BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatuses, reference should be made to the embodiment illustrated in greater detail on the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG.1 is a perspective view of a dual-cylinder rocking piston compressor made in accordance with this disclosure.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the dual-cylinder rocking piston compressor shown in FIG. 1 further illustrating horizontal mounting surfaces.
FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a dual-cylinder rocking piston compressor shown in FIGS. 1-1A further illustrating horizontal mounting surfaces and spring members disposed between the side foot mounts and the horizontal mounting surfaces.
FIG. 2 is in an end view of the compressor shown in FIG. 1
FIG. 2A is in an end view of the compressor shown in FIGS. 1-2 further illustrating horizontal mounting surfaces.
FIG. 2B is in an end view of the compressor shown in FIGS. 1-2 further illustrating alternative horizontal mounting surfaces.
FIG. 2C is in an end view of the compressor shown in FIG. 1-2 further illustrating horizontal mounting surfaces and spring members disposed between the side foot mounts and the horizontal mounting surfaces
FIG. 2D is in an end view of the compressor shown in FIGS. 1-2 further illustrating horizontal mounting surfaces and spring members disposed between the side foot mounts and the horizontal mounting surfaces.
FIG. 3 is a top plane view of the compressor shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the compressor shown in FIGS. 1-3.
FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the compressor shown in FIGS. of 1-4
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an end view of the compressor shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is an exploded top perspective view of the head assembly for the compressors shown in FIGS. 1-7.
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the valve plate of the head assembly shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is an exploded a perspective view of the head assembly shown in FIGS. 8-9.
FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the valve plate shown in FIGS. 8-10
FIG. 12 is an end view of the of valve plate assembly shown in FIGS. 8-11.
FIG. 13 is a side plan view of the valve plate assembly shown in FIGS. 8-12.
FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of one of the heads shown in FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 10, and 12-13.
FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view of one of the heads shown in FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 10, and 12-14.
FIG. 16 is atop plan view of one of the heads shown in FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 10, and 12-15.
FIG. 17 is an end view of one of the heads shown in FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 10, and 12-16.
FIG. 18 is a bottom plan view of one of the heads shown in FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 10, and 12-17.
It should be under stood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the disclosed embodiments are sometimes illustrated diagrammatically and in partial views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatuses or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning first to FIG. 1, a compressor 20 is disclosed which includes a head assembly 21 that will be discussed in greater detail below in connection with FIGS. 8-18 Briefly, the head assembly 21 includes separate heads 22, 23 connected to a valve plate assembly 24 which includes valve plates 25, 26 connected to the heads 22, 23 respectively by a plurality of threaded fasteners shown generally at 27 with gaskets 28, 29 sandwiched respectively therebetween. For purposes of this disclosure, is also important to note the position of the drive shaft 32 which passes through to rocking pistons (not shown) disposed inside the housing 33 of the compressor 20. For details regarding the operation of the pistons, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,410, which is incorporated herein by reference The housing 33 of the compressor 20 also includes a plurality of foot mounts, two of which are side foot mounts shown generally at 34 and bottom foot mounts, three of which are shown generally at 35.
The housing 33 is generally U-shaped with sidewalls shown generally at 37, 38 and a bottom wall shown generally at 39. It will be noted that a portion of the bottom wall 39 that is in vertical alignment with an axis 32′ of the drive shaft 32 and is the lowermost portion 39′ of the housing 33 as explained in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 2.
Turning to FIG. 2, an end view of the compressor 20 and head assembly 21 is shown. Each head 22, 23 includes an inlet port 41 and an outlet port 42. Again, the details of the operation of the compressor 20 can be found in the '420 patent cited above. Most dual-cylinder rocking piston-type compressors like that shown at 20 in FIGS. 1-2 impart a substantial amount of noise and vibration. Because the compressor 20 and those like it are excellent for oxygen concentrators and other related medicinal applications, quieter compressors that impart less vibration are desirable. To satisfy this need, the compressor 20 is equipped with side foot mounts shown at 34. The foot mounts 34 are attached to the sides 37, 38 of the housing 33 respectively. Each side foot mount 34 includes a lower mounting surface 44 which can be used to define the effective height of the side foot mounts 34 relative to the lowermost portion 39′ of the compressor 20 In this case, the lowermost portion of the compressor 20 is defined as the bottom 39 of the housing 33 that is in vertical alignment with the vertical axis 32′ of the drive shaft 32. This lowermost portion of the bottom 39 of the housing 33 is designated as 39′.
Thus, the effective height of the side foot mounts 34 as shown in FIG. 2 is indicated as h1. Meanwhile, the effective height of the axis 32′ of the drive shaft 32, or the vertical distance between the axis 32′ and the lowermost portion 39′ of the housing 33 is indicated as h2. In a preferred embodiment, the relationship between h1 and h2 can be expressed by the following formulas:
0.5 h2≦h1≦1.5 h2
or
h
1
=h
2±0.5 h2
Further, the side foot mounts 34 are also preferably spaced laterally along the compressor 20 so that they are within a range of about ±2 inches from the closest connecting rod. Lines indicating the relative positions of the connecting rods of the pump 20 are shown in phantom at 40 in FIGS. 1 and 4 More preferably, the side foot mounts 34 are disposed within about 1 inch of the nearest connecting rod.
