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US 8,616,831 B2Granted
Simplified housing for a fuel cell compressor
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsThomas Wollstadt, Grant William Brady, Gary L. Villeneuve
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A compressor includes a shaft assembly including a thrust disk disposed on a main shaft and a housing having a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions adapted to receive the shaft assembly and enclose the shaft assembly therebetween, wherein the shaft assembly is rotatably disposed within the housing, and wherein at least one of the first portion and the second portion includes a shaft assembly retention feature for receiving the thrust disk to regulate a motion of the shaft assembly.
Claims18
A compressor comprising:
- a shaft assembly including a thrust disk disposed on a main shaft;
- and
- a housing having a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions adapted to receive the shaft assembly and enclose the shaft assembly therebetween, wherein the shaft assembly is rotatably disposed within the housing, and wherein each of the first portion and the second portion includes a shaft assembly retention feature for receiving the thrust disk to regulate a motion of the shaft assembly, and wherein the shaft assembly retention feature is a channel formed in each of the first portion and the second portion of the housing, the channel having a front side wall defined by a first interior surface of the housing and a rear side wall defined by a second interior surface of the housing, the first interior surface spaced apart from the second interior surface and connected by a bottom surface of the channel,
- a gas bearing disposed within the shaft assembly retention features of the first portion and the second portion of the housing, the gas bearing including a pair of spaced apart first components and a pair of spaced apart second components, one of the first components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the front side wall of the first portion of the housing and another of the first components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the rear sidewall of the first portion of the housing, and one of the second components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the front side wall of the second portion of the housing and another of the second components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the rear sidewall of the second portion of the housing.
1 more element
A compressor comprising:
- a shaft assembly including a thrust disk disposed on a main shaft;
- a housing having a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions adapted to receive the shaft assembly and enclose the shaft assembly therebetween, wherein the shaft assembly is rotatably disposed within the housing, and wherein each of the first portion and the second portion includes a shaft assembly retention feature for receiving the thrust disk to regulate a motion of the shaft assembly, wherein the shaft assembly retention feature is a channel formed in each of the first portion and the second portion of the housing, the channel having a front side wall defined by a first interior surface of the housing and a rear side wall defined by a second interior surface of the housing, the first interior surface spaced apart from the second interior surface and connected by a bottom surface of the channel;
- and
- a thrust air bearing disposed within the shaft assembly retention features of the first portion and the second portion of the housing, the thrust air bearing including a pair of spaced apart first components and a pair of spaced apart second components, one of the first components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the front side wall of the first portion of the housing and another of the first components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the rear sidewall of the first portion of the housing, and one of the second components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the front side wall of the second portion of the housing and another of the second components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the rear sidewall of the second portion of the housing.
1 more element
A method for producing a compressor, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a first portion of a housing adapted to receive a shaft assembly of the compressor, wherein the shaft assembly includes a thrust disk, the first portion including a shaft assembly retention feature for receiving the thrust disk to regulate a motion of the shaft assembly, wherein the shaft assembly retention feature is a channel formed in the first portion of the housing, the channel having a front side wall defined by a first interior surface of the housing and a rear side wall defined by a second interior surface of the housing, the first interior surface spaced apart from the second interior surface and connected by a bottom surface of the channel;
- securing one of a pair of spaced apart first components of a thrust air bearing spaced apart from the bottom surface on to the front side wall of the shaft assembly retention feature formed in the first portion of the housing, and another of the pair of first components of the thrust bearing spaced apart from the bottom surface to the rear side wall of the shaft assembly retention feature formed in the first portion of the housing;
- rotatably disposing the shaft assembly in the first portion of the housing;
- providing a second portion of the housing adapted to receive the shaft assembly of the compressor, the second portion including the shaft assembly retention feature for receiving the thrust disk to regulate a motion of the shaft assembly, wherein the shaft assembly retention feature is the channel formed in the second portion of the housing, the channel having the front side wall defined by the first interior surface of the housing and the rear side wall defined by the second interior surface of the housing, the first interior surface spaced apart from the second interior surface and connected by a bottom surface of the channel;
- securing one of a pair of spaced apart second components of the thrust air bearing spaced apart from the bottom surface to the front side wall of the shaft assembly retention feature formed in the second portion of the housing, and another of the pair of second components of the thrust bearing spaced apart from the bottom surface to the rear side wall of the shaft assembly retention feature formed in the second portion of the housing;
- and
- coupling the second portion of the housing to the first portion to enclose the shaft assembly therebetween.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.