Energy recovery apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An energy recovery apparatus for recovering energy from a working element, and assisting in moving said working element through the use of the recovered energy, comprising:
- a ram-like system operably associated with the working element and movable in response to movement of said working element;
a compressible medium in communication with the ram-like system, the compressible medium able to store energy acting on the working element when the working element is moved in a first direction, said stored energy being usable by the ram-like system to assist in moving the working element in a second direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An energy recovery and storage apparatus especially well adapted for use with flight control surfaces on airborne mobile platforms, such as aircraft. In one form the apparatus includes a ram-like element coupled to a portion of a flight control surface. An accumulator holds a flexible container having a compressible medium contained within the flexible container. The accumulator is in fluid communication with a housing of the ram-like element. When the flight control surface is moved from a deployed to a retracted position, the energy acting on the surface is recovered and stored in the compressible medium as the ram-like element forces fluid from its housing into the accumulator. When the flight control surface is to be deployed again in a subsequent cycle, the stored energy in the compressible medium is used to urge the ram-like element into an extended position, thus assisting in deploying the flight control surface. The various preferred embodiments all enable lower power, smaller and less expensive actuators to be used to control a flight control surface.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An energy recovery apparatus for recovering energy from a working element, and assisting in moving said working element through the use of the recovered energy, comprising:
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a ram-like system operably associated with the working element and movable in response to movement of said working element;
a compressible medium in communication with the ram-like system, the compressible medium able to store energy acting on the working element when the working element is moved in a first direction, said stored energy being usable by the ram-like system to assist in moving the working element in a second direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for recovering energy from a working element and using the recovered energy to assist in moving said working element through the use of the recovered energy, the method comprising:
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providing a movable member operably associated with the working element, and movable in opposing directions in response to movement of the working element in first and second directions;
using a compressible medium responsive to movement of the movable member to store energy acting on the working element, and transmitted to the movable member, when the working element is moved in a first direction by an external force; and
causing the compressible medium to use said stored energy to move the movable member to assist in moving the working element in the second direction.
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- 11. The method of claim 11, wherein using a compressible medium comprises using a gas.
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17. A mobile platform comprising:
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a moveable control component supported adjacent an exterior surface of the mobile platform;
an energy recovery system including;
a movable element movable in response to movement of the control component;
a container for holding a compressible medium, the container being operably associated with the movable element and able to store energy acting on the control component when the control component is moved in a first direction into a first position, said stored energy being usable by the movable element to assist in moving the control component in a second direction into a second position. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification