CA1109038A
Expired / Lapsed
CA
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Compressor-expander of the vane type having canted vane cavity
Assignee: Rovac Corp
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Filing: 1978-11-30
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Granted: 1981-09-15
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Expires: 1998-11-30
Abstract
Abstract ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A compressor-expander having a vaned rotor in which the vanes rotate about an axis which is canted with respect to the rotor axis. The housing of the device has a disc-shaped main cavity having adjacent hub recesses which are concentrically spherical. The cavity is in the form of a doubly truncated sphere canted with respect to the shaft axis. The rotor has a central spherical portion for mating with the recesses and includes an integral Saturn-like ring extending to the outer wall of the cavity to divide the cavity into compressor and expander sides of complimentary circular wedge shape. The vanes occupy radially extending slots in the rotor and serve to separate each side into successive chambers which vary cyclically in volume as the shaft rotates without requiring the vanes to bodily reciprocate either radially or axially. The cavity is provided with compressor and expander inlet and outlet ports, a primary heat exchanger being connected between the compressor outlet port and the expander inlet port, so that air entering the compressor inlet is compressed and heated, the heat of compression being removed in the heat exchanger, following which the air is expanded and cooled for discharge in the cooled state. Preferably a secondary heat exchanger is connected between the expander outlet and the compressor inlet to form a closed system operated at a pressure above atmospheric. By appropriate location and connection of the ports, the device may be utilized as a two-stage compressor or expander.
Inventors
- 👤 Wayne C. Shank
- 👤 Thomas C. Edwards
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
CA
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 21:15
CPC Classifications
F; F01; F01C; F01C3/00; F01C3/06; F02; F02G; F02G2250/00; F02G2250/03
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
260 words
A rotary machine comprising in combination a housing having means for journalling a shaft therein, the housing defining a disc-shaped main cavity having adjoining hub recesses, the main cavity being in the form of a doubly truncated sphere symmetric about a vane axis which is canted with respect to the shaft axis, a rotor in the housing having axially projecting stub shafts, the rotor including a Saturn-like ring symmetric about the shaft axis, the ring extending to the outer wall of the main cavity dividing the cavity into first and second sides each of circular wedge shape having thick and thin portions arranged in complementary fashion, the ring having radially extending slots generally aligned with the shaft axis to divide the ring into sectors, vanes in the slots, the vanes having a profile substantially corresponding to the profile of the truncated sphere to separate each side into successive chambers which vary cyclically in volume as the shaft rotates, each side having an inlet port and an outlet port in straddling relation to the thin portion thereof and in which the vanes are provided in opposed pairs, the vanes comprising each pair being inter-connected such that the vanes of a pair are connected by at least one narrow neck, with the narrow necks having cooperating axial offsets for interfitting with one another, the lateral edges of the vanes being rounded and the thickness of the vanes being such as to provide substantially constant clearance between the vanes and the sidewalls of the main chamber throughout the course of a rotative cycle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
260 words
A rotary machine comprising in combination a housing having means for journalling a shaft therein, the housing defining a disc-shaped main cavity having adjoining hub recesses, the main cavity being in the form of a doubly truncated sphere symmetric about a vane axis which is canted with respect to the shaft axis, a rotor in the housing having axially projecting stub shafts, the rotor including a Saturn-like ring symmetric about the shaft axis, the ring extending to the outer wall of the main cavity dividing the cavity into first and second sides each of circular wedge shape having thick and thin portions arranged in complementary fashion, the ring having radially extending slots generally aligned with the shaft axis to divide the ring into sectors, vanes in the slots, the vanes having a profile substantially corresponding to the profile of the truncated sphere to separate each side into successive chambers which vary cyclically in volume as the shaft rotates, each side having an inlet port and an outlet port in straddling relation to the thin portion thereof and in which the vanes are provided in opposed pairs, the vanes comprising each pair being inter-connected such that the vanes of a pair are connected by at least one narrow neck, with the narrow necks having cooperating axial offsets for interfitting with one another, the lateral edges of the vanes being rounded and the thickness of the vanes being such as to provide substantially constant clearance between the vanes and the sidewalls of the main chamber throughout the course of a rotative cycle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
140 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which compression and expansion take place in the first and second sides separately, the compressor side having an arcuately extensive inlet port in advance of the thickest portion of the wedge and a relatively concentrated outlet port just prior to the thinnest portion of the wedge so that the air entering the compressor inlet is compressed and heated for discharge, the expander side having a relatively concentrated inlet port just following the substantially thinnest portion of the wedge and having an arcuately extensive outlet port following the substantially thickest portion of the wedge so that the air entering the expander inlet is expanded and cooled for discharge, at least the compressor outlet port and expander inlet port having provision for connecting a heat exchanger therebetween for dissipation of the heat of compression.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
