Vane machine with pressure bias and balancing means for the rotary control port member

Claim 2

Vane machine comprising housing means having an axis, and a non-rotatable control surface perpendicular to said axis and formed with at least one pair of part-circular stationary control ports, said housing means having inlet and outlet means communicating with said stationary control ports; a reaction ring mounted in said housing means eccentric to said axis; rotor means mounted in said housing for rotation about said axis and having circumferentially spaced slot chambers and vanes in said slot chambers cooperating with said reaction ring and forming between each other contracting and expanding working chambers for high pressure and low pressure fluid, said rotor means having at one end a rotary control face confronting said non-rotatable control surface and having rotary control ports communicating with said working chambers and passing said stationary control ports alternately whereby high pressure is exerted between portions of said non-rotatable control surface and said rotary control face and also in those regions between said stationary control ports where the flow of fluid into said working chambers is reversed; said non-rotatable control surface having a balancing groove in at least one of said regions, confronting said rotary control face and being closed by the same, said balancing groove extending in circumferential direction substantially the angular distance between two of said vanes, said stationary control surface communicating with connecting conduit means for connecting said balancing grooves with a high pressure zone of the machine so that said rotary control face is maintained in a frictionless balanced position.

Claim 3

Vane machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein a balancing groove is located on said stationary control surface in each of said regions radially outward of said stationary control ports.

Claim 4

Vane machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said connecting conduit means includes two conduit portions connecting said balancing groove with said pair of stationary control ports, and a shiftable valve member in said conduit means shifted by the high pressure fluid in one stationary control port to move to a position establishing communication between said high pressure control port and said balancing groove and blocking flow between the other low pressure control port and said balancing groove.

Claim 5

Vane machines as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing means include two end walls at opposite ends of said rotor means, a pressure thrust means mounted on one of said end walls for axial movement with said non-rotatable control surface, said one end wall and said pressure thrust means forming between each other pressure chambers for pressing said control surface against said rotary control plate and the same against said end of said rotor means so that the other end of said rotor means abuts the other end wall of said housing means.

Claim 6

Vane machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said rotor means includes a plurality of axially adjacent rotor portions; comprising a thrust bearing on said other end wall of said housing means for axially supporting the other end of said rotor means so that said pressure thrust means, said control surface, said rotary control plate and said rotor portions are pressed against each other in axial direction.

Claim 7

Vane machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein at least said rotor portions have axially aligned bores, and wherein said rotor means include rods in said bores preventing relative angular displacement of said rotor portions without pressing the same against each other.

Claim 8

Vane machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotor means includes a central rotor portion and two side wall portions formed with said slot chambers and guiding said vanes, two end portions for closing said slot chambers, one of said end portions forming said one end of said rotor means; wherein at least said side wall portions are pressed of a porous material; and further comprising reinforcing impermeable metal rings surrounding said side wall portions to reduce fluid losses.

Claim 9

Vane machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said two end portions are metal plates made of an impermeable material.

Claim 10

Vane machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said part-circular stationary control ports in said surface have ends equally spaced from an axial plane of symmetry passing through said regions; and wherein two part-circular balancing grooves are located, respectively, in said regions crossing said plane of symmetry and being symmetrical to the same.

Claim 11

Vane machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing means includes a non-rotatable plate having said control surface and located adjacent said rotary control plate so that the latter slides on said control surface during rotation of said rotor means and rotary control plate.

Claim 12

A vane machine comprising housing means having an axis; fluid containing thruSt chamber means including at least one eccentric thrust chamber portion and communication means communicating to a high pressure zone in the machine; a fluid flow controlling thrust body including at least one eccentric shoulder thereon, being axially moveable in said thrust chamber means, sealing on respective walls thereof and having a substantially non-rotatable control surface substantially perpendicular to said axis and formed with at least one pair of substantially part-circular stationary control ports, said housing means having inlet and outlet means communicating with said stationary control ports; a reaction means mounted in said housing means eccentric to said axis; rotor means mounted in said housing means for rotation about said axis, said rotor means consisting of a plurality of abutting members and having circumferentially spaced slot chambers and vanes in said slot chambers cooperating with said reaction means and forming between each other contracting and expanding working chambers for high pressure and low pressure fluid, said rotor means having at one end a rotary control face confronting said stationary control surface and having rotary control ports communicating with said working chambers and passing said stationary control ports alternately whereby high pressure is exerted between portions of said non-rotatable control surface and said rotary control face, between said control ports and also in those regions between said faces where the flow of fluid is reversed; a bearing means provided on the other end of a portion of said rotor means for bearing said rotor means in axial direction thereon whereby the pressure fluid in at least one portion of said thrust chamber means presses said thrust body against said rotor means, said control faces together and into sliding and sealing engagement, said plurality of rotor members together, and said rotor means against said thrust bearing means.

