AU4276889A - Rotary piston compressor capacity control - Google Patents

Description

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t:: P/00/001 r Form 1 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRAI Regulation 9 Patents Act 1952 APPLICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT OR A STANDARD PATENT OF ADDITION

name(s) of (71) applicant(s) Insert address(es) of p, '..onner.. .9. of applicant(s) Insert title (54) hereby apply for the grant of a standard a patont for an invention C patent of addition of invention IMP.ROYEMEN.T Or1PRESS.IJON..DEYIC.ES (Tick appropriate box) which is described in the accompanying provisina specification. complete s hInert name of (72) The actual inventor() of the said invention is/aYe....JAMES..GORDONI...ADAMS........... actual inventor

in'sprt address (74) My/Mfu address for service is... fol servicejof ridtipes in .Attorney C Australia 6 THESE SECTIONS ARE ONLY TO BE COMPLETED WHERE APPLICABLE: For Conve tioM S (Only to be used in the case of a Convention application) applicatiors o4 Details of basic application(s)- (31) NUMBER (33) COUNTRY ISO CODE (32) DATE OF APPLICATION

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(31) NALThED w

(Only to be used in the case of a further applicationmade by virtue of Section 51) applications only (62) Number of original

Person by whom

For addition addition r onlyof patents only (Only to be used in the case of an application for a patent of addition) I request that the patent may be granted as a patent of addition applied for on

(61) Application Patent in the n a m e of I request that the term of the patent of addition be the same as that for the main invention or so much of the term of the patent for the main invention as is unexpired,

Insert day, month Dated day of. 19 and year form signed

Signature of <(Signature) applicant or Australian TO: THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS attorney This form must be accompanied by either a provisional specification (Form 9 and true copy) or by a complete specification (Form 10 and true copy). Printed by R. D. RUHlE, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra

AMENDED COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1952

APPLICATION FOR A PATENT I, JAMES GORDON ADAMS

"0.of o o 11 Fowler Street, Perenjori, Western Australia, 6602, 00 Australia 0 0 o0 o0 0 o eo

hereby apply for the grant of a Patent for the Invention *entitled:

"IMPROVEMENTS IN VAPOUR GAS COMPRESSORS"

which is described in the accompanying Provisional Specification.

My address for service is: GRANT ADAMS COMPANY, Patent S,It Attorneys, of 9th Floor, National Mutual Centre, 144 Edward S*Street, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia. I I l

ttT DATED this tenth day of October 1989.

JAMES GORDON ADAMS, by his Patent Attorneys, GRANT ADAMS COMPANY,

TO: The Commissioner of Patents, COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.

P/00/007

Patents Act 1952

DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF AN APPLICATION FOR A PATENT

in support of the Application made by jamnes nordon. .AdA

for a patent for an invention entitled

amI aVEIJNTS.Jm VAOR AND GA S COIPRESSION11 DMVICES

144, po2Q Bo...xF onrae:r, Texas,U..S.A. 779d2.. do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows:-

1. 1 am the applicant for the patent.

2. l am the actual inventor of the invention.

2I

I

at E 9 t. Q hs..a o L Declared

6 2 Texas,U.S.A.779

(Signature of Declarant)

TO: THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS.

(IMPORTANT Cross out Inapplicable words in the above Form.) ii.ii..-lii

(12) PATENT ABSTRACT (11) Document No. AU-A-42768/89 (19) AUSTRALIAN PATENT OFFICE

(54) Title ROTARY PISTON COMPRESSOR CAPACITY CONTROL

International Patent Classification(s) F04C 018/344 F04C 029/08 F04C 018/352 (21) Application No. 42768/89 (22) Application Date: 10.10.88 (23) Filing Date of Complete Specification 10.10.89 (43) Publication Date: 12.04.90 Related to Provisional(s) PJ0854 (71) Applicant(s) JAMES GORDON ADAMS (72) Inventor(s) JAMES GORDON ADAMS (74) Attorney or Agent GRANT ADAMS CO. (57) Claim

1. A hermetic vapour and gas compressor including: a rotor housing having a stator and a pair of side plates; a crankshaft rotatably journalled in the side plates and connectable to a driving means; a rotor journalled on the crankshaft for oscillating motion within the stator means; at least one seal assembly between the rotor and the housing to divide the housing into a plurality of variable capacity chambers; a respective inlet port and outlet port for each variable capacity chamber; a crankcase housing mounted on the stator to form a crankcase chamber adjacent one of the side plates; and at least one port through the one side plate to provide communication between its respective variable capacity chamber and the crankcase chamber; so arranged that by selective rotation of the one side plate relative to the stator, the swept volume, and thereby the capacity, of the variable capacity chambers may be varied.

