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US 8,181,746 B2Granted
Continuous supply fluid reservoir
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsRobert D. Szolomayer, David L. Motto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An assembly for holding a fluid includes an auxiliary reservoir inside a main reservoir. The auxiliary reservoir includes an auxiliary reservoir shell with a fill passage at or near its bottom. The auxiliary reservoir shell also has a vent passage at or near its top. The fill passage and the vent passage fluidically connect the auxiliary reservoir to the main reservoir. A fluid inlet is located inside the main reservoir and outside of the auxiliary reservoir. A fluid outlet located inside the auxiliary reservoir between the fill passage and the vent passage.
Claims21
An assembly comprising:
- a main reservoir for holding a fluid;
- an auxiliary reservoir located inside the main reservoir, the auxiliary reservoir comprising:
- an auxiliary reservoir shell comprising a shell top and a shell bottom;
- at least one fill passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell bottom;
- and
- at least one vent passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell top, wherein the auxiliary reservoir is fluidically connected to the main reservoir by the fill passage and the vent passage;
- a fluid inlet located inside the main reservoir and outside of the auxiliary reservoir;
- a fluid outlet located inside the auxiliary reservoir between the fill passage and the vent passage;
- a first supply passage in fluid communication with the fluid outlet;
- a first pump operably connected to the first supply passage for pumping the fluid from the auxiliary reservoir to a first engine component;
- a second supply passage connected to the main reservoir;
- a second pump operably connected to the second supply passage for pumping the fluid from the main reservoir to a second engine component;
- and
- a backup connection passage fluidically connected to the first supply passage at a first interface between the first pump and the first engine component to the second supply passage at a second interface between the second pump and the second engine component.
11 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a main reservoir for holding a fluid;
- an auxiliary reservoir located inside the main reservoir, the auxiliary reservoir comprising:
- an auxiliary reservoir shell comprising a shell top and a shell bottom;
- a fill passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell bottom;
- and
- a vent passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell top, wherein the auxiliary reservoir is fluidically connected to the main reservoir by the fill passage and the vent passage;
- a fluid inlet located inside the main reservoir and outside of the auxiliary reservoir;
- and
- a valve configured to allow fluid flow through the vent passage in a first valve position and to reduce fluid flow through the vent passage in a second valve position, wherein the valve is in the first valve position under normal operating conditions and in the second valve position under negative gravity conditions.
6 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a main reservoir for holding a fluid;
- an auxiliary reservoir located inside the main reservoir, the auxiliary reservoir comprising:
- an auxiliary reservoir shell comprising a shell top and a shell bottom;
- a fill passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell bottom;
- and
- a vent passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell top, wherein the auxiliary reservoir is fluidically connected to the main reservoir by the fill passage and the vent passage;
- a fluid inlet located inside the main reservoir and outside of the auxiliary reservoir;
- a valve configured to allow fluid flow through the vent passage in a first valve position and to reduce fluid flow through the vent passage in a second valve position;
- and
- a deaerator comprising a deaerator vent passage for allowing air flow between the deaerator and the main reservoir, and wherein the valve is further configured to allow fluid flow through the deaerator vent passage in a first valve position and to reduce fluid flow through the deaerator vent passage in a second valve position.
7 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a main reservoir for holding a fluid;
- an auxiliary reservoir located inside the main reservoir, the auxiliary reservoir comprising:
- an auxiliary reservoir shell comprising a shell top and a shell bottom;
- a fill passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell bottom;
- and
- a vent passage through the auxiliary reservoir shell at or near the shell top, wherein the auxiliary reservoir is fluidically connected to the main reservoir by the fill passage and the vent passage;
- a valve configured to allow fluid flow through the vent passage in a first valve position and to reduce fluid flow through the vent passage in a second valve position;
- and
- a fluid inlet located inside the main reservoir and outside of the auxiliary reservoir;
- and
- a fluid outlet located inside the auxiliary reservoir between the fill passage and the vent passage.
8 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a main reservoir for holding a fluid;
- and
- an auxiliary reservoir attached to the main reservoir, the auxiliary reservoir comprising:
- an auxiliary reservoir shell comprising a shared wall between the auxiliary reservoir and the main reservoir;
- and
- a valve comprising:
- a vent passage through the shared wall;
- a disc having a width and a height wherein the width is greater than the height;
- and
- a stem attached to the disc, wherein the stem is configured to slide the disc from a first valve position wherein the disc is spaced apart from the shared wall so as to allow fluid flow through the vent passage to a second valve position wherein the disc is adjacent to the shared wall so as to reduce fluid flow through the vent passage.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.