The present invention relates to a rotary type cylinder device capable of dealing with interconversion of reciprocating motions of pistons in cylinders and a rotary motion of a shaft, more precisely relates to a rotary type cylinder device which can be applied to internal-combustion engines, compressors, vacuum pumps, hydraulic rotary machines, etc.
In each of internal-combustion engines, compressors, vacuum pumps, hydraulic rotary machines, etc., various types of driving mechanisms are employed. For example, a reciprocal type driving mechanism in which a fluid is repeatedly sucked and discharged by reciprocating motions of piston units connected to a crank shaft, a scroll type driving mechanism in which a fluid is repeatedly sucked and discharged by revolving a movable scroll with respect to a fixed scroll, a rotary type driving mechanism in which a fluid is repeatedly sucked and discharged by rotary motion of a roller (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P2004-190613A), a screw type driving mechanism, and a vane type driving mechanism are employed according to usage.
Especially, the reciprocal type driving mechanism is mainly used for internal-combustion engines, compressors, vacuum pumps, etc., each of which is rotated at a medium speed, e.g., 10000 rpm, and in each of which high airtightness is required.
In the reciprocal type driving mechanism, energy converting efficiency is easily lowered by energy loss caused by reciprocating motion of piston units in cylinders. Further, a connection rod for supporting the piston units reciprocally moved in the cylinders, a crank shaft being connected to the connecting rod and a crank arm being connected to the crank shaft are required, so an energy converting device, which converts the reciprocating motion of the piston units into a rotary motion, must be large in size. Vibration, which is caused by deviations of mass balances (gravity centers) of rotatable members while the piston units are reciprocally moved, must be absorbed by a damper, etc.
Accordingly, it is an object in one aspect of the invention to provide a rotary type cylinder device, in which rotatable members which are capable of revolving around a shaft at fixed rotational speeds can be compactly assembled in the axial and radial directions, piston units can be linearly reciprocally moved by combination of rotary motions around a plurality of crank shafts, and imbalance of masses of the rotatable members, which is caused by deviations of gravity centers caused by the linear and reciprocal motions of the piston units, can be repaired so as to restrain rotational vibration and reduce noise.
To produce the object, the rotary type cylinder device, which is capable of dealing with interconversion of reciprocating motions of pistons in cylinders and a rotary motion of an input/output shaft, comprises:
a first crank shaft 5 being eccentrically provided with respect to an axis of the input/output shaft 4, the first crank shaft 5 being revolved around the shaft by a first balance weight 9 adapted to function as a first virtual crank arm and having a radius of r from the input/output shaft 4;
a composite piston assembly P having an eccentric cylindrical body 6, which is constituted by a first cylindrical section 6a, to which the first crank shaft 5 is coaxially fitted, and second cylindrical sections 6b, whose axes are second virtual crank shafts 14a, 14b made eccentric with respect to an axis of the first cylindrical section 6a and which are integrated with the first cylindrical section 6a and located on each side of the first cylindrical section 6a in an axial direction, the composite piston assembly P being revolved relatively, around the first crank shaft 5, by a second balance weight 10 adapted to function as a second virtual crank arm and having a radius the radius of r in a state where a first piston unit 7 fitted to the one of the second cylindrical sections 6b and a second piston unit 8 fitted to the other another of second cylindrical section sections 6b intersect each other;
the first balance weight 9 and the second balance weight 10 are adapted to produce rotational balances of rotatable members which are provided around the input/output shaft 4 and can be rotated at fixed rotational speeds, the first balance weight 9 and the second balance weight 10 being respectively provided to both end parts of the first clank shaft 5, to which a composite of the first and second piston units 7, 8 is attached; and a main body case 3 rotatably holding the input/output shaft 4 which is integrally formed in a least one of the first balance weight 9 and the second balance weight 10, the main body case 3 rotatably accommodating the first crank shaft 5, the first balance weight 9 and the second balance weight 10, which are adapted to revolve relatively around the input/output shaft 4, and the composite piston unit, which is revolved adapted to revolve around the first crank shaft 5, and
wherein the first crank shaft 5 is adapted to revolve around the input/output shaft 4 and the composite piston assembly P is adapted to revolve relatively around the first crank shaft 5 in a state where a first rotational mass balance B1 relating to the first and second piston units 7, 8, around the second virtual crank shafts 14a, 14b, a second rotational mass balance B2 relating to the composite piston assembly P around the first crank shaft 5 and a third rotational mass balance B3 relating to the first crank shaft 5 and the composite piston assembly P around the input/output shaft 4 are uniformly produced by only the first and second balance weights 9, 10 which are attached to the both end parts of the first crank shaft 5, thereby the first and second piston units 7, 8, which are attached to the second cylindrical sections 6b, are adapted to be linearly reciprocally moved in radial directions of a circular orbit of the second virtual crank shafts 14a, 14b, which has radius of 2r, while relatively revolving around the input/output shaft 4.
