Integrated Cylinder Compressor for Low-Part Fluid Depressurization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing compressors used for fluid transfer and depressurization are complex and costly due to separate assembly of air and gas cylinders, requiring multiple parts and increasing manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a single-tube compressor unit that integrates an actuation cylinder and a compression cylinder within a single casing, reducing the number of parts and complexity, and allowing for pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrical actuation, with optional series or parallel arrangements for enhanced compression and pressure control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If separate air and gas cylinders are assembled, then compression function is achieved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the air cylinder and gas cylinder into a single integrated assembly where the air cylinder serves dual purposes: it acts as both the actuation mechanism and the compression chamber. This merging eliminates the need for separate gas cylinder components, reducing part count and manufacturing complexity while maintaining the compression function.
Solution Approach 2:
The air cylinder is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it provides pneumatic actuation for the piston and serves as the compression chamber for the working fluid. This multi-functionality reduces the overall number of components needed in the compressor system, directly addressing the contradiction between ease of manufacture and device complexity.
2Device complexity
If single-tube design is used, then device complexity is reduced, but compression efficiency must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The single-tube compressor is divided into distinct functional zones: the actuation chamber where pneumatic pressure is applied, the compression chamber where fluid compression occurs, and the discharge pathway. This segmentation within a unified structure allows efficient fluid handling and compression while maintaining the simplicity of the single-tube design.
Solution Approach 2:
The piston is designed with dynamic movement capabilities, allowing it to reciprocate within the single tube to create varying compression chambers. This dynamic operation enables efficient compression cycles while maintaining the simplified single-tube structure, balancing reliability and complexity reduction.
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 design reduces manufacturing costs and allows for compact, efficient fluid transfer and depressurization systems by minimizing parts and enabling flexible actuation methods, while maintaining or improving compression efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the piston slidable relative to the compression cylinder to compress the fluid therein
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus to compress a fluid is disclosed herein. The example apparatus includes a casing, an actuation cylinder and a compression cylinder defined in the casing, a rod slidably coupled between the actuation cylinder and the compression cylinder, and a piston coupled to the rod at an end of the rod, the end of the rod in the compression cylinder, the piston slidable relative to the compression cylinder to compress the fluid therein.