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The reciprocatable power piston of a free-piston Stirling machine is drivingly linked to a reciprocatable component body of an associated apparatus by at least one spring with no rigid connection linking the piston to the component body. The spring drive linkage allows the power piston and the recip

The reciprocatable power piston of a free-piston Stirling machine is drivingly linked to a reciprocatable component body of an associated apparatus by at least one spring with no rigid connection linking the piston to the component body. The spring drive linkage allows the power piston and the reciprocatable component body of the associated apparatus to reciprocate at different amplitudes of oscillation. Therefore, the Stirling machine and the associated apparatus can be optimized at different amplitudes of piston and the component body oscillation thereby improving the optimization of two very different dynamic systems that are drivingly connected together.

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The invention claimed is: 1. An improved combination of a free-piston Stirling machine including a reciprocatable power piston drivingly linked to an associated apparatus having a reciprocatable component body that is part of a mechanical load that the Stirling machine drives or of a prime mover th

The invention claimed is: 1. An improved combination of a free-piston Stirling machine including a reciprocatable power piston drivingly linked to an associated apparatus having a reciprocatable component body that is part of a mechanical load that the Stirling machine drives or of a prime mover that drives the Stirling machine, wherein the improvement comprises: at least one spring connected to and drivingly linking the piston to the component body, there being no rigid connection linking the piston to the component body thereby permitting the piston and the component body to reciprocate at different amplitudes of oscillation. 2. An improved combination in accordance with claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of springs connected to and drivingly linking the piston to the component body. 3. An improved combination in accordance with claim 2, wherein there are an even number of springs connected to and drivingly linking the piston to the component body for canceling any torque force exerted by the springs when an axial force is applied to them. 4. An improved combination in accordance with claim 3, wherein the springs are coil springs. 5. An improved combination in accordance with claim 1, wherein the free-piston Stirling machine is an engine and the reciprocatable component body is a reciprocating component body of a linear alternator driven by the engine for driving the reciprocating component body of the linear alternator in reciprocation at an amplitude of reciprocation X2 that is greater than the amplitude of reciprocation X1 of the piston. 6. An improved combination in accordance with claim 1, wherein the spring, the mass of the reciprocatable component body, the damping of the reciprocatable component body and the operating ratio of the component body amplitude of reciprocation to the power piston amplitude of reciprocation, when the combination is operated at the natural frequency ωn of oscillation of the component body, are related in accordance with  X 2 X 1  = k s ⁢ m 2 c l wherein ks is the spring constant of the spring; m2 is the mass of the reciprocatable component body; cl is a damping constant for damping of the reciprocatable component body; X2 is the amplitude of reciprocation of the component body; X1 is the amplitude of reciprocation of the power piston; and ω n = k s m 2 . 7. An improved combination in accordance with claim 6, wherein the free-piston Stirling machine is an engine and the reciprocatable component body is a reciprocating component body of a linear alternator driven by the engine for driving the reciprocating component body of the linear alternator in reciprocation to generate electrical power, wherein the damping constant cl represents damping of the linear alternator by electrical power dissipation in the linear alternator circuit, and wherein c l = α ⁢ ⅆ i ⅆ x . 2 , wherein α is the motor constant of the linear alternator, {dot over (x)}2 is the velocity of the component body and i is a current in the linear alternator. 8. An improved combination in accordance with claim 7, wherein the damping ratio c l c c is less than 0.5, cc being the critical damping constant defined by cc=2√{square root over (ksm2)}. 9. An improved combination in accordance with claim 8, wherein the damping ratio c l c c is less than 0.2. 10. A method for designing, fabricating and operating a combination of a free-piston Stirling machine including a reciprocatable power piston drivingly linked to an associated apparatus having a reciprocatable component body that is part of a mechanical load that the Stirling machine drives or is a part of a prime mover that drives the Stirling machine, wherein the method comprises: connecting and drivingly linking the piston to the component body by at least one spring with no rigid connection linking the piston to the component body, and designing the spring, the mass of the reciprocatable component body, the damping of the reciprocatable component body and the operating ratio of the component body amplitude of reciprocation to the power piston amplitude of reciprocation, when the combination is operated at the natural frequency ωn of oscillation of the component body, to have a relationship between them in accordance with  X 2 X 1  = k s ⁢ m 2 c l wherein ks is the spring constant of the spring; m2 is the mass of the reciprocatable component body; cl is a damping constant for damping of the reciprocatable component body; X2 is the amplitude of reciprocation of the component body; X1 is the amplitude of reciprocation of the power piston; and ω n = k s m 2 . 11. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein the associated apparatus is a linear alternator or a linear motor and the method further comprises designing the spring as having a spring constant ks and designing the alternator or motor as having (a) a mass m2, (b) a motor constant α (c) a ratio of electrical current i to piston velocity {dot over (x)}2 (d) a damping constant cl and (e) a damping ratio less than 0.5, wherein the damping ratio is c l c c the damping constant is c l = α ⁢ ⅆ i ⅆ x . 2 , the motor constant is α = ⁢ v ⁡ ( alt . / motor - volts ) x . 2 ⁡ ( alt . / motor - velocity - m ⁢ / ⁢ sec ) = ⁢ force ⁢ ⁢ ( newtons ) alt . / motor - current ⁢ ⁢ ( amps ) ,  and the critical damping constant is cc=2√{square root over (ksm2)}. 12. A method in accordance with claim 11 and more particularly comprising designing the alternator or motor as having a critical damping ratio no greater than 0.2. 13. A method in accordance with claim 12 and further comprising operating the combination at an operating frequency in the range of 0.75 ωn and 1.11 ωn.