Abstract: Provided is a plug lock mechanism allowing a locking member to be retained at any position with a simple structure. The plug lock mechanism has a plug that can be plugged into and pulled out of a power receiving connector as a female connector; and a locking member that is swingably and axially supported by a pair of shaft receiving portions that are provided across the power receiving connector. This locking member coaxially has a pair of shaft portions that are located at both ends thereof, and central axes X1L and X1R of shaft receiving holes of the shaft receiving portions are slanted with respect to a central axis of the shaft portions. Thus, the locking member can be retained at any position via a friction caused by allowing the shaft portions to be pressed against part of the inner walls of the shaft receiving holes.

Abstract: Provided is a Stirling engine whose characteristics can be easily adjusted. In a Stirling refrigerator as a Stirling engine including a piston as a reciprocating body that is configured to be able to reciprocate inside a cylinder having a central axis line X, and a mover of a linear motor and a connector as moving bodies that are coupled to and move together with this piston, since there is provided spacer(s) as an adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting the static position of a tip end of the piston inside the cylinder by adjusting the positional relation between the mover and the piston, the characteristics of the Stirling refrigerator can be easily adjusted.

Abstract: Provided is a thermally efficient Stirling cycle engine including: a casing; a cylinder housed within the casing; a piston reciprocatable inside said cylinder; a displacer reciprocatable with a phase difference relative to the piston; a compression chamber defined between the piston and the displacer; an expansion chamber arranged on a first side of the displacer with a second side thereof opposite to the compression chamber; a heat exhausting unit arranged in the neighborhood of the compression chamber; a heat absorbing unit arranged in the neighborhood of the expansion chamber; a regenerator arranged between the heat exhausting unit and the heat absorbing unit; and a heat exhausting chamber defined between an outer surface of the casing and an inner surface of the heat exhausting unit, said heat exhausting chamber in communication with the compression chamber and the regenerator respectively through a first passage and a second passage provided in the casing.

Abstract: Provided is a Stirling refrigerator having enhanced cooling capacity through improving exhaust-heat efficiency of the electromagnetic reciprocating drive mechanism. The Stirling refrigerator includes: a casing having a cylindrical portion and a body portion; a cylinder provided with a mount housed within the casing, the mount formed of a metal exhibiting high thermal conductivity; a piston and a displacer housed in the cylinder in a reciprocable manner; a stator of an electromagnetic reciprocating drive mechanism, the stator held on the mount and arranged within the body portion; and a mover of the electromagnetic reciprocating drive mechanism, the mover connected to the piston. The casing is partially formed with a heat-conduction block formed of a metal exhibiting favorable thermal conductivity thermally in contact with the mount. A heat generated at a compression chamber and an electromagnetic reciprocating drive mechanism can be efficiently released to the outside of the casing.