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US 11,408,407 B2Granted
Wobble plate compressor and oxygen concentrator using the same
AssigneeCaire Inc.
InventorsDavid Phillip Winter, Raziel Alon, Gary Wayne Kozlow
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An oxygen concentrator includes a wobble plate compressor having one or more double-headed pistons and cylinders. A wobble plate of the compressor does not spin as an axle rotates, but orbitally tilts relative to the axle, thereby causing the double-headed pistons to move within the respective cylinders.
Claims21
A wobble plate compressor comprising:
- a motor that rotates an axle around an axis of rotation;
- a wobble plate having at least one substantially spherical distal attachment member, the wobble plate coupled to the axle so that the distal attachment member reciprocates upon rotation of the axle;
- a double-headed single piece piston assembly, where the double-headed single piece piston assembly is comprised of two compression faces fixedly connected so as to substantially prevent movement of one of the two compression faces independently of the other;
- and
- at least one single-piece cylinder receiving the double-headed single piece piston to define two compression chambers, the cylinder including a window through which the wobble plate engages with the piston assembly such that the distal attachment member penetrates the piston assembly and engages two opposing connecting rods whereby the piston assembly reciprocates within the cylinder along a second axis parallel to the axis of rotation upon rotation of the axle and the distal attachment member reciprocates on a path that includes a portion with a transverse component relative to the second axis, wherein each of the two opposing connecting rods has a concave portion configured to engage the substantially spherical distal attachment member of the wobble plate and wherein each of the two opposing connecting rods has a connecting rod interface portion configured to slidably interface with a respective piston head of the double-headed single piece piston during reciprocation.
2 more elements
An oxygen concentrator comprising:
- a concentrator;
- and a wobble plate compressor including:
- a motor that rotates an axle around an axis of rotation;
- a wobble plate having at least two balls, each ball on a different distal portion of the wobble plate, the wobble plate coupled to the axle so that each ball reciprocates upon rotation of the axle;
- a double-headed single piece piston, where the double-headed single piece piston is comprised of two compression faces fixedly connected so as to substantially prevent movement of one of the two compression faces independently of the other;
- and at least one single-piece cylinder receiving the double-headed single piece piston assembly to define two compression chambers, the cylinder including a window through which the wobble plate engages with the double-headed single piece piston such that the double-headed single piece piston is attached to an associated one of the balls whereby the double-headed single piece piston reciprocates within the cylinder upon the rotation of the axle and the ball reciprocates on a path that includes a portion with a transverse component relative to the second axis, wherein each double-headed single piece piston includes two opposing rods that engage its associated ball on the wobble plate, and wherein each of the two opposing connecting rods has a concave portion configured to engage the substantially spherical distal attachment member of the wobble plate and wherein each of the two opposing connecting rods has a connecting rod interface portion configured to slidably interface with a respective piston head of the double-headed single piece piston during reciprocation.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.