BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures, so that it may be more fully understood. With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a general view in longitudinal cross-section of a first embodiment of the rotary-vane machine, according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-section along plane II-II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross-section along plane III-III of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross-second along plane IV-IV of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a general view in longitudinal cross-section of the substantially flat vane;
FIG. 6 is a cross-section along plane VI-VI of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a cross-section along plane VII-VII of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a general view in longitudinal cross-section of a second embodiment of the rotary-vane machine, according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a cross-section along plane IX-IX of FIG. 8, and
FIG. 10 is a cross-section along plane X-X of FIG. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings, there is seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 a stationary, substantially tubular housing 1 with two different sections 2 and 3, section 2 containing oil and section 3 being oil-free. There is further seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, two outlet ports b opening into a machined, cylindrical surface 4 of section 3. Another two ports, inlet ports a are seen in FIG. 2, as well as ports b, opening into the same section of surface 4. Returning to FIG. 1, there is seen a cover member 5 with a central boss 6 to which is fixedly attached a sun gear 7. To the other end of housing 1 is attached a cover disk 8 with which is concentric the housing 9 of an electric motor 17.
Tubular rotor 10 includes two tapering vanes 11 (seen to better advantage in FIG. 2) each of which is fixedly attached to rotor 10 by fasteners (not shown), as well as by two cylindrical locators 12 that have an internal bore c intended to facilitate the preparation, after assembling of rotor 10, including vanes 11, of holes for bars 28 that couple end plate 21 and rotor 10. Tubular rotor 10 is also provided with four ports d which during rotation, successively pass across, and communicate with, ports a and b.
End plate 14 is fixedly attached to rotor 10 or vanes 11 by per-se known fastening means (not shown).
Drive shaft 15 is fixedly attached to end plate 14 through pin 16. Electric motor 17 mounted on shaft 15 is supported by bearings 18 and 19.
End plate 21 is provided with two projections 22 and is fixedly attached to rotor 10 and/or vanes 11 by known fastening means (not shown).
Support plate 23, seen to better advantage in FIG. 3 is also provided with two projections 24 which, in assembly, are contiguous with projections 22, being separated only by shims 25 for adjustment. Support plate 23 is fixedly attached to projections 22 by means of two screws 27 that are threaded into bars 28, which in turn are fixed in projections 22 by pins 26. Bars 28 ensure concentricity of rotor 11, support ring 23 and end plate 21.
FIG. 1 also shows a hollow, oscillating shaft 29, which is supported in bearing 31 mounted in end plate 14, bearing 32 mounted in end plate 21, and bearing 33 mounted in central boss 6. To hollow shaft 29 are fixedly attached two substantially flat vanes 36 by means of rods 34 and pins 35 (see FIG. 2).
Tapering vanes 11 and flat vanes 36 define between them and the inside of rotor 10 four chambers Ch1, Ch2, Ch3 and Ch4 (see FIG. 2), the function of which will become apparent further below.
In FIGS. 3 and 4, there are seen two shaft units 39 supported in bearings 40 mounted in end plate 21 and in bearings 40 and 41 mounted in support ring 23. To these units are fixedly attached or are integral with eccentrics 42 and planet gears 43, which mesh with sun gear 7. Also seen are counter-weights 44 that compensate for he imbalance produced by eccentrics 42.
Further seen are two connecting rods 45, the big end of which is connected via bearings 46 to each of the eccentrics 42, and the small end of each of which is connected via bearings 47 and pivot 48 to rocker arm unit 49, the sleeve 50 is pinned by means of pin 51 to the solid, reduced-diameter part of oscillating shaft 29 (see also FIG. 1).
Eccentrics 42 could also be replaced by a per-se known crank design.
In FIGS. 1 and 4 there is seen a sliding bearing 53 pinned to boss 6 and supporting rotor 10 through end plate 21 and support ring 23. Bearing 53 has a first circumferential groove 55 for lubricating the bearings of shaft unit 39, and a second groove 56 for lubricating planet gear 43 and sun gear 7 through nozzles 57 (FIG. 3). In FIG. 1 there is also seen a chassis 58 which raises the RVM sufficiently to accommodate an oil carter 60 into which an oil stripper 59 can divert the lubricant, and thus, prevent oil contamination of the compressed working gas.
