Fail-safe rotary machine

Claim 2

In a rotary machine characterized by a rotatable shaft driven by a primary energy source for providing torque to a predetermined load, a flywheel fixedly secured along the length of said shaft to provide inertia for said shaft to continue the application of torque to said load upon interruption of said primary energy source driving said shaft and a housing disposed about said flywheel, the improvement comprising a flywheel formed of a plurality of juxtaposed planar discs, at least one of said discs being of a material having a tensile strength lower than a second disc forming said flywheel to assure fracturing of said lower tensile strength disc before fracturing of said higher tensile strength disc during a runaway condition, said lower tensile strength disc being disconnected from said higher tensile strength disc to permit a fractured segment from said lower tensile strength disc to be thrown from the flywheel by the centrifugal force acting thereon.

Claim 3

A rotary machine according to claim 1 wherein said lower tensile strength disc is positioned intermediate discs having a higher tensile strength.

Claim 4

A fail-safe rotary drive system comprising a load, a primary source of energy, a rotary shaft coupled to said load to apply torque to said load upon rotation of said shaft by said primary energy source, a flywheel circumferentially secured to said shaft to provide sufficient inertia to said shaft to continue the application of torque to said load upon disengagement of said primary energy source as a propulsion source for said shaft, said flywheel having grooves extending radially from the inner circumference of said flywheel to the outer circumference of said flywheel to proVide pre-determined failure locations along said flywheel, the total angle between any two said grooves being other than 120* to assure fracturing of said flywheel along said grooves into segments being characterized by a geometric configuration other than a 120* pie shaped segment of said total flywheel and a shield shrouding said flywheel to intercept any segments formed upon a fracture of said flywheel.

Claim 5

A fail-safe rotary drive system comprising a load, a primary source of energy, a rotary shaft coupled to said load to apply torque to said load upon rotation of said shaft by said primary energy source, a flywheel circumferentially secured to said shaft to provide sufficient inertia to said shaft to continue the application of torque to said load upon disengagement of said primary energy source as a propulsion source for said shaft, said flywheel having grooves extending radially from the inner circumference of said flywheel to the outer circumference of said flywheel to proVide pre-determined failure locations along said flywheel, the total angle between any two said grooves being other than 120* to assure fracturing of said flywheel along said grooves into segments being characterized by a geometric configuration other than a 120* pie shaped segment of said total flywheel and a shield shrouding said flywheel to intercept any segments formed upon a fracture of said flywheel.

Claim 6

A fail-safe rotary drive system according to claim 3 wherein said radially extending grooves divide said flywheel into four quadrants.

Claim 7

A fail-safe rotating machine comprising a rotatable shaft having a flywheel fixedly positioned along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, said rotation of said shaft exerting a centrifugal force upon said flywheel tending to fracture said flywheel from said shaft, said flywheel having circumferential grooves notched into the surface of said flywheel, said grooves exhibiting an increasing severity with increases span of the grooves from the flywheel axis, and a shield shrouding said rotary shaft to intercept any segment fractured from said flywheel.

Claim 8

A fail-safe rotating machine comprising a rotatable shaft having a flywheel fixedly positioned along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, said rotation of said shaft exerting a centrifugal force upon said flywheel tending to fracture said flywheel from said shaft, said flywheel having circumferential grooves notched into the surface of said flywheel, said grooves exhibiting an increasing severity with increases span of the grooves from the flywheel axis, and a shield shrouding said rotary shaft to intercept any segment fractured from said flywheel.

Claim 9

A fail-safe rotating machine according to claim 5 wherein the difference in the severity of said circumferential grooves is obtained by notching said radially remote grooves to a depth greater than the depth of said radially interior grooves.

Claim 10

A fail-safe rotary machine comprising a load, a primary source of energy, a rotary shaft coupled to said load to apply torque to said load upon rotation of said shaft by said primary energy source, a flywheel circumferentially secured to said shaft to provide sufficient inertia to said shaft to continue the application of torque to said load upon disengagement of said primary energy source as a propulsion source for said shaft, said flywheel being formed of at least two concentric rings, said rings having a radial thickness which decreases with increased radial span of the rings from the center of said flywheel to assure fracturing of the outer ring of said flywheel prior to fracturing of the inner ring of said flywheel, said outer ring being further characterized by a radial thickness sufficient to permit physical jamming of said machine upon fracturing of said outer ring and a shield shrouding said flywheel to intercept any segments formed upon fracturing of said flywheel.

Claim 11

A fail-safe rotary machine comprising a load, a primary source of energy, a rotary shaft coupled to said load to apply torque to said load upon rotation of said shaft by said primary energy source, a flywheel circumferentially secured to said shaft to provide sufficient inertia to said shaft to continue the application of torque to said load upon disengagement of said primary energy source as a propulsion source for said shaft, said flywheel being formed of at least two concentric rings, said rings having a radial thickness which decreases with increased radial span of the rings from the center of said flywheel to assure fracturing of the outer ring of said flywheel prior to fracturing of the inner ring of said flywheel, said outer ring being further characterized by a radial thickness sufficient to permit physical jamming of said machine upon fracturing of said outer ring and a shield shrouding said flywheel to intercept any segments formed upon fracturing of said flywheel.