High-Pressure Dose Valve Timing for Two-Stage Fluid Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional high-pressure fluid systems, such as pneumatic nail guns, are inefficient as they exhaust compressed gas at high pressure, wasting energy that could be harnessed to drive the workload.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a dose chamber and a working chamber with a dose valve that allows a high-pressure working fluid to undergo a first expansion and then a second expansion, extracting more energy from the fluid before it is exhausted at a pressure less than or equal to half the original working pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If traditional high-pressure fluid systems continuously supply compressed gas to maintain high pressure behind the piston during the drive stroke, then the energy of the drive stroke is maximized, but the exhausted gas remains at high pressure indicating significant energy is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The drive stroke is divided into two distinct phases: a first expansion phase where the dose valve is open allowing compressed gas to expand and drive the workload, and a second expansion phase where the dose valve is closed allowing the gas to continue expanding and doing work. This segmentation allows the system to extract more energy from the same charge of compressed gas by utilizing both expansion phases, thereby reducing the energy wasted in the exhausted gas while maintaining sufficient drive stroke energy
Solution Approach 2:
The dose chamber is pre-filled with compressed gas at a controlled working pressure before the drive stroke begins. This preliminary action ensures that when the dose valve opens, there is already a charge of high-pressure gas ready to undergo expansion and perform work, maximizing the energy extraction during both the first and second expansion phases without requiring continuous high-pressure supply throughout the entire stroke
2Ease of operation
If a self-contained tank of highly compressed air is used in an untethered fastening tool, then portability is improved, but the exhausted air is still at much greater than atmospheric pressure wasting energy
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the expansion process into two phases controlled by the dose valve timing. During the first expansion phase, the dose valve is open allowing gas to expand rapidly. During the second expansion phase, the dose valve closes and the gas continues to expand doing additional work. This segmentation enables the untethered tool to extract significantly more energy from the stored compressed air, reducing exhaust pressure and energy waste while maintaining portability
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the pressure parameter dynamically during the drive stroke. The compressed gas undergoes a first expansion at high pressure when the dose valve is open, then continues with a second expansion at decreasing pressure when the dose valve is closed. This parameter change allows the system to utilize the full pressure range of the stored gas, extracting maximum energy while reducing the final exhaust pressure below what would occur in traditional single-phase systems
3Loss of energy
If the dose valve closes before the pressure front has travelled halfway down the working chamber, then a second expansion phase is enabled extracting more energy, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dose valve is designed to close automatically based on the position of the pressure front or workload in the working chamber. When the pressure front travels a predetermined distance (less than or equal to halfway down the working chamber), the valve closing mechanism is triggered by the system's own operating conditions rather than requiring external control. This self-service approach enables the second expansion phase while minimizing the complexity of the control mechanism
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the thermodynamic efficiency of high-pressure fluid systems, allowing for more energy to be extracted from the same charge of high-pressure fluid, leading to improved performance and reduced energy wastage.
Implementation Method 1
a charge of the high pressure working fluid is released from the dose chamber via the dose valve at a first end of the working chamber, to undergo a first expansion in the working chamber and do work therein
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a system, method and apparatus operating on a high-pressure working fluid with high efficiency. The device has a reservoir of high-pressure working fluid. A fluid connection supplies the high-pressure working fluid at a controlled working pressure to a dose chamber to contain a volume of the high-pressure working fluid. A dose valve, biased to close, and able to be triggered open, is present between the dose chamber and a working chamber. A charge of the high pressure working fluid can be released from the dose chamber via the dose valve at a first end of the working chamber, to undergo a first expansion in the working chamber and do work therein to or towards a second end of the working chamber distal from the first end. The dose valve closes again before a pressure front of the charge in the working chamber has travelled less than or equal to halfway between the first end and the second end. This allows a second expansion of the charge to continue doing work. When the work is complete, the working chamber pressure is less than or equal to half the working pressure.