Anti-ice control system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A variable volume control system for controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through supply conduit means, comprising a control valve movable between positions opening and closing the supply conduit means to fluid flow for modulating the flow rate therethrough;
- a pressure responsive pneumatic actuator for movably positioning said control valve; and
means for supplying a pneumatic fluid pressure control signal to said actuator, said control signal supplying means including means for modulating the control signal in response to the temperature of ambient air, and in response to the temperature of the heated fluid within the supply conduit means, said control signal supplying means further including a reference pressure regulator, an input conduit connected between said regulator and the supply conduit means at a point upstream of said control valve, and output conduit means connected between said regulator and said actuator, said regulator including means responsive to fluid pressure in said input conduit to supply a predetermined control pressure to said actuator via said output conduit means said output conduit means comprising an output conduit connected from said regulator to atmosphere, and a control conduit including orifice means connected between said output conduit and said regulator.
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Abstract
An anti-ice control system for controlling flow of heated air in response to the temperature of the heated air and ambient air.
19 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A variable volume control system for controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through supply conduit means, comprising a control valve movable between positions opening and closing the supply conduit means to fluid flow for modulating the flow rate therethrough;
- a pressure responsive pneumatic actuator for movably positioning said control valve; and
means for supplying a pneumatic fluid pressure control signal to said actuator, said control signal supplying means including means for modulating the control signal in response to the temperature of ambient air, and in response to the temperature of the heated fluid within the supply conduit means, said control signal supplying means further including a reference pressure regulator, an input conduit connected between said regulator and the supply conduit means at a point upstream of said control valve, and output conduit means connected between said regulator and said actuator, said regulator including means responsive to fluid pressure in said input conduit to supply a predetermined control pressure to said actuator via said output conduit means said output conduit means comprising an output conduit connected from said regulator to atmosphere, and a control conduit including orifice means connected between said output conduit and said regulator.
- a pressure responsive pneumatic actuator for movably positioning said control valve; and
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2. A variable volume control system for controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through supply conduit means, comprising:
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(a) a control valve movable between positions opening and closing the supply conduit means to fluid flow for modulating the flow rate therethrough; (b) a pressure responsive pneumatic actuator for movably positioning said control valve; and (c) means for supplying a pneumatic fluid pressure control signal to said actuator, said control signal supplying means including means for modulating the control signal in response to the temperature of the heated fluid within the supply conduit means, said control signal modulating means comprising; (1) a servo unit; (2) servo conduit means for supplying the control signal to said servo unit, said servo unit including adjustment means for adjustably opening and closing said servo conduit means to fluid flow; (3) means responsive to the temperature of ambient air and coupled to said adjustment means for variably positioning said adjustment means in response to ambient air temperature; and (4) means responsive to the temperature of the heated fluid and coupled to said adjustment means for variably positioning said adjustment means in response to the temperature of the heated fluid, said servo conduit means including a servo conduit for supplying the control pressure to said servo unit in parallel with said actuator, said servo conduit terminating in a nozzle within said servo unit, said adjustment means including a pivotally mounted servo beam for variably opening and closing said nozzle, and reference spring means for predeterminably biasing said beam toward a position closing said nozzle, said ambient air temperature responsive positioning means comprising a temperature sensing bellows assembly disposed in communication with ambient air, said bellows assembly including a force arm in bearing engagement with said beam in force-opposition to said reference spring means for providing a force to said beam as a function of increasing ambient air temperature for moving said beam away from said nozzle to modulate the pressure level of the control signal. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An anti-ice control system for controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through a flow path for supply to components subject to icing, comprising:
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(a) a control valve operably positioned along the flow path for modulating the flow rate of heated fluid therethrough; (b) a pressure responsive actuator coupled to said control valve for modulating said control valve; (c) a servo unit; (d) means for supplying in parallel to said actuator and said servo unit a control pressure signal functionally related to the pressure of the heated fluid in the flow path, and servo unit including adjustment means for bleeding off a portion of the control pressure signal to modulate the pressure level thereof, said signal supplying means including a nozzle within said servo unit, said adjustment means comprising a pivotally mounted servo beam for variably opening and closing said nozzle, and reference spring means for predeterminably biasing said beam toward a position closing said nozzle; (e) means responsive to the temperature of ambient air and coupled to said adjustment means for variably positioning said adjustment means in response to ambient air temperature, said ambient air temperature responsive means comprising a temperature sensing bellows assembly disposed in communication with ambient air, said bellows assembly including a force arm in bearing engagement with said beam in force-opposition to said reference spring means for providing a force to said beam as a function of increasing ambient air temperature to move said beam away from said nozzle for modulating the pressure level of the control signal; and (f) means responsive to the temperature of the heated fluid and coupled to said adjustment means for variably positioning said adjustment means in response to the temperature of the heated fluid. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21)
