Westport Research Inc.

Ballard Generation Systems Inc.

Mark A Epp

Philip G Hill

Adrian J Post

Alain Michel Touchette

Brad Douville

An oilless gas compressor includes a motor containment vessel containing a motor for driving the compressor and a crankcase attached to the motor containment vessel. The crankcase and the motor containment vessel are fluidly connected and together define a sealed, pressurizable interior cavity in which the rotatable motor shaft is disposed. The compressor further includes a cylinder mounted upon the crankcase, the cylinder having a piston disposed therein. The piston is connected to the shaft for reciprocation of the piston within the cylinder. The cylinder also includes a gas intake valve, fluidly connected to the compressor suction inlet port, and a gas discharge valve, fluidly connected to the compressor discharge outlet port. The oilless gas compressor, in which the need for perimeter rotating shaft seals is obviated, is suitable for compression of precious or toxic gases or flammable gases, such as natural gas.

Oilless compressor with a pressurizable crankcase and motor containment

The invention relates to an apparatus and method for supplying high pressure gaseous fuel from a storage vessel to a vehicle's internal combustion engine. More particularly, the invention is a fuel supply system with three main components: the storage vessel; an intensifier; and, an accumulator vessel. Fuel passages connect each one of the components directly with the other two components. The intensifier has a plurality of compression chambers and one of the compression chambers can be by-passed when the intensifier is operating in a low capacity mode, depending upon the pressure in the storage vessel. The intensifier operates continuously. When no fuel compression is required, the intensifier runs in an idle mode with the respective inlets and outlets of the compression chambers connected by fuel passages, thus preventing any fuel compression. The loading to the intensifier actuating mechanism is balanced in all modes of operation.

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Langley, Canada

Mark A Epp