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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1952 o S

a" S S

.0 4r Name of Applicant JAMES GORDON ADAMS

04 Address of Applicant: 11 Fowler Street, Perenjori, Western Australia, 6602, Australia

Actual Inventor JAMES GORDON ADAMS

Address for Service GRANT ADAMS COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 9th Floor, National Mutual Centre, 144 Edward Street, ttt t BRISBANE. QUEENSLAND. 4000 AUSTRALIA.

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED:

prry "IMPROVEMENTS IN VAPOUR GAS COMPRESSORS" 6

The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to the applicant.

i I

THIS INVENTION relates to improvements in vapour and gas compressors. Hermetic compressors currently available do not have sufficient adjustable capacity to accommodate the range of halogen refrigerants in use and the wide range of applications with wide ranges of input power and temperature conditions) to which they are applied. With the current concern for the environment, and particularly the damage to the earth's ozone layer by chloroflurocarbons (which include the halogen refrigerants), new refrigerant gases are being sought. These gases will have different pressure curves to the existing refrigerant gases and will magnify the problem 15 with single application compressors. t" It is an object of the present invention to tt r r provide a hermetic compressor which can be operated with a wide range of vapour or gases. It is a preferred object to provide a compressor which can be used in a wide range of different applications. It is a further preferred object to provide a compressor where the capacity can be tailored to suit the particular intended application. 25 Other preferred objects of the present *I invention will become apparent from the following decription. In a broad aspect the present invention resides in a hermetic vapour and gas compressor including: a rotor housing having a stator and a pair of side plates; a crankshaft rotatably journalled in the side plates and connectable to a driving means; a rotor journalled on the crankshaft for oscillating motion within the stator means; at least one seal assembly between the rotor and the housing to divide the housing into a plurality of variable capacity chambers; a respective inlet port and outlet port for each variable capacity chamber; a crankcase housing mounted on the stator to form a crankcase chamber adjacent one of the side plates; and at least one port through the one side plate to provide communication between its respective variable capacity chamber and the crankcase chamber; so arranged that by selective rotation of a to the one side plate relative to the stator, the swept volume, and thereby the capacity, of the variable t capacity chambers may be varied. C Preferably the shaft is journalled co-axially in the side plates and has an offset crank throw which is journalled co-axially in the rotor. Preferably the shaft is directly connected to an electric motor contained within a housing mounted on the other of the side plates. S< Preferably the shaft is hollow and open at its lower end to the crankcase chamber, an internal Archimedian screw lifting lubricant up through the shaft and supplying it to the journals by bleed holes in the shaft. Preferably there are two seal assemblies. Preferably the first seal assembly is hingedly mounted in the stator and is slidably received in a slot in the Srotor. Preferably the second seal assembly is diametrically opposed to the first seal assembly, is hingedly mounted in the stator and is slidably received in a slot in a split gudgeon rotatably journalled in the rotor.

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Preferably each seal assembly separates the inlet port of one variable capacity chamber from the exhaust port of the other variable capacity chamber. Preferably the crankcase housing encloses the one side plate and the outer peripheral portion of the side plate is clamped between the crankcase housing and the stator. Preferably a series of spaced holes or slots are provided in the outer peripheral portion of the one side plate to enable it to be rotated (or indexed) relative to the stator. To enable the invention to be fully understood, a preferred embodiment will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: If ta t

I a FIG. 1 is a perspective external view of the compressor; FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the compressor; FIG. 3 is a sectional side view taken at 900 to FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a sectional side view taken through the opposed inlet and outlet ports of the two chambers; FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view taken on line I 5-5 on FIG. 3; rr t

r «r FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of the rt r 25 crankshaft; I I FIG. 7 is a sectional plan view taken on line 7-7 on FIG. 6; 4 FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the one side plate showing the slots therethrough; and J'S" A.r 30 FIG. 9 depicts the volumetric capacity difference between a single chamber and the two chamber configuration of the present invention for a given rotor/stator/crankshaft combination. Referring to FIG. 1, the compressor comprises three sub-assemblies: the compressor assembly

