The present invention is directed to rotary hydraulic devices capable of functioning as pumps, motors, flow dividers, pressure intensifier and the like, and more particularly to vane and gear pumps.
Most of the conventional positive displacement rotary pumps apply single stage pressurized flow to hydrostatically precompress the internal fluid volume to be displaced. The throttled pressure of a single staged flow contributes to the release of dissolved air into the internal pump volume to be displaced. The entrained air bubbles are imploded during the pump precompression and discharge cycles. Noisy operation and erosive wear are encountered.
To reduce the outgassing in the pressurized flow encountered in the precompression cycle, a series of constant and variable restrictions are located in the flow passage to alter the throttled pressure.
The application of the progressive staged flow for precompressing the internal pump volume to be displaced is described in typical vane, gerotor, and spur gear pumps. The invented precompressive staged flow feature is also applicable in other positive displacement rotary pump designs.
The present invention can be applied to most positive displacement rotary pumps, which feature transition zones between the inlet and discharge periods. During the inlet to outlet transition zone the pump volume to be displaced needs to become pressurized to that of the discharge pressure. The conventional method for compressing this volume is to provide pressurized flow through designed metering grooves on the valve face. When the pump intake volume is not completely filled the metering groove provide the single restrictive orifice for the displaced fluid to suddenly return and complete the pump filling; this rapid reversed flow is associated with increased outgassing and turbulence that produce cavitation wear and noisy operation.
The present invention consists of providing pressurized flow through multistaged restrictive openings to precompress the volume to be displaced. With multistaged orificing the precompressive flow contains considerably less outgassing, which results in quieter operation and reduced erosion wear.
A rotary vane hydraulic device generally includes a housing, a rotor mounted for rotation within a housing and a plurality of vanes individually slideable disposed in corresponding radially extending peripheral slots in the rotor. A cam ring radially surrounds the rotor and has an inward directed surface forming a vane track and one or more fluid pressure cavities between the cam surface and rotor; also there are one or more corresponding fluid inlet cavities. In such devices the vanes as followers are adapted to follow the cam track and provide proper sealing between the inlet and outlet porting correlated with the fluid inlet and fluid outlet zones. During operation of such device, the vanes are urged outwardly and into engagement with the cam track by centrifugal force and also by providing a controlled pressure unbalanced condition between the vane tip engaging the cam surface and the inner surface of the vane within the rotor slot.
Inlet and outlet passages in the housing feed and receive hydraulic fluid to and from the cavity or cavities within the rotating displacement pump.
In most conventional vane pumps the intervane volumes in transition zone of inlet to discharge oil are precompressed to the discharged pressure by throttled discharge flow via a metering groove located at the beginning of the outlet port. The resulting single pressure staged throttled flow contains a considerable amount of outgassing, which causes audible noise and erosive wear attributed to the implosion of the formed gas bubbles during pressurization.
One of the principle objectives of the present invention is to provide a rotary flow restrictive feature in vane pumps that reduces the outgassing during precompression. The multistaged restrictions in the interfaced porting reduces the amount of outgassing in the fluid volume to be displaced during precompression.
The present invention consists of a rotor with porting that registers with strategically located access ports in the pump valve faces of the axial containment surfaces and directs pressurized fluid flow through a series of variable and constant restrictions to precompress each intervane volume prior to displacement.
Each rotor vane slot segment has a radial port located on the periphery and directed inward to intersect with an axially directed passage which exits at both sides of the rotor to provide two axial ports.
On each pump valve face two access ports are radially and angularly located to correspond to the axial ports of two consecutive rotor vane slot segments. One access port strategically located in the inlet to discharge transition zone; the other access port is strategically located in the displacement zone. Both of the access ports are connected by a passage located beneath or on the surface of the valve face.
When the intervane volume is sealed from the inlet port, the axial ports in the rotor begin to register with the corresponding access ports on the valve faces. Pressurized flow enters the radial port in the rotor and is directed through the axial ports into the access ports in the valve face. This pressurized flow continues through the connecting passage and out the access ports located in the inlet to pressure transition zone and into the registered opening of the axial ports and out the radial port in the rotor. The throttled pressurized flow enters and precompresses the intervane volume of fluid in the inlet to discharge transition zone.