FIG. 2 shows small clearances e between vanes 36 and rotor 10 (with analogous clearances between vanes 36 and end plates 14 and 21, not shown), as well as the edges of thin metal sheets 61, which are wider than the body proper of vanes 36. Recesses 62 and slots (not shown) are provided in tapered vanes 11 (FIG. 2) accommodating these sheets 61, while enabling full reduction of volumes of chambers Ch1 to Ch4. For minimal weight and, thus, minimal inertia, vanes 36 are fabricated from aluminum alloy profiles 64 and 65, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, and include tubular posts 66 for pins 34 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and bridging portions 67, as well as weight-reducing windows f. Windows are covered with thin sheet metal 69 and those sides of the vanes that face rotor 10 and end plates 14, 21 (FIG. 1) are provided with metal strips 70 and 71 and are machined when vanes 36 are already attached to hollow shaft 29 with pins 34 and 35. The final contour of strip 70 is indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 7.
The HADMI RVM described in detail in the aforegoing functions as follows:
Electric motor 17 drives drive shaft 15, end plate 14, tubular rotor 10 including tapering vanes 11, end plate 21 and support ring 23 at uniform speed. Two shaft units 39 disposed symmetrically relative to the RVM axis also rotate at that uniform speed. Integral with shaft units 39 are planet gears 43 meshing with stationary sun gear 7 and forcing shaft unit 39 to rotate also about their own axes at a speed that is twice as large as the speed of the RVM. Integral with shaft units 39, two eccentrics 42, via connecting rods 45, rock rocker arm unit 49, thus, via shaft end 50 superposing an oscillatory motion on hollow shaft 29, causing the latter to force flat vanes 36, which rotate together with the above RVM components, to simultaneously rock between the two tapering vanes 11 and to change the respective volumes of working chambers Ch1, Ch2, Ch3 and Ch4.
If in FIG. 2 rotor 10 rotates in the clockwise direction, the working gas enters chambers Ch1, and Ch3, the volumes of which are at that moment increasing, through the two ports d in rotor 11, communicating with two ports a in housing 1, and exits chambers Ch2 and Ch4, the volumes of which are at that moment decreasing, through the two ports d in rotor 11, communicating with ports b in housing 1.
Another embodiment of the RVM according to the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. This is a heavy-duty design, capable of producing pressure ratios of 2 to 6.
There is seen in FIG. 8 a housing 74, a flange 75 comprising two inlet ports 76 and two outlet ports 77 seen to better advantage in FIG. 10, a rotor 78 with two rotor vanes 79, a first end plate 80 with four inlet and outlet ports 81 (see FIG. 9) and a drive shaft 82 provided with a splined surface 83 and a transversal slot 84. Further seen is a double thrust bearing 85 with a larger intermediate washer 86 seated in flange 75 and held in position by a flange 87. Also seen is a radial bearing 88, a prismatic block 89 passing through slot 84, which by means of screw 90 lockable by counternut 91 can be pressed against the bearing assembly to adjust the clearance between the flange 75 and the end plate 80, with shims 92 permitting such adjustment.
Also seen in FIG. 8 is a stuffing box 93 mounted between flanges 94 and 95, designed to prevent lubricant from bearings 85 and 88 penetrating into the electric motor.
While the oscillating vanes 36 of the first embodiment are substantially flat, vanes 96 of the present embodiment are wedge-shaped, as can be seen in FIG. 9. Further shown are the wedge bodies 97 cast or fabricated, the head pieces 98 and the cover plates 99. As in the previous embodiment, vanes 96 are pinned to rods 100.
Further seen in FIG. 8 is motor housing 101, shaft 102 of the motor, splined coupling sleeve 103 and technological flange 104, the whole purpose of which is to facilitate assembly of the electric motor and the RVM.
It will be appreciated that as opposed to the first embodiment of the invention, the present embodiment provides no ports in rotor 78, all ports being located in end plate 80 (FIG. 9).
All unnumbered parts are identical to the parts having identical functions in the first embodiment.
It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrated embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
Patent Application
20070297928
