Air compressor system having a hollow piston forming an interior space and a check valve in a piston crown allowing air to exit the interior space

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11913441-B2
Application number	US-202117646447-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 29, 2021
Priority date	Dec 29, 2021
Publication date	Feb 27, 2024
Grant date	Feb 27, 2024

Abstract

Systems are provided for an air compressor system. In one example, a system includes a housing, a piston arranged in the housing, and a crankshaft arranged in the housing, the crankshaft coupled to a connecting rod of the piston, and the crankshaft forces the piston to oscillate from a first end of the housing to a second end, the piston pressurizing air in the housing to a first pressure at the first end and to a second pressure at the second end, the second pressure greater than the first.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air compressor system, comprising:
a housing;
a piston having a connecting rod arranged in the housing, wherein the piston is hollow and comprises an interior space within the piston into which air entering the air compressor system flows, wherein the interior space extends through a first portion, a transition portion, and a second portion of the piston, and wherein air exits the interior space through a piston crown of the first portion; and
a crankshaft arranged in the housing, the crankshaft coupled to the connecting rod of the piston, and the crankshaft is configured to force the piston to oscillate from a first end of the housing to a second end, the piston pressurizing air in the housing to a first pressure at the first end and to a second pressure at the second end, the second pressure greater than the first.

2. The air compressor system of claim 1 , wherein the transition portion is between the first portion and the second portion of the piston, and wherein the first portion is a first cylinder comprising a first diameter and the second portion is a second cylinder comprising a second diameter different than the first diameter.

3. The air compressor system of claim 1 , wherein the first portion compresses air at the first end and the second portion compresses air at the second end.

4. The air compressor system of claim 1 , wherein the piston comprises a plurality of openings through which air flows to one of the first end or the crankshaft.

5. The air compressor system of claim 1 , wherein the crankshaft comprises a flywheel, and the flywheel comprises a first flywheel portion and a second flywheel portion, the second flywheel portion larger than the first flywheel portion.

6. The air compressor system of claim 5 , wherein the first flywheel portion comprises a contour extending around a crankshaft midway-section.

7. The air compressor system of claim 1 , wherein the connecting rod is arranged in the interior space and along a mid-section of the piston.

8. An air compressor system, comprising:
a compressor and a dryer, and the compressor is configured to flow pressurized air to the dryer, and the compressor comprises a piston that is configured to oscillate between a first stage and a second stage of the compressor, and a crankshaft is physically coupled to a connecting rod arranged in an interior space of the piston, and the interior space is configured to receive air from an interior volume of the compressor via a plurality of openings, wherein the interior space extends through a first piston body, a piston transition body, and a second piston body, and air in the interior space exits the interior space via a check valve arranged in a piston crown in the first piston body.

9. The air compressor system of claim 8 , wherein the crankshaft comprises a flywheel, and the flywheel comprises a first flywheel portion and a second flywheel portion, and the first flywheel portion comprises a half circle shape and the second flywheel portion comprises a full circle shape.

10. The air compressor system of claim 9 , wherein a central axis of the crankshaft is normal to an axis about which the piston oscillates, and the second flywheel portion is closer to the piston than the first flywheel portion.

11. The air compressor system of claim 8 , wherein the piston is symmetric, wherein the first piston body comprises a diameter larger than a diameter of the second piston body, and wherein the piston transition body is arranged between the first piston body and the second piston body.

12. The air compressor system of claim 11 , wherein the first piston body comprises the plurality of openings, and the plurality of openings comprises a plurality of first openings and a plurality of second openings, and the plurality of second openings are shaped differently than the plurality of first openings.

13. The air compressor system of claim 8 , wherein the compressor comprises a plurality of fins arranged on a compressor housing, and the plurality of fins is arranged adjacent to the first stage and the second stage.

14. A system, comprising:
an air system configured to pressurize and dry air flowing therethrough, and the air system comprises a compressor with a piston, and the piston comprises an interior space that receives air flowing into the compressor and expels air from the interior space within the piston through a check valve arranged in a piston crown to a first stage of the compressor, and a second stage of the compressor is fluidly coupled to the first stage via a passage, the second stage of the compressor configured to flow compressed air to an air dryer comprising a shuttle valve integrally arranged therein;
wherein the interior space extends through a first portion, a transition portion, and a second portion of the piston.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the compressor comprises the connecting rod coupled to a crankshaft, and the crankshaft comprises a flange end that couples to a connecting rod arranged in the interior space of the piston.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the piston crown is arranged at a first extreme end of the first portion of the piston, and the first extreme end comprises a first diameter larger than a second diameter of a second extreme end of the second portion of the piston.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the piston oscillates between the first stage and the second stage along a first axis via a crankshaft, and the crankshaft rotates about a second axis which is normal to the first axis, the crankshaft comprising a flywheel, and the flywheel comprises a first flywheel portion in face-sharing contact with a second flywheel portion, and the first flywheel portion comprises a half-circle shape and the second flywheel portion comprises a full circle shape.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the crankshaft is arranged perpendicularly to the piston and extends in a direction adjacent to a plurality of cooling fins of the first stage and the second stage.

Assignees

• Transp Ip Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Miller Andrew
• Lucke Christopher
• Hritz Jeffrey
• Chatham Matthew
• Martincic Wesley

Classifications

• F04B39/16 Primary

  Filtration; Moisture separation · CPC title

• F04B37/12

  to obtain high pressure · CPC title

• F04B39/0022

  piston rods · CPC title

• F04B39/0094

  crankshaft · CPC title

• F04B39/10

  Adaptations or arrangements of distribution members · CPC title