To save weight, my team decided (okay, mentors sort-of forced this upon us) to mount our air compressor on the cart instead of the robot, charging up its compressed air tanks between matches. I have read the rules regarding the pneumatic system (I know that the external compressor must be powered and controlled by the robot), yet I am still confused about one detail: how exactly do I connect the compressor to the robot's pneumatic system? We must be able to quickly connect and disconnect the compressor without leaking any pressure. My current idea is to simply screw a pneumatic tube fitting into the free end of the robot's manual pressure relief valve, and use it to connect to a tube leading to the external compressor (which will have its own manual pressure relief valve as mandated by the rules). Is this legal? Another idea I had was to use a check valve of some sort that wouldn't have to be manually opened and closed with each filling. Is there any legal pneumatic component resembling a check valve that can be used for this purpose? I know the flow rate regulators used on pneumatic cylinders function somewhat like check valves, but can they be safely and legally used as check valves for this purpose?