The radial porting in the rotor segments, the varied opening of the axial ports in the rotor registering with the access port in the valve faces, and the connecting passage provide the multistaged restrictions for reducing the outgassing associated with throttled pressurized flow.
The afore-described precompression flow sequence occurs for each intervane volume of single and multi-displacement cycles per revolution vane units.
A simplified and preferred version of the afore-described design would replace the axial passage and its axial ports with radial grooves open to the outside diameter on both sides of the rotor. The arcuately shaped corresponding access grooves on the side plate would register with the radial grooves on the rotor and provide the multistage restrictions to meter the pressurized flow into the intervane volumes to be displaced.
The gerotor is positive displacement gear type unit consisting of two elements, an inner rotor and an outer rotor. The outer rotor has one or more teeth than the inner rotor and has its centerline positioned at fixed eccentricity from the drive axis of the inner rotor and shaft.
Although gerotor units come in a variety of geometric configurations, materials, and sizes all gerotor sets possess the basic principle of having conjugately-generated tooth profiles which provide continuous fluid-tight sealing during the pumping operation.
As the rotors rotate about their respective axes, fluid is drawn from the inlet port into the enlarging intertooth space to its optimum volume. When the intertooth space is sealed from the inlet port, it becomes subjected to precompression by multistaged metering flow from the discharge chamber. This metered flow is directed through multistaged restrictions to minimize the outgassing associated with pressurized flow passing through a single stage metering groove. The multistaged restrictions consist of a radial port centrally located on the minor diameter of the inner rotor and between each pair of teeth. Each radial port is inwardly extended to intersect an axial passage which created an axial port on both sides of the inner rotor.
Two access port are located on each axial retaining walls of the rotating group which consists of the inner and outer rotors. The access ports are located to radially and angularly correspond with at least two (2) consecutive axial ports of the inner rotor. On each axial retaining wall, an access port is located in the inlet to discharge transition zone and at a position to begin registering with axial port in the inner rotor when the intertooth space is sealed from the inlet chambers. On each axial retaining wall the other access port is located in the discharge zone to identically sequence its opening with the corresponding axial port. The access ports are connected with an arcuately shaped passage, which is located beneath or on the surface of the retaining wall.
When the two (2) consecutive axial ports begin registering with the two (2) access ports on the axial retaining walls, pressurized flow enters the radial port of the inner rotor and is axially directed to exit into the access ports in the axial retaining wall. The pressurized flow continues in the connecting passage to exit into the axial ports and through the radial port into the intertooth space that completed the inlet cycle and precompress the entrapped volume of fluid.
The continuously varied opening of the registered axial ports in the inner rotor with the access ports in the retaining walls and the selected sized connected passage provide the multistage restrictions for the pressurized flow to precompress each intertooth volume to be displaced.
A simplified embodiment of the present invention would replace the axial passage in the inner rotor with radial grooves on both sides of the inner rotor. The radial grooves would be open at the minor diameter and inwardly extended to register with the access ports on the retaining valve surfaces.
Another gear pump design consists of two spur gears accurately centered and closely fitted in a housing. The pumping chambers formed between the gear teeth are enclosed by a housing center section and side plates which possess the pump timing.
A partial vacuum is created in the pump inlet as the rotating gears unmesh. Fluid is drawn into the intertooth spaces and carried by the rotating gears to the region where the gears mesh and the entrapped fluid volumes are displaced. The pump timing on the side plates include grooves that originate at the discharge and surround the periphery above the minor diameter of both gears. This groove is terminated short of the inlet zone to allow for a minimum one tooth seal. This design strategy provides a radial hydrostatic pressure force to prevent the engaged gear teeth from mechanically separating because of the pressure angle of the meshed tooth engagement. Also, the wrap-around pressure distribution reduces the net radial hydrostatic pressure force supported by the journal bearings.
