? I can see maybe a lot of wear and tear on that one knob sticking out. What if it was more like those new rifled barrels, hills and valleys, with no sharp edges. Id really like to hear what you think ? Its not corkscrewing up the cylinder then reversing direction ? That would be bad.

I had a peek foha,
To my eyes, It kinda resembles a swashplate design, but refined to one cylinder and making the piston/s the 'plate'.
For me, I can see the concept being adapted to an Alpha configuration with the pistons being directly opposed (facing each other), and being able to slide back and forth whilst offset @ 90deg(relative to each other), but rotationally locked/connected to each other as they spin.
The Alpha concept that i'm suggesting, is definetly lacking in description, and probably requires a more in depth explanation, but i'll let it fly and see if anyone else gets it, or cares to comment...
vamoose

ps. I can see what your saying about it having the potential for use on a free piston engine concept.., but once the piston is mechanically attached to something its no longer a 'free piston', (this just occured to me, and is probably splitting 'mechanical hairs').

Vamoose,
How about using it on the Mason engine. The two pistons are already a solid connection. I had never seen that engine before. You posted it when I ask for Ericsson animations. The title underneath it classifies it as a Mason Ericsson engine. Is it really using the ericsson cycle? Its not a stirling engine because it is an open system. I love the design of how the the intake and exhaust valves line up. Its stated it is a medium temperature differencial engine 250f. and,has lots of torque.

http://youtu.be/io4KTNpH5c4

The rotary cam drive, or what ever its called, works. Here is a utube of an alpha stirling engine externally driving the cam and converting it to rotary motion. No reason an internal piston couldn’t do the same thing.