Embodiments of the invention relate generally to dual fuel generators and, more particularly, to a selector switch for use on a dual fuel generator that is configured to ensure that only one type of fuel may be in use at a given time in the generator.
Engine-driven, electrical generators are used in a wide variety of applications. Typically, an electrical generator utilizes a single driving engine directly coupled to a generator or alternator through a common shaft. Upon activation of the generator, a fuel and air mixture is provided to the combustion chambers of corresponding cylinders of the engine. The fuel mixture in each combustion chamber is ignited causing an explosion within the cylinders. The explosive forces within the combustion chambers in the cylinders cause linear motion of the pistons within their corresponding cylinders. The linear motion of the pistons is converted into rotational motion by a crankshaft that, in turn, drives the alternator. As is conventional, the driven alternator generates electrical power.
Certain generators are defined as “dual fuel” generators that include an engine having the ability to be fueled with either of two fuels, such as either gasoline or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), for example. These “dual fuel” engines may selectively operate on gasoline or LPG as desired and controlled by an operator, such as being operated on LPG/gasoline for a first period of operation and selectively switching over to the other of LPG/gasoline for another period of operation, with such a switching of fuels being controlled as desired by an operator. Typical dual fuel generators utilize separate valves for each fuel type, such as an LPG valve and a gasoline valve, to control flow of the respective fuels to the engine. While the existence of two separate valves allows one fuel type to have its valve “on” while the other has its valve “off,” there is nothing to prevent both valves from being “on” at the same time. As such, it is possible for both valves to be in the “on” position, which can lead to a potentially unsafe condition resulting from the mixture of the fuels.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a dual fuel generator with a selector switch that would prohibit the mixing of two differing types of fuels. It would further be desirable for such a selector switch to inhibit positioning/actuation of the valves in such a manner that the valve for a first fuel source is prevented from being “on” when the valve for a second fuel source is “on”, and vice versa.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a fuel selector for use with a dual fuel generator includes a selector plate, a first fuel valve assembly positioned adjacent the selector plate and actuatable between an ON position and an OFF position to selectively control a first fuel flow to an engine of the dual fuel generator, and a second fuel valve assembly positioned adjacent the selector plate and actuatable between an ON position and an OFF position to selectively control a second fuel flow to the engine of the dual fuel generator. The fuel selector also includes a selector switch coupled to the selector plate so as to be linearly translatable from a first position to a second position, wherein translation of the selector switch between the first and second positions enables positioning of only one of the first fuel valve assembly and the second fuel valve assembly in the ON position at a given time, such that the first and second fuel valve assemblies cannot be in the ON position concurrently.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of controlling fuel flow in a dual fuel generator includes providing a first fuel valve assembly to control fuel flow from a first fuel source to an internal combustion engine of the dual fuel generator, the first fuel valve assembly including a first fuel valve handle movable between an ON position and an OFF position to control fuel flow from the first fuel source to the internal combustion engine. The method also includes providing a second fuel valve assembly to control fuel flow from a second fuel source to the internal combustion engine of the dual fuel generator, the second fuel valve assembly including a second fuel valve handle movable between an ON position and an OFF position to control fuel flow from the second fuel source to the internal combustion engine. The method further includes providing a fuel selector switch adjacent the first fuel valve assembly and the second fuel valve assembly such that the fuel selector switch is translatable to a first position and a section position, wherein the fuel selector switch is translatable between the first position and the section position to selectively inhibit actuation of the first fuel valve handle and the second fuel valve handle, so as to prevent a simultaneous flow of fuels from the first and second fuel sources to the internal combustion engine.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a dual fuel generator includes a first fuel source, a second fuel source, and an internal combustion engine coupled to the first fuel source and the second fuel source to selectively receive fuel therefrom. The dual fuel generator also includes a fuel selector configured to control a flow of fuel from the first and second fuel sources to the internal combustion engine, with the fuel selector comprising a first fuel valve assembly including a first fuel valve and a first fuel valve handle that is actuatable between an open position and a closed position to selectively open and close the first fuel valve, a second fuel valve assembly including a second fuel valve and a second fuel valve handle that is actuatable between an open position and a closed position to selectively open and close the second fuel valve, a selector plate having the first fuel valve assembly and the second fuel valve assembly coupled to a front side thereof, and a selector switch slideably coupled to the selector plate so as to be movable from a first position to a second position. Positioning of the selector switch in the first position causes the selector switch to cover the second fuel valve handle so as to prevent the second fuel valve handle from moving to the open position and positioning of the selector switch in the second position causes the selector switch to cover the first fuel valve handle so as to prevent the first fuel valve handle from moving to the open position.