Note that, the first virtual crank arm means a part connecting the shaft to the axis of the first crank shaft. Even if there is no dedicated crank arm, a structure which can act as a crank arm is regarded as the first virtual crank arm. The second virtual crank arm means a part connecting the axis of the first crank shaft to the second virtual crank shafts. Even if there is no crank arm, a structure which can act as a crank arm is regarded as the second virtual crank arm. The second virtual crank shafts are virtual axes of revolution. Even if there are no physical axes of revolution, the virtual axes which can act as axes of revolution are regarded as the second virtual crank shafts. Further, each of the piston units means a unit in which a seal cap, a seal cap retainer, a piston ring, etc. are integrally attached to a piston head section.
Preferably, in the rotary type cylinder device, pinholes are formed in both end parts of the first crank shaft respectively, axes of the pinholes are perpendicular to the axis of the first crank shaft,
axial holes and pinholes are formed in shaft sections of the first and second balance weights respectively, axes of the pinholes of the first and second balance weights are perpendicular to the axes of the first and second balance weights, and
the both end parts of the first crank shaft are respectively fitted in the axial holes of the first and second balance weights in a state where the pinholes of the first crank shaft correspond to the pinholes of the first and second balance weights so as to integrate the first crank shaft with the first and second balance weights.
Preferably, in the rotary type cylinder device, at least one of the first and second balance weights is integrated with the shaft.
Preferably, in the rotary type cylinder device, each of the second cylindrical sections has bearing retainer parts, which are respectively formed in an inner circumferential face and an outer circumferential face, an inner bearing is retained by the bearing retainer parts formed in the inner circumferential face, an outer bearing is retained by the bearing retainer parts formed in the outer circumferential face, and
the first crank shaft is rotatably held by the inner bearings, the first and second piston units are held by the outer bearings.
In the rotary type cylinder device of the present invention, the first crank shaft is revolved around the shaft by rotating the shaft, and the first and second piston units attached to the second cylindrical sections are linearly reciprocally moved along the radial directions of the circular orbit of the second virtual crank shafts, which has radius of 2 r, by revolving the composite piston assembly around the first crank shaft.
While the operation, the first rotational mass balance relating to the first and second piston units around the second virtual crank shafts, the second rotational mass balance relating to the composite piston assembly around the first crank shaft and the third rotational mass balance relating to the first crank shaft and the composite piston assembly around the shaft are uniformly produced by only the first and second balance weights. Further, imbalance, which is caused by deviations of gravity centers caused by the linear and reciprocal motions of the piston units, can be repaired, so that rotational vibration of the rotary type cylinder device can be restrained and operation noise can be reduced.
In the rotary type cylinder device of the invention, energy loss can be reduced and energy converting efficiency can be improved by restraining the rotational vibration caused by revolving the rotatable members around the shaft. Further, a vibration-proof mechanism can be simplified.
