A piston-chamber combination comprising a chamber which is bounded by an inner chamber wall, and comprising a piston in said chamber to be engagingly movable relative to said chamber wall at least between a first position and a second position of the chamber, said chamber having cross-sections of different cross-sectional areas and differing circumferential lengths at the first and second longitudinal positions, and at least substantially continuously different cross-sectional areas and circumferential lengths at intermediate longitudinal positions between the first and second longitudinal positions, the cross-sectional area and circumferential length at said second longitudinal position being smaller than the cross-sectional area and circumferential length at said first longitudinal position, said piston comprises a member for suspension of the sealing, said member is rotatable, and said sealing comprises a separate part engaging the wall of said chamber and a sealing made of elastically deformable impervious material, and mounted on the piston rod.
This invention deals with solutions for pistons in general, and specifically concerning reliability and life time.
In order to optimize the reduction in working force of a piston pump, the difference in cross-sectional areas at a first longitudinal/circular position and that of a second longitudinal/circular position should be as big as possible. This demand is contrary the life time and reliability demand of the elastically deformable material of a piston, of which at least a (separate) part is sealingly engaging the wall of said chamber (WO 00/70227, WO2013/026508). Specifically e.g. of a fast moving piston will the 3-dimensional change in size of the material of the sealing become a limit for the speed of the piston, for the energy used and for the life time.
WO00/70227 shows longitudinal chambers with a constant circumference where the change of the dimensions of the material of a piston within said chambers is solely 2-dimensional, as the sealing of said last mentioned pistons is only bending, so that the maximum speed of said pistons may be higher than those where a 3-dimensional change of the dimensions of the sealing is necessary.
However, chambers with a constant circumference may not be easy to produce, and may therefore be expensive.
The object is to provide an optimalization of the functioning of any kind of a combination of a piston and a chamber, and in particular as a pump.
In the first aspect, the invention relates to a combination of a piston and a chamber, wherein: one end, closest to a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber, the sealing of said piston is embedded in a separate part, said separate part is sealingly engaging the wall of said chamber, at least from a first- to a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber, wherein said sealing of the piston is built up by (e.g. plane) sections of which, at least at a second longitudinal/circular position, the in-between angles are less than 180°.
The basis of this new construction design of the piston is that of
The separate part is comprising a sealing means e.g. an O-ring which has a bigger cross-sectional area in a cross-section through the center axis of said chamber, which may be elongate or circular, at a second longitudinal/circular position of said chamber, than its cross-section at a first longitudinal/circular position. Said O-ring is preferably attached to at least one of the members with reference number 43 (WO00/70227), so that it can then expand its circumferential length from said attachment point of at least one member 43, whereby its cross-sectional area in a plane through the center axis of the piston, will become smaller, when extended, when said piston is moving from a second to a first longitudinal/circular position of the chamber. When said sealing of the piston is embedded in said O-ring, in such a way, that the sealing can change shape by solely bending the elastically deformable material of said sealing, instead of a 3-dimensional change of its size by stretching said material, when said piston is moving from a second to a first longitudinal/circular position, the life time of said sealing can be extended very much, while the change of the size of the sealing of the piston according to similar changes of the size of the wall of the chamber can be performed much quicker and with less energy used. At a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber may the sealing sections of said sealing be preferably formed as folded planes, when unpressurized, like that of a shade. Another preferred form of the sealing section is that of a curve. When said piston is moving to a first longitudinal/circular position, the common line, the fold, in-between two adjacent sections of the shade formed sealing of the piston will become farther away from each other, because the circumference of the material of the O-ring is being extended. Thus, the in-between angles of plane sections, having a common folding line closest to the sealing of said piston, which may be less than 180° or 90° or 45° at said second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber, are becoming bigger. Said angles, when the piston has arrived at a first longitudinal/circular position, may preferably become less than 180°, in order to enabling backwards folding of the plane sections of said piston sealing, when the piston is moving towards a second longitudinal position. This is also valid for a similar angle between centres of curves of a curved sealing. Other section forms than plane or curved may also be possible.
In a second aspect the invention relates to a combination of a piston and a chamber wherein the sealing is shaped like that of a shade.
