Rotary vane variable capacity compressor

Claim 1

A rotary variable capacity refrigerant compressor comprising a shell-like housing closed at one end, a bored cylinder having front and rear heads fixed at each end to define a cylindrical working chamber, said cylinder telescoped within said housing such that said front cylinder head is in sealed relation with the open end of said housing, a rear rotor stub shaft fixed to and extending into said working chamber from said rear head on an axis eccentric to the axis of said chamber, a rotor tube journaled on said rear stub shaft for rotation about said eccentric axis within said chamber, said rotor tube having a plurality of slots therein, slidable vanes mounted in said slots engaging the wall of said working chamber separating said chamber into a plurality of moving compartments, discharge port means communicating with said working chamber adjacent its throat area, a front driven shaft coaxial with said rear stub shaft, said front driven shaft journaled in said front head with its inner end fixed to said rotor tube and its outer front end connected to drive means, a suction enclosure in said rear head communicating with suction inlet means in said housing closed-end, rear suction gas intake aperture means formed in said rear head communicating between said suction enclosure and the moving compartments on the expansion side of said working chamber, a circular recess formed in the inner face of said front head concentric with said cylinder working chamber, a capacity modulator plate rotatively mounted in said recess having a portion of its peripheral edge formed with an elongated arcuate notched-out cavity on its rearwardly facing surface, axially extending suction crossover passage means in said cylinder interconnecting said rear head aperture means and said front modulator plate cavity upon preselected maximum capacity orientation thereof, control means operative to rotate said modulator plate to said maximum capacity orientation, whereby the compressor moving compartments are fed suction gas from said rear head enclosure via both said rear head aperture means and said front modulator plate cavity on the expansion side of said working chamber, said control means operative for rotating said modulator plate from its maximum capacity orientation in the direction of rotation of said vanes such that said modulator plate cavity is advanced toward the working chamber throat area, whereby a predetermined portion of the gas in each moving compartment on the compression side of said working chamber is by-passed around the forward edge of the moving compartment trailing vane via said modulator plate cavity into the next successive working chamber resulting in said compressor operating at a reduced capacity.