These and other advantages and features will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention that is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The drawings illustrate embodiments presently contemplated for carrying out the invention.
In the drawings:
Referring first to
As the generator 10 is a dual fuel generator, the engine 12 is designed to use different fuels from either a first fuel source 18 or a second fuel source 20. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, first fuel source 18 supplies a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the engine 12 and second fuel source 20 supplies gasoline to the engine 12, with the generator 10 selectively operating on LPG or gasoline as desired and controlled by an operator, such as for example operating on LPG for a first period of operation and then switching over to gasoline for another period of operation. However, it is contemplated that the first fuel source 18 and/or second fuel source 20 may be other types of fuel sources (e.g., natural gas, biodiesel, etc.), according to additional embodiments of the invention—and thus the scope of the invention is not meant to be limited strictly to a gasoline-LPG dual fuel embodiment.
For selectively controlling the flow of gasoline and LPG to the engine 12, dual fuel generator 10 includes a fuel selector 22 constructed to provide for selection of a desired fuel source 18, 20 for supplying fuel to engine 12. The fuel selector 22 not only provides for selection of a desired fuel source 18, 20 for supplying fuel to engine 12, but also selectively restricts the selection of a fuel source so as to enable the use of only one fuel at a time. As a result, fuel from first fuel source 18 cannot flow to engine 12 while fuel from second fuel source 20 is flowing to engine 12, and vice versa.
The fuel selector 22 of generator 10 is shown in greater detail in
Referring first to
Each of the first valve assembly 24 and the second valve assembly 26 are movable between an ON position and an OFF position to control opening and closing of their respective fuel valve. More specifically, first and second fuel valve handles 34, 38 are movable between an ON position and an OFF position, with the fuel valves 36, 40 being open (to enable fuel flow to the engine 12) when their respective fuel valve handle 34, 38 is in the ON position and being closed (to prevent fuel flow to the engine 12) when their respective fuel valve handle 34, 38 is in the OFF position. Thus, when first fuel valve handle 34 is in an ON position, first fuel valve 36 is open and allows the fuel from first fuel source 18 to flow to the engine 12, and when second fuel valve handle 38 is in an ON position, second fuel valve 40 is open and allows the fuel from second fuel source 20 to flow to the engine 12.
In the preferred embodiments of the invention, first valve assembly 24 and second valve assembly 26 are located adjacent to each other on the same horizontal plane or parallel horizontal planes. In such an embodiment, first valve assembly 24 is in the ON position when first fuel valve handle 34 is moved to a vertical orientation/position and first valve assembly 24 is in an OFF position when first fuel valve handle 34 is moved to a horizontal orientation/position. Similarly, second valve assembly 26 is in the ON position when second fuel valve handle 38 is moved to a vertical orientation/position second valve assembly 26 is in an OFF position when second fuel valve handle 38 is moved to a horizontal orientation/position. It is recognized, however, that an alternative embodiment of the invention may have first valve assembly 24 and second valve assembly 26 located adjacent to each other on the same vertical plane or parallel vertical planes. One having ordinary skill in the art would recognize that in such an alternative embodiment of the invention, first and second valve assemblies 24 would be in the ON position when their respective fuel valve handles 34, 38 are horizontal, and would be in the OFF position when their respective fuel valve handles 34, 38 are vertical.
As shown in
Detailed views of the selector switch 30 and of its mating with the selector plate 28 are shown in
Positioning of the selector switch 30 relative to the selector plate 28 and first and second valve assemblies 24, 26 is shown in
In
In operation, when selector switch 30 is moved from second position 58 into first position 56, second fuel valve handle 38 slides into the groove 54 formed in selector switch 30. As a result, when selector switch 30 is in first position 56, second fuel valve handle 38 is unable to move, as it is locked in place by groove 54, and second valve assembly 26 is locked in the OFF position, with movement from the OFF position to the ON position being prohibited.
