CA1044603A

CA1044603A - Vane type orbital engine

Info

Publication number: CA1044603A
Application number: CA 244990
Authority: CA
Inventors: Tony R. Sarich
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-11-06
Filing date: 1976-02-02
Publication date: 1978-12-19
Also published as: IN142402B; PL92389B1; AU7495674A; SE7411730L; GB1450612A; JPS5079167A; AR209918A1; ATA890674A; AT338708B; ZA746555B; CH608470A5; FR2249844B1; JPS555398B2; IL45829A0; NL7413332A; IT1022500B; FR2249844A1; BR7409231A; DD116213A5; DE2452295C3

Abstract

ABSTRACT
An orbital type engine having a number of vanes supported for reciprocatory movement in the housing of the engine and supported in slots in the peripheral wall of the engine and the opposed endwalls. The bearing areas between the vane and the respective slots in the housing comprising three independent areas arranged in a triangular formation one located in the slot in the peripheral wall of the engine and the other two in the slots in the respective end walls.

Description

~o~4~03 This invention relates to motors of theVane type I
including a housing, a piston member supported to move with-in the housing, and a plurality of vanes defining chambers between the housing and piston member, said chambers varying in volume in sequence in response to the relative movement between the piston member and housing. The motor may be in the form of a heat engine operating on internal or external combustion or a hydraulic or pneumatic motor.
There have been proposed numerous constructions of motors wherein the relative movement between the piston mem-ber and housing is either rotary or orbital, and a common -., problem with such motors is to provide adequate support for the vanes. In some of the proposed constructions, the vanes are slidably mounted in either the housing or piston member :
for reciprocatory movement, and may thus be supported at the opposite axial ends in slots parallel to the direction of reciprocation, and in a slot located transverse to said di-rection. One such construction is disclosed in my United : : .
~ States~Pa~tent No. 3,787,150.
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20 ~ In my previously proposed construction the vane is supported over its full length in the respective directions which~does result in some disadvantages. Since for manufac- ;
tur;ing purposes the component supporting the vane cannot be produced~in one piece, misalignment between the elements of the component must~result upon assembly. If fine manufactur-;ing tolerances are applied, production costs are high, while if more generous tolerances are permitted substantial :,:

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misalignment may result with a consequent excess clearance of high friction.
It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a motor of the vane type wherein the vanes are adequately supported without adversely af~ecting the operation or manufacture of the engine. - ;~
With this object in view there is provided according to the present invention a motor of the vane type including a housing, a shaft journalled for rotation in said housing, a piston member supported on the shaft for orbital movement in the housing as the shaft rotates, and a plurality of vanes --arranged to define chambers between the housing and piston member that vary in volume in sequences in response to relative movement between the piston member and housing, each vane being supported in one of the members selected from the group con-sisting of the piston member and the housing for reciprocatory movement relative thereto in the plane of the vane as the piston member orbits, characterised in that each vane is . .
supported in said selected member throughout said reciprocatory movement by only three bearing structures arranged relative to one another to form throughout the extent of said reciprocat-ory movement a three location support formation in the plane of the vane, a first of said bearing structures being spaced in the radial direction from the other two bearing structures, ~ .
and said other two bearing structures being spaced from each other in the axial direction.
Conveniently the housing is formed by a peripheral wall ' . ~ . . .

