Patent ID: 11959252
Assignee: ARTEMIS INTELLIGENT POWER LIMITED
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC E  F | IPC E  F

Claim 15:
16. A method of operating an apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
a plurality of hydraulic actuators,
a prime mover,
a hydraulic machine having a rotatable shaft in driven engagement with the prime mover and comprising at least three working chambers having a volume which varies cyclically with rotation of the rotatable shaft, each working chamber of the hydraulic machine comprising a low-pressure valve which regulates the flow of hydraulic fluid between the working chamber and a low-pressure manifold and a high-pressure valve which regulates the flow of hydraulic fluid between the working chamber and a high-pressure manifold, wherein the working chambers are formed into a plurality of pump modules each of which has a respective high-pressure manifold which is common to that pump module,
a hydraulic connecting circuit comprising a plurality of inputs, each of which is in fluid communication with the high-pressure manifold of a respective pump module, a plurality of connecting circuit outputs, each of which is in fluid communication with a different one or more of the hydraulic actuators, the hydraulic connecting circuit configured to connect each said connecting circuit input to a connecting circuit output and comprising a plurality of valves which are switchable to change the connecting circuit output to which a said connecting circuit input is connected, so that each pump module is connected to one connecting circuit output at a time and thereby to the one or more of the hydraulic actuators which are in fluid communication with the respective connecting circuit output,
the method comprising actively controlling at least the low pressure valves of the said working chambers to determine the net displacement of each working chamber on each cycle of working chamber volume, such that the net displacement of the working chambers of each pump module which are connected to a respective actuator is controlled to meet a respective demand for hydraulic fluid by the one or more actuators in fluid communication with the respective connecting circuit output, and
changing the connecting circuit output and thereby the one or more hydraulic actuators to which a pump module is connected by switching one or more valves of the hydraulic connecting circuit.