IN
In operation, when selector switch 30 is moved from first position 56 into second position 58, first fuel valve handle 34 slides into groove 54 formed in selector switch 30. Therefore, when selector switch 30 is in second position 58, first fuel valve handle 34 is unable to move, as it is locked in place by groove 54, and first valve assembly 24 is locked in the OFF position, with movement from the OFF position to the ON position being prohibited.
Referring still now to
Beneficially, the design of the fuel selector 22 and of the selector switch 30 described herein prevents differing fuels from two separate fuel sources from flowing to the engine of a dual fuel generator at the same time. The interaction of the selector switch 30 with the first and second fuel valve assemblies 24, 26—with the selector switch 30 sliding back and forth to selectively cover/engage first and second fuel valve assemblies 24, 26—prohibits both valve assemblies from being in the “ON” position at the same time. The selector switch 30 is thus a foolproof device that prevents the mixing of fuels so as to provide additional safety to the usage of dual fuel generators.
Therefore, according to one embodiment of the invention, a fuel selector for use with a dual fuel generator includes a selector plate, a first fuel valve assembly positioned adjacent the selector plate and actuatable between an ON position and an OFF position to selectively control a first fuel flow to an engine of the dual fuel generator, and a second fuel valve assembly positioned adjacent the selector plate and actuatable between an ON position and an OFF position to selectively control a second fuel flow to the engine of the dual fuel generator. The fuel selector also includes a selector switch coupled to the selector plate so as to be linearly translatable from a first position to a second position, wherein translation of the selector switch between the first and second positions enables positioning of only one of the first fuel valve assembly and the second fuel valve assembly in the ON position at a given time, such that the first and second fuel valve assemblies cannot be in the ON position concurrently.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of controlling fuel flow in a dual fuel generator includes providing a first fuel valve assembly to control fuel flow from a first fuel source to an internal combustion engine of the dual fuel generator, the first fuel valve assembly including a first fuel valve handle movable between an ON position and an OFF position to control fuel flow from the first fuel source to the internal combustion engine. The method also includes providing a second fuel valve assembly to control fuel flow from a second fuel source to the internal combustion engine of the dual fuel generator, the second fuel valve assembly including a second fuel valve handle movable between an ON position and an OFF position to control fuel flow from the second fuel source to the internal combustion engine. The method further includes providing a fuel selector switch adjacent the first fuel valve assembly and the second fuel valve assembly such that the fuel selector switch is translatable to a first position and a section position, wherein the fuel selector switch is translatable between the first position and the section position to selectively inhibit actuation of the first fuel valve handle and the second fuel valve handle, so as to prevent a simultaneous flow of fuels from the first and second fuel sources to the internal combustion engine.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, a dual fuel generator includes a first fuel source, a second fuel source, and an internal combustion engine coupled to the first fuel source and the second fuel source to selectively receive fuel therefrom. The dual fuel generator also includes a fuel selector configured to control a flow of fuel from the first and second fuel sources to the internal combustion engine, with the fuel selector comprising a first fuel valve assembly including a first fuel valve and a first fuel valve handle that is actuatable between an open position and a closed position to selectively open and close the first fuel valve, a second fuel valve assembly including a second fuel valve and a second fuel valve handle that is actuatable between an open position and a closed position to selectively open and close the second fuel valve, a selector plate having the first fuel valve assembly and the second fuel valve assembly coupled to a front side thereof, and a selector switch slideably coupled to the selector plate so as to be movable from a first position to a second position. Positioning of the selector switch in the first position causes the selector switch to cover the second fuel valve handle so as to prevent the second fuel valve handle from moving to the open position and positioning of the selector switch in the second position causes the selector switch to cover the first fuel valve handle so as to prevent the first fuel valve handle from moving to the open position.
While the invention has been described in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
The present application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/015,205, filed on Feb. 4, 2016, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/069,747, filed on Nov. 1, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,435,273, issued Sep. 6, 2016, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 15015205 | Feb 2016 | US |
Child | 16789722 | US | |
Parent | 14069747 | Nov 2013 | US |
Child | 15015205 | US |