~ - 3 -and opposed end walls, with each vane supported in respective slots in the peripheral and end walls for reciprocatory move ment. One of the bearing structures is disposed within the slot in the peripheral wall and the other two locations are in the slots in the respective end walls.
The bearing structures in the slot in the housing peripheral wall may be formed by two bearing pads, one in each of the two opposite walls of the slot so as to engage opposite faces of the vane. The vane may have a body portion extending from the piston member periphery into the slot in the housing peripheral wall, and a leg portion attached to each axial end of the body portion. ~he leg portions are located in the slots in the housing end walls and extend inwardly of the periphery -of the piston member. The other two bearing structures may be formed by bearing pads on the leg portions, preferably located inwardly of the piston member periphery, which slidably engage the opposite walls of the slot Each vane leg may be provided with an integral pin or journal to receive a lug which slidablvv engages a slot in the side wall of the piston member to control the movement of the vane during orbiting of the piston member.
By providing the vane with three bearing structures in a triangular formation the vane will readily take-up a position to distribute the load applied thereto between the three locations. ~he triangular formation of the bearing structures will also compensate for any small degree of misalignment between the bearing pads in the housing peripheral wall and the sides of the slots in the housing end walls on which the vane legs bear. The compensation for misalignment is further assisted by the flexibility in the vane legs. Thus the machin-, . ,.. , .. .:

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ing accuracy required of the housing and end plates ic reduced to a level readily achieved by normal machining procedures.
In addition, since the three bearing structures are in a :: -triangular formation, the vane can align with the respective bearing structures in the housing to obtain good surface contact between the mating surface resulting in a reduced O ~
rate of wear ~ :
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- 4a -., ,, .. - , , .~. ., :.: '' ! ~. ". . . ' ' ' ' 1()44603 and reduced friction. Also if thevane is supported in the housing peripheral wall slot over the full width of the vane, any tendancy for the vane to bend along the axial dimension due to the gas pressure is minimised. This reduction in dis- ¦~
tortion of the vane aids in reducing metal fatigue and allows a lighter vane construction.
The bearing pads may be formed as an integral part of the housing or vane, with or without a surface coating of bearing material, or may be an insert attached thereto. The insert may be made entirely of suitablebearing material such as phosphor bronze, or may be made of any other material of suitable mechanical and thermal properties with a layer of suitable bearing material on the bearing face. Preferably the insert is attached to the housing end wall, since the latter experiences less thermal distortion during engine op-eration, and hence provides a more constant reference for the insert.
The present invention is particularly applicable to ~ the internal combustion engine and the subject of United States Patent No. 3,787,150. In such an engine the vanes are ~I supported in the housing for reciprocation in a direction normal to the plane of the shaft axis, and the vanes are con-nected to the piston member so that each vane may move rela-tive thereto in a direction normal to the direction of recip-rocation of the vane. This piston member is provided with flat surfaces on the periphery and the radially inner end of each vane engage one of the flat surfaces throughout the ex-tent of the movement , .~ .; . ,' . j. . ' `' '. ' ' ' . ` I ' ` , . ` . ' ~ ` ' ,~, . .

