JP7465852B2 - Vortex Blower - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for adjusting the gap of a vortex blower.

A vortex blower is equipped with an impeller having an annular flow passage from adjacent intake ports to a discharge port, a motor that drives the impeller, and a bearing that is provided between the motor and the impeller to support the motor shaft (see Patent Document 1). The performance of this type of vortex blower changes depending on the change in the gap between the casing and the impeller. The gap is adjusted by changing the amount of gap adjustment shim that is placed between the bearing and the impeller.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 04-124495

However, the vortex blower shown in Patent Document 1 had the problem that it had to be disassembled to adjust the gap, the amount of shim had to be adjusted, and then it had to be reassembled.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology and provide a vortex blower that allows the gap to be adjusted without disassembly and assembly.

The present invention comprises an electric motor having a rotating shaft extending in a first direction, an impeller having an annular groove and blades located in the groove and attached to the rotating shaft, and a casing having an air passage facing the opening of the groove and positioned at a distance from the impeller in the first direction, the casing having a protrusion extending in the first direction, the protrusion having an elongated hole extending in the first direction, and a fixing member located in the elongated hole and fixing the relative positions of the electric motor and the casing.

The present invention provides a vortex blower that allows the gap to be adjusted without disassembly and assembly.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vortex blower according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a casing of the vortex blower according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway vertical cross-sectional view of a vortex blower according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main portion of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a graph showing a change in performance when adjusting a gap according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional vortex blower. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main portion of FIG. 6 . FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway vertical sectional view of a vortex blower according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a front view of a vortex blower according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the long hole of the embodiment. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the slot of FIG. 10 .

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a vortex blower according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in Fig. 1, the vortex blower 100 is configured to include a motor (electric motor) 110, an impeller 120, a casing 130, and a base portion 140. Fig. 1 illustrates the motor 110, the impeller 120, and the casing 130 in a state separated in the axial direction Ax. Fig. 1 also illustrates the motor 110, the casing 130, and the base portion 140 in a state separated in the vertical direction (up-down direction).

The motor 110 is configured by combining a shaft (rotating shaft) 111, a rotor 112 (see FIG. 3) fixed to the shaft 111, a stator 113 (see FIG. 3) that applies a rotational force to the rotor 112, and a motor case 114 that houses the rotor 112 and the stator 113. One end of the shaft 111 protrudes from the motor case 114 toward the impeller 120.

A flange portion 115 is formed at the lower part of the vertical direction of the motor case 114, protruding in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction Ax (first direction) of the shaft 111. This flange portion 115 is a member for fixing the motor 110 to the base portion 140, and is formed in a substantially plate-like shape along the axial direction Ax. In addition, a bolt insertion hole 115a through which a bolt 150 (fixing member) is inserted is formed on the side of the flange portion 115 where the impeller 120 is located. In addition, a bolt insertion hole 115b through which a bolt 151 is inserted is formed on the side of the flange portion 115 opposite the side where the impeller 120 is located. In FIG. 1, only one flange portion 115 is shown, but a similar flange portion is formed on the opposite side of the motor case 114, and the bolt insertion holes 115a and 115b are similarly formed in the flange portion.

The impeller 120 has a shroud 123 provided with a disk portion 121 (see FIG. 3) fixed to the shaft 111 and a curved portion 122 (see FIG. 3). The curved portion 122 is configured so that its concave surface faces the motor 110 side (the casing 130 side). In addition, an annular groove portion 124 (see FIG. 3) is formed on the inner surface of the curved portion 122. The impeller 120 may be formed integrally with the shaft 111.

The groove portion 124 is defined by a plurality of vanes, i.e., blades 125, which are provided at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction within the curved portion 122 (see FIG. 3) of the shroud 123. A centrifugal groove is formed between adjacent blades 125 in the circumferential direction. The blades 125 are curved in the axial direction Ax along the shaft 111 so that the front side in the rotation direction of the impeller 120 is concave, and are curved so that both radial ends protrude forward in the rotation direction from the radial center. In this way, the blades 125 are of a curved type that are curved three-dimensionally in two-dimensional directions along the circumferential surface and in the axial direction Ax along the rotation axis.

