Caterpillar Inc.

Sunil Jefferey Bean

Cory Andrew Brown

Joshua W Steffen

Dana Ray Coldren

Robert Michael Campion

Adrienne M Brasche

Alan Ray Stockner

Sana Mahmood

Shivangini Singh Hazari

Daniel Reese Puckett

Daniel Raymond Baldwin

Steven Grant

Michael E Sattler

Andrew Neaville

Nikhil M Arya

Behnaz Ensan

Matthew Benjamin Yandell

Hardikkumar Shah

A pressurized fuel system for an engine includes a fuel pump in a pump protection device structured to drain pressurized fuel from a common rail to provide fuel flow through the fuel pump that limits cavitation. The device includes a valve mechanism having a first valve and a second valve that are movable to an open position and a closed position respectively, in response to valve opening and valve closing rail pressures. The active pressure range of the device may be a medium pressure range.

Protection device for limiting pump cavitation in common rail system

A valve spool may include a cylindrical spool body having a spool longitudinal axis, a first spool body end wall and a second spool body end wall disposed axially opposite the first spool body end wall, and a spool outer surface. The spool outer surface may include a first spool guide region proximate the first spool body end wall and having a spool guide region outer diameter, a second spool guide region proximate the second spool body end wall and having the spool guide region outer diameter, and a spool tight clearance region disposed between the first spool guide region and the second spool guide region. The spool tight clearance region may have a spool tight clearance region outer diameter that is greater than the spool guide region outer diameter.

Edgeless valve spool design with variable clearance

A hydraulic piston pump includes a reciprocal piston disposed in a blind housing bore of a piston housing to generate a pumping action. To accommodate the piston, a piston cartridge is installed in each of the housing bores. The piston cartridge includes a piston sleeve having an inner sleeve periphery, a first outer sleeve periphery, and a second outer sleeve periphery. The inner sleeve periphery is configured to establish sliding contact with the piston. The first outer sleeve periphery has a first outer sleeve diameter that is larger than a second outer sleeve diameter of the second outer sleeve periphery. To seal against the blind housing bore, a liner cap having a cylindrical liner wall and an axial liner cover is disposed over the first outer sleeve periphery. The axial liner cover abuts a housing bore ceiling of the blind housing bore and can receive hydraulic fluid there through.

Piston cartridge for piston pump

A cryogenic pump system includes a supply of liquid natural gas, a source of hydraulic fluid, a cryogenic pump, and an electronic control module. The cryogenic pump is operatively arranged with the supply of liquid natural gas and the source of hydraulic fluid. The cryogenic pump is configured to operate using the source of hydraulic fluid to compress at least some of the supply of liquid natural gas for delivery to an engine. The electronic control module is operably arranged with the cryogenic pump and configured to selectively operate the cryogenic pump. Control strategies for operating the cryogenic pump system are disclosed which have reduced power demands.

Method of operating cryogenic pump and cryogenic pump system

A cryogenic fluid pump includes a plurality of pumping elements, each of the plurality of pumping elements having an actuator portion that is associated with and configured to selectively activate one end of a pushrod in response to a command by an electronic controller, an activation portion associated with an opposite end of the pushrod, and a pumping portion associated with the activation portion. For each of the plurality of pumping elements, the pumping portion is activated for pumping a fluid by the activation portion, which activation portion is activated by the actuator portion. The electronic controller is configured to selectively activate each of the plurality of pumping elements such that a flow of fluid from the cryogenic fluid pump results from continuous activations of the plurality of pumping elements at selected dwell times between activations of successive pumping elements.

Hydraulic drive multi-element cryogenic pump

A pump is disclosed having a manifold with an inlet, a pressure outlet, and a return outlet. The pump may also have a jacket connected to an end of the manifold to create an enclosure that is in fluid communication with the inlet of the manifold, and at least one pumping mechanism extending from the manifold into the jacket. The at least one pumping mechanism may have an inlet open to the enclosure and an outlet in communication with the pressure outlet of the manifold. The pump may further have a standpipe extending from the manifold into the enclosure. The standpipe may be in communication with the return outlet of the manifold.