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17. An anti-ice control system for controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through a flow path for supply to components subject to icing, comprising a control valve operably positioned along the flow path for controlling the flow rate of heated fluid therethrough;
- an actuator coupled to said control valve for movably positioning said valve, said actuator including an actuator housing, a diaphragm mounted within said actuator housing for pressure responsive movement, and means connected between said diaphragm and said control valve for positionally adjusting said control valve upon pressure responsive movement of said diaphragm;
a reference pressure regulator coupled between said actuator and the flow path upstream of said control valve for supplying a control pressure signal to said actuator for communication with said diaphragm;
an ambient air aspirator, said regulator including flow output means coupled to said aspirator for drawing ambient air flow through said aspirator;
a servo unit;
means including a nozzle within said servo unit for passage of the control pressure signal into said servo unit, said servo unit including a pivotally mounted servo beam for variably opening and closing said nozzle, and reference spring means for predeterminably biasing said beam toward a position closing said nozzle;
means responsive to ambient air temperature disposed along said aspirator and including a force arm in bearing engagement with said servo beam in force-opposition to said reference spring for providing a force to said beam as a function of increasing ambient air temperature for moving said beam away from said nozzle for modulating the pressure level of the control signal; and
means responsive to the temperature of the heated fluid including pressure responsive means in bearing engagement with said servo beam, heated fluid conduit means coupled between the flow path downstream of said control valve and said pressure responsive means, and variable orifice means along said heated fluid conduit means and responsive to the temperature of the heated fluid in the flow path for varying the available flow area therethrough for supplying a fluid pressure to said pressure responsive means which is modulated as a function of heated fluid temperature for urging said pressure responsive means and said servo beam in force-opposition to said reference spring as a function of increasing heated fluid temperature for moving said servo beam away from said nozzle for modulating the pressure level of the control signal. - View Dependent Claims (18, 20, 22, 23)
- an actuator coupled to said control valve for movably positioning said valve, said actuator including an actuator housing, a diaphragm mounted within said actuator housing for pressure responsive movement, and means connected between said diaphragm and said control valve for positionally adjusting said control valve upon pressure responsive movement of said diaphragm;
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19. An anti-ice control system for controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through a flow path for supply to components subject to icing, comprising a control valve operably positioned along the flow path for controlling the flow rate of heated fluid therethrough;
- an actuator coupled to said control valve for movably positioning said valve, said actuator including an actuator housing, a diaphragm mounted within said actuator housing for pressure responsive movement, and means connected between said diaphragm and said control valve for positionally adjusting said control valve upon pressure responsive movement of said diaphragm;
a reference pressure regulator coupled between said actuator and the flow path upstream of said control valve for supplying a control pressure signal to said actuator for communication with said diaphragm;
an ambient air aspirator, said regulator including flow output means coupled to said aspirator for drawing ambient air flow through said aspirator;
a servo unit;
means including a nozzle within said servo unit for passage of the control pressure signal into said servo unit, said servo unit including a pivotally mounted servo beam for variably opening and closing said nozzle, and reference spring means for predeterminably biasing said beam toward a position closing said nozzle;
means responsive to ambient air temperature disposed along said aspirator and including a force arm in bearing engagement with said servo beam in force-opposition to said reference spring for providing a force to said beam as a function of increasing ambient air temperature for moving said beam away from said nozzle for modulating the pressure level of the control signal; and
means responsive to the temperature of the heated fluid including pressure responsive means in bearing engagement with said servo beam, heated fluid conduit means coupled between the flow path upstream of said control valve and said pressure responsive means, and variable orifice means along said heated fluid conduit means and responsive to the pressure of the heated fluid in the flow path for supplying a modulated fluid pressure to said pressure responsive means for urging said pressure responsive means and said servo beam in force-opposition to said reference spring as a function of increasing heated fluid temperature for moving said servo beam away from said nozzle for modulating the pressure level of the control signal, said variable orifice means comprising a variable orifice housing disposed along said heated fluid conduit means and including a fluid pressure inlet and a fluid pressure outlet coupled to said heated fluid conduit means, and an ambient outlet, and flow control means connected with said control valve for movement therewith for controllably varying the flow areas of said fluid inlet and ambient outlet generally inversely to each other so that the fluid pressure within said housing and communicated to said pressure responsive means via said fluid outlet comprises a predetermined function of the pressure of the heated fluid in the flow path.
