Claims
- 1. A variable displacement vane pump comprising:
a) a pump housing having a cylindrical interior chamber defining a central axis through which a vertical centerline and a horizontal centerline extends; b) a cylindrical rotor member mounted for rotational movement within the interior chamber of the pump housing about an axis aligned with the central axis of the interior chamber, the rotor member having a central vane section including a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radial vane slots formed therein, each vane slot supporting a corresponding vane element mounted for radial movement therein, each vane element having an outer tip surface; and c) a cam member mounted for pivotal movement within the interior chamber of the pump housing about a fulcrum aligned with the vertical centerline of the interior chamber, the cam member defining a cam body having a circular bore extending therethrough for receiving the rotor member, the circular bore forming a cam chamber defining a cam surface making continuous contact with the outer tip surfaces of the vane elements during the rotation of the rotor member, the cam body having lateral sealing lands formed thereon, the sealing lands having arcuate sealing surfaces defining segments of a cam arc through which the cam member pivots relative to the rotor member
- 2. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 1, further comprising lateral cam seals supported within the interior chamber of the pump housing and oriented on each end of a chord of the cam arc, each cam seal mounted for continuous contact with an adjacent sealing surface of the cam member.
- 3. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 2, wherein the chord of the cam arc extends parallel to the horizontal centerline of the interior chamber.
- 4. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 2, wherein the chord of the cam arc extends parallel to and is located below the horizontal centerline of the interior chamber.
- 5. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 2, wherein the cam seals are biased into a contact position.
- 6. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 2, wherein the cam seals are biased into a contact position by biasing springs.
- 7. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 2, wherein the cam seals are supported by a spacer mounted between opposed sideplates.
- 8. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 2, wherein each cam seal has an axis radially aligned with the fulcrum of the cam member.
- 9. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for adjusting the position of the cam member relative to the rotor member.
- 10. A variable displacement vane pump comprising:
a) a pump housing having a cylindrical interior chamber defining a central axis through which a vertical centerline and a horizontal centerline extends; b) a cylindrical rotor member mounted for rotational movement within the interior chamber of the pump housing about an axis aligned with the central axis of the interior chamber, the rotor member having a central vane section including a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radial vane slots formed therein, each vane slot supporting a corresponding vane element mounted for radial movement therein, each vane element having an outer tip surface; c) a cam member mounted for pivotal movement within the interior chamber of the pump housing about a fulcrum aligned with the vertical centerline of the interior chamber, the cam member defining a cam body having a circular bore extending therethrough for receiving the rotor member, the circular bore forming a cam chamber defining a continuous cam surface making contact with the outer tip surfaces of the vane elements during the rotation of the rotor member, the cam body having lateral sealing lands formed thereon, the sealing lands having arcuate sealing surfaces defining segments of a cam arc through which the cam member pivots about the fulcrum relative to the rotor member; and d) static cam seals supported within the interior chamber of the pump housing and oriented on each end of a chord of the cam arc, each cam seal biased into a continuous contact position with an adjacent sealing surface of the cam member.
- 11. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 10, wherein the chord of the cam arc extends parallel to the horizontal centerline of the interior chamber.
- 12. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 10, wherein the chord of the cam arc extends parallel to and is located below the horizontal centerline of the interior chamber.
- 13. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 10, wherein the static cam seals are biased into a contact position by biasing springs.
- 14. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 10, wherein the static cam seals are supported by a spacer mounted between opposed sideplates.
- 15. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 10, wherein each static cam seal has an axis radially aligned with the fulcrum of the cam member.
- 16. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 10, further comprising means for adjusting the position of the cam member relative to the rotor member.
- 17. A variable displacement vane pump comprising:
a) a pump housing having a cylindrical interior chamber defining a central axis through which a vertical centerline and a horizontal centerline extends; b) a cylindrical rotor member mounted for rotational movement within the interior chamber of the pump housing about an axis aligned with the central axis of the interior chamber c) a cam member mounted for pivotal movement within the interior chamber of the pump housing about a fulcrum aligned with the vertical centerline of the interior chamber, the cam member defining a cam body having a circular bore extending therethrough for receiving the rotor member, the cam body having lateral sealing lands formed thereon, the sealing lands having arcuate sealing surfaces defining segments of a cam arc through which the cam member pivots about the fulcrum relative to the rotor member; d) opposed sideplates disposed within the interior chamber of the pump housing and supporting the rotor member and cam member therebetween; e) an axial spacer having an axial thickness slightly greater than an axial thickness of the cam member and positioned between the opposed sideplates for reducing friction between the sideplates and the cam member; and f) static cam seals supported by the axial spacer and oriented on each end of a chord of the cam arc, each cam seal biased into a continuous contact position with an adjacent sealing surface of the cam member.
- 18. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 17, wherein the rotor member has a central vane section including a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radial vane slots formed therein, and each vane slot supports a corresponding vane element mounted for radial movement therein, and each vane element has an outer tip surface.
- 19. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 18, wherein the circular bore of the cam member forms a cam chamber defining a continuous cam surface making contact with the outer tip surfaces of the vane elements during the rotation of the rotor member.
- 20. A variable displacement vane pump as recited in claim 17, further comprising means for adjusting the position of the cam member relative to the rotor member.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The subject application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/171,382 filed Dec. 22, 1999, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No., 09/506,465 filed Feb. 17, 2000 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/120,451 filed Feb. 17, 1999.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60171382 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
|
60120451 |
Feb 1999 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09506465 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
09741524 |
Dec 2000 |
US |