Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
Rotor vane machine
The invention refers to mechanical engineering and can be used in rotor
vane pumps, hydraulic motors, hydrostatic differential units and transmission
systems with increased effectiveness at high pressure.
State of the art
There are rotor vane machines containing two units installed with the
possibility of reciprocal rotation, namely a housing with inlet and outlet
ports and a
rotor with vane chambers enclosing vanes with the possibility of movement
relative to the rotor: axial (patent US570584), radial (patent US894391) or
rotary
(patents US1096804 and US2341710), with the working chamber in them being
limited by the face surfaces of the rotor and the housing.
In the working chamber the inlet cavity hydraulically connected to the inlet
port and the outlet cavity hydraulically connected to the outlet port are
divided by
two insulating dams of the housing. One of them has a sliding insulating
contact
with the vanes moving from the inlet to the outlet cavity during the rotor
rotation
and is further called a forward transfer limiter. The other one is further
called a
backward transfer limiter.
The embodiment of the working chamber in the annular groove in the face
of the rotor unit US1096804, US3348494, US894391, US2341710 provides the
radial unloading of the rotor and improves insulation of the working chamber
through the sliding insulating contact between the face surface of the working
part
of the rotor enclosing the annular groove and the face surface of the working
part
of the housing. The flat insulating face surfaces of the working parts of the
rotor
and the housing being pressed together provide good insulation at no
deformations.
However, the pressure force of the working fluid contained in the working
chamber pushes the working parts of the rotor and the housing away from each
other and deform their insulting surfaces, which results in considerable
increase of
leakages at pressure increase.
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There is disclosed the hydrostatic component EP0269474 taken by us as
the closest analog with reduced deforming influence of the working fluid
pressure
on the surfaces of the sliding insulating contact between the working parts of
both
units. It consists of two units, namely the housing and the rotor installed
with the
possibility of reciprocal rotation. The housing with the inlet and outlet
ports (called
"channels for fluid feed and removal" by the authors) contains the working
part of
the housing called by the authors "the trackway carriers", the way enclosing
the
forward transfer limiter and the backward transfer limiter in the form of the
rim
sections with a trackway between the inlet and outlet cavities. The rim with
the
trackway also performs the function of the guide cam of the vane drive.
The rotor consists of two parts: the working part of the rotor called a"ptate
holder" and the supporting part called a "supporting flange". The working face
surface of the plate holder has an annular groove connected to the vane
chambers enclosing the vanes installed with the possibility of varying the
degree
of extension into the annular groove. The authors have provided for the
embodiment when the supporting part also has the vane chambers and the
annular groove. In this case the supporting part of the rotor contacts with
the
supporting part of the housing in the form of the second trackway carrier.
Having a sliding contact with the working part of the rotor (the plate holder)
the working part of the housing (the trackway carrier) insulates the working
chamber in the annular groove. The working chamber is divided by the backward
transfer limiter (the rim section overlapping the annular groove the most) and
the
forward transfer limiter (the rim section overlapping the annular groove the
least)
having a sliding insulting contact with the vanes into the inlet cavity of the
working
chamber hydraulically connected to the inlet port and the outlet cavity of the
working chamber hydraulically connected to the outlet port.
The authors provide for the possibility of using a pair of hydrostatic
components of the described type in rotor vane machines either in the
embodiment where the working and supporting parts of the rotor are located
between the working and supporting parts of the housing connected by the
connecting part of the housing in the form of a shaft or in the embodiment
where
the working and supporting parts of the housing are located between the
working
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and supporting parts of the rotor connected by the connecting part of the
rotor in
the form of an outer casing.
To ensure insulation of the working chamber the authors provide for an
adaptive embodiment of one of the units, rotor or housing, that is an
embodiment
including force chambers of variable length kinematically connecting the
working
and supporting parts of the adaptive unit with the possibility of their
reciprocal axial
displacements and tilts at least sufficient to bring the blade holder to the
trackway
carrier, i.e. to ensure the sliding insulating contact between the working
parts of
both units of hydrostatic component during their reciprocal rotation while
every
force chamber includes a load-bearing cavity hydraulically connected to the
working chamber and the means of its insulation. The change of the length of
these force chambers results in the mentioned reciprocal displacements of the
working and supporting parts of the given unit while the working fluid
pressure
forces in the load-bearing cavities are directed so that to draw apart the
force
chambers and to bring the working part of the housing closer to the working
part of
the rotor.
In the first embodiment the rotor is adaptive, that is it includes force
chambers of variable length kinematically connecting its working and
supporting
parts, i.e. the plate holder with the supporting flange, with the possibility
of their
reciprocal axial displacements. The cylindrical load-bearing cavities
communicating with the working chamber have an oval section and are made on
the face of the plate holder on the reverse side from the annular groove. They
contain means of insulation in the form of cylindrical piston-like elements
moving
in the axial direction and called "sealing cups" by the authors. These
elements
thrust against the supporting flange and press the face surface of the plate
holder
to the face surface of the trackway carrier thus sealing the working chamber.
The authors point out that the fluid pressure forces pushing the plate holder
away from the trackway carrier are transferred through the force chambers to
the
static contact between the piston-like moving element and deformable
supporting
flange, which relieves the mentioned face insulating surfaces of the plate
holder
from axial deformations. The pressing force of the working part of the rotor
to the
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working part of the housing depends on the force chambers size and determines
the level of friction losses between these working parts.
Despite the synchronous rotation of the working and supporting parts of the
rotor this contact of the piston-like moving element with the supporting
flange is
not absolutely static as the disalignment of the rotation axes of the working
and
supporting parts causes the face surface of the moving element to move along
the
supporting flange surface. To reduce friction between the piston-like moving
element and the supporting flange there are cavities on the faces of the
moving
elements that are hydraulically connected to the load-bearing cavities in the
plate
holder. To prevent leakages from both cavities of the force chamber it is
necessary to provide good insulation simultaneously in two sliding insulating
contacts of the surfaces of every moving element both from the inner
cylindrical
surface of the force chamber cavity and the flat surface of the supporting
flange.
For that purpose it is necessary to ensure high precision perpendicularity
between
the generatrix of the cylindrical insulating surface of the force chamber
cavity and
the flat insulating surface of the supporting flange at any pressure and any
rotor
rotation angle.
However, for technological reasons and due to the deformations of the
housing under the action of the working fluid pressure the axis of rotation of
the
plate holder can deflect from the axis of rotation of supporting flange by a
certain
angle. This angle determines the angular amplitude of the cyclic tilts
performed by
the insulating surface of the supporting flange relative to the face surface
of the
moving element during rotation of the rotor unit. The supporting flange
deformation under the action of the working fluid pressure increases the
cyclic tilts
amplitude considerably and causes distortion of its flat insulating surface.
All this
destroys the sliding insulating contact between the mentioned insulating
surfaces
and results in considerable increase of the leakages, which is a significant
shortcoming of the hydrostatic component described above.
Besides, the trackway carrier is hydrostatically unbalanced. Therefore, its
flat insulating surfaces deform at high pressure, which further increases the
leakages.
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
The EP0269474 also described the embodiment of the hydrostatic
component where it is the housing rather than the rotor that is adaptive, i.e.
the
force chambers of variable length with moving elements are located in the
housing
unit between the working part of the housing, i.e. the trackway carrier and
the
5 supporting part of the housing. In this embodiment the tilts of the
supporting part
of the housing relative to the working part of the housing conditioned by
deformations and technological reasons as well as the distortion of the flat
insulating surface will result in leakage growth.
The elastic elements sealing the contact between the walls of the moving
element and the walls of the load-bearing cavity in the form of flexible
peripheral
rims of the moving piston-like elements or in the form of toroidal sealing
gaskets
partly improve the insulation in case of the above-described reciprocal tilts
of the
working and supporting of the relevant unit of the hydrostatic component;
however, they result in considerable increase of the frictional forces
preventing
movement of the moving elements in the cavities of the force chambers. To
overcome these forces it is necessary to increase the section of the force
chambers, which results in increased forces pressing the rotor to the housing
and
higher friction losses.
Thus, the hydrostatic component described in EP0269474 requires high
precision of manufacture, fails to provide insulation of the force chambers
and the
working chamber in case of deformations and prevents achieving a low level of
leakages and low friction losses together at high pressure.