~~ loyv~o3 between the pisto~ membcr i~nd lht~ vi-~ne. Each vane has a leg '~
at each axirll end which extends radia~ly inward of the I'la-t surfaces on the plston member periphery, and the legs carry lugs which slidably engage respective slots in the piston member, parallel to the flat surface which the vane en~ages.
Two of the support locations ~or the vane are provided on the respective legs adjacent the respective lugs.
The invention will be more readily understood frcm the following description of an internal combustion engine incorporating the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings -FIGURE 1 is a view in the direction of the axis of t,hécrankshaft with part of the end plate removed FIGURE 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2 in ~igure 1 FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view of one vane and adjacent portions of the housing and piston member.
The engine comprises an outer peripheral casing 10 and -opposed end plates ll, llA attached by bolts to the outer casing 10. Bearings 15 mounted in the end plates rotatably support the crankshaft 16 for rotation about the axis of the - ''~
outer casing 10. A piston member 13 and piston hub and bearing~
14 are mounted on the eccentric journal 17 of the crankshaft 16.
The space between the piston member 13 and the casing 10 is - .:
divided into a number of combustion chambers by the provision of vanes 18 which at the inner end abut respective flat faces ,-19 on the piston and are slidably suppor,ted into slots 18A in t`he outer-casing 10.
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)3 I'he vanes have v~ne legs 20 which extend axial]y out beyond t~le piston member and radially inward from the circum-ference of tlle plston member. The vane legs 20 are slidab]y supported in radial slots in eIld plates 11 and llA. ~lhe vane legs 20 have actuating lugs 21 pinned thereto and slidably engaged in slots 22 in the piston member end face to ensvre that the vanes cannot mo~e radially with respect to the piston member while allowing circumferential movement between the piston member and the vane along the flat faces 19.
Each combustion chamber is sealed by the provision of ;
seals such as piston seals 30 between piston member 13 and end plates 11 and llA, vane seals 31 between vane 18 and piston flat 19, and housing seals 32 between vane 18 and outer casing 10. Each combustion chamber is provided with a spark plug 34.
- Through a por-t 35 in the end plate llA each chamber is connectedwith the disc valve 36 which is supported to rotate about the centre line of the outer casing 10. The number and position of the passages in the disc valve 36 is such that each chamber is connected with the inlet manifold 38, blanked off for compression and power stroke ~nd then connected with the , .
exhausts 39 in the desired sequence and with the proper timing.
It is to be understood that the engine may also operate with conventional poppet valve or on the two stroke cycle, and the modification necessary could be readily effected by a skilled engineer.
;~ The stabilisii1~ plate 41 (control membe-) is rotatably supported on the jou~lal 42, provided on the crankshaft 16, co-axial with the eccentric 3ournal 17 carrying the piston ..... , ~ .. . . . . . , ~ . ~

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:-`` 1()44~03 member 13. The stabiliser plate 41 has an outwardly project-ing tongue on the periphery thereof which is received in a radial slot in the piston member. The function of the stabili-ser plate 41, and its construction and mounting is described in greater detail in my co-pending Patent Application No. 454/75.
As shown in Figure 3 each vane 18 is supported for reciprocation in the housing by the pair of bearing strips 50 mounted in the walls of the slot 18A in the outer casing 10, and the bearing pads 52 on the radially inner portion of the legs 20 of the vane. The bearing strips 50 are preferably of phosphor bonze or other suitable bearing material, and are held in position by an interference fit in the groove in the housing or by suitable fastenings such as set screws. The faces of the vane 18 which engage the bearing strips 50 are plain faces without any particular surface treatment. It will be noted that the bearing strips 50 are positioned in the slot 18A
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outwardly from the seals 32 so that the bearing strips are not ~ ;
in direct contact with the combustion gases and consequently operate at a lower temperature.
The bearing pads 52 on the inner portion of the legs 20 of the vane are formed by increasing the width of the leg in the area of the pads so that only the pads contact the op-posite walls of the radial slot 20A in the end plates of the housing. As it is difficult to form the bearing pads 52 of a different material to the remainder of the vane leg. The op-posite walls of the slot 20A in which the bearing pads 52 slide may be formed by inserts 53 and the bearing pads 52 or inserts 53 or both may be of a suitable bearing material such as phos-phor bronze.
~30 A portion of the vane leg located between the bearing ~

)3 pads 52 and the outer periphery of the piston member 13 carries a control pad 54 which co-operates with the seals 30 in the side face of the piston member.
The axial end faces of the vanes and the mating face on the vane legs are formed with interfitting tongues and grooves 55 which transmit the load between the vanes and the , vane legs in the circumferential direction which is the main direction of loading. Relative movement between the vane and the vane legs in the radial direction is prevented by a single pin 56 passing through the vane leg and screwed into the vane.
The vane lug 21 which is slidably received in the slot 22 in the piston side wall is mounted upon the pin 57 which is formed as an integral part of the vane leg 20, The lug 21 is held on the integral pin 57 by a circlip or other suitable fastening.
It is to be understood that although the invention has been described with respect to an internal combustion engine it may also be applied to other forms of motors, such as hydrau-lic motors or steam engines, of the orbital type.
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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A motor of the vane type including a housing, a shaft journalled for rotation in said housing, a piston member supported on the shaft for orbital movement in the housing as the shaft rotates, and a plurality of vanes arranged to define chambers between the housing and piston member that vary in volume in sequences in response to relative movement between the piston member and housing, each vane being supported in one of the members selected from the group consisting of the piston member and the housing for reciprocatory movement relative thereto in the plane of the vane as the piston member orbits, characterised in that each vane is supported in said selected member throughout said reciprocatory movement by only three bearing structures arranged relative to one another to form throughout the extent of said reciprocatory movement a three location support formation in the plane of the vane, a first of said bearing structures being spaced in the radial direction from the other two bearing structures, and said other two bearing structures being spaced from each other in the axial direction.