The casing 130 has a curved portion 132 formed integrally with the annular portion 131 (see FIG. 2). This curved portion 132 has a stationary flow passage 132s (ventilation passage) that faces the opening of the groove portion 124. In addition, the casing 130 has a cylindrical portion 133 formed integrally with the outer periphery of the curved portion 132, the cylindrical portion 133 protruding in the axial direction Ax.

A casing cover 160 (see FIG. 3) is attached to the cylindrical portion 133 of the casing 130. The impeller 120 is covered by the casing cover 160. Note that the casing cover 160 is not shown in FIG. 1.

The base portion 140 is a pedestal portion to which the motor 110 is fixed, and fixing holes 141a, 141b for fixing the motor 110 with bolts 150, 151 are formed on the upper surface 140a. Note that, although the fixing holes 141a, 141b are formed in four locations in FIG. 1, one fixing hole 141a is not shown. Also, the number of fixing holes 141a, 141b is not limited to four locations, and may be set appropriately.

The base portion 140 has an intake passage 142 and a discharge passage 143 formed side by side horizontally on the side facing the axial direction Ax. A connection port 142a for connecting an intake pipe (not shown) is formed at the outer end of the intake passage 142, and air is supplied to the intake passage 142 from the outside via the intake pipe. A connection port 143a for connecting an exhaust pipe (not shown) is formed at the outer end of the exhaust passage 143. A silencer (not shown) is also incorporated in the intake passage 142, and a silencer (not shown) is also incorporated in the exhaust passage 143.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an impeller of a vortex blower according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2, the casing 130 is formed with an intake port 134 connected to an intake passage 142 formed in the base portion 140 (see FIG. 1), and a discharge port 135 connected to a discharge passage 143. The intake port 134 communicates with one end of a stationary passage 132s formed in the curved portion 132. The discharge port 135 communicates with the other end of the stationary passage 132s formed in the curved portion 132.

The casing 130 has a protrusion 136 formed above the suction port 134, which extends toward the motor 110 (see FIG. 1). The casing 130 has a protrusion 137 formed above the discharge port 135, which extends along the axial direction Ax toward the motor 110 (see FIG. 1). The positions of the protrusions 136 and 137 are not limited to the top of the suction ports 134 and 135, and can be changed as appropriate. The protrusions 136 and 137 are formed, for example, in a rectangular plate shape and extend along the axial direction Ax (see FIG. 1). The protrusions 136 and 137 have long holes 136a and 137a. The long holes 136a and 137a extend along the axial direction Ax and penetrate in the vertical direction (up and down).

3 is a partially cutaway longitudinal sectional view of a vortex blower according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the upper part is cut at the position of the shaft 111, and the lower part is cut at the position of the protrusion 137.
As shown in FIG. 3, an arc-shaped (approximately annular) stationary flow passage 132s is formed on the inner surface of the curved portion 132 of the casing 130. An intake port 134 (see FIG. 2) is formed on the outer circumferential side of one end of the stationary flow passage 132s in the circumferential direction, and the intake port 134 is connected to the intake flow passage 142 (see FIG. 1). Also, an exhaust port 135 is formed on the outer circumferential side of the other end of the stationary flow passage 132s in the circumferential direction, and the exhaust port 135 is connected to the exhaust flow passage 143. In this way, the part that communicates the intake flow passage 142 and the stationary flow passage 132s is the intake port 134. Also, the part that communicates the exhaust flow passage 143 and the stationary flow passage 132s is the exhaust port 135. The intake port 134 and the exhaust port 135 are each provided on the radially outer circumferential side of the stationary flow passage 132s.

The shaft 111 is provided with bearings 116, 116 on both sides of the shaft 111 in the axial direction Ax. The bearing 116 is, for example, a ball type, with the inner ring 116a fixed to the shaft 111 and the outer ring 116b fixed to the bracket 114a of the motor 110.

The discharge port 135 and the discharge flow path 143 are sealed, for example, via a sealant 144, so that air does not leak out from the gap between the discharge port 135 and the discharge flow path 143. Although not shown in the figure, the suction port 134 and the suction flow path 142 are also sealed in the same way via a sealant, so that air does not leak out from the gap at the connection between the suction port 134 and the suction flow path 142.

