FLUID COMPRESSOR AND CONTROL DEVICE FOR THE SAME
An air compressor includes a tank configured to contain compressed air, an inlet configured to receive compressed air from the tank, an outlet, and a control device, positioned between the inlet and the outlet, configured to regulate an output pressure of compressed air discharged through the outlet. The control device includes a housing having a chamber, and a pressure regulator in fluid communication with the chamber. The pressure regulator is configured to regulate discharge of compressed air through the outlet. The control device also includes a mechanical valve which, when opened, is configured to fluidly communicate the chamber and the tank to adjust the pressure regulator, and an actuator coupled to the mechanical valve. The actuator is configured to at least selectively open the valve.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/965,651 filed on Aug. 21, 2007, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to fluid compressors, and more particularly to control devices for fluid compressors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFluid (e.g., air) compressors typically include a pressure regulator to regulate the pressure of the compressed air that is delivered to pneumatic tools or other accessories used with the air compressor. Conventional pressure regulators typically include an internal seal or piston movable against the bias of a spring positioned within the pressure regulator housing. Conventional pressure regulators also typically include a knob rotatably coupled to the pressure regulator housing to actuate the spring. Clockwise rotation of the knob (viewing from a position facing the knob) typically increases the compression of the spring to impart a greater force on the piston, thereby increasing the amount of airflow past the piston and ultimately the regulated pressure. Counter-clockwise rotation of the knob typically decreases the compression of the spring to impart a lesser force on the piston, thereby decreasing the amount of airflow past the seal and ultimately the regulated pressure.
Adjusting a conventional pressure regulator typically requires a large amount of effort because an operator would encounter increased resistance in turning the knob to increase the regulated pressure as a result of the increased compression of the spring. As such, adjusting a conventional pressure regulator from fully closed to fully open can take as long as 15 to 20 seconds. In addition, it is often difficult to accurately set a conventional pressure regulator to a desired regulated pressure setting because the increasing resistance to rotation of the knob as the regulated pressure setting is increased often causes an operator to overshoot the desired setting. The operator must then incrementally turn the knob in the opposite direction to bleed pressure from the regulator to achieve the desired regulated pressure setting. Further, the effects of hysteresis in the spring may further complicate achieving an accurate regulated pressure setting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides, in one aspect, an air compressor including a tank configured to contain compressed air, an inlet configured to receive compressed air from the tank, an outlet, and a control device, positioned between the inlet and the outlet, configured to regulate an output pressure of compressed air discharged through the outlet. The control device includes a housing having a chamber, and a pressure regulator in fluid communication with the chamber. The pressure regulator is configured to regulate discharge of compressed air through the outlet. The control device also includes a mechanical valve which, when opened, is configured to fluidly communicate the chamber and the tank to adjust the pressure regulator, and an actuator coupled to the mechanical valve. The actuator is configured to at least selectively open the valve.
Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe regulator body 30 includes an inlet 38 in fluid communication with a source 42 of pressurized fluid (e.g., a tank of pressurized air or other gas, see
The pressure regulator 18 includes an internal valve assembly 66 positioned in the regulator body 30 that is selectively adjustable to provide pressurized fluid at a desired regulated pressure to pneumatic tools or other pneumatic accessories. With continued reference to
In the illustrated construction of the seal member 86, the seal member 86 includes a plurality of longitudinally-extending ribs around its outer periphery. The radially-outermost surfaces of the ribs slidably engage an interior wall 98 of the passageway 74 to center the seal member 86 in the passageway 74 and to guide the seal member 86 as it moves in the passageway 74. The seal member 86 also includes a plurality of longitudinally-extending grooves defined between respective pairs of ribs. Each of the grooves includes a radially-innermost surface spaced from the interior wall 98 of the passageway 74. As such, a combination of the radially-innermost surfaces of the respective grooves and the interior wall 98 of the passageway 74 define a plurality of longitudinally-extending channels through the seal member 86.
With reference to
In an alternative construction of the control device 14, a single routing valve or a multi-function routing valve may be utilized rather than the dual needle valves 106, 110. Such a routing valve and a multi-function routing valve are also commercially available from The Specialty Manufacturing Co. of St. Paul, Minn.
With reference to
During operation of the pressure regulator 18, axial movement of the piston 54 in the bore 50 is transferred to the seal member 86 by the stem 62, which is abutted against a sealing surface 162 of the seal member 86.
