Dual length inlet resonator

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6453695
  • Patent Number
    6,453,695
  • Date Filed
    Friday, January 18, 2002
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 24, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
The tunable resonator is coupled to the engine speed control such that the resonator is set to a different frequency range when the engine speed is changed. The frequency range is, changed to a higher frequency by closing a valve which effectively reduces the length of the resonator.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Diesel engines used to drive transport refrigeration equipment produce low frequency tones at their firing frequencies and their harmonics. The refrigeration units can be required to hold the load temperature within 0.1 F.° of the set point which may be 40° F. for flowers or produce and −20° F. for ice cream. A number of these units can be parked and running at cold storage warehouses, interstate highway rest stops, etc. Because these units can be running at various loadings and because the engine speeds of the units are operator adjustable by a couple of percent, the noise outputs will be at different frequencies, but may be relatively coherent such that the various different frequency noise sources cyclically go into and out of phase. As the noise sources go from reinforcing to opposing the other noise sources, there is a perceived varying of the sound level. These tones can be sources of annoyance in the community adjacent areas where a number of units are running.




U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,705 discloses a noise attenuator employing a plurality of quarter wave resonator tubes and Helmholtz resonators. Each will be tuned to a separate narrow frequency range. The effectiveness of the various resonators will drop off as the frequencies of the noise sources vary from the design frequencies as the engine speed/load changes.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




A transport refrigeration unit is, typically, driven by a diesel engine. As is conventional for internal combustion engines, ambient air is drawn through a filter into the cylinders of the engine. Rather than connecting one or more attenuators effective over single narrow ranges, the present invention employs an adjustable resonator in an elbowed side branch. Within the resonator is a butterfly or flapper valve that is either fully open or closed. At low engine speed, the valve is open and the sound energy from the engine enters the resonator and is reflected back on itself, 180° out of phase. The distance between the closed end of the side branch and the inlet pipe is λ


1


/4, where λ


1


is the wavelength of the tone of interest in the inlet pipe during low speed operation of the engine. At high speed, the valve is closed and the resonator is tuned to the higher engine speed, with the distance between the inlet pipe and the closed valve being λ


2


/4, where λ


2


is the wavelength of the tone of interest in the inlet pipe during high speed operation of the engine. The valve is connected to the engine speed control such that the valve is positioned in accordance with the engine speed of a two speed engine.




It is an object of this invention to eliminate the need for a resonator for each frequency of interest at both high and low speed operation.




It is another object of this invention to provide a resonator effective in two frequency ranges. These objects, and others as will become apparent hereinafter, are accomplished by the present invention.




Basically, the tunable resonator is coupled to the engine speed control such that the resonator is set to a different frequency range when the engine speed is changed. The frequency range is changed to a higher frequency by closing a valve which effectively reduces the length of the resonator.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




For a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference should now be made to the following detailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:





FIG. 1

is a schematic representation of the present invention as used with a diesel engine driven refrigeration system;





FIG. 2

is a sectional view of the side branch resonator of

FIG. 1

with the valve in the open position; and





FIG. 3

is a sectional view of the side branch resonator of

FIG. 1

, rotated 90° with respect to FIG.


2


and showing the valve in the closed position.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




In

FIG. 1

, the numeral


100


generally designates a transport refrigeration system. Refrigeration compressor


10


is driven by a multi-speed diesel engine


20


. Compressor


10


is in a refrigeration circuit serially including condenser


12


, expansion device


14


and evaporator


16


. Refrigeration system


100


is controlled by microprocessor


30


which receives a number of inputs such as the engine speed, the sensed ambient temperature, condenser entering air temperature, zone temperature, and zone set point which are collectively labeled as zone inputs. In operation, diesel engine


20


and compressor


10


are driven through controls


32


responsive to microprocessor


30


. Specifically, diesel engine


20


may be driven through a speed control solenoid and draw ambient air into its cylinders via inlet line


22


containing filter


24


.




The present invention provides an elbowed side branch resonator


50


containing a butterfly or flapper valve


52


driven by actuator


40


which is coupled to the controls


32


. Although resonator


50


is illustrated as having a gradual curve, it may be a tee such that it is straight and at 90° to inlet line


22


. The specific application may dictate the shape of resonator


50


, but no sudden directional change should be present. Referring specifically to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, valve


52


is specifically illustrated as a flapper valve. Although valve


52


appears to be circular and to have the same nominal dimension as the interior of resonator


50


, it will have a slightly greater dimension in the direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation than along the axis of rotation. The purpose of this non-circular configuration is to ensure a positive seating since the valve


52


will be in an interference fit with the interior walls of side branch resonator


50


. The interference can be from the valve itself and/or wiper lips


52


-


1


and


52


-


2


of a suitable material such as neoprene. If necessary, or desired, valve


52


could engage a seat located in resonator


50


. Although member


52


is described as a valve, there is no fluid flow past the valve since it is in a closed line. Structurally, however, member