The flange portion 115 formed on the motor case 114 has a notch groove 115c into which the protrusion portion 137 is slidably inserted. The notch groove 115c has a shape in which the surface (lower surface) facing the upper surface 140a of the base portion 140 is open. By fixing the motor 110 to the base portion 140, the notch groove 115c and the upper surface 140a of the base portion 140 form a hole 115d into which the protrusion portion 137 is freely inserted. Similarly, a notch groove is formed on the flange portion 115 on the protrusion portion 136 side, and a hole into which the protrusion portion 136 is freely inserted is formed. The protrusion portion 137 moves in the axial direction Ax inside this hole 115d, so that the casing 130 can be moved in the axial direction Ax. This makes it possible to change the relative position (relative position) between the motor 110 and the casing 130. As a result, the gap between the impeller 120 and the casing 130 can be adjusted without using shims and adjusting the amount of shims.

Furthermore, the flange portion 115 and the base portion 140 are fixed to each other by inserting the bolt 151 into the bolt insertion hole 115b of the flange portion 115 and screwing it into the fixing hole 141b of the base portion 140 (see FIG. 1).

The protrusion 137 is inserted into the hole 115d so as to be freely movable in the axial direction Ax. After the protrusion 137 is inserted into the hole 115d, the bolt 150 is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 115a of the flange portion 115. The bolt 150 is then inserted into the long hole 137a (see FIG. 2) of the protrusion 137 and screwed into the fixing hole 141a formed in the upper surface 140a of the base portion 140. Note that by tightening the bolt 150, the protrusion 137 is pressed down within the hole 115d, and movement in the axial direction Ax is restricted. Note that the protrusion 136 is also fixed by the bolt 150 in the same manner as the protrusion 137, and movement in the axial direction Ax is restricted.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main portion of FIG.
As shown in Fig. 4, the motor 110 is provided with a lid 117 at one end in the axial direction Ax of a cylindrical motor case 114, which closes one end of the motor case 114. Note that the lid 117 is a portion shown in Fig. 4 without hatching. The lid 117 is fixed to a bracket 114a via a bolt 152.

The outer surface 117a of the lid 117 in the axial direction Ax is in contact with the outer surface 131a of the annular portion 131 of the casing 130. The lid 117 also has a boss 117b formed radially inward from the outer surface 117a, protruding toward the outside in the axial direction Ax (toward the impeller 120). The boss 117b is slidably inserted into a through hole 131b that penetrates the annular portion 131 in the axial direction Ax. In FIG. 4, the outer surface 117a and the outer surface 131a are in close contact with each other, in other words, the casing 130 is in contact with the motor 110. In this state, the casing 130 is farthest from the impeller 120, forming the largest gap g.

The curved portion 122 of the impeller 120 is disposed so as to face the curved portion 132 of the casing 130. In addition, a circular ring-shaped circumferential surface 125a is formed on the outer periphery of the curved portion 122. This circumferential surface 125a is configured to slide against the inner circumferential surface 133a of the cylindrical portion 133 of the casing 130. This allows the impeller 120 to slide in the axial direction Ax relative to the casing 130. In other words, the gap (gap g) between the disk portion 121 of the impeller 120 and the annular portion 131 of the casing 130 can be adjusted. The vortex blower 100 of this embodiment has the characteristic that the narrower the gap g, the higher the pressure can be increased, and the wider the gap g, the higher the air volume can be increased.

5 is a graph showing the change in performance when the gap is adjusted in the embodiment of the present invention, in which the solid line indicates the case where the gap g is 0.3 mm, and the dashed line indicates the case where the gap g is 0.6 mm.
As shown in FIG. 5, the vortex blower 100 of this embodiment has a characteristic that the pressure Ps (kPa) decreases with an increase in the air volume Q (m ³ /min), regardless of the size of the gap g.

In addition, in the vortex blower 100 of this embodiment, when the gap g is 0.3 mm, the performance is higher in the closed side, Ps, and lower in the open side, compared to when the gap g is 0.6 mm. This performance is such that the pressure can be increased by narrowing the gap g, and the air volume can be increased by widening the gap g.

