US 5,489,199 AGranted

Blade sealing arrangement for continuous combustion, positive displacement, combined cycle, pinned vane rotary compressor and expander engine system

AssigneeSpread Spectrum

InventorWilliam R. Palmer

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Abstract

A pinned vane type, positive displacement, rotary device includes a tangentially translatable roller arrangement for sealing each of a plurality of rotatable blades that are pivotally attached to an inner hub and extend through blade spreader elements of an outer hub assembly to contact the interior surface of the device. Each of roller elements on either side of a respective blade is allowed to rotate about its own axis, while the unloaded one of the roller elements is allowed to translate tangentially relative to a circular path described by the outer hub assembly. The sealing arrangement accommodates pivoting of the blade about an axis that passes through the blade in the radial direction from the inner hub to the interior surface of the housing, so that the contact surface between each roller element and its associated blade has no gaps across the surface of the blade between outer hub assemblies. The sealing arrangement also includes sealing elements biased against the rollers preventing gas leakage during translation motion of the unloaded roller element.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A pinned vane type, positive displacement, rotary device comprising:

a housing having a working fluid chamber surrounding a first axis and an inlet port through which a working fluid is introduced into said working fluid chamber;
an inner hub surrounding and rotatable about said first axis;
an outer hub assembly, having a plurality of spreader elements, disposed inside said chamber and surrounding said inner hub, said outer hub assembly being rotatable about a second axis, which is offset from said first axis;
a plurality of blades, each of which extends radially from said inner hub and passes through said spreader elements of said outer hub assembly to an interior surface of said chamber, thereby forming a plurality of relatively airtight compartments between said interior surface of said chamber, said spreader elements of said outer hub assembly, and respective pairs of blades, with the volume of said compartments varying as a function of rotative position about said first axis;
and
a linkage arrangement, which interconnects said inner hub with said outer hub exclusive of said blades;
and wherein said outer hub assembly contains a ring member arrangement which supports a first, loaded roller element at a first side of said blade spreader element for rotation about a first longitudinal axis of said first roller element, and supports a second, unloaded roller element at a second side of said blade spreader element for rotation about a second longitudinal axis of said second roller element and which allows said second, unloaded roller element to translate generally tangentially with respect to a travel path described by said ring member arrangement of said outer hub assembly in accordance with the rotational position of said outer hub assembly about said second axis.

4 more elements

A rotary device comprising:

a housing having an interior working fluid chamber surrounding a first axis and an inlet port into which a working fluid is introduced;
an outer hub assembly, disposed inside said chamber and surrounding a second axis, said second axis being offset from said first axis;
an inner hub, disposed inside said outer hub assembly, and surrounding said first axis;
a plurality of blades, each of which extends radially from said inner hub and passes through said outer hub assembly to an interior surface of said chamber, thereby forming a plurality of relatively airtight compartments between said interior surface of said chamber, said outer hub assembly, and respective pairs of blades, with the volume of said compartments varying as a function of rotative position about said first axis;
and
a linkage arrangement, which interconnects said inner hub with said outer hub exclusive of said blades;
and wherein
said outer hub assembly includes a pair of ring members arranged at opposite ends of said blades, each ring member supporting opposite ends of first, non load-bearing and second, load-bearing sealing roller elements of respective pairs of sealing roller elements on first and second sides of respective blades, and further including a plurality of blade spreader elements respectively disposed between respective pairs of sealing roller elements adjacent said blades, such that, irrespective of the rotational position of said outer hub assembly about said second axis, said first, non load-bearing sealing roller elements are translatable with respect to said ring members and are urged into sealing engagement with first sides of said blades, and such that said second, load-bearing sealing roller elements are urged in load-bearing engagement with second sides of said blades and said ring members.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/315,095Filed 29 Sep 1994 · continuation in part
Priority: 4 Sep 1992
Granted: 6 Feb 1996
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

F01C 1/352
With vanes reciprocating with respect to the inner member: the vanes being pivoted on the axis of the outer member
F01C 11/004
Of similar working principle: and of complementary function, e.g. internal combustion engine with supercharger
F02B 53/00
Internal-combustion aspects of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston engines
F02B 2053/005
Internal-combustion aspects of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston engines: wankel engines