When the sealing surface 162 of the seal member 86 is displaced from the stepped surface 90 by axial movement of the piston 54, pressurized fluid in the inlet 38 of the regulator body 30 is permitted to flow through the inlet end 78 of the passageway 74, through the channels and around the stepped surface 90, through the outlet end 82 of the passageway 74, through the portion of the bore 50 between the piston 54 and the valve assembly 66, and through the outlet 46 of the regulator body 30 (indicated by arrows B in
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
In an alternative construction of the control device 14 utilizing a single routing valve or a multi-function routing valve, a single conduit may be fluidly connected between the inlet 38 of the regulator body 30 and a first port of the routing valve, a second conduit may be fluidly connected between a second port of the routing valve and the chamber 130, and the routing valve may include a third port exhausted to atmosphere or fluidly connected to a storage device (e.g., a storage tank). To increase the regulated output pressure of the compressed fluid in the outlet 46 of the regulator body 30, a switch on the routing valve could be actuated to a first position in which the first and second ports of the routing valve are fluidly connected, thereby flooding the chamber 130 with pressurized fluid from the source 42. To decrease the regulated output pressure of the compressed fluid in the outlet 46 of the regulator body 30, the switch on the routing valve could be actuated to a second position in which the second and third ports of the routing valve are fluidly connected, thereby permitting the pressurized fluid in the chamber 130 to exhaust to atmosphere or to be discharged to a storage device.
As compressed fluid is exhausted from the chamber 130, the pressure in the chamber 130 and the resultant force acting upon the face 58 of the piston 54 decreases, causing a force imbalance between the resultant force on the face 58 of the piston 54 and the biasing member 94 that pushes the piston 54 and seal member 86 rightward with respect to the orientation of the assembly 10 in
In this manner, the control device 14 is operable to rapidly adjust the regulated output pressure of the pressurized fluid discharged from the outlet 46. For example, a user desiring to adjust the pressure regulator 18 from its fully-closed position (see
In addition, the control device 14 is operable to allow adjustment of the regulated output pressure of the pressurized fluid discharged from the outlet 46 in small or fine increments. In other words, a user may depress either of the push-buttons 126 of the valves 106, 110 in short bursts to effectuate a small change in pressure in the chamber 130, resulting in proportionally small incremental axial movements of the piston 54 and seal member 86 and incremental adjustment of the regulated output pressure of the pressurized fluid discharged from the outlet 46.
At no time during the operation of the control device 14 is electrical power utilized to flood the chamber 130 of the control device 14 with compressed fluid or exhaust compressed fluid from the chamber 130 to adjust the regulated output pressure of the compressed fluid discharged from the outlet 46 of the regulator body 30. The control device 14 is operable to adjust the regulated output pressure of the compressed fluid discharged from the outlet 46 of the regulator body 30 using only the pressure of the compressed fluid accumulated in the source 42 as the driving force to transfer compressed fluid from the source 42 to the chamber 130 of the control device 14.
In addition, the user-actuated valves 106, 110 are manually operated by the user of the fluid compressor either directly or through a mechanical linkage. As a result, electrical power is not required to operate the valves 106, 110 in the manner discussed above, thereby reducing the cost and complexity of the control system. Further, the effort by the user in adjusting the regulated output pressure is limited to the substantially constant, relatively small force required to depress the push-buttons 126 of the valves 106, 110. The driving force to compress the biasing member 94 is provided by the pressure of the compressed fluid in the source 42.
The control device 14 also provides added flexibility to how fluid compressors are configured and fluid compressor components are packaged. For example, pressure regulators in conventional fluid compressors are typically located toward the front of the compressor and positioned so that users can easily grasp the knob of the regulator to turn it. However, the control device 14 allows the major structural components of the pressure regulator assembly 10, e.g., the pressure regulator 18 and control device housing 22, to be remotely positioned from the valves 106, 110. As such, the valves 106, 110 may be positioned toward the front and upper portion of the compressor so that they are easily reached by users, while the remaining components of the pressure regulator assembly 10 may be positioned toward the rear of the compressor or lower on the compressor, in an effort to provide a more aesthetically pleasing packaging configuration of the compressor.
With reference to
With reference to
An outlet valve assembly 238 is positioned in the outlet valve chamber 194. The outlet valve assembly 238 includes an actuator, configured as a lever or arm 242 pivotably coupled to a mount 246, and an elastomeric (e.g., for example, rubber) valve or seal 250 coupled to one end of the arm 242. The actuator also includes a push-button 254 coupled to the other end of the arm 242. The push-button 254 extends through the top cover 226 of the housing 170 and a biasing member 258 (e.g., for example, a compression spring) is positioned beneath the push-button 254 on a perch 262.
With continued reference to
The control device 166 is operable in a similar manner as the control device 14 of
To decrease the regulated output pressure of the compressed fluid in the outlet 282 of the pressure regulator 202, one would depress the push-button 254, causing the end of the arm 242 having the seal 250 to pivot upwardly to unseat the seal 250 from a position covering the aperture 278 to permit compressed fluid in the second chamber portion 186 to exhaust to the outlet valve chamber 194 and subsequently to the atmosphere or a storage device.
In an alternative construction as depicted in
In reference to
As used herein, “mechanically linked” and “mechanical linkage” refer to either a direct engagement between two members (i.e. an actuating member and a valve) or an indirect engagement wherein there is one or more non-electrical, mechanical intervening components (e.g. a lever or link arm) between the two elements.