Next, a conventional vortex blower 1000 shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 will be compared with the vortex blower 100 of the present embodiment. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the conventional vortex blower, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the main part of Fig. 6.
As shown in Fig. 6, a conventional vortex blower 1000 shown as a comparative example is configured to include a motor (electric motor) 1001, an impeller 1002, and a casing 1003. The casing 1003 is fixed to the motor 1001 via bolts 1004. In the vortex blower 1000, the motor 1001 is attached to the casing 1003, and a gap adjustment shim 1005 and the impeller 1002 are attached to a shaft 1011 (rotating shaft) of the motor 1001. The relative positions of the motor 1001 and the casing 1003 are determined by abutting the motor 1001 against a fitting portion 1006 provided on the casing 1003. On the other hand, the impeller 1002 is fitted to the shaft 1011 of the motor 1001 and abuts against an abutment portion 1007 (bearing portion, step, etc.) of the motor 1001, thereby performing axial positioning. At this time, the distance (gap portion) between the gap surfaces of impeller 1002 and casing 1003 is not constant because it is generated by the accumulation of dimensional tolerances of motor 1001, casing 1003, and impeller 1002, and adjustment work is required.

When adjusting the performance of the vortex blower 1000, the number of gap adjustment shims 1005 used is changed to perform the adjustment. The gap adjustment shims 1005 are inserted between the motor 1001 and the impeller 1002 (in FIG. 7, between the bearing fixed to the shaft 1011 and the impeller 1002), and disassembly and reassembly are performed when making adjustments. Thus, with the conventional vortex blower 1000, there was an issue that repeated disassembly and assembly were required to adjust the gap.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the vortex blower 100 described in Figures 1 to 5 is configured. That is, the casing 130 is fixed to the base portion 140 via the protrusions 136 and 137. This allows the motor 110 to move in the axial direction Ax. In addition, since the impeller 120 is fixed to the motor 110 (shaft 111), when the motor 110 moves in the axial direction Ax, the impeller 120 also moves in the axial direction Ax at the same time. After positioning, the motor 110 is fixed with a bolt 150 (fixing member), so that the relative positions of the casing 130 and the motor 110 are fixed, and the structure of the vortex blower 100 is configured. Note that the bolt 150 is provided with long holes 136a and 137a, so that it is structured not to hinder the movement of the motor 110 in the axial direction Ax. The motor 110 is positioned while adjusting and checking the gap g between the impeller 120 and the casing 130 before fixing the motor 110 with the bolts 150. In this case, there is no need to disassemble the impeller 120.

As described above, the vortex blower 100 of this embodiment has a motor 110 having a shaft 111 extending in the axial direction Ax (first direction), an annular groove 124, and a blade 125 located in the groove 124. The vortex blower 100 also has an impeller 120 attached to the shaft 111, and a casing 130 having a stationary flow passage 132s (ventilation passage) facing the opening of the groove 124 and positioned at a distance (gap g) from the impeller 120 in the axial direction Ax. The casing 130 has protrusions 136 and 137 extending in the axial direction Ax. The protrusions 136 and 137 have long holes 136a and 137a extending in the axial direction Ax. The bolts 150 (fixing members) are located in the long holes 136a and 137a and fix the relative positions of the motor 110 and the casing 130 (see Figures 1 to 3). This allows the relative positions of the casing 130 and the motor 110 in the axial direction Ax to be adjusted, eliminating the need for disassembly and assembly, and improving workability when adjusting the gap g.

In addition, in this embodiment, the motor 110 is fixed to a base portion 140, and the motor 110 (the flange 115 of the motor case 114) has a notched groove 115c (groove) formed therein through which the protrusions 136, 137 can slide (move) freely in the axial direction Ax (see FIG. 3). This eliminates the need to machine grooves or holes into which the protrusions 136, 137 can be inserted on the base portion 140 side, thereby preventing the base portion 140 from becoming larger (increasing in height).

In addition, in this embodiment, the casing 130 has an intake port 134 that draws in air from an intake passage 142 formed in the base portion 140, and an exhaust port 135 that exhausts air to an exhaust passage 143 formed in the base portion 140. The protrusions 136, 137 are provided on the upper portions of the intake port 134 and the exhaust port 135, respectively. As a result, the protrusions 136, 137 can be disposed between the motor 110 (flange portion 115) and the base portion 140, so that the motor 110 can be fixed to the base portion 140 using the bolts 150, and at the same time, the casing 130 (protrusions 136, 137) can be fixed to the base portion 140 and the motor 110.