The present invention includes the following modification to the typical spur gear pump. At the minor diameter and between each pair of gear teeth a selected size radial groove is inwardly located on one side or both sides of the spur gear. An arcuately shaped access groove is located on the valve face of each side plate in the pressurized regions to correspond with the radial grooves in the gears. The beginning location of the access grooves in the side plate registers with the radial groove when the intertooth space completes its inlet cycle and the trailing tooth seals the discharge pressure from the inlet. The radial groove preceding the registering radial groove is engaged with the access groove in the side plate and discharged pressure flow will enter and meter out by the trailing radial groove into the intertooth space that completed the inlet cycle. The interfacing of the gear radial grooves and the access grooves on the side plate provide varied and constant openings (orifices) for throttling the pressurized flow to precompress the intertooth volumes to be displaced.
The aforementioned events are performed for each intertooth space completing its inlet cycle.
As an option, a pressure metering groove at the discharge pressure port of the side plates can be applied to supplement the multistaged precompression.
Referring to
A rotor 25 is rotatably mounted within cam ring 27 on the spline 16 of shaft 15 which is rotatably mounted within bearing 14 in support plate 23 and a ball bearing 14a mounted in body 21a.
Cam ring 27 has an internal contour 28 which is substantially oval in shape and which together with the periphery of the rotor 25 and the adjoining axial support surfaces 46 and 47 define two radially opposing pumping chambers 42 and 43; each of which traverse the fluid inlet, fluid transition and fluid outlet zones which are displayed in
It has been the practice in devices of this type to provide the rotor 25 with a plurality of radial vane slots 45, each of which has a vane 26 slideably mounted therein. The contour of cam ring 27 includes an inlet rise zone, an intermediate arcuate zone (precompression) an outlet fall zone, and another intermediate arcuate zone (decompression) which are shown in
The pump cartridge 22 is fastened together by two (2) screws 50. Screws 50 extend through support side plate 23 and cam ring 27 into threaded holes in support plate 24. Screws 50 also locate the cam ring 27 to correspond to the pump timing on the valve faces 46, 47, support side plates 23 and 24. The installed cartridge 22 in pump assembly 20 is internally located by two stator pins 51 located in the support plate 23 and housing cover 21b.
Referring to
Referring to
When the intervane volume is located in the inlet to transition (precompression) zone and sealed from the fluid inlet ports 33 the axial ports 30a in rotor 35 begin to register with the access ports 31 in the valve faces 46 and 47. Pressurized flow enters the radial port 29 in rotor 25 and is directed by the axial ports 30a to enter the access ports 31 and continues in passage 32 to exit in intervane volumes traversing the precompression zone. The openings of the radial ports 30a, connecting passage 32 and the varied opening between the registering access ports 31 with the axial port 30a provide the multistaged flow restrictions to reduce the outgassing of throttled pressurized flow.
As a design supplemental flow option a precompression pressure metering groove 39 can be located on one or both axial support surface faces 46 and 47. The metering groove 39 is extended from the discharge port 34 into the inlet to discharge transition (precompression zone).
Referring to
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The housing body and cover 102a and 102b possess the pump timing of inlet, transition of inlet to discharge (precompression), discharge, and transition of discharge to inlet (decompression) zones. The inlet connection port 108 is connected to the inlet chamber 109 and the outlet connection port 110 is connected to the discharge chamber 111.
Referring to
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An optional pressure meter groove 120 is extended from the discharge 111 into the precompression zone to supplement the pressurized flow for precompressing the intertooth volume 114 prior to its displacement.
Referring to
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The described porting of the staged precompression of the volume 211 to be displaced can be applied on one or both sides of the rotating spur gear displacement group 210.
As a design supplemental flows option a precompression pressure metering groove 235 is extended from circular groove 212 toward the inlet port.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2989951 | Charlson | Jun 1961 | A |
5261796 | Niemiec et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
5263818 | Ito et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
6743003 | Dong | Jun 2004 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
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06117379 | Apr 1994 | JP |