11, the crankcase assembly 12 and the electric motor assembly 13 which are all bolted together for ease of manufacture, assembly and maintenance. The compressor assembly 11 (see FIGS. 2 to has a generally annular stator 14 provided with upper and lower side plates 15, 16 which are clamped together about their periphery positions by studs 17 which releasably engage the peripheral flange 18 of the crankcase housing 19. The crankshaft 20 has co-axial cheeks 21 rotatably journalled in bearings or bushes (not shown) in aligned co-axial bores 22 in the side plates 15, 16. A crankshaft throw 23, intermediate of the cheeks 21, is Sprovided eccentrically on the crankshaft 20 and is journalled in bearings or bushes (not shown) in a co- t axial bore 24 in the rotor 25 provided into the chamber defined by the stator 14 and side plates 15, 16. The rotor 25 has a central annular portion 26 (around the bore 24) with outwardly convergent-side faces and a peripheral rim 27 which is slidably received between the opposed side plates 15, 16 (see FIGS. 2 to As shown, the side plates are "stepped" in side 1 view and their central portions 15a, 16a have inclined inner faces which are substantially parallel to the convergent side faces of the rotor I The upper end of the crankshaft 20 is fitted with the armature assembly 28 of an electric motor 29 ttt mounted within the housing 30 of the electric motor t assembly 13, the housing 30 being secured to the side plate 15 by studs 31. The crankshaft 20 is hollow and open at its lower end for communication with an oil sump 32 in the crankcase housing 19. Oil in the sump is drawn up an Archimedian screw 33 in the bore of the crankshaft and is fed to the various bearings (or bushes) about the shaft via oil holes (not shown) through the walls of the crankshaft. Referring to FIG. 5, a pair of diametrically opposed seal assemblies 34, 35 co-operate with the rotor housing (defined by the stator 14 and side plates 16) and the rotor 25 to define a pair of variable volume compression chambers 36, 37, each having a respective inlet port 38 and outlet port 39. Each outlet port 39 is provided with a one-way valve 40 to prevent back flow of refrigerant into the compression chambers 36, 37. The first seal assembly 34 has a head 41 hingedly mounted in the stator 14 and a planar body 42 slidably received in a slot 43 in the rotor The second seal assembly 35 has a head 44 similarly mounted in the stator 14 but its planar body 45 is slidably received in a slot 46 in a split gudgeon 47 rotatably journalled in the rotor The configuration of the crankshaft 20, with its offset throw 23, the rotor 25 and the seal assemblies 34, 35 define that the rotor 25 oscillates in the rotor housing with the central axis of the rotor following a circular path of radius R relative to the rotational axis of the crankshaft 20 and the central 2o axis of the rotor housing 11. 25 Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, the lower side plate 16 has a pair of curved (elongate) ports 48, 49 which respectively communicate with the variable capacity chambers 36, 37 and the crankcase chamber The plurality of holes 51 around the periphery 1 1 30 of the lower side plate 16 enable the latter to be rotated relative to the stator 14, the studs 17 passing S* through the holes 51 to index its rotation. The rotation of the lower side plate 16, the area of the ports 47, 48 opened by the rotor 25 as it moves within the rotor housing is varied, thereby varying the volume i i--rm of gas or vapour which passes through the ports to the crankcase chamber The operation of the compressor will now be described. The electric motor 29 drives the shaft 20 to cause the rotor 25 to move in an orbital type motion within the rotor housing, the shape and volume of the variable capacity chambers 36, 37 continually changing. The gas to be compressed is drawn into the chambers 36, 37 via the inlet ports 38 after compression is exhausted via outlet ports 39. As the rotor 25 moves around its path, it initially opens the inlet port 38 to a chamber 36, 37 and gas is drawn into the chamber by the reduced pressure in the chamber relative to the inlet port. The rotor uncovers a portion of one of the slots 47, 48 and gas is also drawn into the chamber 36, 37 from the crankcase chamber While both the inlet port 38 and the slot 47, 48 are open, compression of the gas cannot be effected in the chamber. The rotor 25 then closes the inlet port 38 and a portion of the gas flows through the port 47, 48 into the crankcase chamber 50 as the pressure in the chamber 36, 37 begins to increase. When the port 47, 48 S 25 is closed by the rotor, the gas in the chamber 36, 37 is compressed and is then exhausted via the outlet port 39. (Because the crankcase chamber 50 is much larger in itt, volume than the variable capacity chamber 36, 37, the increase in pressure in the crankcase chamber will be n.t 30 very small e.g. 1-2 p.s.i.) The area of the slots 47, 48 which is exposed by the rotor 25 will determine the volume of gas bled to the crankcase chamber and so the effective volume of gas compressed in the chambers 36, 37 will be varied. By rotation of the lower side plate 16 relative to the stator 14, as indexed by the studs 17 passing through the holes 51 in the side plate 16, the characteristics of the compressor can be varied to suit the selected refrigerant gas. The greater the area of the slots 47, 48 exposed by the rotor, the lower the volume of gas which will be compressed in each chamber 36, 37 for each "revolution" of the rotor 25. The lower the volume of gas compressed, the lower the input power required to drive the compressor. Referring to FIG. 9, the area 60 shown in dots shows the increased displacement of the compressor when divided into two variable chambers 36, 37 by the two seal assemblies 34, 35, compared with the displacement volume of a single chamber compressor where only one seal assembly of type 34) is used. a The invention provides a simple, yet U effective, compressor for vapour or gases which can be tailored to operate with a wide range of refrigerants and under a wide range of conditions. I Various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. I