(Another embodiment)
8 and 9 are a partially cutaway vertical sectional view and a front view of a vortex blower according to another embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in Fig. 8, the vortex blower 100A includes an impeller 180 formed integrally with a shaft 110. Note that "integrated" means that the impeller is formed from a single component without combining components. The impeller and the shaft can be integrated without using a shim. By integrating the impeller and the shaft, assembly errors that occur when combining these components are reduced, enabling more accurate gap adjustment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the vortex blower 100A includes a common base 182 to which the casing 181 is fixed, and a motor base 183 to which the motor 110 is fixed. The common base 182 is provided with a bolt insertion hole (not shown) through which the bolt 150 is inserted. This makes it possible to adjust the axial direction Ax.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may include various modified examples. For example, in the present embodiment, a structure in which a notch groove 115c is formed in the motor 110 (flange portion 115) and the protrusions 136, 137 are sandwiched and fixed between the flange portion 115 and the base portion 140 has been described as an example, but the flange portion 115 may have holes through which the protrusions 136, 137 can move back and forth, or the base portion 140 may have holes through which the protrusions 136, 137 can move back and forth. Also, a groove through which the protrusions 136, 137 can slide may be formed on the upper surface of the flange portion 115.

As shown in FIG. 10, stepped long holes (stepped holes) 191 may be formed in the protrusions 136, 137, and a cap 192 that matches the step 201 (see FIG. 11) of the stepped long hole 191 may be inserted and fixed to the bolt 150. This stepped long hole 191 has a stepped structure with steps 201 for each predetermined gap adjustment amount. By preparing a cap 192 that matches the width (step width) W of a predetermined stepped portion and fixing it to the stepped portion, it is possible to adjust the gap amount in stages for each step shape. This makes it possible to change the gap amount to any amount by changing the size of the cap 192 without measuring the gap.

1 Vortex blower 110 Motor (electric motor)
111 Shaft (rotating shaft)
114 Motor case 115 Flange portion 115a Bolt insertion hole 115c Notched groove 115d Hole 120 Impeller 124 Groove portion 125 Blade 130 Casing 132s Stationary flow path (ventilation path)
134 Suction port 135 Discharge port 136, 137 Protrusion portion 136a, 137a Long hole 140 Base portion 142 Suction flow passage 143 Discharge flow passage 141a Fixing hole 150 Bolt (fixing member)
180 Impeller integrated with shaft 181 Casing 182 Common base 183 Motor base 191 Stepped slot (stepped hole)
192 Cap for stepped slot 201 Step (stepped portion)
Ax axial direction (first direction)
g Gap (spacing)
W Width of stepped part (step width)

Claims (6)

an electric motor having a rotating shaft extending in a first direction;
an impeller having an annular groove and blades positioned in the groove and attached to the rotating shaft;
a casing having an air passage facing an opening of the groove portion and positioned at a distance from the impeller in the first direction,
The casing has a protrusion portion extending in the first direction,
The vortex blower, characterized in that the protrusion portion includes a long hole extending in the first direction, and a fixing member located in the long hole and fixing a relative position between the electric motor and the casing. 2. The vortex blower according to claim 1,
A base portion to which the electric motor is fixed is provided,
The electric motor is provided with a hole or a groove that allows the protrusion to move back and forth in the first direction. 3. The vortex blower according to claim 2,
the casing includes an intake port that draws in air from an intake passage formed in the base portion, and an exhaust port that exhausts air to a exhaust passage formed in the base portion,
The vortex blower is characterized in that the protrusions are provided respectively above the suction port and the discharge port. The vortex blower according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The impeller is integrally formed with the rotating shaft. The vortex blower according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The long hole extends along the axial direction of the rotating shaft and penetrates vertically. 6. The vortex blower according to claim 5,
The long hole has a stepped portion whose width varies stepwise along the first direction,
A vortex blower characterized in that the stepped portion is butted against a cap adjusted to the stepped width and fixed.

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