It is been found that the combination of elevating the foot mounts 34 in the manner disclosed herein increases the stability of the compressor 20 by a vertically locating the mounts 34 closer to the center of mass of the compressor 20. The new mount location disclosed herein reduces the rotating moments that can cause the compressor 20 to tip or become unstable during transportation and it will be noted that sometimes the compressors 20 are used in mobile applications.
Also in a preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the bottoms or lowermost portions of the side foot mounts 34 can be coated with a rubber or an elastomeric material shown at 45.
Turning to FIGS. 3-5, the positioning of the side foot mounts 34 are shown in top, side and bottom views respectively. Each foot mount 34 may include a through-hole 47 for connecting the foot mounts 34 to spring members 48 as shown in FIG. 2C-2D and FIG. 1B.
Generally, FIGS. 1A-1B and 2A-2D illustrate various mounting options for the compressor 20. For the oxygen concentrator application, the compressor 20 will most likely be mounted within some sort of cabinetry. Hence, some sort of horizontally disposed mounting surface or ledge shown generally at 49 will be provided. FIG. 2A illustrates horizontal mounting surfaces 49 laterally attached to a support structure FIG. 2B illustrates horizontal support surfaces 49 mounted on top of another horizontal support structure. FIG. 2C illustrates horizontal support surfaces 49 with spring members 48 disposed between the foot mounts 34 and the laterally supported surfaces 49 while FIG. 2D illustrates spring members disposed between the foot mounts 34 in the horizontally supported surfaces 49.
Turning to FIGS. 6-7, and alternative embodiments to the compressor 20 are shown generally at 20a. The compressors 20a include differently configured side foot mounts 34a. The primary differences between the foot mounts 34 (FIG. 1-5) and the foot mounts 34a being the size of the through-holes 47, 47a and the lateral dimensions of the mounts.
Turning to FIGS. 8-18, the head assembly 21 and improved gaskets 28, 29 are shown and described. Regarding FIG. 8, the assembly 21 includes the two heads 22, 23 which are connected to the unitary valve plate 26 that includes the plate members 25, 26. Each plate member 25, 26 includes a peripheral notch shown generally at 54. However, the notch 54 includes an outer peripheral section 55 and a central dividing section 56. The dividing section 56 divides each valve plate into and intake portion 57 and output portion 58. Consequently, each gasket 28, 29 includes an outer peripheral loop 61 that is divided into minor halves by the dividing section 62. The gaskets 28, 29 also includes a raised section 63 which traverses either end of the raised central section 64 that connects the two valve plate 25, 26 together. The raised central section 64 also includes conduits 65, 66 which provide fluid communication between the intake sides 57 of the valve plates 25, 26 and output sides 58 of the valve plates 25, 26 respectively. The peripheral groove 55 of each valve plate traverses the raised central section at either end thereof as shown in FIG 8. Therefore, to effectuate a good seal between the heads 22, 23 and the valve plates 25, 26, the gaskets 28, 29 need the specially designed to raised sections shown at 63 in FIG. 8. FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the valve plates 25, 26 and the raised the raised central section 64 that connects the valve plates 25, 26 both structurally and in terms of fluid communication FIG. 9 also shows the peripheral and dividing grooves 55, 56 of the valve plates 25, 26.
FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective exploded view of the head assembly 21. It will be noted that the heads 22, 23 include sidewalls shown generally at 71 and the dividing wall shown generally at 72. The dividing walls 72 are in general alignment with the dividing sections 62 of the gaskets 28, 29 to provide an effective sandwiching seal between the dividing walls 72 and the valve plates 25, 26 along the dividing grooves 56. The dividing walls 72 include tapered sections 72′ to accommodate for the ends of the raised central section 64. FIG. 10 also provides a good view of the communication conduits 65, 66 extending between the output chambers 58 and intake chambers 57 respectively. The lower groove 74 shown in each valve plate 25, 26 respectively in FIGS. 10-11 accommodates upper ends of the cylinders (not shown, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,410) FIGS. 12-13 provide end and side views respectively of the head assembly 21.
FIGS. 14-18 provide numerous views of the heads 22, 23, which are identical and structure and therefore are referred to with 22 here. As shown in FIG. 15, each head includes openings 81, 82 for communicating with the conduits 65, 66 respectively (see FIG. 11). As seen in FIG. 14, the head 22 also includes a raised section 83 for accommodating to the raised central section 64 as discussed above.
Thus, an improved compressor 20 is disclosed which produces less vibration and less noise than predecessor models. Further the compressor 20 is shorter and lighter due to the head assembly 21 which combines a flat valve plate assembly 24 with low profile had covers 22, 23, thereby conserving space and weight. A unique gaskets system in the form of the gaskets 29 is also provided. An improved method for reducing sound and vibration by relocating or placing foot mounts on the sides of the compressor housing as opposed to on the bottom of the compressor housing is also disclosed. Without being down by theory, it is respectfully submitted that placing foot mounts on the sides of the compressor substantially reduces noise and vibration thereby making a compressor more versatile and useful in environments where noise and vibration are problematic.
While only certain embodiments have been set forth, alternatives and modifications will be apparent from the above description to those skilled in the art. These and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of this disclosure and the appended claims.
Patent Application
20070280838
