Jean Mercier (1901–1971), a Frenchman, was known as the father of the bladder-type hydraulic accumulator. Mercier fled France for the United States during the Nazi invasion, eventually settling in New York City. After meeting Edward M. Greer in 1940, the two founded Greer Hydraulics (in 1942) to produce aircraft hydraulic components. In 1943, Jean Mercier recognized an opportunity for his bladder type accumulators in Hamilton Standard's hydromatic propellers. They needed a device that would fit inside the dome of their propeller, and have the ability to store sufficient

hydraulic fluid A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backhoe ...

to "

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

" the propeller on an engine failure that might be experienced in combat. It also had to be able to function at temperatures from −40 °F to +180 °F. There was a single insurmountable problem—weight, which was a problem since World War II aircraft were quite small. The use of a gas/oil separator, today called a bladder, solved the problem. Greer and Mercier formed a patent company (Greer-Olaer) and Greer Hydraulics became the sole licensee, with the rights to continue development and to license other companies outside the U.S. From the early 1950s, bladder-type accumulators became the unit that was specified and used in almost every application where hydraulics was employed - machine tools, plastic machinery, circuit breakers, rock crushers, oil drilling, farm and road machinery, to name a few. Greer Hydraulics was later acquired by

Parker-Hannifin Parker Hannifin Corporation, originally Parker Appliance Company, usually referred to as just Parker, is an American corporation specializing in motion and control technologies. Its corporate headquarters are in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, in Greater ...

of Cleveland, Ohio. Mercier was awarded the Franklin Institute's Certificate of Merit in 1951. He was also decorated Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur by the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

External links

hydraulic accumulator

Link to Jean Mercier's Patents

References

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Google Patents Search "Jean Mercier"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercier, Jean 20th-century French engineers 20th-century French businesspeople Knights of the Legion of Honour 1971 deaths 1901 births 20th-century American businesspeople