Claim 13

A vane machine comprising housing means having an axis; fluid containing thruSt chamber means including at least one eccentric thrust chamber portion and communication means communicating to a high pressure zone in the machine; a fluid flow controlling thrust body including at least one eccentric shoulder thereon, being axially moveable in said thrust chamber means, sealing on respective walls thereof and having a substantially non-rotatable control surface substantially perpendicular to said axis and formed with at least one pair of substantially part-circular stationary control ports, said housing means having inlet and outlet means communicating with said stationary control ports; a reaction means mounted in said housing means eccentric to said axis; rotor means mounted in said housing means for rotation about said axis, said rotor means consisting of a plurality of abutting members and having circumferentially spaced slot chambers and vanes in said slot chambers cooperating with said reaction means and forming between each other contracting and expanding working chambers for high pressure and low pressure fluid, said rotor means having at one end a rotary control face confronting said stationary control surface and having rotary control ports communicating with said working chambers and passing said stationary control ports alternately whereby high pressure is exerted between portions of said non-rotatable control surface and said rotary control face, between said control ports and also in those regions between said faces where the flow of fluid is reversed; a bearing means provided on the other end of a portion of said rotor means for bearing said rotor means in axial direction thereon whereby the pressure fluid in at least one portion of said thrust chamber means presses said thrust body against said rotor means, said control faces together and into sliding and sealing engagement, said plurality of rotor members together, and said rotor means against said thrust bearing means.

Claim 14

The vane machine of claim 11 wherein a balancing grooves is provided in said non-rotatable control surface in the said regions where the flow of fluid to said working chambers is reversed, said balancing groove confronting said rotary control face and being closed by the same, said balancing groove extending in circumferential direction substantially the angular distance between two of said vanes, said balancing groove being provided with conduit means for connecting said balancing groove with a high pressure zone of the machine.

Claim 15

The machine of claim 11 wherein said balancing groove extends in circumferential direction over more than the angular distance between two of said vanes.

Claim 16

The machine of claim 11 wherein fluid flows from said balancing groove into said zone between said control faces where the flow of fluid to said working chambers is reversed, thereby providing fluid pressure forces between said control faces in said region.

Claim 17

The machine of claim 11 wherein a pair of balancing grooves is provided in said non-rotatable control surface.

Claim 18

The machine of claim 11 wherein passage means extend from said control ports through said thrust body into said ports in said housing means.

Claim 19

The machine of claim 11 wherein fluid flow control recess means are provided in said thrust body, extending radially from portions of said control ports into portions of said non-rotating control surface; passage means extend from said slot chambers in said rotor means through portions of said rotor means in said rotary control face, forming additional rotary control ports therein, which pass along said fluid flow control recess means alternately for passing fluid into and out of said slot chambers when said slot chambers are contracting and expanding while said vanes cooperating with said reaction means move in said slots.

Claim 20

A vane machine comprising a housing having end covers; rotor means rotatably mounted in said end covers, and having a central rotor member and outer rotor members at the axial ends of said central rotor member, saId outer rotor members extending radially beyond the central member, at least said central rotor member being formed with slots at least in said central rotor member; an annular eccentric reaction member surrounding said central rotor member; vanes located in said slots for sliding movement in radial outward and inward direction, said vanes forming working chambers within said annular reaction member and outside of said rotor means for taking in an expelling fluid into and out of said working chambers; said rotor means being provided with passages through at least one of said outer rotor members for providing communication between said working chambers and a rotary control face at the outer end of one of said outer rotor members; and a thrust member partially located within one of said end covers, said one end cover forming a thrust chamber having an eccentric portion, said thrust member having an eccentric portion and being partially located in said thrust chamber closing the same in one axial direction, said eccentric portion of said thrust member extending into said eccentric portion of said thrust chamber, a centric portion of said thrust member extending into a centric portion of said thrust chamber so that said thrust member divides said thrust chambers into two thrust chamber portions and closes both said thrust chamber portions in one axial direction, said thrust member having a stationary control face at the axial end of said thrust member which abuts against said rotary control face of said outer rotor member, said thrust member having fluid passages extending from said thrust chamber portions and through said stationary control face of said thrust member for forming inlet and outlet ports for fluid, the cross sectional areas of said thrust chamber portions being wider than the cross sectional areas of the high pressure fluid areas between said stationary control face and said rotary control face so that the fluid in at least one of said thrust chambers presses said thrust member against said rotary control face.

Claim 21

A vane machine comprising a housing having end covers; rotor means rotatably mounted in said end covers, and having a central rotor member and outer rotor members at the axial ends of said central rotor member, saId outer rotor members extending radially beyond the central member, at least said central rotor member being formed with slots at least in said central rotor member; an annular eccentric reaction member surrounding said central rotor member; vanes located in said slots for sliding movement in radial outward and inward direction, said vanes forming working chambers within said annular reaction member and outside of said rotor means for taking in an expelling fluid into and out of said working chambers; said rotor means being provided with passages through at least one of said outer rotor members for providing communication between said working chambers and a rotary control face at the outer end of one of said outer rotor members; and a thrust member partially located within one of said end covers, said one end cover forming a thrust chamber having an eccentric portion, said thrust member having an eccentric portion and being partially located in said thrust chamber closing the same in one axial direction, said eccentric portion of said thrust member extending into said eccentric portion of said thrust chamber, a centric portion of said thrust member extending into a centric portion of said thrust chamber so that said thrust member divides said thrust chambers into two thrust chamber portions and closes both said thrust chamber portions in one axial direction, said thrust member having a stationary control face at the axial end of said thrust member which abuts against said rotary control face of said outer rotor member, said thrust member having fluid passages extending from said thrust chamber portions and through said stationary control face of said thrust member for forming inlet and outlet ports for fluid, the cross sectional areas of said thrust chamber portions being wider than the cross sectional areas of the high pressure fluid areas between said stationary control face and said rotary control face so that the fluid in at least one of said thrust chambers presses said thrust member against said rotary control face.