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Claims (5)

1. _jii

   The claims defining the invention are as follows:- 1. A hermetic vapour and gas compressor including: a rotor housing having a stator and a pair of side plates; a crankshaft rotatably journalled in the side plates and connectable to a driving means; a rotor journalled on the crankshaft for oscillating motion within the stator means; at least one seal assembly between the rotor and the housing to divide the housing into a plurality of variable capacity chambers; a respective inlet port and outlet port for 4 *0 *9 0 each variable capacity chamber; 15 a crankcase housing mounted on the stator to 0 qt

   0t r# form a crankcase chamber adjacent one of the side plates; and at least one port through the one side plate to provide communication between its respective variable capacity chamber and the crankcase chamber; so arranged that by selective rotation of the one side plate relative to the stator, the swept volume, and thereby the capacity, of the variable r c! capacity chambers may be varied.
2. 2. A compressor according to Claim 1 wherein: the crankshaft is journalled co-axially in the side plates and has an offset crank throw which is journalled co-axially in the rotor.
3. 3. A compressor according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 It r c 30 wherein: the crankshaft is directly connected to an electric motor contained within a housing mounting on the other of the side plates.
4. 4. A compressor according to Claim 3 wherein: the crankshaft is hollow and open at its

   .6w i i, lower end to the crankcase chamber, an internal Archimedian screw lifting lubricant up through the shaft and supplying it to the journals by bleed holes in the shaft.
5. 5. A compressor according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein: there are two seal assemblies; the first seal assembly being hingedly mounted in the stator and slidably received in a slot in the rotor; the second seal assembly being diametrically opposed to the first seal assembly, hingedly mounted in the stator and is slidably received in a slot in a split gudgeon rotatably journalled in the rotor. 15 6. A compressor according to Claim 5 wherein: oeach seal assembly separates the inlet port of one variable capacity chamber from the exhaust port of the other variable capacity chamber. 7. A compressor according to any one of Claim 1 to 6 wherein: the crankcase housing encloses the one side plate and the outer peripheral portion of the one side *l plate is clamped between the crankcase housing and the stator; and a series of spaced holes or slots are nit' provided in the outer peripheral portion of the one side t, plate to enable it to be rotated (or indexed) relative to the stator. 8. A compressor according to any one of Claims 1 30 to 7 wherein: the or each port is curved in plan view. 9. A compressor according to Claim 8 wherein: two ports are provided in the one side plate and the ports are diametrically opposed. 10. A vapour or gas compressor substantially as i I hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 11. A hermetic vapour or gas compressor as defined in Claim 1 in accordance with the accompanying drawings. DATED this tenth day of October 1989. JAMES GORDON ADAMS, by his Patent Attorneys, GRANT ADAMS COMPANY.

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