Tom Love

Title: Tom Love: Inventor of Piezo-Electric Pumping Technologies.

Introduction

Tom Love is an inventor based in Gloucester, Great Britain. His patent work focuses on piezo-electric fluid pumps and systems that coordinate multiple pumps, including applications for aircraft.

Latest Patents

Love’s latest patents describe two related advances in piezo-electric pumping.

“Active balancing of multiple interleaved piezo pumps” concerns a drive circuit for multiple piezo-actuated hydraulic pumps, along with a hydraulic pump system that uses the circuit. A voltage-boost stage supplies an increased DC voltage to a high-voltage link, while parallel inverter stages generate oscillating voltages to drive individual pumps. A control system operates the pumps out of phase, measures each pump’s power consumption, and adjusts at least one inverter’s output voltage to balance power use across the pumps.

“Piezo-electric fluid pump” describes a pump with a reservoir, a movable piston head, a piezo-electric stack, and a pumping chamber formed between the piston head and an outlet plate. A bias mechanism keeps the piezo-electric stack under compression, while inlet and outlet disc valves control one-way fluid flow. The patent describes how this preloading arrangement and the inlet disc valve can improve pressure and flow capability compared with other piezo-electric pumps.

Career Highlights

Love’s listed patent portfolio includes 2 patents. His work connects piezo-electric actuation with practical hydraulic pumping, addressing both pump performance and the coordinated operation of multiple pumps.

Collaborations

Love has worked with Safran Landing Systems UK Ltd and Safran Landing Systems Canada, Inc. His listed coworkers include Nathan Sell and Andrew Plummer.

Conclusion

Tom Love’s patents focus on improving piezo-electric pump performance and balancing the operation of multiple pumps, with applications that include aircraft hydraulic systems.