Patent ID: 8567303
Filing Date: 2013-10-29
Classification: F04B,F16J,F16K,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An apparatus suitable for use in a compressed-gas-based energy storage and recovery system, the apparatus comprising: a pressure vessel defining an interior region in which at least one of a liquid and a gas can be contained; a piston movably disposed within the interior region of the pressure vessel, the piston dividing the interior region into a first interior region on a first side of the piston and a second interior region on a second, opposite side of the piston, each of the first and second interior regions including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; and a seal member comprising a rib, the seal member attached to the piston by the rib and a mating groove defined in an outer wall of the piston and attached to the pressure vessel at at least one end of the seal member, the seal member configured to move between a first configuration in which at least a portion of the seal member is disposed at a first position within the pressure vessel when the piston is in its first position, and a second configuration in which the at least a portion of the seal member is disposed at a second position within the pressure vessel when the piston is in its second position.