Pump having inlet reservoir with vapor-layer standpipe

A manifold for a pump is configured to connect to a jacket to form a reservoir and to connect to at least one pumping mechanism disposed within the reservoir. The manifold includes a first side including a first side surface configured to face the reservoir and a second side including a second side surface. The manifold also includes a bypass passage, at least one push rod guide bore extending through the first side surface and the second side surface, and a leakage passage fluidly connecting the at least one push rod guide bore to an outlet disposed outside the first side surface. The manifold further includes a discharge passage including at least one inlet disposed in the first side surface, and the at least one inlet is configured to receive fluid pumped by the at least one pumping mechanism.

Pump manifold

A method for controlling a stroke velocity in a pump includes using a sensor to detect a start of a pump stroke and an end of the pump stroke. A stroke time is calculated, the stroke time being a time period between the start of the pump stroke and the end of the pump stroke. The stroke velocity is calculated based on a stroke length and the stroke time. The stroke velocity is compared to a reference stroke velocity. A hydraulic supply pressure to the pump is increased if the calculated stroke velocity is less than the reference stroke velocity, and the hydraulic supply pressure is decreased if the calculated stroke velocity is more than the reference stroke velocity.

End of stroke detection for plunger velocity correction

A barrel assembly for a pumping mechanism includes a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a plunger bore configured to receive a plunger for sliding within the plunger bore. The barrel assembly also includes at least one inlet passage including at least one inlet extending through the first end and fluidly connected to the plunger bore to communicate fluid from the at least one inlet passage to the plunger bore. The barrel assembly further includes an outlet passage fluidly connected to the plunger bore and configured to receive fluid from the plunger bore, the plunger bore and the outlet passage forming separate openings in the second end of the barrel assembly.

Barrel assembly for a fluid pump having separate plunger bore and outlet passage

A drive system for a cryogenic pump is provided including a spool housing having a plurality of valves disposed therein about a pump axis and a tappet housing including a plurality of tappet bores, each tappet bore in communication with a respective one of the plurality of valves. A collection cavity collects hydraulic fluid from the tappet bores. A pump flange includes a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. An inlet manifold directs hydraulic fluid received through the fluid inlet to each of the plurality of valves. An outlet manifold directs hydraulic fluid from each of the valves and the collection cavity to the fluid outlet.

Hydraulic drive system for cryogenic pump

A pump has a plurality of pumping elements, each being independently responsive to an actuation signal from a controller. The controller is programmed to maintain a desired pressure at the pump discharge, monitor the fluid pressure at the pump discharge, compare the fluid pressure with the desired fluid pressure to determine a pressure error, provide commands to sequentially actuate the pumping elements when the pressure error is within a threshold range, and provide commands to actuate more than one of the plurality of pumping elements simultaneously, such that more than one pumped amounts of fluid are delivered simultaneously at the pump discharge, when the pressure error droops outside of the threshold range.

Multiple element firing strategy for cryogenic pump

A system and method for detecting pressure deviation of a first fluid in an engine is disclosed. The method may comprise calculating, for each of a plurality of measurements, a delta between an actual first fluid pressure and a target pressure, summing each delta obtained from the calculating, and determining pressure deviation of the first fluid based on a cumulative sum of the deltas. In an embodiment, the first fluid may be natural gas.

Gas pressure high and low detection

System and methods for controlling a flow of fluid in a fuel system are disclosed. In an aspect, a gas admission system includes a gas admission valve assembly having an inlet, an outlet, and a valve configured to control a flow of fluid between the inlet and the outlet and a flow limiter assembly in fluid communication with the inlet of the gas admission valve assembly.

Growing community of inventors

Peoria, IL, United States of America

Sunil Jefferey Bean