Rotating compressor
AssigneeOvation Products Corporation
InventorWilliam H. Zebuhr
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vapor-compression distiller includes a rotary heat exchanger. A reciprocating compressor (26) maintains a pressure difference between the compressor's evaporation chambers (46) and its condensation chambers (44). The compressor is assembled in a common rotating assembly with the heat exchanger, so the distiller does not need rotating seals between the compressor and heat exchanger. The compressor includes two pistons (56 and 58) driven in opposite directions in a rotating piston chamber (54). The directions in which they thereby reciprocate are substantially parallel to the rotating assembly's axis.
Claims23
A distiller that includes a liquid inlet from which it receives liquid to be purified, that produces purified liquid from liquid entering its liquid inlet, that includes a liquid outlet from which it discharges the purified liquid, and that further includes:
- A) a rotary-motion source;
- and
- B) a rotating assembly so coupled to the rotary-motion source as thereby to be imparted rotary motion about an axis of rotation and including:
- i) a heat exchanger that includes heat-transfer surfaces that form at least one evaporation chamber to which the distiller directs the liquid to be purified and at least one condensation chamber from which the distiller draws the purified liquid, the heat exchanger providing a heat-exchanger gas outlet by which gas produced in the at least one evaporation chamber can leave the heat exchanger and further providing a heat-exchanger gas inlet by which gas can reach the at least one condensation chamber;
- and
- ii) a compressor so coupled between the heat-exchanger gas outlet and the heat-exchanger gas inlet as to maintain a pressure at the heat-exchanger gas inlet higher than that at the heat-exchanger gas outlet.
A compressor that includes:
- A) a rotary-motion source;
- B) a reciprocating-motion source;
- and
- C) a rotating assembly so coupled to the rotary-motion source as thereby to be imparted rotary motion about an axis of rotation, wherein:
- i) the rotating assembly forms a piston chamber;
- and
- ii) the rotating assembly includes at least one piston slideably disposed in the piston chamber and so coupled to the reciprocating-motion source as to be reciprocated thereby within the piston chamber substantially parallel to the axis of rotation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.