Essence of the invention
The objective of the present invention is to provide insulation of the working
chamber and force chambers of variable length in a wide range of deformations
and technological tolerances and related reciprocal tilted and transverse
movements of the working and supporting parts of the adaptive unit and to
increase the efficiency of rotor vane machines at high pressure.
It is proposed to solve the task by means of a rotor vane machine
consisting of two units, namely a housing and a rotor installed with the
possibility
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of reciprocal rotation. The housing with the inlet and outlet ports contains
the
supporting part of the housing and the working part of the housing with a
forward
transfer limiter and a backward transfer limiter. The rotor includes the
supporting
part of the rotor and the working part of the rotor. The working face surface
has an
annular groove connected with the vane chambers enclosing the vanes installed
with the possibility of changing the degree of extension into the annular
groove.
The working and supporting parts of one unit are located between the working
and
supporting parts of another unit joined by the connecting part. The supporting
part
of the housing contacts the supporting part of the rotor while the working
part of
the part of the housing contacts with sliding the working face surface of the
working part of the rotor and insulates the working chamber in the annular
groove.
The backward transfer limiter and the forward transfer limiter being in
sliding
insulating contact with the vanes divide the working chamber into the inlet
cavity
hydraulically connected to the inlet port and the outlet cavity hydraulically
connected to the outlet port.
At least one of the two units of the rotor vane machine, the rotor or the
housing are made adaptive, that is it includes the force chambers of variable
length kinematically joining the working and supporting parts of the adaptive
unit
with the possibility of their reciprocal axial displacements and tilts. The
amplitude
of these axial displacements is at least sufficient to ensure a sliding
insulating
contact between the working parts of both units of the rotor vane machine
during
their reciprocal rotation. The change of the length of these force chambers
results
in these reciprocal movements of the working and supporting parts of the
adaptive
unit. Each force chamber of variable length (hereinafter in the text - the
force
chamber) includes a load-bearing cavity of variable length (hereinafter in the
text -
the load-bearing cavity) hydraulically connected to the working chamber and
the
means of its insulation. The pressure forces of the working fluid in the load-
bearing cavities are directed so as to draw the force chambers apart and to
bring
the working part of the housing closer to the working part of the rotor.
In every force chamber the means of insulation of its load-bearing cavity
include two moving elements at least. These moving elements are installed
forming sliding insulating contacts between the following pairs of the
surfaces: the
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insulating surface of one of the moving elements and the insulating surface of
one
part of the adaptive unit, the insulating surface of another moving element
and the
insulating surface of the other part of the adaptive unit and between the
insulating
surfaces of the moving elements. At least in one of these contacts both
insulating
surfaces are cylindrical and at least in one of them they are spherical while
in the
other contacts mentioned the shapes of the pairs of the contacting surfaces
are
chosen so as to keep the sliding insulating contact during such reciprocal
movements of the working and supporting parts of the adaptive unit. The
reciprocal sliding of the cylindrical surfaces provides insulation during
reciprocal
axial movements of the working and supporting parts of the adaptive unit while
the
reciprocal sliding of the spherical surfaces provides insulation during
reciprocal
tilted movements of these parts. To keep insulation during reciprocal
transverse
movements of these parts at least in one more of the other insulating contacts
both insulating surfaces are made either flat or spherical.
For hydrostatic unloading of the working part of the adaptive unit the
shapes, sizes and location of the load-bearing cavities are chosen so that the
sum
of the working fluid pressure forces in the force chambers pressing the
working
part of the rotor to the working part of the housing should exceed the sum of
the
working fluid pressure forces pushing the working part of the rotor away from
the
working part of the housing by a preset value preferably small. For
hydrostatic
unloading of the supporting part of the adaptive unit between the supporting
parts
of the rotor and the housing being in sliding insulating contact there are
supporting
cavities, their shapes, sizes, number and location being chosen so that the
difference between the working fluid pressure forces pushing the working parts
of
the rotor and the housing apart and the working fluid pressure forces pushing
the
supporting parts of the rotor and the housing apart should not exceed another
preset value preferably small. The hydrostatic unloading of the part of the
adaptive unit prevents it from axial deformations under the working fluid
pressure
and reduces considerably the friction losses between it and the respective
part of
the other unit.
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To improve insulation of the force chambers at high pressure the spherical
and flat insulating surfaces should be preferably made on the hydrostatically
unloaded part of the adaptive unit and on the hydrostatically unloaded moving
elements. In the embodiments where one part of the adaptive unit, the
supporting
or the connecting one, is not unloaded and is deformable under pressure it is
preferable to make cylindrical surfaces on this deformable part and the gap
clearance between them and the respective cylindrical surfaces of the moving
elements, if required, should be sealed with cylindrical self-adjusting spring
rings.
In the embodiments where the force chambers are located between two
hydrostatically balanced parts of a unit the cylindrical surfaces are made on
moving elements and on any of the mentioned parts or between the moving
elements. The cylindrical surface is interpreted here in its most general
sense as a
surface formed by parallel displacement of a straight line along the set
closed
circuit. If necessary the cylindrical surfaces can be made with an oval or
another
transverse section. The examples of the invention implementation given below
show the preferable embodiment of cylindrical surfaces with a round cross-
section.
The proposed solution for insulation of the force chambers and the working
chamber of the rotor vane machine can be embodied in various designs. They
differ by which unit of the rotor vane machine, the rotor or the housing, is
made
adaptive and by the type of the force closure, i.e. by which of the two units
includes the connecting part sustaining the axial tensile of the working fluid
pressure forces compensating them with its elastic strain. The rotor vane
machines with the force closure to the housing correspond to traditional
configurations where the rotor unit is located between the working and
supporting
parts of the housing. In the rotor vane machines with the force closure to the
rotor
we will further call the assembly of the working and supporting part of the
housing
located between the working and supporting parts of the rotor the operational
unit
of the housing.
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The insulation of the working chamber at high pressure can be improved by
hydrostatic means preventing deformations of the housing insulating surfaces,
their embodiment depending on the type of the force closure.
In rotor vane machines with the force closure to the housing the working or
supporting parts of the housing are composite, namely they are assembled from
the external load-bearing and internal functional elements. Between them
opposite
the annular groove there is at least one antideformation chamber hydraulically
connected to the working chamber. The number, location, shape and sizes of the
antideformation chambers are chosen so that the resultant of the fluid
pressure
forces acting on the internal functional element of the part of the housing
from the
rotor side and the fluid pressure forces from the side of the antideformation
chambers should not exceed the set value, preferably a small one.
In rotor vane machines with the force closure to the rotor the working and
supporting parts of the housing are connected into the operational unit of the
housing. Between the supporting parts of the housing and the rotor opposite
the
annular groove there are supporting cavities hydraulically connected to it,
their
shape, sizes and location providing hydrostatic balancing of the operational
unit of
the housing by symmetrical compressive forces of the working fluid pressure.
In
the embodiment with an adaptive operational unit of the housing the transfer
of the
balancing pressure forces between the parts of the housing is provided either
by
means of their rigid joint or by means of antideformation chambers made either
directly between the parts of the housing or between the functional and load-
bearing elements of the parts of the operational unit of the housing.
In rotor vane machines with an adaptive rotor where the supporting part of
the housing is made with the possibility of variable tilt relative to the
working part
of the housing the antideformation chambers of variable length can be made
similar to the force chambers described above where insulation during
reciprocal
tilts of the parts of the unit is provided by combination of three kinds of
sliding
movements of the moving elements: axial movement at reciprocal axial sliding
of
the cylindrical insulating surfaces, tilted movement at reciprocal sliding of
the
spherical insulating surfaces as well as transverse movement at reciprocal
sliding
of the flat or other spherical surfaces. The particulars of the invention are
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
described in more detail in the examples given below and illustrated by
drawing
presenting:
List of drawings.
5 Fig.1 - A rotor vane machine with an adaptive rotor and force closure to the
housing, axial sectional view in the plane passing through the backward
transfer
limiter, axial sectional view in the plane passing through the inlet and
outlet ports
and sectional view in the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation and
passing
through the annular groove.
10 Fig. 2 - A rotor vane machine with an adaptive housing and force closure to
the housing, axial sectional view in the plane pasing through the backward
transfer limiter, axial sectional view in the plane passing through the inlet
and
outlet ports.
Fig. 3 - A rotor vane machine with an adaptive rotor and force closure to
the rotor, axial sectional view in the plane passing through the backward
transfer
llimiter, axial sectional view in the plane passing through the inlet and
outlet ports,
sectional view in the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation and passing
through the annular groove and sectional view in the plane perpendicular to
the
axis of rotation and passing through the supporting cavities.
Fig. 4 - Fig. 11 - Variants of embodiment of force chambers.
Fig. 12 - Fig. 15 - Kinds of deformation of the face and cylindrical surfaces
of the deformable part of the adaptive unit under the action of axial forces
of the
working fluid pressure.
Fig. 16 - A rotor vane machine with an adaptive rotor, force closure to the
housing, hydrostatically unloaded supporting part of the rotor with the axis
of
rotation tilted relative to the axis of rotation of the working part of the
rotor, axial
sectional view in the plane passing through the backward transfer limiter,
axial
sectional view in the plane passing through the inlet and outlet ports,
sectional
view in the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation and passing through
the
annular groove.
Fig. 17 - A rotor vane machine with an adaptive rotor, force closure to the
housing, hydrostatically unloaded supporting part of the rotor, variator of
the angle
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of the reciprocal tilt of the rotation axes of the working and supporting
parts of the
rotor and with antideformation chambers of variable length between the
functional
and load-bearing elements of the supporting part of the housing, axial
sectional
view in the plane passing through the backward transfer limiter, axial
sectional
view in the plane passing through the inlet and outlet ports and sectional
view in
the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and passing through the
antideformation chambers of variable length.
Fig. 18 - A rotor vane machine with an adaptive rotor, force closure to the
rotor, hydrostatically unloaded supporting part of the rotor, variator of the
angle of
the reciprocal tilt of the rotation axes of the working and supporting parts
of the
rotor and with antideformation chambers of variable length between the working
and supporting parts of the housing, axial sectional view in the plane passing
through the backward transfer limiter, axial sectional view in the plane
passing
through the inlet and outlet ports and sectional view in the plane
perpendicular to
the rotation axis and passing through the antideformation chambers of variable
length.
The rotor vane machine in Fig. 1 has an adaptive rotor and force closure to
the housing. It means that the working 1 and supporting 2 parts of the rotor
are
located between the working 3 and supporting 4 parts of the housing. The
housing
parts 3 and 4 are joined by the connecting part 5 of the housing taking on the
tensile axial forces of the working fluid pressure and made in the form of a
hollow
solid with an adaptive rotor inside. In other embodiments the connecting part
of
the housing can be located inside the hollow rotor. The connecting part of the
housing can be also made together with the working or supporting part of the
housing as a single part. The supporting part 2 of the rotor is installed on
the
supporting part 4 of the housing by means of a thrust roller bearing 6. The
working
part 1 of the rotor is kinematically connected to the supporting part 2 of the
rotor
by means of a joint synchronizing rotation (not shown in the figures) and the
force
chambers 7. Due to the choice of the shapes and sizes of the force chambers 7
described below the working part 1 of the rotor is hydrostatically balanced in
the
axial direction. The cylindrical load-bearing cavities 8 are made in the
supporting
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part of the rotor subject to axial deformations under the action of the
mentioned
pressure forces. Every load-bearing cavity 8 has a cylindrical moving element
installed with formation of a sliding insulating contact, its spherical
surface being in
a sliding insulating contact with the spherical surface of another moving
element
10 with its flat surface having a sliding insulating contact with the flat
surface on
the working part 1 of the rotor.
The rotor vane machine in Fig. 2 is made with an adaptive housing and
force closure to the housing. The connecting part 5 of the housing including
the
force flange 11 connects the working 1 and supporting 4 parts of the housing,
with
the working 1 and supporting 2 parts of the rotor located between them and
made
in this embodiment as two face parts of one rotor conventionally separated in
Fig.
2 with a dot line. In other embodiments the working and supporting parts of
the
rotor can be made as separate parts from which the rotor is assembled. The
supporting part 4 of the housing is connected to the force flange 11 by means
of
the force chambers 7. It has a sliding insulating contact with the surface of
the
supporting part 2 of the rotor. In other embodiments the connecting part of
the
housing can be connected by means of force chambers with the working part of
the housing or both parts of the housing. In the embodiments with an adaptive
housing where the force chambers are installed between the working and
connecting parts of the housing the supporting parts of the rotor and the
housing
can be connected by means of a thrust bearing. Between the supporting part 2
of
the rotor and the supporting part 4 of the housing there are supporting
cavities 15.
The number, location, shapes and sizes of the supporting cavities 15 taking
into
consideration the area of the sliding insulating contact of the supporting
parts of
the rotor and the housing are chosen so that the pressure forces acting on the
supporting part 4 of the housing from the side of the force chambers 7 should
exceed the pressure forces pushing the supporting part 4 of the housing away
from the supporting part 2 of the rotor by the preset value, preferably small,
not
exceeding 10% of the maximum value of these repelling forces. In this
embodiment the supporting cavities 15 are made in the supporting part of the
housing. In other embodiments the supporting cavities can be made in the
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supporting part of the rotor, for example, in the form of continued vane
chambers.
Thus, the supporting part 4 of the adaptive housing is hydrostatically
unloaded
and not subject to deformations under pressure. The cylindrical load-bearing
cavities 8 are made in the force flange 11 subject to axial deformations under
the
action of these pressure forces. Every load-bearing cavity 8 has a cylindrical
moving element 9 installed with formation of a sliding insulating contact. Its
spherical surface is in a sliding insulating contact with the spherical
surface of
another moving element 10 with its flat surface having a sliding insulating
contact
with the flat surface on the supporting part 4 of the housing.
The rotor vane machine in Fig. 3 is made with an adaptive rotor and force
closure to the rotor. The working 3 and supporting 4 parts of the housing
forming
the operational unit 12 of the housing are located between the working 1 and
supporting 2 parts of the rotor joined by the connecting part 13 of the rotor
receiving the tensile axial forces of the working fluid pressure and made in
the
form of a shaft with the force flange 14. In other embodiments the connecting
part
of the rotor can be made in the form of a hollow solid with the operational
unit of
the housing inside. The supporting part 2 of the rotor is joined to the
connecting
part 13 of the rotor by means of the force chambers 7. In other embodiments
the
connecting part of the rotor can be joined by means of the force chambers with
the
working part of the rotor or with both parts of the rotor.
The flat insulating surfaces of the supporting part 2 of the rotor and the
supporting part 4 of the housing have a sliding insulating contact. Between
them
are supporting cavities 15 hydraulically connected to the load-bearing
cavities 8 by
channels 16 in the supporting part 2 of the rotor and hydraulically connected
to the
working chamber by channels 17 in the operational unit 12 of the housing. The
shape and sizes of the supporting cavities 15 are chosen so that the pressure
forces acting on the supporting part of the rotor from the side of the force
chambers 7 should exceed the pressure forces pushing the supporting part 2 of
the rotor from the supporting part 4 of the operational unit 12 of the housing
by the
preset value, preferably small, not exceeding 5% of the given repelling
forces.
Thus, the supporting part 2 of the rotor is hydrostatically balanced and is
saved
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from deformations. These structures with hydrostatic balancing of the working
and
supporting parts of the adaptive rotor are described in more detail in RU
2005113098.
The force flange 14 is subject to axial deformations. It has cylindrical load-
bearing cavities 8. Every load-bearing cavity has a cylindrical moving element
9
installed with formation of a sliding insulating contact. Its spherical
surface has a
sliding insulating contact with the spherical surface of another moving
element 10
with its flat surface having a sliding insulating contact with the flat
surface on the
supporting part 2 of the rotor.
In the embodiment of Fig. 3 the operational unit 12 of the housing is made
as a single part. Its two face parts are the working 3 and supporting 4 parts
of the
housing conventionally divided in Fig. 3 with a dot line. The unit is
connected to
the case 50, with the cam mechanism 28 of the vane drive fixed on it. In other
embodiments the working 3 and supporting 4 parts of the housing can be made as
separate parts to be assembled into the operational unit of the housing.
Similar to
the example described above of the rotor vane machine of Fig. 2 with force
closure to the housing and the adaptive unit of the housing, rotor vane
machines
with force closure to the rotor can be also made with an adaptive housing
rather
than rotor. In this case force chambers are made between the working and
supporting parts of the adaptive operational unit of the housing.
In all the embodiments described above the cylindrical, spherical and flat
insulating surfaces are made with reasonable accuracy allowing deviations from
the ideal cylindrical, spherical or flat shapes within the limits conditioned
by the
viscosity of the applied fluids and the range of working pressures. In the
preferred
embodiments designed for work with hydraulic fluids with the viscosity of
centistokes and pressures of up to 30 - 50 MPa these deviation values do not
exceed 2-5 microns for spherical or flat insulating surfaces and 5-15 micron
for
cylindrical undistorted surfaces. Embodiment of the cylindrical insulating
surfaces
on self-adjusting spring sealing rings (similar to piston-like rings) allows
considerable (dozens of times) increase of the permissible deviations.
In all the described embodiments of the rotor vane machine the working
part 3 of the housing having a sliding contact with the working face surface
18 of
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
the working part 1 of the rotor insulates the working chamber in the annular
groove 19. The backward transfer limiter 20 and the forward transfer limiter
22
having a sliding insulating contact with the vanes 21 divide the working
chamber
into the inlet cavity 23 hydraulically connected to the inlet port 24 and the
outlet
5 cavity 25 hydraulically connected to the outlet port 26. The vanes 21
located in the
vane chambers 27 are kinematically connected to the cam mechanism 28 of the
vane drive installed on the housing and specifying the character of the cyclic
movement of the vanes 21 relative to the annular groove 19 during reciprocal
rotation of the units of the rotor and the housing. In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 the
vanes 21
10 and the cam mechanism 28 of the vane drive are made with the possibility of
axial
movement while Fig. 3 shows the possibility of the pivoted motion around the
axis
parallel to the axis of the rotor rotation. Other embodiments demonstrate the
possibility of other typs of motion of the vanes relative to the working part
of the
rotor, for example, the radial one, as well as other types of the vane drive
15 mechanism, for example, using an electric or hydraulic drive. In the
embodiments
described above the annular groove 19 has a rectangular cross-section, the
limiters of the forwards 22 and backward 20 transfer are static in the axial
direction
and the backward transfer limiter 20 has a sliding insulating contact with the
walls
and bottom of the annular groove 19. Other embodiments demonstrate the
possibility of other forms of cross section of the annular groove, the
backward
transfer limiter can have a sliding insulating contact both with sections of
the
annular groove surface and the vanes. The invention also provides for
embodiments where the limiters of the forward or backward transfer are moving
in
the axial direction to regulate the delivery.
During reciprocal rotation of the rotor and the housing the vanes 21
kinematically connected to the mechanism 28 of the vane drive move cyclically
relative to the annular groove 19 in the following way: they move from the
outlet
cavity 25 into the vane chambers 27 as far as the position when they move past
the backward transfer limiter 20, then they move from the vane chambers 27
into
the inlet cavity 23 as far as the position when they move towards the outlet
cavity
25 having a sliding insulating contact with the forward transfer limiter 22
and
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
16
overlapping the annular groove 19. Sliding along the forward transfer limiter
22
the vanes 21 provide cyclic variation of the inlet 23 and outlet 25 cavities,
inflow of
the working fluid through the inlet port 24, its transfer from the inlet
cavity 23 to the
outlet cavity 25 and its displacement into the outlet port 26. High pressure
is set in
the pump mode in the inlet cavity 25 (in the hydraulic motor mode - in the
inlet
cavity 23) and in the load-bearing cavities 8 communicating to it under load.
The pressure forces of the working fluid in the load-bearing cavities 8 tend
to expand the force chambers, i.e. to press the moving elements 9 out of the
cylindrical load-bearing cavities 8 and to bring the working part 3 of the
housing
closer to the working part 1 of the rotor. Thus, the flat insulating surfaces
18 of
the working parts of the rotor and the housing are pressed together ensuring
insulation of the working chamber. The moving elements 9 are pressed against
the moving elements 10 that are pressed against the respective part of the
adaptive unit (for example, to the working part 1 of the rotor in the
embodiment of
Fig. 1 or to the supporting part 4 of the housing in the embodiment of Fig.
2),
which ensures paired tightening of the flat and spherical insulating surfaces
and
insulation of the load-bearing cavities 8 of the force chambers 7.
During reciprocal rotation of the rotor and the housing the parts of the
adaptive unit with the force chambers 7 between them move in the axial, tilted
and
transverse direction relative one another. In this case the moving elements 9
perform axial movement relative to the load-bearing cavities 8 during
reciprocal
axial sliding of their cylindrical insulating surfaces while the moving
elements 10
perform tilted movement relative to the moving elements 9 with reciprocal
sliding
of their spherical insulating surfaces and transverse movement relative to the
respective part of the adaptive unit with reciprocal sliding of their flat
insulating
surfaces. The combination of these three kinds of sliding movements in pairs
of
the cylindrical, spherical and flat insulating surfaces keeps insulation of
the load-
bearing cavities 8 during these movements of the parts of the adaptive unit.
To improve insulation of the force chambers at high pressure the spherical
or fiat surfaces of the sliding insulating contact should be preferably made
between the hydrostatically unloaded part of the adaptive unit and the moving
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
17
element as well as between the hydrostatically unloaded moving elements. Fig.
4
- Fig. 11 show examples of force chambers that are made in different
embodiments of the rotor vane machine between various parts of adaptive units,
but to provide uniformity they are shown between the working 1 and supporting
2
parts of the rotor. In Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 9, Fig. 10 the surfaces of the
sliding
insulating contact (further the insulating surfaces) between the moving
elements 9
and 10 are spherical while the surfaces of the sliding insulating contact
between
the moving element 10 and the hydrostatically unloaded part of the adaptive
unit
are flat. (In Fig. 9 that is described below in more detail the working part 1
of the
rotor includes movable bushings 32 contacting the moving element 10). In, Fig.
6
the surfaces of the sliding insulating contact between the moving elements 9
and
10 are flat while the surfaces of the sliding insulating contact between the
moving
element 10 and the hydrostatically unloaded part of the adaptive unit, for
example,
the working part 1 of the rotor are spherical.
For the aforesaid hydrostatic tightening of each pair of the flat 30 and
spherical 31 insulating surfaces the areas of the cross section of the load-
bearing
cavity 8 by planes R1 and R2 (Fig. 4- Fig. 11) passing through internal
borders of
the sliding insulating contact of these surfaces are chosen to be less than
the area
of the cross section of the cylindrical insulating surfaces of the load-
bearing cavity
by at least 50% of the area of projection of the mentioned sliding irisulating
contact
to this plane.
To ensure synchronism of the axial, tilted and transverse sliding
movements in pairs of the cylindrical, spherical and flat insulating surfaces
required to preserve the insulation at reduced friction provision is made for
axial
hydrostatic unloading of the moving elements of the insulation means of the
load-
bearing cavities. This unloading is achieved by choosing the value of the
mentioned hydrostatic tightening, namely by choosing the shapes and sizes of
the
pairs of the spherical and flat insulating surfaces in such a way that the sum
of the
working fluid pressure forces pressing these surfaces to each other should
exceed
the sum of counter forces of the working fluid pressure pushing them apart by
the
preset value, preferably small, i.e. not exceeding 10% of the product of the
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
18
pressure in the load-bearing cavity by the cross-sectional area of its
cylindrical
insulating surfaces.
To ensure the mentioned synchronism of movements of the moving elements the
shapes of the contacting spherical insulating surfaces of the insulation means
of
the load-bearing cavities are selected so as to ensure no self-stopping or no
jamming of the moving elements at the set friction ratios in pairs of the
sliding
insulating contacts. In the preferable variant the curvature radius and the
radii of
the internal and external boundaries of the spherical surfaces are chosen in
such
a way that the angles "y" in Fig. 4, Fig. 5 between the flat surface and the
tangents
to the spherical surface in the plane of axial section should be within 20 -
70
degrees.
Due to the hydrostatic unloading of the moving elements anci the respective
part of the adaptive unit described above the flat 30 and spherical 31
insulating
surfaces are not subject of deformations under pressure and erisure insulation
during reciprocal radial and tilted movements of the working and supporting
parts.
Deformations of the supporting part or the connecting part under pressure, as
shown below, do not destroy insulation between the cylindrical insiulating
surfaces
33.
In the designs in Fig. 1- Fig. 3 cylindrical are the surfaces of the sliding
insulating contact between the moving element of the force chamber and the
part
of the adaptive unit that is deformed under the action of the axial forces of
the
working fluid pressure counterbalancing these forces with its elasticity. The
cylindrical insulating surfaces 33 on this part are either made as internal
walls of
the load-bearing cavity 8 in Fig. 4, Fig. 5 or as external walls of the load-
bearing
ledge 34 in Fig. 6. In the latter case the load-bearing cavity 8 is 1"ormed
between
the load-bearing ledge 34 and the internal walls of the moving elenient 9.
Fig. 12 - Fig. 15 show deformations of the flat and cylindrical surfaces of
the deformable part counterbalancing with its elasticity the workirig fluid
pressure
forces F applied to one side of it. As shown above, in various embodiments
this
deformable part can be both the supporting part of the rotor or the housing
and the
force flange of the connecting part. Deformations have been calculated for the
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
19
pressure of 30 MPa and are shown in Fig. 12 - Fig. 15 with 100-fold
magnification
relative to the sizes of the part. The arrows show the direction of the
pressure
forces. Thick oblique strokes mark the sections of the deformable part fixed
at the
calculation.
Fig. 12 and Fig. 13 correspond to deformations of the deformable part that
is fixed in the center, for example, the force flange 14 of the connecting
part 13 of
the rotor in Fig. 3, Fig. 18.
Fig. 14 and Fig. 15 correspond to deformations of the deformable part that
is fixed along the perimeter, for example, the supporting part 2 of the rotor
in Fig.
1. The same deformations are characteristic of the force flange 11 of the
connecting part 5 of the housing in Fig. 2.
It can be seen that the initially flat face surface of the deformable part
bends under the action of the pressure forces turning in Fig. 12, Fig. 13 into
a
convex surface and in Fig. 14, Fig. 15 into a concave surface. Under small
pressure the tilted movements of the moving elements 10 of the force chambers
7
allow partial compensation of the deformations of the deformable part.
However,
under pressure of dozens MPa, as shown by Fig. 12 - Fig. 15, the curvature of
the
deformed face surface prevents achievement of acceptable tightness of the
sliding insulating contact between it and the respective flat surface of the
moving
element of the force chamber. The cylindrical insulating surfaces 33 of the
cylindrical load-bearing cavity 8 in Fig. 12, Fig. 14 or the cylindrical load-
bearing
ledge 34 in Fig. 13, Fig. 15 also deform under pressure; however, their
deformations are small compared to the deformations of the flat face surface,
especially for the surfaces of the load-bearing ledges, while the length of
the
leakage channel in the gap clearances between the cylindrical surfaces are
considerably larger than those between the flat or spherical surfaces;
therefore,
the leakages between the cylindrical parts in case of deformations of the
deformable part are much smaller. The preferable embodiments of pairs of
cylindrical surfaces with spring sealing rings 35 similar to the piston-like
rings self-
adjusting along the deformable cylindrical surface ensure preservation of the
smallest gap clearance between the cylindrical surfaces. Thus, the cylindrical
insulating surfaces 33 on the deformable part of the adaptive unit ensure
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
preservation of the insulation, with leakages not exceeding the set value.
Spring
sealing rings 35 can be installed on the moving element, for example, in the
embodiments in Fig. 5, Fig. 10, Fig. 11, or on the respective part of the
adaptive
unit.
5
The invention also provides for an embodiment of the rotor vane machine
where both parts of the adaptive unit are hydrostatically unloaded.
Fig. 16, Fig. 17 show the rotor vane machine with force closure to the housing
and
the force chambers 7 between the working 1 and supporting 2 parts of the
rotor.
10 The flat insulating surfaces of the supporting part 2 of the rotor and the
supporting
part 4 of the housing are in a sliding insulating contact with supporting
cavities 15
between them hydraulically connected to the load-bearing cavities 8 by
channels
16 in the supporting part 2 of the rotor. The shape, location and sizes of the
supporting cavities 15 are chosen so that the pressure forces acting on the
15 supporting part of the rotor from the side of the force chambers 7 should
exceed
the pressure forces pushing the supporting part 2 of the rotor from the
supporting
part 4 of the housing by the set value, preferably small, not exceeding 5% of
the
said repelling forces. Thus, the supporting part 2 of the rotor is also
hydrostatically
balanced and is saved from deformations.
20 The hydrostatic balance of both parts of the rotor allows to make flat or
spherical insulating surfaces on any of these parts and ensures free choice of
the
load-bearing cavity location.
In Fig. 16, Fig. 17 the load-bearing cavities 8 are made in the working part
1 of the rotor and are extention of the vane chambers 27. Other examples of
possible embodiments of the force chambers between two hydrostatically
unloaded parts of the rotor are shown in Fig. 7, Fig. 8, where the load-
bearing
cavities 8 are made between the moving elements 9, 10, 29. In this case the
surfaces of the sliding insulating contacts of both parts of the rotor with
moving
elements 9, 10 are spherical while the surfaces of the sliding insulating
contact of
the moving elements are cylindrical. With two pairs of spherical insulating
surfaces
31 it's ensured insulation during reciprocal radial and tilted movements of
the
working and supporting parts of the adaptive unit.
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
21
The working part 3 of the adaptive housing in Fig. 2 is composite, that is
assembled from the functional element 45 contacting the working part 1 of the
rotor and insulating the working chamber in the annular groove 19 and from the
load-bearing element 44, which purpose is described below. The working and
supporting parts of the adaptive rotor of the aforesaid embodiments are shown
for
simplicity as single parts. In other embodiments one or another part of the
rotor
can be also made composite, i.e. as an assembly of several elements, with one
of
them performing the main function of this part of the rotor and further called
the
functional element of this part of the rotor. (In the embodiments with the
composite working part of the rotor the functional element of the working part
of
the rotor includes the annular groove connected to the vane chambers). Apart
from its functional element the composite part of the adaptive unit also
includes
additional elements, including those that can be made with the possibility of
plays
or other displacements relative to the functional element of this part. Such
additional elements of the part of the adaptive unit can have a sliding
insulating
contact with the moving elements of the force chambers and thus participate in
insulation of the load-bearing cavities. In this case in accordance to the
essence
of the present invention additional elements of the part of the adaptive unit
are the
elements, including moving ones, the position of which relative to the
functional
element of this part is not affected by the reciprocal axial and tilted
movements of
the working and supporting parts of the adaptive unit during reciprocal
rotation of
the rotor and the housing. As a result the friction between them and other
elements of the part of the adaptive unit is insignificant for the moving
insulation of
the load-bearing cavities. Moving means of insulation of the load-bearing
cavities
are those moving elements the position of which is influenced by the
reciprocal
axial and tilted movements and that are therefore hydrostatically unloaded in
the
aforesaid way to reduce friction and to ensure synchronism of their movements
necessary for insulation.
As an example Fig. 9 shows the embodiment of the working part of the
rotor and force chambers that is preferable by its technological
characateristics
and compactness for rotor vane machines with an adaptive rotor and axial
movement of the vanes. The working part of the rotor 1 includes the functional
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
22
element 51 with the annular groove 19 in it as well as insulating bushings 32
having a cylindrical surface being in a sliding insulating contact with the
cylindrical
surface of the vane 21 as well as the first flat surface being in a sliding
insulating
contact with the flat surface of the moving element 10 of the insulation means
of
the load-bearing cavity 8. The bushing 32 also has the second flat surface
being in
a sliding contact with the flat surface of the functional element 51 with the
possibility of self-adjustment to the vane 21, which decreases the precision
requirements for manufacturing of the vane chambers in the working part 1 of
the
rotor. The diameters of the holes in the moving elements 9 and 10 exceed the
diameter of the vane 21, which ensures the possibility of axial movement of
the
vane 21 with penetration into the load-bearing cavity 8 and allows reduction
of the
axial sizes of the rotor vane machine.
The position of the insulating bushing 32 of the working part of the rotor
relative to the functional element 51 of the working part of the rotor depends
on
the position of the vane 21 only and does not change at the given reciprocal
movements of the parts of the adaptive rotor. Therefore, it is not necessary
to
synchronize the movements of the bushing 32 and the moving elements 9 and 10
and, accordingly, there is no need for axial hydrostatic unloading of the
bushing
32. The contact of the flat surfaces of the functional element 51 and bushings
32
of the working part of the rotor transfers the pressure of the working fluid
from the
force chambers 7 to the functional element 51 thus hydrostatically balancing
the
working part of the rotor in general and preventing axial deformations both of
the
functional element 51 and bushings 32 of the working part of the rotor. The
position of the moving elements 9 and 10 relative to one another as well as
relative to the working and supporting parts of the adaptive rotor changes at
reciprocal axial and tilted movements of these parts of the adaptive rotor.
The
moving elements 9 and 10, as shown above, are hydrostatically unloaded in the
axial direction; hence, the axial movements of the element 9 relative to the
supporting part 2 of the rotor cause synchronous, insulation-preserving,
tilted and
transverse movements of the element 10 relative to the bushing 32 and
functional
element 51 of the working part 1 of the rotor and, vice versa, the movements
of
element 10 cause synchronous movements of the element 9.
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
23
To ensure insulation of the working chamber at no pressure and to
overcome friction forces, including those preventing the working parts from
getting
closer to one another, the adaptive unit includes elastic elements pressing
the
face insulating surfaces of the parts of the adaptive unit to the face
insulating
surfaces of the parts of another unit. In the embodiments of Fig.1 - Fig. 3,
Fig. 16 -
Fig. 18 the elastic elements 36 in the form of compression springs are
installed in
the force chambers 7 and also ensure tightening of the insulation means of the
load-bearing cavities 8 in pairs of the spherical and flat insulating surfaces
in the
absence of pressure.
To ensure a sliding insulating contact between the working parts of the
rotor and the housing at high pressure the shapes, sizes and location of the
load-
bearing cavities 8 are chosen so that the sum of the elastic forces of the
mentioned elastic elements 36 and the working fluid pressure forces in the
force
chambers 7 pressing the working part 1 of the rotor to the working part 3 of
the
housing should exceed by the preset value the sum of the working fluid
pressure
forces (in the working chamber and in the gap clearances between the face
insulating surfaces of the rotor and the housing) pushing the working part 1
of the
rotor from the working part 3 of the housing and the friction forces
preventing the
working part of the rotor from getting close to the working part of the
housing. To
reduce friction losses it is preferable to choose a small value of the said
excess,
namely not mare than 5% of the sum of the pressure forces pushing the working
part 1 of the rotor from the working part 3 of the housing. (These repelling
forces
oscillate during rotor rotation, especially for the embodiment with an
adaptive
housing; therefore, the excess is determined against the maximum value of the
repelling forces.) Thus, the working part of the adaptive unit supported by
the
force chambers is hydrostatically unloaded, not subject to deformations at
high
pressure while the losses of friction between the face insulating surfaces of
the
working parts of both units are small.
The present invention supposes that any unit of the rotor vane machine, the
rotor or the housing, can rotate relative to the chassis of the aggregate on
which
another unit of the rotor vane machine is fixed. It is possible to provide an
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
24
embodiment where both the rotor and the housing rotate relative to the chassis
of
the aggregate, for example, if the rotor vane machine is an element of
hydrostatic
differential or hydromechanical transmission.
If the unit fixed on the chassis is adaptive, to reduce friction losses at
small
pressure it is preferable to reduce the elastic forces of elastic elements 36
down to
the minimal necessary level chosen considering the friction forces in the
force
chambers 7 at no pressure.
If the unit rotating relative to the chassis of the aggregate is adaptive, the
shape of the spherical surfaces and the elastic forces of the elastic elements
36
are chosen so as to prevent the sliding insulating contact between the
spherical
surfaces and between the flat surfaces at the maximum rotation speed from
being
broken by centrifugal forces. At the rotation speed of several thousands
revolutions per minute the centrifugal forces acting on the moving elements of
dozens of grams can achieve hundreds of newtons. The correlation between the
centrifugal force and the tightening force balancing it acting on the moving
element 10 from the side of the elastic element 36 is determined by the shapes
of
the insulating surfaces, for example, for the embodiment of Fig. 4, Fig. 5 by
angles
"y" between the flat and spherical surfaces. Therefore, at set angles "y" the
increase of the maximum rotation frequency requires appropriate increase of
the
tightening of the moving elements at the expense of elastic reaction of the
elastic
elements.
To avoid the increase of pressing of the rotor parts to the housing parts and
increase of the friction losses at the increased elastic reaction forces of
the elastic
elements the designs of the force chambers 7 shown in Fig. 10, Fig. 11 are
proposed. In these force chambers the elastic elements 37 are installed in
such a
way that their elastic reaction force is applied only to the elements
conditioning
insulation of the force chambers and does not affect the force pressing the
rotor
parts to the housing parts.
In Fig. 10 the elastic element 37 in the form of a spiral spring is fixed with
one end on the moving element 9 with the cylindrical surface and with the
other
end - on the part of the adaptive unit the flat insulating surface of which
contacts
the flat insulating surface of the moving element 10 (in this case - on the
working
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
part 1 of the rotor). The pulling elastic element 37 in this case tends to
shrink and
presses the moving elements together and to the mentioned part of the unit. In
other embodiments the elastic element 37 can be a pushing element and can be
supplemented by an element, for example, a rod transforming the pressure
stress
5 into the stress of tightening of the moving elements together and to the
mentioned
part of the adaptive unit. Fig. 11 shows the embodiment of the force chambers
7
with two moving elements 9 and 10, their cylindrical surfaces having a sliding
insulating contact with the cylindrical surfaces of the load-bearing cavities
8 in the
working and supporting parts of the adaptive unit, and the third moving
element
10 29, its spherical surfaces having a sliding insulating contact with the
respective
spherical surfaces of the aforesaid moving elements 9 and 10. In these
embodiments the pulling elastic element 37 in the form of a spiral spring is
fixed
between the moving elements 9 and 10 and presses together all three moving
elements 9,10 and 29. Thus, the force of elastic reaction of the elastic
element 37
15 does not affect the force pressing of the rotor parts to the housing parts
and can
be chosen to be large enough to compensate the centrifugal forces acting on
the
moving elements 29 at the set mass of the moving elements 29, the speed of the
rotor rotation and the shape of the spherical surfaces. To ensure pressing of
the
rotor parts to the housing parts at no pressure it's possible to use separate
elastic
20 elements, for example, installed outside the force chambers.
For the embodiments where the elastic reaction force of the elastic
elements is either small or does not affect the force of pressing of the rotor
parts
to the housing parts, the shape and sizes of the load-bearing cavities 8 are
chosen so as to ensure hydrostatic pressing of the working parts together,
namely
25 so that the overall area of the sections of the load-bearing cavities 8 by
the plane
perpendicular to the rotor rotation axis should exceed the area of the annular
groove projection to the same plane by at least 50% of the area of projection
of
the sliding insulating contact of the working part of the rotor with the
working part
of the housing to the said plane. To reduce friction losses between the face
insulating surfaces of the working parts of both units it is preferable to
choose the
said excess value so that the mentioned hydrostatic pressing should be small,
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
26
namely not exceeding 5% of the given sum of the pressure forces pushing the
working part of the rotor away from the working part of the housing.
The necessary range of the said reciprocal axial, transverse and tilted
movements of the working and supporting parts is determined considering
technological tolerances, expansion clearances and deformations of the
elements
under the action of the working fluid pressure. The invention also provides
for an
embodiment of rotor vane machines described below with an adaptive rotor
where the range of these reciprocal movements of the working and supporting
parts is chosen based on the preset value of variation of the force chamber
volumes during reciprocal rotation of the rotor and housing.
In the embodiments preferable for generation of a uniform working fluid flow
the volume of the force chambers connecting the working and supporting parts
of
the rotor is changed during rotor rotation so that the pressure of the working
fluid
separated in the force chamber from the inlet cavity with the inlet pressure
should
reach the value of the outlet pressure by the moment the force chamber is
merged
the outlet cavity. For that purpose the axis of rotation of the supporting
part of the
rotor is tilted relative to the axis of rotation of the working part of the
rotor by an
angle depending on the difference between the inlet and outlet pressure. This
method and design for its implementation are described in detail in the
application
"Method of creating a uniform working fluid flow and the device for its
implementation" RU 2005129000. We consider here such embodiments from the
point of view of solving the task of the present invention, namely ensuring
insulation of the force chambers and the working chamber in wide range of
amplitudes of reciprocal movements of parts of an adaptive rotor both at fixed
and
variable angle of reciprocal tilt of the axes of rotation of the working and
supporting parts of the adaptive rotor.
In the embodiment of Fig. 16 the supporting part 4 of the housing is
installed with a fixed tilt of its flat face insulating surface relative to
the flat face
insulating surface of the working part 3 of the housing by the preset angle a
round
the axis parallel to the straight line passing through the limiters of the
forward 22
and backward 20 transfer. This tilt angle a determines the amplitude of
reciprocal
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
27
tilts of the working and supporting parts of the rotor, the amplitude of
variation of
every force chamber 7 volume and the degree of the pressure variation in it
from
the moment of its separation from the inlet cavity 23 to the moment it merges
the
outlet cavity 25.
In Fig. 17 the functional element 53 (described below in more detail) of the
supporting part 4 of the housing is installed with the possibility of a tilt
round the
axis 38 parallel to the straight line passing through limiters of the forward
22 and
backward 20 transfer. The tilt angle variator 39 includes the hydrocylinder 40
installed on the load-bearing element 52 (described in more detail below) of
the
supporting part 4 of the housing. The cavity 41 of the hydrocylinder 40 is
hydraulically connected to the working chamber (for the pump - with the outlet
cavity, for the hydromotor - with the inlet cavity). The piston 42 is
kinematically
connected to the functional element 53 of the supporting part 4 of the housing
and
is supported by the spring 43. Variation of the difference between the inlet
and
outlet pressures changes the position of the piston 42 and the angle a of the
tilt of
the rotation axis of the supporting part 2 of the rotor relative to the
rotation axis of
the working part 1 of the rotor. This tilt angle determines the amplitude of
reciprocal tilts of the working and supporting parts of the rotor, the
amplitude of
variation of the volume of the force chamber 7 and the degree of the pressure
variation in it from the moment of its separation from the inlet cavity 23 to
the
moment it merges the outlet cavity 25.
Similar way for the embodiments with force closure to the rotor in order to
implement this method of creating a uniform flow the working and supporting
parts
of the operational unit of the housing are made either with a fixed reciprocal
tilt or,
as shown in Fig. 18, with the possibility of variable reciprocal tilt by means
of the
tilt angle variator 39 made similar to the one described above between the
working
and supporting parts of the operational unit 12 of the housing.
Variation of the said tilt angle results in change of the amplitude of
reciprocal axial, transverse and tilted displacements both in pairs of the
cylindrical
surfaces 33 and in pairs of the flat 30 and spherical 31 insulating surfaces.
At the pressure of dozens MPa the necessary degree of variation of the
force chambers volumes reaches several percents while the angle of reciprocal
tilt
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
28
reaches units of degrees. In this case the reciprocal axial displacements of
the
cylindrical insulating surfaces reach units of millimeters while the
reciprocal
transverse displacements in pairs of the spherical and flat insulating
surfaces
reach hundreds microns.
The sizes of the insulating surfaces are chosen so that in the preset range
of reciprocal axial, transverse and tilted displacements of the working and
supporting parts of the adaptive unit the sliding insulating contact should be
maintained in all pairs of the contacting insulating surfaces between means of
insulation of the load-bearing cavities. To stabilize the pressing forces in
every
pair of the flat or spherical insulating surfaces the area of one of them
exceeds the
area of the other by the set value chosen so that every section of the surface
of
the less area should keep a sliding contact with the surface of a larger area
at any
angle of the rotor rotation throughout the range of the said reciprocal
displacements, Fig. 4 - Fig. 11. Thus, in any set range of the reciprocal
axial,
transverse and tilted displacements of the working and supporting parts of the
adaptive unit as well as their deformations the proposed solution ensures good
insulation of the force chambers.
The pressing of the face insulating surfaces of the adaptive unit to the
respective insulating surfaces of another unit ensures good insulation of the
working chamber in the absence of deformations of these face insulating
surfaces,
generally flat ones. Deformations of the face insulating surfaces of the rotor
are
small due to the massiveness and high rigidity of the working part of the
rotor and
due to the hydrostatic unloading of the supporting part of the adaptive rotor.
In the
embodiments of the rotor vane machine with an adaptive housing the part of the
housing supported by the force chambers is hydrostatically balanced and is not
subject to axial deformations under the action of the working fluid pressure
forces.
The parts of non-adaptive housing or the part of adaptive housing that is not
supported by the force chambers can be made rather massive and rigid; however,
this increases considerably the sizes and weight of the rotor vane machine. To
reduce the size and weight of the parts of the housing that are not supported
by
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
29
the force chambers and to improve the insulation of the working chamber at
high
pressure the invention provides for hydrostatic means of prevention of
deformations of the housing insulating surfaces having a sliding insulating
contact
with the flat face surfaces of the working and supporting parts of the rotor.
In the embodiments with force closure to the housing to prevent
defortmations of the flat insulating surfaces the working 3 part of the
housing (Fig.
1, Fig. 2, Fig. 16, Fig. 17) is made composite of the external load-bearing
element
44 and the internal functional element 45, with at least one antideformation
chamber 46 being between them. The antideformation chamber is connected to
the working chamber and is sealed along the perimeter, for example, by means
of
a sealing gasket or collar so that deformation of the load-bearing element 44
should not result in leakages from this chamber. Similar way the supporting
part 4
of the housing (Fig. 16, Fig. 17) is made from the external load-bearing
element
52 and the internal functional element 53, with at least one antideformation
chamber 54 between them connected to the working chamber and sealed along
the perimeter. The number, location, sizes and shape of the antideformation
chambers is chosen so that the resultant of the fluid pressure forces acting
on the
internal functional element 45, 53 of the part of the housing from the side of
the
rotor and the fluid pressure forces acting from the side of the
antideformation
chambers should not exceed 20% of the pressure forces from the side of the
rotor.
For that purpose the antideformation chambers 46, 54 are located opposite the
high pressure cavity in the annular groove 19 (for the pump - opposite the
outlet
cavity 25, for the hydromotor - opposite the inlet cavity 23) and
hydraulically
connected to the said cavity. If high pressure can arise both in the outlet
and inlet
cavity different antidfeformation chambers are made opposite each of them. In
the
preferable embodiment separate antideformation chambers are also made
opposite the zones of forward and backward transfer in the working chamber,
i.e.
opposite the limiters of the forward and backward transfer and are
hydraulically
connected to the opposite sections in the working chamber. The shape and sizes
of the antideformation chambers are chosen so that the pressure distribution
between the functional and load-bearing element of the respective part of the
housing should be close to the pressure distribution between the functional
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
element and the rotor. For example, antideformation chamber 46, 54 can have
bow-shaped form with transverse sizes being close to the transverse sizes of
the
annular groove 19 and with the area being close to the area of that part of
the
functional element 45, 53 which surface is subject to high pressure acting
from the
5 rotor side. In the technologically preferred embodiment separate
antideformation
chambers are made along the arc opposite the annular groove, their overall
area
is chosen the same way. As a result, the pressure forces and related
deformations
fall on the external load-bearing element while the internal functional
element
unloaded from the pressure forces of the working fluid is not subject to
10 deformations and preserves the shape of flat sealing surfaces.
For rotor vane machines with an adaptive rotor where the working 3 and
supporting 4 parts of the housing are connected with the possibility of
varying the
reciprocal tilt of the rotation axes of the working and supporting parts of
the rotor
the preferred embodiment according to the technology and overall size supposes
15 provision of the antideformation chambers between the functional and load-
bearing elements of the part of the housing, preferably the supporting part of
the
housing in Fig. 17, similar to the force chambers of variable length of Fig. 4
- Fig.
8, Fig. 10, Fig. 11 described above in detail. Such an antideformation chamber
55
of variable length contains an antideformation cavity of variable length 47
and the
20 means of its insulation including at least two moving elements 48 and 49.
These
moving elements are installed with formation of sliding insulating contacts
between the following pairs of the surfaces: between the insulating surface of
one
of the moving elements and the insulating surface of the load-bearing element
52
of the supporting part of the housing as well as between the insulating
surfaces of
25 the moving elements 48 and 49. At least in one of these contacts both
insulating
surfaces are cylindrical and at least in one of them they are spherical. In
the other
contacts the shapes of the pairs of the contact surfaces are chosen so as to
preserve the sliding insulating contact at the given variation of the
reciprocal tilt
angle a. Reciprocal sliding of the cylindrical insulating surfaces ensures
insulation
30 during reciprocal axial movements of the working and supporting parts of
the
housing while the reciprocal sliding of the insulating spherical surfaces
ensures
insulation during reciprocal tilted movements of the parts. To ensure
insulation
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
31
during reciprocal transverse movements of the parts at least in one more of
the
other insulating contacts both insulating surfaces are either flat or
spherical. To
press the spherical and flat insulting surfaces together at no pressure the
antideformation chambers of variable length 55 are provided with elastic
elements
57 in the form of springs. The functional element 53 of the supporting part of
the
housing is substantionaly hydrostatically balanced and it is preferable to
provide
flat (like on the supporting part 2 of the rotor in Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 10)
or spherical
(like on the working part 1 of the rotor in Fig. 6) insulating surfaces on it.