Thus the sealing of the piston may comprise several adjacent wall sections, continuously positioned along the circumference of said sealing, which may preferably be plane, which have an in-between angle less than 180° in a cross-section of the shade formed sealing sections of said piston, in a plane which is perpendicular to the fold of two said adjacent wall sections. The above mentioned in this sub-chapter is also valid for curved sections.
In a third aspect the invention relates to a combination of a piston and a chamber, wherein the reinforcement of said sealing is positioned at least in a fold of said shade.
A non-stressed sealing of the piston makes it vulnerable for forces working approximately perpendicular on its surface, which is why it is necessary to reinforce it. The reinforcement may comprise several closely lying reinforcement strings from the turning point of said sealing approximately parallel to a common folding line in-between adjacent sections of said sealing, and ending in said O-ring. At least said common folding line should comprise such a string as reinforcement. It is also preferable to have additional reinforcements, positioned in a certain angle (e.g. 90°) to said reinforcement strings. This may also be valid for curved sealings.
In a fourth aspect the invention relates to a combination of a piston and a chamber, wherein the sealing of said piston in a longitudinal/circular cross-section of said chamber is at least approximately 60° with the central axis of said chamber.
As an additional solution for the problem of minimilization of the stresses of the elastically deformable sealing material of the sealing of the piston, may the length of said sealing of the piston projected to a plane through the central axis, be bigger than the radius of the chamber. A preferred angle between the sealing of said piston and the central axis of the chamber may be approximately 60°. A bigger angle may be an option, but this will reduce the stroke length, and thus the stroke volume, and thus the pumping speed.
In another way, in order to avoid stressing the elastically deformable material of the sealing the turning point of the member may be nearby the end of the vulcanization stroke of said sealing on the piston rod, which is the turning point of the shade formed sealing. This may be done virtually as well, due to the fact that the turning point of said member is difficult to merge with the end of a vulcanization stroke. When combined with e.g. the shade formed sealing of the piston may the life time of the piston be optimized.
In a fifth aspect the invention relates to a combination of a piston and a chamber, wherein each section of the shade formed sealing of the piston comprises a reinforcement, said reinforcement lying outside a common folding line in-between adjacent sections of said shade shaped sealing. Because the sections are not changing size in a direction in relation to the center axis of the chamber, said sections may comprise a reinforcement which may prevent the section to bend of even deform in 3-dimensions under pressure.
For a good fuctionning of the piston is it necessary that the O-ring is following the shape (in case of constant circumference type chamber) and/or the size of the chamber wall (in case of a chamber with a preferred circular transitional cross-sectional section), when the piston is moving from a 2nd to a 1st position of said chamber. In a pump where only the pumping stroke is from 1st to 2nd chamber positions, during a stroke from 2nd to 1st positions the O-ring may preferably be engagingly-, but not be sealingly communicating with the wall of said chamber—in order to lower friction forces. The shown coil spring is providing this support, and said spring may be fastened to one or more members. During the pumping stroke there will be overpressure under the piston seal, which will push the sealing outwards towards the O-ring, the last mentioned being pushed to the wall of the chamber, now communicating sealingly with the wall of said chamber.
For a continuously good functioning of the piston a correctly folding back of said shade sealing is necessary, when the piston is performing a pumping stroke (1st→2nd position of the chamber).
The folding back will go inwards, while under internal (over) pressure. Said overpressure may prohibit an intended folding back—however, this will not influence the piston function as such, when the sealing sections and the folds do not begin to communicate with the wall of said chamber, which would give friction and lower life time of said sealing. In order to support an intended folding back, the folds but also the sections of the sealing may comprise reinforcement strings. Firstly when the pressurized medium has exited the chamber, reducing the overpressure inside the piston, a ‘blown up’ sealing will fold back to its production size. A solution for obtaining a correct folding back during the pumping stroke, may be that there is a seal embedded in the O-ring, which is existing in a transitional cross-section of the piston. Here may also be folds existing like a shade, according to the shape of a seal in a foam piston of
The chamber, which very well can be combined with these preferred embodiments of the piston, is of a classic type with continuous circular transitional cross-sections, thus less expensive than those for pistons having a constant circumference of the contact area of the sealing with the chamber.
