Gas boosters
AssigneeFluke Corporation
InventorsRobert B. Haines, Richard Rosenthal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
One or more examples of the gas boosters described herein aim to provide a light weight gas booster configured to produce high output pressure levels at high volumes. Generally described, one or more examples of the gas boosters reduce the dead volume in a piston assembly, thereby increasing the ratio of the output pressure to the input pressure. In that regard, several examples of the gas boosters disclosed herein have a first check valve as a disk-type check valve or the like and a second check valve as a ball-type check valve or the like. Furthermore, one or more examples include an inwardly acting cam configured to convert rotary motion to reciprocating motion by an inner surface thereof.
Claims20
A gas booster, comprising:
- at least one cylinder having a bore therein;
- a piston moveable in the bore of the at least one cylinder thereby forming a cavity that expands and contracts in response to the piston moving within the bore, wherein the cavity is configured to receive a gas at a first pressure level via a first port and to output the gas at a second pressure level via a second port;
- a mechanism configured to cause the piston to move within the bore from a first position to a second position;
- a first check valve having a planar sealing member located in the bore proximate the first port, the first check valve selectively permitting the gas to enter the cavity through the first port, wherein the piston is proximate the planar sealing member at the second position;
- and
- a second check valve located proximate the second port, the second check valve selectively permitting the gas to exit the cavity though the second port;
- wherein the first and second check valves are configured and arranged so as to minimize the dead volume of the cavity when the piston has attained the second position.
A gas booster, comprising:
- two or more cylinders having a bore therein;
- a piston moveable in each bore of the two or more cylinders, forming cavities with a variable volume that expands and contracts in response to the pistons moving within the bores;
- an inlet configured to receive a gas at a first pressure level and an outlet configured to output a gas at a second pressure level, wherein the inlet is selectively connected in fluid communication with the cavity via a first check valve in the bore and the outlet is selectively connected in fluid communication with the cavity via a second check valve, wherein the first check valve is a disk-type check valve;
- and
- a cam including an aperture forming an inner cam surface that surrounds the two or more cylinders and the pistons, wherein rotation of the cam causes the inner cam surface to move the pistons from a first position to a second position, and wherein the piston is proximate the disk-type check valve at the second position.
A system, comprising:
- one or more cylinders having a bore therein;
- a piston moveable in each bore of the one or more cylinders, forming a variable volume cavity that expands and contracts in response to the piston moving within the bore, wherein the variable volume cavity is configured to receive a gas at a first pressure level via a first port and to output the gas at a second, higher pressure level via a second port;
- a cam including an aperture forming an inner cam surface that surrounds the one or more cylinders and the piston, wherein rotation of the cam causes the inner cam surface to move the piston from a first position to a second position;
- a first check valve located in the bore proximate the first port and a second check valve located proximate the second port, the first check valve selectively permitting the gas to enter the cavity through the first port and the second check valve selectively permitting the gas to exit the cavity through the second port, wherein the first check valve is a disk-type check valve, and wherein the piston is proximate the disk-type check valve at the second position;
- a prime mover configured to rotate the cam;
- and
- a control logic device configured to generate control signals and to provide the control signals to the prime mover, wherein the control signals are configured to cause the prime mover to rotate the cam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.