With reference to
In reference to
Alternatively, a single, multiple-position valve 410 may be substituted for the first and second mechanical valves 352, 386 to change or adjust the pressure of the compressed air in the chamber 324 (see
In reference to
In reference to
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. An air compressor comprising:
- a tank configured to contain compressed air;
- an inlet configured to receive compressed air from the tank;
- an outlet;
- a control device, positioned between the inlet and the outlet, configured to regulate an output pressure of compressed air discharged through the outlet, the control device including a housing including a chamber; a pressure regulator in fluid communication with the chamber, the pressure regulator configured to regulate discharge of compressed air through the outlet; a mechanical valve which, when opened, is configured to fluidly communicate the chamber and the tank to adjust the pressure regulator; and an actuator configured to engage the mechanical valve, wherein the actuator is configured to at least selectively open the valve.
2. The air compressor of claim 1, further comprising:
- a second mechanical valve which, when opened, is configured to discharge compressed air from the chamber to the atmosphere; and
- a second actuator configured to engage the second mechanical valve, wherein the second actuator is configured to at least selectively open the second mechanical valve.
3. The air compressor of claim 2, wherein the first actuator is configured to operate the first mechanical valve to increase the air pressure in the chamber, and wherein the second actuator is configured to operate the second mechanical valve to decrease the air pressure in the chamber.
4. The air compressor of claim 3, wherein the first actuator directly operates the first mechanical valve, and wherein the second actuator directly operates the second mechanical valve.
5. The air compressor of claim 2, wherein the first mechanical valve includes
- a first inlet and a first outlet;
- a first conduit disposed between the inlet of the first mechanical valve and the tank;
- a second conduit disposed between the first outlet of the first mechanical valve and the chamber;
- wherein the first mechanical valve is configured to increase the pressure in the chamber by transferring compressed air from the tank, through the first and second conduits, and to the chamber; and
- wherein the second mechanical valve includes a second inlet and a second outlet; a third conduit disposed between the second inlet of the second mechanical valve and the chamber; and a fourth conduit disposed between the second outlet of the second mechanical valve and the atmosphere; wherein the second mechanical valve is configured to decrease the pressure in the chamber by releasing air from the chamber through the second mechanical valve into the atmosphere.
6. The air compressor of claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured as a push-button.
7. The air compressor of claim 1, wherein the valve is configured as a three-way valve.
8. The air compressor of claim 7, wherein the actuator is configured as a toggle positionable between a first position, in which the chamber is fluidly isolated from the tank and the atmosphere, a second position, in which the chamber is fluidly communicated with the tank to adjust the pressure regulator, and a third position, in which the chamber is fluidly communicated with the atmosphere to discharge compressed air from the chamber into the atmosphere.
9. The air compressor of claim 1, wherein the valve is configured as a needle valve.
10. The air compressor of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a non-electrical mechanical device.
11. The air compressor of claim 1, further comprising at least one pressure gauge in fluid communication with the outlet, wherein the pressure gauge is configured to measure the pressure of compressed air discharged through the outlet.
12. The air compressor of claim 11, further comprising a second pressure gauge in fluid communication with the tank, wherein the second pressure gauge is configured to measure the pressure of the compressed air in the tank.
13. The air compressor of claim 1, further comprising a second chamber at least partially defining the inlet and the outlet.
14. The air compressor of claim 13, wherein the pressure regulator is disposed in the second chamber.
15. The air compressor of claim 14, wherein the pressure regulator includes a movable regulatory element separating the first chamber and second chamber, and wherein the movable regulatory element is configured to alter the pressure in the second chamber.
16. The air compressor of claim 1, further comprising a second chamber including a first chamber portion and a second chamber portion, wherein the first chamber portion is in fluid communication with the inlet and the second chamber portion is in fluid communication with the pressure regulator and the outlet, wherein the first chamber comprises an inlet valve chamber and an outlet valve chamber, wherein the inlet valve chamber is in fluid communication with the first chamber portion and the second chamber portion, and wherein the outlet valve chamber is in fluid communication with the second chamber portion and the atmosphere.
17. The air compressor of claim 16, wherein the actuator includes a lever at least partially disposed within the first chamber portion, and wherein the lever is configured to operate the first mechanical valve to selectively inhibit fluid communication between the inlet valve chamber and the first chamber portion, and the first chamber portion and the outlet valve chamber.
18. The air compressor of claim 17, further comprising:
- a second mechanical valve; and
- a second lever at least partially disposed within the second chamber portion, and wherein the second lever is configured to operate the second mechanical valve to selectively inhibit fluid communication between the second chamber portion and the outlet valve chamber.
19. The air compressor of claim 1, further comprising a return spring coupled to one of the actuator and the valve, wherein the return spring is configured to bias the valve to a closed position.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 21, 2008
Publication Date: Feb 26, 2009
Applicant: BRIGGS AND STRATTON CORPORATION (Wauwatosa, WI)
Inventors: John Firoenza (Slinger, WI), Steve Crouch (McFarland, WI), Peter Nushart (Waukesha, WI), Robert G. Townsend (Delafield, WI)
Application Number: 12/195,549
International Classification: E03B 5/00 (20060101);