In comparison with conventional devices, number of crank shafts and crank arms can be reduced, so that the structure of the rotary type cylinder device of the invention can be simplified.
In case that the both end parts of the first crank shaft are respectively fitted in the axial holes of the first and second balance weights in the state where the pinholes of the first crank shaft correspond to the pinholes of the first and second balance weights, pins can be fitted and fixed in the pinholes, accuracy of attaching the first and second weights, in the directions perpendicular to their axes, to the both end parts of the first crank shaft can be improved.
In case that at least one of the first and second balance weights is integrated with the shaft, number of parts can be reduced. The first crank shaft can be compactly attached, in the axial and radial directions, to the shaft by adjusting a length of the first virtual crank arm, which connects the shaft to the first crank shaft. The length of the first virtual crank arm is adjusted by adjusting the revolving radius of the first and second balance weights.
In case that each of the second cylindrical sections has bearing retainer parts, which are respectively formed in the inner circumferential face and the outer circumferential face, the inner bearing is retained by the bearing retainer parts formed in the inner circumferential face, the outer bearing is retained by the bearing retainer parts formed in the outer circumferential face, and the first crank shaft is rotatably held by the inner bearings, the first and second piston units are held by the outer bearings, the composite piston assembly including the eccentric cylindrical body can be compactly attached, in the axial and radial directions, to the first crank shaft by adjusting a length of the second virtual crank arm, which connects the first crank shaft to the second virtual crank shafts. The length of the second virtual crank arm is adjusted by adjusting the revolving radius of the second cylindrical sections.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. A rotary type cylinder device, which will be assembled in a compressor, will be explained as an embodiment of the present invention with reference to
In
In
In
In
As described above, the shaft 4 is integrated with at least one of the first and second balance weights 9 and 10, so that number of parts can be reduced. Further, the first crank shaft 5 can be compactly attached to the shaft 4, in the axial direction and the radial direction, by adjusting a length of a first virtual crank arm, which connects the shaft 4 to the first crank shaft 5. The length of the first virtual crank arm is adjusted by adjusting, for example, revolving radius r of the first and second balance weights 9 and 10.
As shown in
As shown in
In
With this structure, the composite piston assembly P including the eccentric cylindrical body 6 can be compactly attached to the first crank shaft 5, in the axial direction and the radial direction, by adjusting a length of a second virtual crank arm, which connects the first crank shaft 5 to the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b. The length of a second virtual crank arm is adjusted by adjusting revolving radius of the second cylindrical sections 6b.
The first and second piston units 7 and 8 are fitted to the second cylindrical sections 6b of the eccentric cylindrical body 6, their axial lines are perpendicular to the second virtual crank shaft 14a and 14b, and first piston head sections 7c and second piston head sections 8c are reciprocally moved in the same plane. Therefore, the composite piston assembly P (see
In
In
The first piston head sections 7c, each of which is formed into a circular plate, are respectively provided to the axial both ends of the first piston main body 7A. Base plates 7d, which have bolt holes 7e, are provided to the first piston main body 7A (see
An example of the structure of the first piston unit 7 is shown in
As shown in
Two through-holes 21d are formed in the flange 21b. The cylindrical body part 21c is inserted into the opening part 20 of the main body case 3 (see
In
In
In
Next, the assembly structure of the rotary type cylinder device will be explained with reference to
The inner bearings 15a and 15b are attached to the bearing retainer parts 6c. The first crank shaft 5 is fitted in the center hole of the first cylindrical section 6a, to which the inner bearings 15a and 15b have been attached (see
The first and second balance weights 9 and 10 are respectively fitted to the both ends of the first crank shaft 5. The pins 11a and 11b are fitted in the pinholes 5b and the bolts 12a and 12b are screwed so as to integrate the first and second balance weights 9 and 10 to the first crank shaft 5. The first bearing 13a is fitted in the bearing retainer part 1a of the first case 1, and the second bearing 13b is fitted in the bearing retainer part 2a of the second case 2. The shaft 4 is fitted in the first bearing 13a, the shaft section 10c of the second balance weight 10 is fitted in the second bearing 13b, and the first and second cases 1 and 2 are combined to form the main body case 3. Therefore, the first crank shaft 5, the first and second balance weights 9 and 10 and the composite piston assembly P (see
In the above described rotary type cylinder device, first rotational balance of the first and second piston units 7 and 8 around the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b, second rotational balance of the composite piston assembly P around the first crank shaft 5 and third rotational balance of the first crank shaft 5 and the composite piston assembly P around the shaft 4 are uniformly produced by only the first and second balance weights 9 and 10.
