Vane and seal assembly

Claim 2

A vane and seal assembly for a rotary device having a housing with spaced side walls having inside wall surfaces and an inside circumferential wall surrounding an annular chamber and a rotor located within the chamber rotatably mounted on the housing, said rotor having at least one generally radial slot slidably accommodating the vane and seal assembly comprising: a first vane segment having a side wall engageable with one inside wall surface, a second vane segment having a side wall engageable with the other inside wall surface, said first and second vane segments having diagonal engaging surfaces and generally parallel side walls allowing the first and second vane segments to move in opposite lateral directions relative to each other in sliding and sealing engagement with sid inside wall surfaces, means connecting the vane segments to said side walls, said first vane segment having a groove in the outer end thereof extended along the length thereof, seal means located in said groove, said seal means having an outer transverse face locatable in sealing engagement with said inside circumferential wall, means mounting the seal means on the first vane segment, said means allowing limited radial movement of the seal means relative to the first vane segment, and biasing means mounted on the first vane segment for biasing the seal means in an outward direction into engagement with the inside circumferential wall of the housing, said groove having a width wider than the width of the seal means and depth greater than the radial dimension of the seal means whereby gas under pressure in said chamber biases the outer transverse face of the seal means into sealing engagement with the inside circumferential wall.

Claim 3

The assembly of claim 1 wherein: said first and second vane segments each have a generally triangular shape.

Claim 4

The assembly of claim 1 wherein: said seal means is an elongated linear seal member having a convex curved outer surface locatable in sliding and sealing engagement with the inside circumferential wall.

Claim 5

The assembly of claim 3 wherein: the seal member is a generally flat ceramic member.

Claim 6

The assembly of claim 1 wherein: the seal means has a plurality of holes, said means mounting the seal means on the first vane segment including a plurality of pins extended through said holes, each of said holes having a cross sectional size larger than the cross sectional size of said pins whereby the pins retain the seal means in moving assembled relation with the first vane segment.

Claim 7

The assembly of claim 1 wherein: the engaging surfaces of the first and second vane segments include tongue and groove structure allowing the vane segments to move in opposite directions relative to each other.

Claim 8

The assembly of claim 1 wherein: said means mounting the seal means on the first vane segment includes means biasing the second vane segment toward the first vane segment whereby the side walls of the vane segments are retained in continuous engagement with the inside wall surfaces of the side walls of the housing.

Claim 9

The assembly of claim 1 including: means operable to reciprocate the first and second vane segments relative to the rotor during rotation of the rotor to maintain contiguous sealing relation of the seal means with the inside circumferential wall of the housing.

Claim 10

The assembly of claim 1 including: means operable to reciprocate the first and second vane segments relative to the rotor during rotation of the rotor to maintain contiguous sealing relation of the seal means with the inside circumferential wall of the housing, said means including track means mounted on the housing, cam follower means cooperating with the track means, and means connecting the cam follower means to said vane segments whereby reciprocal movement of the first and second vane segments is caused by movement of the cam follower means along said track means.

Claim 11

The assembly of claim 9 wherein: the means connecting the cam follower means to said vane segments includes a rod secured to the first vane segment and cam follower, a sleeve surrounding the rod engageable with the second vane segment, and biasing means surrounding the rod engageable with the sleeve and cam follower for biasing the second vane segment toward the first vane segment.

Claim 12

The assembly of claim 10 wherein: said first and second vane segments each have a generally triangular shape.

Claim 13

The assembly of claim 9 wherein: the inside circumferential wall has a generally elliptical shape, said track means having a generally oval shape with a major dimension that substantially coincides with the major dimension of the elliptical shape of the circumferential wall.

Claim 14

A vane and seal assembly for a rotary device having a housing with spaced side walls having inside wall surfaces and an inside circumferential wall surrounding an annular chamber and a rotor located within the chamber rotatably mounted on the housing, said rotor having an outer circumferential surface, said housing having at least one generally radial slot accommodating the vane and seal assembly comprising: a first vane segment having a side wall engageable with one inside wall surface, a second vane segment having a side wall engageable with the other inside wall surface, said first and second vane segments having diagonal engaging surfaces and generally parallel side walls allowing the first and second vane segments to move in opposite lateral directions relative to each other in sliding and sealing engagement with said inside wall surfaces, means connecting the vane segments to said side walls, said first vane segment having a groove in the inner end thereof extended along the length thereof, seal means located in said groove, said seal means having an inner transverse face locatable in sealing engagement with said inside circumferential surface of the rotor, means mounting the seal means on the first vane segment, said means allowing limited radial movement of the seal means relative to the first vane segment and biasing means mounted on the first vane segment for biasing the seal means in an inward direction into engagement with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor, said groove having a width wider than the width of the seal means and a depth greater than the radial dimension of the seal means whereby gas under pressure biases the inner transverse face of the seal means into sealing engagement with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor.

Claim 15

A vane and seal assembly for a rotary device having a housing with spaced side walls having inside wall surfaces and an inside circumferential wall surrounding an annular chamber and a rotor located within the chamber rotatably mounted on the housing, said rotor having an outer circumferential surface, said housing having at least one generally radial slot accommodating the vane and seal assembly comprising: a first vane segment having a side wall engageable with one inside wall surface, a second vane segment having a side wall engageable with the other inside wall surface, said first and second vane segments having diagonal engaging surfaces and generally parallel side walls allowing the first and second vane segments to move in opposite lateral directions relative to each other in sliding and sealing engagement with said inside wall surfaces, means connecting the vane segments to said side walls, said first vane segment having a groove in the inner end thereof extended along the length thereof, seal means located in said groove, said seal means having an inner transverse face locatable in sealing engagement with said inside circumferential surface of the rotor, means mounting the seal means on the first vane segment, said means allowing limited radial movement of the seal means relative to the first vane segment and biasing means mounted on the first vane segment for biasing the seal means in an inward direction into engagement with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor, said groove having a width wider than the width of the seal means and a depth greater than the radial dimension of the seal means whereby gas under pressure biases the inner transverse face of the seal means into sealing engagement with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor.

Claim 16

The assembly of claim 13 wherein: said first and second vane segments each have a generally triangular shape.

Claim 17

The assembly of claim 13 wherein: said seal means is an elongated linear seal member having an inner surface locatable in sliding and sealing engagement with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor.

Claim 18

The assembly of claim 13 wherein: the seal means has a plurality of holes, said means mounting the seal means on the first vane segment including a plurality of pins extended through said holes, each of said holes having a cross sectional side larger than the cross sectional size of said pins whereby the pins retain the seal means in moving assembled relation with the first vane segment.

Claim 19

The assembly of claim 13 wherein: the engaging surfaces of the first and second vane segments include tongue and groove structure allowing the vane segments to move in opposite directions relative to each other.

Claim 20

The assembly of claim 13 wherein: said means connecting the vane segments to said side walls includes means biasing the second vane segment toward the first vane segment whereby the side walls of the vane segments are retained in continuous engagement with the inside wall surfaces of the side walls of the housing.

Claim 21

The assembly of claim 13 including: means operable to reciprocate the first and second vane segments relative to said housing during rotation of the rotor to maintain contiguous sealing relation of the seal means with the outer circumferential surface.

Claim 22

The assembly of claim 19 wherein: said means operable to reciprocate the first and second vane segments includes a slack adjuster operable to retain the vane segments in engagement with the inside wall surfaces of the housing and the seal means in engagement with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor.