Rotor unit assembly
AssigneeBAE SYSTEMS plc
InventorJames William Spain
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotor unit assembly includes a rotor unit having a chamber and a rotor located within the chamber. The rotor has a piston which extends radially outward from the main body of the rotor; and a valve flange with an aperture. The rotor unit further comprises a rotatable hub, with a cavity configured to receive the piston. The rotor unit further comprises a first low pressure port provided in a path described by the piston; a first high pressure port positioned in a path described by the valve flange aperture around the clearance volume; and a second high pressure port positioned in a path described by the cavity around the hub axis.
Claims20
A rotor unit assembly comprising:
- a wall section of a housing which defines a chamber having a central axis and an inner surface, and the housing comprises an end plate to close the chamber;
- a rotor located within the chamber and rotatable about the chamber central axis of the chamber the, rotor having:
- a main body having an outer surface, the outer surface being spaced apart from the wall section inner surface to define a clearance volume;
- a piston which extends radially outward from the main body of the rotor;
- and a valve flange which extends radially from the outer surface of the main body, and is rotatable about the central axis of the chamber, with an aperture provided in the valve flange;
- and
- a rotatable hub rotatable about a hub axis, with a cavity which extends radially inward from a hub outer surface, wherein the cavity is configured to receive the piston;
- wherein the end plate of the housing defines:
- a low pressure port provided in a path described by the piston around the clearance volume;
- a first high pressure port positioned in a path described by the valve flange aperture around the clearance volume such that the first high pressure port is open when the aperture is aligned with the first high pressure port, and closed when the aperture is misaligned with the first high pressure port;
- and
- a second high pressure port positioned in a path described by the cavity around the hub axis such that the second high pressure port is open when the cavity is aligned with the second high pressure port, and closed when the cavity is misaligned/offset with the second high pressure port.
A rotor unit assembly, comprising:
- a wall section of a housing which defines a chamber having a central axis and an inner surface, and the housing comprises an end plate to close the chamber, wherein the endplate defines a low pressure port, a first high pressure port, and a second high pressure port;
- a rotor located within the chamber and rotatable about the chamber central axis, the rotor having
- a main body having an outer surface, the outer surface being spaced apart from the wall section inner surface to define a clearance volume,
- a piston which extends radially outward from the main body, and
- a valve flange which extends radially from the outer surface of the main body and is rotatable about the central axis of the chamber, with an aperture provided in the valve flange;
- and
- a rotatable hub rotatable about a hub axis, with a cavity which extends radially inward from a hub outer surface, wherein the cavity is configured to receive the piston;
- wherein
- when the first high pressure port is open, the piston forms a seal with the inner surface of the chamber,
- when the second high pressure port is open, the piston is engaged with the cavity to provide a seal between the piston and the wall of the cavity,
- the wall section defines an opening having a first edge spaced apart from a second edge through which the hub extends to seal against the rotor, a seal being provided between the hub outer surface and the second edge of the opening, and
- the cavity is configured to be isolated from the clearance volume when the piston has moved (D) degrees around the inner surface of the chamber away from the second edge of the opening through which the hub extends, to define an expansion region of the clearance volume between the piston and the hub, the expansion region thereby isolated from a remainder of the clearance volume, where (D) has a value of at least 8 but not more than 16 degrees.
A rotor unit assembly, comprising:
- a wall section of a housing which defines a chamber having a central axis and an inner surface, and the housing comprises an end plate to close the chamber, wherein the endplate defines a low pressure port, a first high pressure port, and a second high pressure port;
- a rotor located within the chamber and rotatable about the chamber central axis, the rotor having
- a main body having an outer surface, the outer surface being spaced apart from the wall section inner surface to define a clearance volume,
- a piston which extends radially outward from the main body, and
- a valve flange which extends radially from the outer surface of the main body and is rotatable about the central axis of the chamber, with an aperture provided in the valve flange;
- and
- a rotatable hub rotatable about a hub axis, with a cavity which extends radially inward from a hub outer surface, wherein the cavity is configured to receive the piston;
- wherein the first high pressure port, the second high pressure port, and the low pressure port are in fluid communication with a manifold;
- wherein the low pressure port is in fluid communication with a low pressure chamber of the manifold;
- wherein the first high pressure port and second high pressure port are in fluid communication with a high pressure chamber of the manifold;
- and
- wherein the low pressure chamber and high pressure chamber are separated from one another such that the low pressure chamber and the high pressure chamber are fluidly isolated from one another.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.