57 words
The combination as claimed in claim 2 in which the spherical radius of the central portion of the rotor is greater on the expander side than on the compressor side to reduce the volume of air on the expander side so that equal masses of air are transported per revolution on the two sides of the device.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the vanes comprising an opposed pair are integrally formed as a flat plate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotor has six vanes formed by three vane plates.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
78 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotor is formed with diametrically extending slots for receiving the pairs of vanes, the slots being of "C" shape to separate the rotor into sectors which are held together by an integral axially offset core at a first axial end, and which are separate at the second end, a cap for joining the sectors together at the second end, and aligned stub shafts secured to the respective ends.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
65 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotor is formed with diametrically extending slots for receiving the pairs of vanes, the slots separating the rotor into sectors which are integrally joined by cores spaced at the axial ends, and the stub shafts engaging the spaced cores, the vanes comprising a pair being separable for assembly and disassembly with respect to the rotor.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
60 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the ring has a cross section in the form of an isosceles trapezoid having an included angle equal to double the angle of cant thereby to establish a line of contact with the wall of the main cavity at 180° positions to define regions of zero thickness of the respective sides.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotor has end caps at its respective ends secured to the sectors of the rotor, the stub shafts being integral with the respective end caps.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
78 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which each vane (a) has a spherical tip surface with a radius R where R is the radius of the truncated sphere, (b) has cylindrical lateral edges with a radius equal to 1/2T where T is the thickness of the truncated sphere, and (c) has a thickness at least equal to T sin ? where ? is the angle of cant of the vane axis relative to the shaft axis.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
The combination as claimed in claim 4 in which laterally projecting shoulders are provided along the lateral edges of the vane plates for engaging the respective spherical surfaces in the housing for maintaining the vane plates centered for rotation in the main cavity.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
18 words
The combination as claimed in claim 11 in which the shoulders on the vanes have presented spherical surfaces.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
50 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the stub shafts have respective axially spaced bearings to provide support for the rotor, means including an axially extending lubricant tube for conducting lubricant to the bearings, the vane plates having central axial bores for providing clearance for the lubricant tube.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
54 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the stub shafts have axially spaced bearings to provide support for the rotor, means including an axially extending lubricant tube for conducting lubricant to the bearings, and means defining radial lubricant passages for conducting lubricant from the region of the bearings to the spherical surfaces.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the ports include arcuate grooves on the sidewalls of the truncated spherical cavity.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
52 words
The combination as claimed in claim 15 in which the housing is cylindrical about the shaft axis, the canting of the cavity producing axially thick walls at 180° positions corresponding to the thin portions of the wedge shaped compressor and expander sides, the ports having access openings formed in the thick walls.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
35 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the stator includes a layer of thermal insulation lying in a plane generally symmetrically positioned with respect to the rotor and perpendicular to the rotor axis.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
32 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotor includes a layer of thermal insulation symmetrically positioned in the rotor and lying in a plane perpendicular to the rotor axis.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
The combination as claimed in claim 2 in which a secondary heat exchanger is connected between the expander outlet port and the compressor inlet port.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
30 words
The combination as claimed in claim 19 in which the amount of fluid in the system is such that the secondary heat exchanger operates under a pressure greater than atmospheric.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
42 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the tips of the vane pairs each have a recess surrounded by a land surface, and means defining radial passageways in the vanes for establishing communication between the recesses to balance end forces.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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