Fluid-working machine and method of operating a fluid-working machine
First Claim
1. A method of operating a fluid-working machine comprising a plurality of working chambers of cyclically varying volume, each said working chamber operable to displace a volume of working fluid which is selectable for each cycle of working chamber volume, the method comprising:
- selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by one or more said working chambers during each cycle of working chamber volume to carry out a working function responsive to a received demand signal,selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by a working chamber of said plurality of working chambers during a cycle of working chamber volume taking into account an availability of the other said working chambers to displace fluid to carry out the working function, anddetermining that a second of said working chambers is unavailable to carry out the working function and responsively causing a first of said working chambers to execute an active cycle instead of an idle cycle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a method of operating a fluid-working machine, the volume of working fluid displaced during each cycle of working chamber volume is selected taking into account the availability of other working chambers. The status of each working chamber is monitored and a working chamber treated as unavailable if it is found to be malfunctioning. A working chamber may be treated as unavailable if it is allocated to an alternative working function. A fault may be detected in a working chamber by determining whether a measured output parameter of the fluid working machine fulfills at least one acceptable function criterion taking into account the previously selected net displacement of working fluid by a working chamber during a cycle of working chamber volume to carry out the working function.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating a fluid-working machine comprising a plurality of working chambers of cyclically varying volume, each said working chamber operable to displace a volume of working fluid which is selectable for each cycle of working chamber volume, the method comprising:
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selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by one or more said working chambers during each cycle of working chamber volume to carry out a working function responsive to a received demand signal, selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by a working chamber of said plurality of working chambers during a cycle of working chamber volume taking into account an availability of the other said working chambers to displace fluid to carry out the working function, and determining that a second of said working chambers is unavailable to carry out the working function and responsively causing a first of said working chambers to execute an active cycle instead of an idle cycle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20)
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11. A fluid-working machine comprising:
a controller and a plurality of working chambers of cyclically varying volume, each said working chamber operable to displace a volume of working fluid which is selectable by the controller on each cycle of the working chamber volume, the controller operable to select the volume of working fluid displaced by one or more said working chambers on each cycle of the working chamber volume to carry out a working function responsive to a received demand signal, the controller operable to select the volume of working fluid displaced by the working chamber of said plurality of working chambers on a cycle of the working chamber volume taking into account an availability of other said working chambers to displace fluid to carry out the working function, the controller being configured to determine that a second of said working chambers is unavailable to carry out the working function and to responsively cause a first of said working chambers to execute an active cycle instead of an idle cycle. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A fluid working machine controller comprising:
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a working chamber database specifying the relative phase of a plurality of working chambers of a fluid working machine, a demand input for receiving a demand signal, a phase input for receiving a phase signal indicative of the phase of volume cycles of the working chambers of the fluid working machine, working chamber availability data specifying which of the plurality of working chambers are available, and a displacement control module operable to select a volume of working fluid to be displaced by each of a plurality of working chambers specified by the working chamber database on each cycle of the working chamber volume taking into account the received phase signal, the received demand signal and the working chamber availability data, wherein the fluid working machine controller is configured to determine from said working chamber availability data that a second of said working chambers is unavailable to carry out the working function and to responsively cause a first of said working chambers to execute an active cycle instead of an idle cycle. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of operating a fluid-working machine comprising a plurality of working chambers of cyclically varying volume, each said working chamber operable to displace a volume of working fluid which is selectable for each cycle of working chamber volume, the method comprising:
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selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by one or more said working chambers during each cycle of working chamber volume to carry out a working function responsive to a received demand signal, and selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by a working chamber of said plurality of working chambers during a cycle of working chamber volume taking into account an availability of the other said working chambers to displace fluid to carry out the working function, measuring the status of each said working chamber and determining the availability of each said working chamber responsive thereto.
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19. A method of operating a fluid-working machine comprising a plurality of working chambers of cyclically varying volume, each said working chamber operable to displace a volume of working fluid which is selectable for each cycle of working chamber volume, the method comprising:
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selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by one or more said working chambers during each cycle of working chamber volume to carry out a first working function responsive to a received demand signal, and selecting the volume of working fluid displaced by a working chamber of said plurality of working chambers during a cycle of working chamber volume taking into account an availability of the other said working chambers to displace fluid to carry out the said first working function, wherein a working chamber of said plurality of working chambers is treated as unavailable when said working chamber is allocated to a second working function different from said first working function or when said working chamber is not allocated to a or any working function.
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Specification