- an actuator coupled to said control valve for movably positioning said valve, said actuator including an actuator housing, a diaphragm mounted within said actuator housing for pressure responsive movement, and means connected between said diaphragm and said control valve for positionally adjusting said control valve upon pressure responsive movement of said diaphragm;
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24. A method of controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through supply conduit means to components subject to icing, comprising the steps of:
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(a) positioning valve means in the supply conduit means, said valve means being operable to modulate the flow rate of heated fluid through the supply conduit to the components; (b) sensing the pressure level within the supply conduit means and responsively generating a first control signal indicative of the sensed pressure level; (c) sensing the temperature of the heated fluid within the supply conduit means and responsively generating a second control signal indicative of the sensed heated fluid temperature; (d) sensing ambient temperature and responsively generating a third control signal indicative of a sensed ambient temperature; and (e) simultaneously utilizing said first, second, and third control signals to operate said valve means.
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25. A method of controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through supply conduit means, comprising the steps of:
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(a) positioning a control valve movable between positions opening and closing the supply conduit means to fluid flow to modulate the fluid flow rate therethrough; (b) movably positioning the control valve with an actuator; (c) supplying a control signal to the actuator for controlling the position of the control valve, said control signal supplying step including supplying the control signal in parallel to the actuator and to a servo unit via a nozzle, said servo unit including a servo beam for adjustably opening and closing the nozzle to bleed off a portion of the control signal for modulation of the control signal; (d) modulating the control signal in response to the temperature of ambient air; (e) modulating the control signal in response to the temperature of the heated fluid within the supply conduit means, said modulating steps comprising adjustably positioning the servo beam with respect to the nozzle respectively in response to the temperature of ambient air and the temperature of the heated fluid in the supply conduit means; and (f) connecting a reference pressure regulator to the supply conduit means upstream of the control valve for responding to the pressure of the heated fluid for supplying a control pressure via output means to the actuator. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through a flow path for supply to components subject to icing, comprising the steps of positioning a control valve movable between positions opening and closing the flow path to fluid flow to control the fluid flow rate through the path;
- movably positioning the control valve with an actuator;
supplying a control signal to the actuator for controlling the position of the control valve, and in parallel therewith to a servo unit via a nozzle;
positioning a servo beam for adjustably opening and closing the nozzle for bleeding off a portion of the control signal for modulation thereof;
biasing the servo beam with a reference spring toward a position closing the nozzle;
modulating the control signal in response to ambient air temperature by providing a force to the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring and representative of ambient air temperature for adjustably positioning the servo beam in response to ambient air temperature; and
modulating the control signal in response to the heated fluid temperature by providing a force to the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring and representative of the temperature of heated fluid in the flow path for adjustably positioning the servo beam in response to heated fluid temperature. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
- movably positioning the control valve with an actuator;
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42. A method of controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through a flow path for supply to components subject to icing, comprising the steps of positioning a control valve movable between positions opening and closing the flow path to fluid flow to control the fluid flow rate through the path;
- movably positioning the control valve with an actuator;
supplying a control signal to the actuator for controlling the position of the control valve, and in parallel therewith to a servo unit via a nozzle;
positioning a servo beam for adjustably opening and closing the nozzle for bleeding off a portion of the control signal for modulation thereof;
biasing the servo beam with a reference spring toward a position closing the nozzle;
modulating the control signal in response to ambient air temperature by providing a force to the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring and representative of ambient air temperature for adjustably positioning the servo beam in response to ambient air temperature, said ambient air temperature modulating step including sensing ambient air temperature with a temperature sensing bellows positioned in an ambient air aspirator, applying a force representative of ambient air temperature from the bellows to a force arm, and urging the servo beam with the force arm in force-opposition to the reference spring toward a position away from the nozzle to bleed off a portion of the control signal and thereby modulate the control signal in response to ambient air temperature; and
