Method and system for controlling a free-piston energy converter
AssigneeVolvo Technology Corporation
InventorOlof Lindgarde
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and system for controlling a free-piston energy converter is disclosed in which effects of events, like combustion events, in at least one of at least two cylinders, are decoupled from each other by predicting forces acting on the moving mass of the converter during a stroke of the moving mass and by evaluating or estimating a value representing a force which is exerted onto the moving mass, so that the moving mass reaches a desired reference condition or state, like a desired reference kinetic energy, at a certain position along the stroke.
Claims17
Method for controlling a free-piston energy converter by an electromagnetic force exerted onto a moving mass of the converter, by which method effects of disturbance events in at least one of at least two cylinders are decoupled from each other, comprising the following steps:
- predicting future forces acting on the moving mass of the converter during a stroke of the moving mass, wherein predicting future forces is conducted based on at least one of certain present states and conditions within the converter for a first position of the moving mass,
- evaluating or estimating on the basis of the predicted future forces a value for generating the electromagnetic force which is exerted onto the moving mass, so that the moving mass reaches a desired reference condition or state at a certain position along the stroke;
- and
- repeating the steps of predicting and evaluating or estimating for a second position of the moving mass along its stroke.
Method for controlling a free-piston energy converter by an electromagnetic force exerted onto a moving mass of the converter, by which method effects of disturbance events in at least one of at least two cylinders are decoupled from each other, comprising the following steps:
- predicting future forces acting on the moving mass of the converter during a stroke of the moving mass, wherein predicting future forces is conducted based on at least one of certain present states and conditions within the converter, and
- evaluating or estimating on the basis of the predicted future forces a value for generating the electromagnetic force which is exerted onto the moving mass, so that the moving mass reaches a desired reference condition or state at a certain position along the stroke,
- wherein the electromagnetic force which is exerted onto the moving mass is evaluated or estimated based on a physical model of the moving mass and on at least one of pressure- and position- and velocity-signals within the free piston energy converter, and the physical model for evaluating or estimating the pressure is based on a filtering of pressure signals generated by pressure sensors within at least one cylinder of the converter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.