Controlled vortex regenerative pump
AssigneeSundstrand Corporation
InventorJohn E. Cygnor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A regenerative pump which has a controlled output by having movable lateral channel arcuate slots (36, 38) in channel plates (26) which are on opposite sides of a bladed rotor (18). The channel plates (26) are mounted for sliding movement to reduce the effective vortex channel length in a range from about 325.degree. to about 40.degree.. This will result in a proportional reduction of pump pressure rise and input power requirements. The position of the channel plates may be varied by a servo system that responds to a desired system output performance such as pressure rise or flow delivery rate.
Claims15
A lateral channel regenerative pump comprising:
- a housing;
- a shaft extending into said housing having an axis;
- a rotor secured to said shaft including a ring of rotor blade compartments;
- intake and discharge ports disposed in an adjacent relationship on opposite sides of a diametral plane that includes said shaft axis;
- a pair of substantially identical channel plates each having a central slot shaped opening having a major axis lying in said diametral plane and a pair of arcuate slotted openings on opposite sides of said major axis, one end of one arcuate opening being at said inlet port and one end of the other arcuate opening being at said discharge port;
- said channel plates being positioned on said shaft and mounted for sliding movement relative to the housing in a direction parallel to the major axis of said central slot shaped opening;
- the arcuate slotted openings being aligned with and providing lateral channels on opposite sides of said rotor so that when the central slot shaped opening is at one position on said rotor shaft the arcuate slotted openings are aligned with the path of said blade compartments to provide maximum pump capacity and when the central slot shaped opening is at a different position, the arcuate slotted openings are eccentric relative to the rotor blade compartments to provide a lateral channel of reduced effectiveness and thereby to reduce the pump capacity and input power requirements.
A controlled vortex regenerative pump including:
- a rotor having blades forming blade compartments which is mounted for rotation in a pump housing having two channel plates, one plate being on each side of said rotor, with vortex forming channels in each plate extending from an inlet port and from a discharge port and having two diametrically opposite bridging portions;
- one of said bridging portions serving as a seal between inlet and discharge ports for said pump;
- and
- means for sliding said channel plates in a direction perpendicular to a rotational axis of said rotor to misalign the vortex forming channels with respect to the path of the rotor blade compartments thereby to reduce pump pressure rise and input power required.
A controlled vortex regenerative pump including:
- a housing having inlet and discharge ports;
- a rotor having blades forming a constant number of blade compartments which is mounted for rotation in said housing so that the blade compartments traverse a path from the inlet port to the discharge port, said path being between lateral vortex forming channels that are on opposite sides of said rotor;
- and
- means to reduce pump pressure rise and input power required at reduced flow delivery rates by varying the effective lengths of both lateral vortex forming channels with respect to the path of the rotor blade compartments.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.