modulating the control signal in response to the heated fluid temperature by providing a force to the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring and representative of the temperature of heated fluid in the flow path for adjustably positioning the servo beam in response to heated fluid temperature, said heated fluid temperature modulating step including positioning pressure responsive means in bearing engagement with the servo beam, coupling heated fluid conduit means between the flow path and the pressure responsive means, and variably orificing heated fluid flow through the heated fluid conduit means as a function of heated fluid temperature for urging the pressure responsive means against the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring for urging the beam away from the nozzle to bleed off a portion of the control signal and thereby modulate the control signal in response to the temperature of the heated fluid. - View Dependent Claims (43)
- movably positioning the control valve with an actuator;
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44. A method of controlling the flow rate of a heated fluid through a flow path for supply to components subject to icing, comprising the steps of positioning a control valve movable between positions opening and closing the flow path to fluid flow to control the fluid flow rate through the path;
- movably positioning the control valve with an actuator;
supplying a control signal to the actuator for controlling the position of the control valve, and in parallel therewith to a servo unit via a nozzle;
positioning a servo beam for adjustably opening and closing the nozzle for bleeding off a portion of the control signal for modulation thereof;
biasing the servo beam with a reference spring toward a position closing the nozzle;
modulating the control signal in response to ambient air temperature by providing a force to the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring and representative of ambient air temperature for adjustably positioning the servo beam in response to ambient air temperature, said ambient air temperature modulating step including sensing ambient air temperature with a temperature sensing bellows positioned in an ambient air aspirator, applying a force representative of ambient air temperature from the bellows to a force arm, and urging the servo beam with the force arm in force-opposition to the reference spring toward a position away from the nozzle to bleed off a portion of the control signal and thereby modulate the control signal in response to ambient air temperature; and
modulating the control signal in response to the heated fluid temperature by providing a force to the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring and representative of the temperature of heated fluid in the flow path for adjustably positioning the servo beam in response to heated fluid temperature, said heated fluid temperature modulating step including positioning pressure responsive means in bearing engagement with the servo beam, coupling heated fluid conduit means between the flow path and the pressure responsive means, and variably orificing heated fluid flow through the heated fluid conduit means as a function of heated fluid temperature for urging the pressure responsive means against the servo beam in force-opposition to the reference spring for urging the beam away from the nozzle to bleed off a portion of the control signal and thereby modulate the control signal in response to the temperature of the heated fluid, said variably orificing step comprising connecting an orifice housing along the heated fluid conduit means, said orifice housing having an inlet and an outlet coupled to the heated fluid conduit means, and an ambient outlet, and flow control means for variably changing the flow areas of the inlet and the outlet to provide a modulated fluid pressure to the pressure responsive means, and connecting the flow control means with the control valve for movement therewith whereby the fluid pressure supplied to the pressure responsive means comprises a predetermined function of the pressure of the heated fluid in the flow path. - View Dependent Claims (45)
- movably positioning the control valve with an actuator;
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46. Variable volume anti-ice control apparatus comprising:
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(a) supply conduit means for flowing heated fluid from a source thereof to components subject to icing; (b) valve means disposed in said supply conduit means and operable to modulate the flow rate of heated fluid to such components; (c) first sensing means for sensing the pressure level within said supply conduit means and responsively generating a control signal indicative of the sensed pressure level; (d) second sensing means for sensing the temperature of heated fluid within said supply conduit means and responsively generating a control signal indicative of the sensed heated fluid temperature; (e) third sensing means for sensing ambient temperature and responsively generating a control signal indicative of the sensed ambient temperature; and (f) control means for simultaneously utilizing the control signals from said first, second and third sensing means to operate said valve means.
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Specification