With this structure, even if the first and second piston units 7 and 8, which are attached to the second cylindrical sections 6b, are linearly reciprocally moved in the radial directions of a circle 23 (see
The rotary motions of the first crank shaft 5 and the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b around the shaft 4 and the linear reciprocating motions of the first and second piston units 7 and 8 will be explained with reference to
A distance r between the center O (the shaft 4) and the axis of the first crank shaft 5 is an arm length (revolving radius) of the first virtual crank arm and the second virtual crank arm. The first crank shaft 5 is revolved around the shaft 4 (the center O) along a circular orbit 30 whose radius is equal to the arm length r of the first virtual crank arm. The second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b are apparently revolved around the first crank shaft 5 along a circular orbit (virtual circle) 24 whose radius is equal to the arm length r of the second virtual crank arm. Therefore, the first and second piston units 7 and 8 can be reciprocally moved in the radial directions of the circle 23 whose center is the center O and whose radius R is equal to the diameter 2r of the virtual circle 24.
In the present embodiment, the axes of the second cylindrical sections 6b, to which the first and second piston units 7 and 8 are fitted in the crisscross form, are the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b. In
In case of revolving the first crank shaft 5 around the center O of the circle 23 in the counterclockwise direction will be explained. Note that, the virtual circle 24 revolves, without slip, along the circle 23 in the clockwise direction. In each of
When the first crank shaft 5 is revolved 90 degrees, in the counterclockwise direction, from the position shown in
When the first crank shaft 5 is further revolved 90 degrees, in the counterclockwise direction, from the position shown in
When the first crank shaft 5 is further revolved 90 degrees, in the counterclockwise direction, from the position shown in
When the first crank shaft 5 is further revolved 90 degrees, in the counterclockwise direction, from the position shown in
By revolving the first crank shaft 5 around the center O (the shaft 4), the second virtual crank shaft 14a is reciprocally moved along the diameter R1 of the circle 23, which is the circular orbit of the virtual circle 24, and the second virtual crank shaft 14b is reciprocally moved along the diameter R2 of the circle 23.
With the rotary motion of the first crank shaft 5 along the circular orbit 30, which has the radius r from the shaft 4 (the center O), and the rotary motions of the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b along the circular orbit, which has the radius r from the first crank shaft 5, the first piston unit 7, which is fitted to the second cylindrical section 6b whose axis corresponds to the second virtual crank shaft 14a, is repeatedly reciprocally moved along the diameter R1 of the circle 23, whose radius is 2 r and whose center corresponds to the axis of the shaft 4; the second piston unit 8, which is fitted to the second cylindrical section 6b whose axis corresponds to the second virtual crank shaft 14b, is repeatedly reciprocally moved along the diameter R2 of the circle 23, whose radius is 2 r and whose center corresponds to the axis of the shaft 4.
