Linear Oilless Pump for Low-Pressure Diver Air Supply
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing diving gas delivery systems, such as hookah and scuba systems, waste energy due to high overhead pressures, especially at shallow depths, and existing low-pressure systems face design weaknesses in cost, size, and complexity, as seen in the '109 application's commercial implementation.
Innovation Solution
A high-volume, low-pressure pump with a permanent-magnet linear motor and two-cylinder configuration, utilizing passive cog forces and passive deceleration mechanisms, achieves efficient air delivery with reduced energy consumption and improved performance, featuring a segmented magnetic flux path for cooling and no bearings, allowing expansion for greater depths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If high pressure (125 psi) is used to deliver breathing gas to shallow depth divers, then the gas can reach the diver, but a great deal of energy is wasted due to the pressure being much higher than the diver's local pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating pressure parameter from conventional high pressure (125 psi) to low pressure (5-15 psi), matching the diver's local pressure at shallow depths. This parameter change eliminates the overhead pressure waste while still delivering adequate breathing gas flow to the diver.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump system dynamically adjusts its operation based on diver depth and breathing demand. The floating pump responds to diver inhalation/expiration signals and adjusts gas delivery pressure and flow rate in real-time, optimizing energy efficiency at each depth while maintaining adequate supply.
2Reliability
If the pump operates continuously to maintain high pressure in the reservoir, then breathing gas is always available, but energy consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous operation, the floating pump uses periodic action triggered by diver breathing signals. The pump activates during diver inhalation/expiration cycles and remains idle between cycles, significantly reducing energy consumption while ensuring gas is available exactly when needed by the diver.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback from the diver's breathing pattern and depth to control pump operation. Sensors detect diver inhalation/expiration and transmit signals to the floating pump, which adjusts its operation in real-time to match diver demand, eliminating unnecessary energy consumption during periods of no or low demand.
3Ease of operation
If conventional scuba-type regulators are used in hookah systems, then they can reduce pressure from high-pressure tanks, but they require high overhead pressures (50-75 psi minimum) that waste energy at shallow depths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the pressure reduction function from the mouthpiece regulator and relocates it to the floating pump at the surface. The floating pump delivers gas at low pressure (5-15 psi) directly matched to diver depth, eliminating the need for the mouthpiece regulator to perform pressure reduction and thereby eliminating the associated overhead pressure waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating pump acts as an intermediary between the atmosphere and the diver, performing gas compression and delivery at the optimal pressure point (surface level). This intermediary approach allows the system to deliver gas at low pressure throughout the hose to the diver, eliminating the need for high-pressure intermediaries and reducing overall system energy consumption.
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
The pump delivers breathable gas at low pressures with reduced energy use, lower manufacturing costs, smaller size, and lighter weight, while maintaining superior pumping performance, enabling diving depths of up to 30 feet with a system weight about 1/8 that of conventional scuba equipment.
Implementation Method 1
an electromagnetic force generator comprising a stator and a rotor with permanent magnets, the rotor being in mechanical contact with the piston assembly
Implementation Method 2
a segmented cage magnetic flux path which exposes electromagnetic coils for enhanced cooling using a fluid medium such as air or water to passively cool the electromagnetic coils
Data Source
AI summary
A motor and pumping system which provides for high volume, low pressure, low cost, and ease of assembly as a breathing air supply such as for a submerged diver. The integration of the necessary elements gives rise to a unique ability to eliminate costly and complex motor bearings and simplify the motor design by reducing number of magnetic poles and electrical control elements which would traditionally be required to control the multiple poles of an electromechanical machine.