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US 6,663,357 B2Granted
Vane pump wear sensor for predicted failure mode
AssigneeGoodrich Pump & Engine Control Systems, Inc.
InventorsWilliam H. Dalton, Kurt G. Grochowski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vane pump is disclosed for use with gas turbine engines adapted and configured to provide a failure mode similar to that of a traditional gear pump. The vane pump includes a pump housing, a cam member, a cylindrical rotor member and a mechanism for communicating a high pressure fluid from the discharge arc region to the inlet arc region when the tip surface of each vane element has experienced a predetermined amounted of wear so as to prevent pump startup. The wearing of the tip surface of each vane element resulting from the slideable engagement with the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity.
Claims22
A vane pump comprising:
- a) a pump housing having a cylindrical interior chamber defining a central axis through which a vertical centerline and a horizontal centerline extend;
- b) a cam member mounted within the interior chamber of the pump housing and having a bore extending therethrough and defining a circumferential surface of a pumping cavity, the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity including a discharge arc segment, an inlet arc segment and seal arc segments separating the inlet arc segment and the discharge arc segments from one another;
- c) a cylindrical rotor member mounted for rotational movement within the bore of the cam member about the central axis of the interior chamber, the rotor member having a central body portion having first and second axially opposed end surfaces and a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radially extending vane slots formed therein, each vane slot supporting a corresponding vane element mounted for radial movement therein, each vane element having a radially outer tip surface adapted for slideably engaging the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity and a radially inner undervane portion within each vane slot;
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- d) means associated with the first end surface of the rotor member for communicating a high pressure fluid from a discharge arc region to an inlet arc region so as to prevent pump start-up, the fluid communication occurring when the tip surface of a vane element has worn a predetermined amount with respect to the undervane portion of such vane element.
2 more elements
A vane pump comprising:
- a) a pump housing having a cylindrical interior chamber defining a central axis through which a vertical centerline and a horizontal centerline extend;
- b) a cam member mounted within the interior chamber of the pump housing and having a bore extending therethrough and defining a circumferential surface of a pumping cavity, the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity including a discharge arc segment, an inlet arc segment and seal arc segments separating the inlet arc segment and the discharge arc segments from one another;
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- c) a cylindrical rotor member mounted for rotational movement within the bore of the cam member about the central axis of the interior chamber, the rotor member having a central body portion which includes first and second axially opposed end surfaces and a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radially extending vane slots formed therein, each vane slot supporting a corresponding vane element mounted for radial movement therein, each vane element having a radially outer tip surface adapted for slideably engaging the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity and a radially inner undervane portion within each vane slot, the first end surface of the body portion having arcuate channels formed therein and extending between each vane slot, the arcuate channels for providing a path for high pressure fluid to leak from the discharge arc segment to the inlet arc segment of the pumping cavity when each vane tip surface has worn such that the undervane portion is positioned radially outward of the arcuate channels.
1 more element
A vane pump comprising:
- a) a pump housing having a cylindrical interior chamber defining a central axis through which a vertical centerline and a horizontal centerline extend;
- b) a cam member mounted within the interior chamber of the pump housing and having a bore extending therethrough and defining a circumferential surface of a pumping cavity, the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity including a discharge arc segment, an inlet arc segment and seal arc segments separating the inlet arc segment and the discharge arc segments from one another;
- c) a cylindrical rotor member mounted for rotational movement within the bore of the cam member about the central axis of the interior chamber, the rotor member having a central body portion having first and second axially opposed end surfaces and a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radially extending vane slots formed therein, each vane slot supporting a corresponding vane element mounted for radial movement therein, each vane element having a radially outer tip surface adapted for slideably engaging the circumferential surface of the pumping cavity and a radially inner undervane portion within each vane slot;
- d) a leak path for communicating fluid from a discharge arc region to an inlet arc region when the cam member is in a start-up position and an undervane portion of a vane is positioned radially outward of the leak path when such vane is positioned in a seal arc segment of the pumping cavity;
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- e) first and second axially spaced apart end plates disposed within the interior chamber of the pump housing, each end plate having a first surface which is adjacent to the rotor member, each first surface forming an axial end portion of the pumping cavity, each end plate spaced from the rotor member so as to allow frictionless rotation of the rotor member within the pumping cavity.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.