As shown in
For example, by rotating the shaft 4 by a motor, etc., the first crank shaft 5 and the eccentric cylindrical body 6 are revolved. The eccentric cylindrical body 6 is revolved around the first crank shaft 5, so that the first and second piston units 7 and 8 are linearly reciprocally moved in the radial directions of the circle 23 (see
The rotary motion of the shaft 4 and the linear reciprocating motions of the first and second piston head sections 7c and 8c will be explained with reference to
In
Note that, the first and second piston head sections 7c and 8c need not have the circular shapes, so they may have polygonal shapes. In case of using a part of the piston units assembled in a compressor as a vacuum pump, the device can be used as a hybrid type pump.
In this case, the seal caps 17a and 17b are attached to the piston head section, which is used as the compressor, and their erecting sections 17c are outwardly extended in the sliding direction; the seal caps 17a and 17b are also attached to the piston head section, which is used as the vacuum pump, preferably their erecting sections 17c are inwardly extended in the sliding direction (see
In the above described embodiment, the rotary type cylinder device has two piston units. Number of the piston units may be three or more. In case of the device having three piston units, for example, three second virtual crank shafts are disposed, on the virtual circle 24 shown in
In one of the piston units, the piston head sections may be omitted. If the second virtual crank shaft corresponds to the axis of the shaft 4 in one piston unit, a rotational dead point will occur. However, by omitting the piston head sections in one of the piston units, the occurrence of the rotational dead point in the one piston unit can be avoided, so that the rotary motion of the rotary type cylinder device can be continued.
In the above described embodiment, the first and second piston head sections 7c and 8c are attached to the eccentric cylindrical body 6 so as to reciprocally move in the same X-Y plane. In case that the eccentric cylindrical body is divided into a plurality of parts, a plurality of the piston units can be arranged in the height direction (the Z-axis direction) and crisscrossed at different heights.
In the above described embodiment, the first and second piston units 7 and 8 are crisscrossed, but their arrangement is not limited. For example, the first and second piston units 7 and 8 may be disposed around the first crank shaft 5 with a phase difference of 60 degrees, etc.
As shown in
For example, if air intake valves, air release valves, an injector, a spark plug, etc. are provided to each of the cylinder chambers, which are formed by attaching the cylinder heads to the cylinders 21, this structure can be applied to engines. In this case, the first and second piston units 7 and 8 are linearly reciprocally moved by explosive-burning fuel in the cylinder chambers, so that the linear reciprocal motions of the piston units can be converted into and outputted as the rotary motions of the eccentric cylindrical body 6 and the first crank shaft 5 (the composite piston assembly P) around the shaft 4.
In
In
As shown in
Further, multistage compression of air can be performed by four cylinder heads. In this case, strokes of the piston units cannot be changed, so diameters of a piston and a cylinder must be changed even in one piston unit. Preferably, the first to third rotational balances are produced by the first and second balance weights 9 and 10.
As described above, the first crank shaft is revolved around the shaft 4 and the eccentric cylindrical body 6 is revolved around the first crank shaft 5 by rotating the shaft 4, so that the first and second piston units 7 and 8, which are attached to the second cylindrical sections 6b whose axes correspond to the second virtual crank shaft 14a and 14b, are linearly reciprocally moved in the radial directions of the circle 23 (see
While the operation, the first rotational balance relating to the first and second piston units 7 and 8 around the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b (see
By reducing rotational vibration caused by rotation around the shaft 4, mechanical loss can be reduced and energy converting efficiency can be improved. Further, a vibration-proof mechanism, e.g., damper, can be simplified.
In comparison with conventional devices, number of elements constituting the crank shaft and the crank arms can be reduced, so that the simple crank mechanisms can be realized.
If the first rotational balance is lost, the second and third rotational balances are lost, too. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P63-24158A discloses a hypocycloid rotary type cylinder device capable of producing balances of rotatable members (see column 6, line 31-34). However, in the patent publication, only balances of a shaft and a crank shaft are produced. The technical idea of producing rotational balances of a slider connected to the crank shaft and rotatable members, including a piston assembly, connected to the slider is not disclosed, at all. Conventionally, there was no technical idea of repairing deviation of gravity center caused by linear and reciprocal motion of a piston unit, so vibration caused by the deviation of gravity center was absorbed by a vibration absorbing mechanism, e.g., damper.