The load-
bearing element 52 is subject to deformations under pressure; therefore, it is
preferable to make cylindrical insulating surfaces of the antideformation
chambers
on it and, if required, to strengthen their insulation by means of spring
sealing
rings. This preferred embodiment is shown in Fig. 17. In this embodiment the
functional element 53 of the supporting part 4 of the hosuing has the
possibility of
tilting relative to the load-bearing element 52 of the supporting part 4 of
the
housing and thus relative to the working part 3 of the hosing changing the
reciprocal tilt of the axes of rotation of the supporting 2 and working 1
parts of the
rotor.
The above-described reduction of the fluid pressure forces on the functional
element results in proportional reduction of deformations of the housing
insulating
surfaces and the gap clearances between them and the respective rotor
insulating
surfaces. The leakage through these gap clearances at the set pressure is
proportional to the third power of the clearance size. Therefore, reduction of
the
forces even by 2-3 times reduces the leakages substantionally while the
preferred
embodiment reducing these pressure forces by 5 and more times ensures leakage
reduction at the set pressure by 100 and more times, which improves the
insulation of the working chamber considerably.
In the embodiments with force closure to the rotor (Fig. 3, Fig. 18) the
hydrostatic means of preventing deformations of the housing insulating
surfaces
include supporting cavities 15 between the supporting part 2 of the rotor and
the
supporting part 4 of the operational unit 12 of the housing. Due to the
aforesaid
choice of the shape, location and sizes of the supporting cavities 15 the
pressure
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
32
acting on the supporting part 4 of the housing from the side of the supporting
part
2 of the rotor and the pressure acting on the working part 3 of the housing
from
the side of the working part 1 of the rotor differ not more than by the set,
preferably small, value. Fig. 3 shows that the supporting cavities 15 are
located
opposite the annular groove 19 and are connected to it by the channels 17. As
a
result the pressure in each supporting cavity 15 equals the pressure in the
opposite cavity of the working chamber in the annular groove 19. The
transverse
sizes of the supporting cavities 15 and the sliding insulating contact between
the
supporting parts of the rotor 2 and the housing 4 are close to the transverse
sizes
of the annular groove 19 and the sliding insulating contact between the
working
parts 1 of the rotor and 3 of the housing. Therefore, symmetrical distribution
of the
working fluid pressure is formed on both sides of the operational unit 12 of
the
housing.
In case of the rigid joint of the working 3 and supporting 4 parts of the
housing into the operational unit 12 of the housing, for example, in the
embodiment of the operational unit 12 of the housing in the form of a single
part
like in Fig. 3 as well as in the embodiments with the adaptive operational
unit of
the housing this symmetry of the compressing pressure forces effectively
prevents
deformations of the flat insulating surfaces of the working 3 and supporting 4
parts
of the operational unit 12 of the housing.
For the embodiments where the working and supporting parts of the non-
adaptive operational unit of the housing are not rigidly connected, the
invention
provides for antideformation chambers between the working and supporting parts
of the operational unit of the housing. The number, location, sizes and shape
of
the antideformation chambers are chosen so that the resultant of the fluid
pressure forces acting on the parts of the housing from the side of the rotor
and
the fluid pressure forces acting from the side of the antideformation chambers
should not exceed 20% of the pressure forces acting from the side of the
rotor.
For the embodiments with an adaptive rotor where the working and
supporting parts of the operational unit of the housing are connected with the
possibility of reciprocal movements, for example, with the possibility of a
variable
reciprocal tilt by means of the tilt angle variator, each part of the
operational unit is
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
33
supposed to be made from two elements, the functional one and the load-bearing
one, with antideformation chambers between them similar to the embodiment
described above for force closure to the housing.
For rotor vane machines with an adaptive rotor where the working 3 and
supporting 4 parts of the operational unit 12 of the housing are connected
with the
possibility of varying the reciprocal tilt of the axes of rotation of the
working and
supporting parts of the rotor the embodiment preferable for manufacturability
and
overall dimensions supposes to locate antideformational chambers between the
working and supporting parts of the operational unit of the housing Fig. 18
similar
to the force chambers of variable length in Fig. 4 - Fig. 8, Fig. 10, Fig. 11
described above in detail. In the latter case the antideformation chamber 56
of
variable length contains the antideformation cavity 47 of variable length and
means of its insulation, including at least two moving elements. These moving
elements 48 and 49 are installed with formation of sliding insulating contacts
between the following pairs of the surfaces: the insulating surface of one of
the
moving elements and the insulating surface of the working part of the housing,
the
insulating surface of another moving element and the insulating surface of the
supporting part of the housing and between the insulating surfaces of the
moving
elements 48 and 49. At least in one of these contacts both insulating surfaces
are cylindrical and at elast in one of them they are spherical while in the
other
contacts the shapes of the pairs of the contact surfaces are chosen so as to
preserve the sliding insulating contact at the given variation of the
reciprocal tilt
angle. Reciprocal sliding of the cylindrical surfaces ensures insulation
during
reciprocal axial movements of the working 3 and supporting 4 parts of the
operational unit 12 of the housing while the reciprocal sliding of the
spherical
surfaces ensures insulation during reciprocal tilted movements of these parts.
To
ensure insulation during reciprocal transverse movements of the parts, at
least in
one more of the other insulating contacts both insulating surfaces are either
flat or
spherical. To press the spherical and flat insulating surfaces together at no
pressure the antideformation chambers of variable length 56 are provided with
elastic elements 57 in the form of springs. In such an embodiment the working
3
and supporting 4 parts of the operational unit 12 of the housing are
substantionally
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
34
hydrostatically balanced and the cylindrical surfaces can be made on any of
them
(like on the supporting part 2 of the rotor in the force chambers accordingly
to Fig.
4 - Fig. 6, Fig. 10, Fig. 11) or between the moving elements (like in the
force
chambers in Fig. 7, Fig. 8).
S This hydrostatic balancing of the working and supporting parts of the
operational unit of the housing reduces substantionally deformations of the
housing insulating surfaces and improves considerably the insulation of the
working chamber.
Thus, the proposed rotor vane machine ensures:
- insulation of the working chamber and force chambers in a wide range of
axial gap clearances between the units of the rotor vane machine by making at
least one unit adaptive, i.e. containing the working and supporting part and
force
chambers of variable length with cylindrical pairs of insulating surfaces;
- insulation of the working chamber and force chambers in a wide range of
reciprocal tilted and transverse movements of the working and supporting parts
of
the adaptive unit due to insulation of the force chambers by spherical and
flat pairs
of insulating surfaces;
- insulation of the working chamber and force chambers in a wide range of
pressures and related deformations due to that the deformable component of the
adaptive unit has cylindrical insulating surfaces of the insulation means of
the
force chambers allowing installation of self-adjusting spring sealing rings as
well
as due to implementation of hydrostatic means of preventing the deformations
of
the housing insulating surfaces;
- hydrostatic unloading of the friction pairs in the sliding insulating
contacts
between the rotor and the housing and between the force chambers insulation
means.
The said insulation of the working chamber and force chambers ensures
high volume efficiency and in combination with hydrostatic unloading of the
friction
pairs high total efficiency at high pressure of the working fluid.
CA 02667689 2009-04-23
The embodiments described above are examples of implementation of the
main idea of the present invention that also supposes a variety of other
embodiments that were not described here in detail, for example: the rotor
vane
machine with the second working chamber in the annular groove in the
supporting
5 part of the rotor, an embodiment with several forward and backward transfer
limiters in one annular groove as well as various installations of the rotor
vane
machine into hydrostatic differentials and transmissions or embodiments of the
rotor vane machine connecting differently its units with the inlet or outlet
shaft,
chassis of the hydromechanical agregate or with units of another rotor vane
10 machine.