In a sixth aspect the invention relates to a combination of a piston and a chamber, wherein the member may have a changeable length, by means of a portion which is retractable, e.g. at a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber, due to a non-merge of turning points for the sealing and the member.
The purpose of a piston-chamber combination defines when a piston needs to be sealingly communicating with the wall of the chamber. In a pump, preferably this should happen when the piston is moving from a first to a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber. In an actuator this should preferably happen when the piston is moving from a second to a first longitudinal/circular position of the chamber. When the actuator is comprising two pistons, the movement can also be from a first to a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber. In a shock absorber it may preferably be to have the piston sealingly communicating with the wall of the chamber when the oil inside needs to be compressed—this may be preferably both from a second to a first longitudinal/circular position of the chamber and from a first to a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber, optionally from a first to a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber.
In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings wherein:
The cross-section of the piston 6 and the chamber 2 is shown left of the center axis 3. The radius of said chamber 2 is at said first longitudinal position ‘a’. The angle α is the angle between the line 15 straight between centers of the turning points 11 and the center 17 of the O-ring 6 of the member 12 and a horizontal line 16 which is perpendicular to the center axis 3. The diameter x of said O-ring 6 has been reduced substantially in relation to the diameter y of said O-ring 6′ at a second longitudinal position. The circle segment ‘t’ shows the movement of the center 17 of said O-ring when said piston is moving between first and second longitudinal positions. The circle segment ‘s’ shows the rotation of arm 12, turning around said axle 13 through the center 17 of said O-ring when said piston 1 is moving between first and second longitudinal positions. The circle segment ‘t’ shows the rotation around the middle of the sealing just under the bottom of the vulcanization on said piston rod 5 of the center 17 of said O-ring when said piston 1 is moving between first and second longitudinal positions. The difference ‘c’ at a second longitudinal position shows that the sealing is stretched a length ‘c’ in comparison with the sealing length at a first longitudinal position. Said difference ‘c’ needs to be as small as possible, in order to avoid stressing the sealing, thereby enhancing life time. The traject curves 49 and 50 of the centers 17 and 48, of the coil spring 34 and the O-ring 6,6′, respectively when the piston is moving from a first- to a second longitudinal/circular position of the chamber.
The cross-section at a second longitudinal position is showing right of the center axis 3 the piston 1′ at a second longitudinal position of said chamber 2′. The radius of said chamber 2′ is at said second longitudinal position ‘b’. The angle β is the angle between the line 15 and the center axis 3 of the piston 1′. ‘g’ is the diameter of the O-ring 6 at the first longitudinal/circular position, which is smaller than ‘h’, which is the diameter of the O-ring 6′ at a second longitudinal/circular position. Both diameters are measured in a cross-section in a plane through the center axis 3 of the chamber 2, 2′.
View X is shown in
The coil spring 34 (see also WO2000/070227) which is pressing the O-ring 6, 6′ onto the internal wall 4 of the chamber 2, is shaped such, that O-ring 6, 6′ is supported in pressing itself onto said internal wall, thereby enabling a proper sealing. Said spring is suspended by a holder 38 at the end of the member 12. At a 1st position of the chamber is said member positioned at the very end of said arm 12. At a 2nd position of the chamber 2′ has said coil spring 34 be turned, in relation to its position at said 1st position of the chamber, in a plane through said center axis 3. Said holder 38 is shaped in such a way that it allows a torsional turn of said coil spring 34. At said 2nd position of the chamber 2′ is said holder 34′ positioned farthest from the end of said member 12. The change of the position of the holder 38, 38′ is done by a stop 39. This enables the sealing to be unstressed at said position, and this enlarges life time. See
The suspension 25 of the members 12 is having a tight fit with the piston rod 5. Five members 12 are shown. Said members 12 are communicating with an axle 26, which have a tight fit with the suspension 25. Said members can turn around said axles 26, the center line 27 of said axle 26.
This application is a United States National Phase Application of International Application PCT/IB2015/002212, filed Nov. 24, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2015/002212 | 11/24/2015 | WO | 00 |