On the other hand, in the rotary type cylinder device of the present invention, the rotatable members including the shaft 4, the first crank shaft 5 and the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b are capable of revolving at fixed revolving speeds with respect to the centers, the first to third rotational balances are produced by the first and second balance weights 9 and 10, so that a total balance is well maintained. Further, the deviations of gravity centers caused by the linear and reciprocal motions of the first and second piston units 7 and 8 can be repaired. Therefore, the hypocycloid rotary type cylinder device, which is capable of restraining rotational vibration caused by the rotary motions around the shaft 4 and the linear reciprocal motions of the first and second piston units 7 and 8, can be produced.
Balancing performance of a compressor of 46 cc displacement, which relates to the present invention, and a conventional similar mechanism will be explained. Note that, eccentric weight of the first crank shaft 5 around the shaft 4 is 10 g, and eccentric weight of the composite piston assembly P attached to the first crank shaft 5 is 210 g (including first and second piston units 7 and 8, the eccentric cylindrical body 6, the inner bearings 15a and 15b and the outer bearings 16a and 16b).
In the present invention, the first to third rotational balances are produced by the first and second balance weights 9 and 10, so that the rotary motion around the shaft 4 can be performed with balancing the eccentric weight of 220 g. Therefore, mechanical loss can be reduced, energy converting efficiency can be improved and noise can be reduced. On the other hand, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P63-24158A, only a crank shaft revolved around a shaft is balanced. The balance of the crank shaft (10 g) around the shaft is poorly produced (about 5%). Therefore, rotational vibration must be great, mechanical loss must be great, and energy converting efficiency must be low. Further, the vibration must be absorbed by, for example, damper due to intense noise.
Since the shaft 4 is integrated with at least one of the first and second balance weights 9 and 10, number of parts can be reduced. Further, the first crank shaft 5 can be compactly attached around the shaft 4, in the axial direction and the radial direction, by adjusting the length of the first virtual crank arm, which connects the shaft 4 to the first crank shaft 5. The length of the first virtual crank arm is adjusted by adjusting the revolving radius of the first and second balance weights 9 and 10.
The inner and outer bearings 15a, 15b, 16a and 16b are respectively retained by the bearing retainer parts 6c and 6d, which are formed in the inner circumferential faces of the second cylindrical sections 6b. The first crank shaft 5 is rotatably held by the inner bearings 15a and 15b, and the first and second piston units 7 and 8 are rotatably held by the outer bearings 16a and 16b. Therefore, the composite piston assembly P including the eccentric cylindrical body 6 can be compactly attached, in the axial and radial directions, around the first crank shaft 5 by adjusting the length of the second virtual crank arm, which connects the first crank shaft 5 to the second virtual crank shafts 14a and 14b. The length of the second virtual crank arm is adjusted by adjusting the revolving radius of the second cylindrical sections 6b.
The first and second cylinder head sections 7c and 8c are respectively attached to front ends of the first and second piston units 7 and 8, and the cylinder heads 25 and 26, which respectively face the first and second cylinder head sections 7c and 8c and which form the cylinder chambers 27a-27d, are attached to the main body case 3. In the rotary type cylinder device, the fluid can be introduced into and discharged from the cylinder chambers 27a-27d by the reciprocal motions of the two piston units. Therefore, the rotary type cylinder device can be applied to variety of driving mechanisms, e.g., hydraulic rotary machines, vacuum sucking machines, internal-combustion engines.
All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alternations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2009-245920 | Oct 2009 | JP | national |
2010-053633 | Mar 2010 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP2010/066436 | 9/22/2010 | WO | 00 | 3/20/2012 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2011/052313 | 5/5/2011 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20120177524 A1 | Jul 2012 | US |