52


generally corresponds to a conventional butterfly or flapper valve. Actuator


40


places valve


52


in either the open or the closed position and may be any one of a number of suitable devices. Assuming that the pivot about which valve


52


rotates includes a crank external to resonator


50


, then valve


52


can be positioned by a solenoid or any mechanism that could pull the crank in response to a control signal from controls


32


such as a linear motor, a vacuum actuator, or a rotary motor with another crank. Valve


52


may also be mounted on the shaft of a stepper motor which would be rotated 90° in alternating directions to open or close valve


52


. If the actuator is only effective in one direction, valve


52


would be biased to the other position, as by a spring.




At low speed, valve


52


is in the open position of FIG.


2


and sound energy from diesel


20


enters the resonator


50


and is reflected back on itself, 180° out of phase. The distance between the end


50


-


1


of side branch resonator


50


and the inlet pipe


22


is λ


1


/4, where λ


1


is the wavelength of the tone of interest in the inlet pipe


22


when diesel


20


is operating at low speed. At high speed, valve


52


is in the closed position of

FIG. 3

which effectively divides resonator


50


into two chambers,


50


-A and


50


-B, respectively. Chamber


50


-A is isolated from inlet pipe


22


which effectively shortens side branch resonator


50


so that resonator


50


is tuned to the higher engine speed with the distance between the inlet pipe


22


and the closed valve


52


being λ


2


/4, where λ


2


is the wavelength of the higher frequency tone of interest in the inlet pipe


22


during high speed operation. Typical frequency ranges would be 50 Hz at low speed and 73 Hz at high speed with a typical λ


1


/4 of 68 inches and an λ


2


/4 of 46 inches, respectively.




As described above, side branch resonator


50


can be tuned to either high or low speed operation of diesel


20


and the present invention couples the tuning of resonator


50


to the speed control of diesel


20


. Responsive to engine and zone inputs, microprocessor


30


controls the loading of compressor


10


and controls the speed of diesel


20


which is driving compressor


10


through controls


32


. The speed of diesel


20


is controlled by a speed control solenoid, or any other suitable device, responsive to microprocessor


30


. The speed control device


40


has two positions which correspond to high and low speed, respectively, of diesel


20


. Diesel


20


and resonator


50


are coupled by microprocessor


30


and controls


32


such that changing the speed of diesel


20


produces a corresponding adjustment of resonator


50


to change the tuning.




From the point of view of acoustics, the system does not have to be tightly sealed as long as the leakage areas are very small compared to the active areas. As an inlet silencer, as illustrated, resonator


50


is located between filter


24


and diesel


20


, thus it must be tight enough to prevent dirt leaking in and entering the engine


20


having bypassed filter


24


. Typically o-ring type sealing for the actuator structure should be sufficient. Resonator


50


and valve


52


would be made of a material, such as steel or molded plastic, so as to provide a rigid wall for sound reflection.




Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in terms of a two speed diesel driven refrigeration system, the teachings of the present invention apply to reducing the inlet pulsations and can be used in any application where an engine runs at a modest number of fixed speeds such as a gas driven generator. The speeds must be far enough apart to permit plural valves which do not interfere with each other. Other changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended that the present invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A refrigeration system having a multi-speed engine with an inlet line connected to said engine, microprocessor means for controlling the speed of said engine, the improvement comprising:a closed end side branch resonator connected to and open to said inlet line and having a length corresponding to one fourth the wavelength of a frequency of said engine when running at a low speed; and means for effectively changing the length of said closed end side branch to a length corresponding to one fourth the wavelength of a frequency of said engine when running at a speed higher than said low speed.
  • 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein:said means for effectively changing the length of said closed end side branch is a valve spaced from said closed end and movable into a position sealing off a portion of said closed end side branch from said air inlet line.
  • 3. In a system having a multi-speed engine with an air inlet line connected to said engine, side branch resonator structure comprising:a closed end side branch connected to and open to said air inlet line and having a length corresponding to one fourth the wavelength of a frequency of said engine when running at a low speed; and means for effectively changing the length of said closed end side branch to a length corresponding to one fourth the wavelength of a frequency of said engine when running at a speed higher than said low speed.
  • 4. The side branch resonator structure of claim 3 wherein:said means for effectively changing the length of said closed end side branch is a valve spaced from said closed end and movable into a position sealing off a portion of said closed end side branch from said air inlet line.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
3779339 Johnson Dec 1973 A
5014816 Dear et al. May 1991 A
5096010 Ojala et al. Mar 1992 A
5996733 De Tuncq et al. Dec 1999 A
6009705 Arnott et al. Jan 2000 A
6332442 Komada et al. Dec 2001 B1