Resonant piston compressor having improved stroke control for load-following electric heat pumps and the like
First Claim
1. In a resonant piston apparatus wherein a movable mass is arranged with gas spring means and an oscillating driving means to form a dynamic ocillating system, the combination with such apparatus comprising:
- dynamically variable gas spring control valve means communicating with said gas spring means for regulating the pressure of the gas in said gas spring means, and control means for dynamically variably controlling the opening and closing of said gas spring control valve means during operation of the oscillating system to thereby maintain the operation of said oscillating system within predetermined stroke limits and to dynamically variably modulate the stroke of the oscillating system to meet load demands.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for controlling a resonant piston compressor of the type comprising an electrodynamic linear reciprocating motor adapted to be driven cyclically by an alternating current power source and having at least one piston coupled to and adapted to be driven within a selectively valved working cylinder by the linear reciprocating motor in synchronism with the frequency of the alternating current power source. Enclosed volumes of gas act as resilient gas springs coacting with the piston and with the linear reciprocating motor to form a mechanical resonant system having a resonant frequency substantially centered on the frequency of the alternating current power source. A midstroke porting arrangement is responsive to the position of the resonant piston for selectively communicating a gas spring control valve with said gas springs. The invention operates to variably control with the gas spring control valve the pressure of the gas in the gas springs to thereby dynamically modulate the stiffness of the resilient gas spring in a manner to control the stroke of the resonant piston compressor within predetermined safe limits. The method and apparatus further include sensing a plurality of different operating parameters of the resonant piston compressor and deriving output sensed signals representative of the respective parameters, combining the sensed parameter output signals to derive therefrom an output control signal and applying the output control signal to the gas spring control valve to variably control the opening and closing of the gas spring control valve.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. In a resonant piston apparatus wherein a movable mass is arranged with gas spring means and an oscillating driving means to form a dynamic ocillating system, the combination with such apparatus comprising:
dynamically variable gas spring control valve means communicating with said gas spring means for regulating the pressure of the gas in said gas spring means, and control means for dynamically variably controlling the opening and closing of said gas spring control valve means during operation of the oscillating system to thereby maintain the operation of said oscillating system within predetermined stroke limits and to dynamically variably modulate the stroke of the oscillating system to meet load demands. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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2. A resonant piston compressor of the type comprising an electrodynamic linear reciprocating motor adapted to be driven cyclicly by an AC power source, at least one piston coupled to and adapted to be driven within a selectively valved working cylinder by said linear motor in synchronism with the frequency of the AC power source, enclosed volume of gas acting as resilient gas spring means coacting with said piston and with said motor to form a dynamic mechanical resonant oscillating system having a resonant frequency substantially equal to the frequency of said AC power source, the improvement comprising:
dynamically variable gas spring control valve means selectively communicating with said gas spring means for regulating the pressure of gas in said gas spring means, and control means for dynamically variably controlling the opening and closing of said gas spring control valve means during operation of the oscillating system to thereby maintain the operation of said resonant piston compressor within predetermined stroke limits and to variably modulate the piston stroke in response to load demands placed on the compressor. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
- 24. The method of controlling a resonant piston compressor of the type comprising an electrodynamic linear reciprocating motor adapted to be driven cyclically by an alternating current power source, at least one piston coupled to and adapted to be driven within a selectively valved working cylinder by said linear reciprocating motor in synchronism with the frequency of said alternating current power source, enclosed volumes of gas acting as resilient gas spring means coacting with said piston and with said linear reciprocating motor to form a mechanical resonant system having a resonant frequency substantially equal to the frequency of said alternating current power source, and means responsive to the position of the resonant piston for selectively communicating a gas spring control valve means with said gas spring means, said method comprising dynamically variably controlling with the gas spring control valve means the pressure of the gas in said gas spring means during operation of the mechanical resonant system to thereby dynamically control the stiffness of the resilient gas spring means in a manner to modulate the stroke of the resonant piston compressor within predetermined safe limits.
Specification