An accumulator includes: a main cylindrical housing having a closed first axial end and a second axial end; a piston arranged in the main cylindrical housing and sealed to an inner surface of the main cylindrical housing, which piston is movable in an axial direction and provides with the main cylindrical housing and the closed first axial end of the main cylindrical housing a variable accumulating space; an urging device arranged between the piston and the second axial end of the main cylindrical housing for urging the piston towards the first axial end of the main cylindrical housing; a fluid supply opening arranged in the first axial end of the main cylindrical housing, which fluid supply opening is in fluid connection with the variable accumulating space; and a protective cylindrical housing having a first and a second axial end, the protective cylindrical housing being arranged concentrically.

A method is provided for detecting and quantifying leaks in a gas network under pressure or vacuum. The gas network includes one or more sources of compressed gas or vacuum; one or more consumers or consumer areas of compressed gas or vacuum applications; pipelines or a network of pipelines to transport the gas or vacuum; a plurality of sensors which determine one or a plurality of physical parameters of the gas in the gas network. The gas network has controllable or adjustable relief valves and the method involves a training phase and an operational phase.

An actuator is described, including a first sheet comprising a plurality of first openings,; and a second sheet comprising a plurality of second openings; wherein the first and second sheets are stacked together such that at least one of the first and second openings are misaligned; and the actuator is configured to move from a first state to a second state, wherein in the first state, out-of-plane motion of the first and second sheets is permitted; and in the second state, the first and second sheets as well as the misaligned first and second openings are jammed together to restrict the out-of-plane motion of the first and second sheets. Methods of actuating and making such actuator are also described.

A device for filling a hydraulic circuit of an electro-hydrostatic system provided with a discharge valve and a filling valve includes a vacuum generator designed to be connected to the discharge valve via a first shut-off valve in order to eliminate the air or gases present in the circuit, and a source for supplying pressurised hydraulic fluid, which source is designed to be connected to the filling valve via a second shut-off valve and to the discharge valve and the first shut-off valve via a third shut-off valve in order to fill the hydraulic fluid circuit.

A fluid pump inlet stabilizer dampener includes a deformable diaphragm separating an enclosure into a gas chamber and a liquid chamber; and a piston coupled to the deformable diaphragm and being movable with respect to a valve housing, wherein the piston is configured to be positioned in at least first, second, and third positions, wherein in the first position a first fluid flow path from a pressurized gas inlet port to the gas chamber is open, in the second position the first fluid flow path is closed, and in the third position the first fluid flow path is closed and a second fluid flow path that activates a venturi vacuum generator is open.

An air cylinder includes a cylinder, a piston rod, a piston, and a controller. The piston rod has one end disposed in the cylinder and the other end protruding from the cylinder. The piston is provided at the one end of the piston rod and moves the piston rod by moving in the cylinder. The controller supplies gas into one of a space, which is a space in the cylinder directed on the piston rod side with respect to the piston, and a space, which is a space in the cylinder opposite to the space with respect to the piston, and sucks gas from an interior of the other of the spaces.

A system for detecting a connector failure associated with an agricultural apparatus is disclosed. The system comprises a first supply source that is configured to supply a quantity of air at a first pressure into the hydraulic fluid line arranged on the agricultural apparatus. A second supply source is configured to supply a quantity hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic fluid line at a second pressure that is less than the first pressure. A protection device is coupled to the hydraulic fluid line and is configured to inhibit flow of the hydraulic fluid supplied by the second supply source when a pressure differential across an inlet of the protection device exceeds a predetermined threshold.

A vacuum-keeping multistage vacuum-generating and vacuum-destructing valve includes a main body, which includes an introduction port, a vacuum port, a discharge port, and a vacuum-generating valve, in combination with a vacuum-destructing valve. The vacuum-destructing valve is arranged in combination with a flow conducting passage formed in the main body and connected to the vacuum port to allow a pressure fluid received through the introduction port to partly flow through the vacuum-destructing valve, and a vacuum-destructing two-port two-position valve is arranged in the flow conducting passage to increase flow rate of the pressure fluid passing therethrough to make a response of the vacuum port more sensitive in switching to a vacuum-destructing state. The ports of the main body are arranged in a detachable manner to increase service efficiency and ease part replacement. Two side seats are arranged to couple multiple such main bodies together to cope with complicated automatic processing operations.

An accumulator includes: a main cylindrical housing having a closed first axial end and a second axial end; a piston arranged in the main cylindrical housing and sealed to an inner surface of the main cylindrical housing, which piston is movable in an axial direction and provides with the main cylindrical housing and the closed first axial end of the main cylindrical housing a variable accumulating space; an urging device arranged between the piston and the second axial end of the main cylindrical housing for urging the piston towards the first axial end of the main cylindrical housing; a fluid supply opening arranged in the first axial end of the main cylindrical housing, which fluid supply opening is in fluid connection with the variable accumulating space; and a protective cylindrical housing having a first and a second axial end, the protective cylindrical housing being arranged concentrically.

An artificial muscle system includes a collapsible skeleton, a flexible skin, and a muscle actuation mechanism. The collapsible skeleton is contained inside a volume defined, at least in part, by the flexible skin. The flexible skin and the collapsible skeleton are configured for the flexible skin to provide a pulling force on the collapsible skeleton when a pressure difference exists between the inside of the sealed volume and a surrounding environment to change at least one of the dimensions and thus geometry of the collapsible skeleton. The muscle actuation mechanism includes at least one of the following to deploy or contract the collapsible skeleton: (a) a fluid displacing, releasing, or capturing mechanism configured to increase or decrease fluid pressure inside the sealed volume; and (b) a heating or cooling element configured to change the temperature of fluid in the sealed volume.