Variable flow hydraulic machine
AssigneeConcentric Birmingham Limited
InventorsBryan PARSONS, Paul SHEPHERD, Steven HODGE
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A variable flow external rotor hydraulic machine (10, 10′) has an inlet (26, 26′) an outlet (28, 28′), a rotor set having a first rotor (58, 58′) mounted for rotation about a first rotor axis and a second rotor (68, 68′) mounted for rotation about a second rotor axis, the machine being configured as either a pump or a motor, in which at least one of the first and second rotor axes is movable relative to the other to vary a leakage flow between the rotors.
Claims24
A variable flow external rotor hydraulic machine comprising:
- an inlet;
- an outlet;
- a rotor set having a first rotor mounted for rotation about a first rotor axis and a second rotor mounted for rotation about a second rotor axis, the rotor set being configured to either:
- (i) when driven, pump fluid from the inlet to the outlet;
- or,
- (ii) be driven by a working fluid passing from the inlet to the outlet;
- in which at least one of the first and second rotor axes is movable relative to the other to vary a leakage flow between the rotors.
A method of controlling the flow in an external rotor hydraulic machine comprising the steps of:
- providing an external rotor hydraulic machine having a rotor set positioned between an inlet and an outlet, the rotor set having a first rotor mounted for rotation about a first rotor axis and a second rotor mounted for rotation about a second rotor axis;
- either:
- (i) rotating the first and second rotors about their respective axes to pump fluid from the inlet to the outlet;
- or,
- (ii) providing a high pressure fluid at the inlet to rotate the first and second rotors about their respective axes as the fluid passes to the outlet to generate a mechanical output;
- and,
- varying the output of the hydraulic machine by moving one or both of the first and second rotor axes relative to the other.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.