2. A motor of the vane type as claimed in claim 1 wherein the housing is formed by a peripheral wall and opposed end walls and each vane is supported for said reciprocatory movement in slots in said peripheral and end walls, said first bearing structure being within the slot in the peripheral wall and the other two bearing structures being located res-pectively one in each end wall slot.

3. A motor as claimed in claim 2 wherein the bearing structure within the slot in the housing peripheral wall is formed by two bearing pads one in each of two opposed walls of the said slot, said pads engaging opposite faces of the vane parallel to the direction of reciprocatory movement.

4. A motor as claimed in claim 3 wherein seal means are operatively interposed between said walls of the slot in the peripheral wall and said faces of the vane, and said bearing pads are located radially outward of said seal means relative to the piston means.

5. A motor as claimed in claim 3 or 4 wherein the bearing pads in the opposed wall of the slot in the peripheral wall engage the opposite faces of the vane over the full axial length of the vane.

6. A motor as claimed in claim 3 wherein the bearing pads are inserts mounted in the peripheral wall of the housing.

7. A motor as claimed in claim 2 wherein each of said other two bearing structures includes two bearing pads one on each of two opposite sides of the associated vane, said bearing pads engaging opposite walls of the slot in the housing end wall.

8. A motor as claimed in claim 7 wherein each vane has at each axial end thereof a portion extending inward of the periphery of the piston member and the two bearing pads compris-ing raised surfaces of opposite sides of the extending portion.

9. A motor as claimed in claim 7 wherein each vane has a body portion extending from the periphery of the piston member into the slot in the housing peripheral wall, and a leg portion attached to each axial end of the body portion and located res-pectively in the slots in the housing end walls, each of said leg portions extending inwardly of the periphery of the piston member and the two bearing pads comprising raised surfaces on opposite sides of the leg portion radially inwardly of the piston member periphery.

10. A motor as claimed in claim 7 wherein the said walls of each slot in each end wall of the housing are each formed by an insert of bearing material at least over the portion thereof which engages the bearing pads on the vane.

11. A motor as claimed in claim 9 wherein each vane leg portion and the axial end of the vane body portion to which it is attached are provided with an interfitting tongue and groove formation extending in the direction of the length of the leg portion.

12. A motor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the vanes are connected to the piston member so that each vane may move relative thereto in a direction normal to the direction of reciprocatory movement of the vane relative to the housing, the inner end of each vane engaging a respective flat face on the periphery of the piston member parallel to the direction of relative movement between the vane and piston member throughout the extent of said movement.

13. A motor as claimed in claim 12 wherein each vane has a leg portion at each axial end extending radially inwardly of the periphery of the piston member, each leg portion having a boss formed thereon carrying an actuating lug, said lug slidably engaging a slot in the piston member parallel to the flat face engaged by the associated vane, said lugs sliding in the slots forming the connection between the vane and piston member.

14. A motor as claimed in claim 12 wherein the housing is formed by a peripheral wall and opposed end walls and each vane is supported for said reciprocatory movement in slots in said peripheral and end walls, said one bearing structure being within the slot in the peripheral wall and the other two bearing structures being respectively one in each end wall slot.

15. A motor as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bearing pads or the vane are formed by an insert or coating on the vane of suitable bearing material.