Poppet Valve Assembly, System, and Apparatus for Use in High Speed Compressor Applications

A poppet valve assembly comprising:

• a cage, said cage including a plurality of counter bores disposed therein;
• a plurality of miniature poppets formed of thermoplastic, each poppet comprising:
• an elongated stem having a first end and a second end and symmetrically defined about an elongated axis passing through the first end and the second end, the elongated stem having a spring seat formed therein and extending from the first end;
• and
• a circular head mounted on the second end of the stem and symmetrically defined about the elongated axis, the circular head characterized by an outer diameter and an outer periphery and having a bottom surface and a top surface with an edge formed at the periphery of the circular head, wherein the bottom surface abuts the second end of the stem, wherein a portion of the top surface adjacent the edge forms an abutment surface characterized by a tangent that forms an angle of approximately 30 degrees with the elongated axis, wherein the outer diameter of the head is no more than 0.75 inches,
• wherein the stem is disposed in a corresponding one of the said plurality of counter bores, wherein the outer surface of the head is convex, wherein the abutment surface is a flat shoulder;
• a seat plate overlying said cage, said seat plate including a plurality of through bores axially aligned with the plurality of counter bores of the cage, wherein each of the plurality of through bores is sized to have a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the head, wherein an edge of each of a plurality of through bores includes a chamfer characterized by a chamfer angle is approximately 30 degrees, wherein the seat plate is removably coupled to the cage;
• a lift spacer disposed in a plurality of counter bores, wherein said lift spacer includes an aperture there through;
• and
• a spring disposed in the partially hollow stem of each of the plurality of poppets so as to seat in the corresponding one of the plurality of counter bores.

A compressor system, the compressor system comprising:

• a compressor operable at speeds of between 900 rpm and 1500 rpm, said compressor further comprising a poppet valve assembly comprising:
• a cage, said cage including a plurality of counter bores disposed therein;
• a plurality of miniature poppets, each poppet comprising:
• an elongated stem having a first end and a second end and symmetrically defined about an elongated axis passing through the first end and the second end, the elongated stem having a spring seat formed therein and extending from the first end;
• and
• a circular head mounted on the second end of the stem and symmetrically defined about the elongated axis, the circular head characterized by an outer diameter and an outer periphery and having a bottom surface and a top surface with an edge formed at the periphery of the circular head, wherein the bottom surface abuts the second end of the stem, wherein a portion of the top surface adjacent the edge forms an abutment surface characterized by a tangent that forms an angle of approximately 30 degrees with the elongated axis, wherein the outer diameter of the head is no more than 0.74 inches,
• wherein the stem is disposed in a corresponding one of the said plurality of counter bores, wherein the outer surface of the head is convex, wherein the abutment surface is a flat shoulder;
• a seat plate overlying said cage, said seat plate including a plurality of through bores axially aligned with the plurality of counter bores of the cage, wherein each of the plurality of through bores is sized to have a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the head, wherein an edge of each of a plurality of through bores includes a chamfer characterized by a chamfer angle of approximately 30 degrees, wherein the seat plate is removably coupled to the cage, wherein a combined surface area of the plurality of poppets is at least approximately 50% of a surface area of the cage;
• a lift spacer disposed in a plurality of counter bores, wherein said lift spacer includes an aperture therethrough;
• and
• a spring disposed in the partially hollow stem of each of the plurality of poppets so as to seat in the corresponding one of the plurality of counter bores.