Back to results
US 9,447,688 B2Granted
Indexed positive displacement rotary motion device
AssigneeExponential Technologies, Inc.
InventorsAlejandro Juan, Curtis Patterson, Kristjan Gottfried, Soheil Farshchian
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed herein is an indexing system for a rotor assembly where in one example the indexing system regulates the rotational location of drive rotors. In one example the rotors are configured to rotate about a shaft.
Claims15
A rotor assembly comprising first and second opposing rotors having first and second center axes that are offset from co-linear, the rotor assembly comprising:
- each rotor comprising one or more lobes, the lobes having offset engagement surfaces configured to engage lobe tips of the opposing rotor(s) the offset engagement surfaces being defined by a reference axis fixed to a center axis of the opposing rotor and rotating the reference axis with respect to the center axis of the offset engagement surface of the opposing rotor whereas a distance from the reference axis to the lobe tip of the opposing rotor plus a distance of a prescribed gap distance or interference fit determines the location of the offset engagement surface;
- a through shaft passing through the rotors, the through shaft having a center portion in part defining a portion of a sphere, the rotors each having an interior portion forming a portion of a concave spherical surface operatively configured to engage the center portion of the through shaft;
- an indexing system comprising an index offset surface on the first rotor, an indexer surface mounted to the through shaft where the indexer surface is positioned so as to engage the index offset surface of the second rotor as the first rotor rotates with the through shaft having a center of rotation which is not co-linear as to a center of rotation of the first rotor or second rotor.
A rotor assembly comprising:
- a first rotor having a first axis of rotation, the first rotor having a spherical engagement curve positioned in a spherical plane where the first rotor's engagement curve is defined by a plurality of points, each point having an associated position derivative vector indicating a direction of tangency to the first rotor's engagement curve, relative motion vectors at each point along the first rotor's engagement curve, the relative motion vectors defined as motion vectors of each point on the first rotor's engagement curve measured with respect to a coordinate system rigidly fixed to a second rotor, where the relative motion vectors are dependent on relative rotational positions of the first rotor with respect to the second rotor;
- and;
- the second rotor having a center rotation axis that is offset from co-linear to the axis of the first rotor, the second rotor rotating at a prescribed rotational speed with respect to the first rotor, the second rotor having a second engagement surface with a second set of spherical engagement curves positioned in the spherical planes of second rotor where the plurality of points forming the second rotor's engagement curve are measured on a coordinate system rigidly fixed to the second rotor, wherein each point of these plurality of points corresponds to a specific rotational position of the two rotors, each point created at a geometric location where one of the first rotor position derivate vectors is co-linear with one of the first rotor curve relative motion vectors, where first and second rotor curves lie on equal diameter spherical planes, are co-linear with the rotational derivative vectors and further;
- where the coordinates of the first rotor position derivate vectors, the first rotor curve relative motion vectors are the same defines a reference point and the locus of these reference points on any given spherical plane determines the second rotor's engagement curves on a spherical plane shared by the two rotors.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.