FIXED ANGLE JET PLATE COMPRESSOR DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating compressed fluid. More specifically, the invention relates to a jet plate compressor which maintains a fixed angle while minimizing the number of required bearing assemblies. Jet plate compressors are generally known in the art. These compressors typically employ a cylinder block with a plurality of piston channels mounted on a drive shaft. A plurality of pistons is slidably placed in the piston channels and coupled to the jet plate which is also mounted on the drive shaft. In accordance with the rotation of the drive shaft, the jet plate pivots causing reciprocal movement of the pistons within the channels of the piston, thereby alternately creating suction and compression movements. These compressors employ a variety of mechanisms that utilize the rotational force of the drive shaft to cause the jet plate to pivot, such as a drive assembly with an inclined surface beneath the jet plate, as described in US Pat. 6,439,857 to Koelzer and assigned to the owner of the present application, an assembly of rotating and non-rotating plates, as described in US Pat. No. 5,626,463 for imura, and a rotating cylinder block, as described in US Patent No. 5,394,698 for Takagi. As the jet plate pivots, the pistons oscillate within the piston channels of the cylinder block, alternately sucking fluid to be compressed within the channels and subsequently compressing and discharging the fluid. In this way, the rotational force of the shaft is converted to an axial movement of the pistons, allowing the pistons to alternately perform the functions of suction and compression, and thus, first fluid is sucked into the piston channel and subsequently compressed. and discharge of the piston channel. A problem with these jet plate compressors, however, is that they are typically difficult and expensive to manufacture, for several reasons. First, because the drive shaft on which the jet plate is mounted rotates, and because the jet plate is connected to pistons that are placed in the piston channels in the cylinder block, the compressor typically requires a assemble in some complex way to accommodate these competing rotational and non-rotating interests. Even if an advantageous bearing assembly such as that described in U.S. Patent No. 6,439,857 to Koelzer is used, a drive mechanism as described therein must still be employed in order to make the jet plate work properly . On the other hand, due to the nature and function of a compressor jet plate, the jet plate assembly necessarily experiences both axial and radial loads as a result of the simultaneous rotational movement of the jet plate and the axial movement of the pistons. Accordingly, it is necessary that these assemblies employ both radial bearings and thrust bearings, such as in the design described in U.S. Patent Application US 2001/0008607 (Richter). What is desired, therefore, is a jet plate compressor which is not expensive to manufacture. What is further desired is a jet plate compressor that is easy to assemble. A jet plate compressor that minimizes the number of bearings required is also desired. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a jet plate compressor that is not complex. A further object of the present invention is a jet plate compressor which does not require a drive mechanism for the jet plate.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a jet plate compressor that does not require separate thrust and radial bearings. To be able to solve the deficiencies of the prior art and achieve at least some of the aforementioned objects and advantages, the invention comprises a compressor including a housing, an axis positioned within the housing, the shaft has a longitudinal axis, an inner jet plate portion fixed to the shaft at a fixed angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft, a portion of outer jet plate coupled to the inner jet plate portion and a bearing assembly by which the outer jet plate portion is coupled to the inner jet plate portion, wherein the bearing assembly is adapted to accommodate both the radial load as the axial load of the jet plate portions. In another embodiment, the invention comprises a compressor that includes a housing, an axis placed in the housing, the shaft has a longitudinal axis, a jet plate coupled to the shaft at a fixed angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft, and an assembly of bearings by which the jet plate is coupled to the shaft, wherein the bearing assembly is adapted to accommodate both the radial load and the axial load of the jet plate. In yet another embodiment, the invention comprises a compressor including a housing having at least one piston channel, an axis placed in the housing, a jet plate coupled to the shaft, at least one piston located in at least one piston channel and moving within it, wherein the jet plate is coupled to at least one piston and inclined at an angle with respect to the direction of movement thereof, and a bearing assembly by means of which the jet plate is coupled to the shaft, so that the angle at which the jet plate is tilted relative to the direction of movement of at least one piston remains fixed as the shaft rotates, while the bearing assembly it is adapted to accommodate both the radial load and the axial load of the jet plate. In yet another embodiment, the invention comprises a compressor that includes a housing, an axis positioned in the housing, the shaft has a longitudinal axis, an inner jet plate portion fixed to the shaft at a fixed angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. , an outer jet plate portion coupled to the inner jet plate portion and an angular contact bearing by which the outer jet plate portion is coupled to the inner jet plate portion. In yet another embodiment, the invention comprises a compressor that includes a housing, an axis placed in the housing, the shaft has a longitudinal axis, a jet plate coupled to the shaft at a fixed angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and a bearing of angular contact through which the jet plate is coupled to the shaft. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is an isometric view of the jet plate compressor according to the invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the compressor of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of the compressor of Figure 1. Figure 4 is an isometric view of the jet plate assembly. of the compressor of Figure 3. Figure 5 is another cut-away cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of the shaft and jet plate of the compressor of Figure 1. Figure 6a is an isometric view in partial section of a standard radial bearing . Figure Sb is an isometric view in partial section of an angular contact bearing of the jet plate of the compressor of Figure 1. Figure 7 is an exposed side view of the ball bearing of Figure 6b. Figure 8 is an isometric view in partial section of a tapered roller bearing that is used in some embodiments of the jet plate of the compressor of Figure 1. Figure 9 is a sectional side view of a four-way contact bearing. points that are used in some embodiments of the jet plate of the compressor of Figure 1. Figure 10a is a side view in section of a tandem duplex bearing which is used in some embodiments of the jet plate of the compressor of Figure 1. Figure 10b is a side sectional view of a face-to-face duplex bearing which is used in some embodiments of the plate compressor jet of Figure 1. Figure 10c is a sectional side view of a back-to-back duplex bearing that is used in some embodiments of the compressor jet plate of Figure 1. Figure 10d is a side view in section of a double-row angular contact bearing that is used in some embodiments of the compressor jet plate of Figure 1. Figure 10 is a side sectional view of an armored double row angular contact bearing Figure 10Od. FIG. 10F is a sectional side view of a sealed row double row angular contact bearing of FIG. 10d. The basic components of a embodiment of a jet plate compressor 10 according to the invention are illustrated in Figure 1. As used in the description, the terms "top", "bottom", "top", "bottom", "above", "bottom", "top", "bottom", "up", "down", "above" "," below "," front "," back "," forward "and" backward "refer to the objects mentioned when they are in the orientation illustrated in the drawings, this orientation is not necessary to achieve the objects of the invention. Typically, the compressor 10 includes a main body 12, a rear mounting cover 14 and a front mounting flange 16. When in use, the compressor 10 is installed in a vehicle, such as in a trailer, and generates compressed air for the vehicle pressure system, which typically includes a tank (not shown) that supplies the compressed air to various accessories. , such as, for example, the braking system. This production of compressed air begins by receiving air, which may or may not be supplied from a turbocharger (not shown), in response to the reduction of the air pressure in the air system at or below a reference pressure. Although in the embodiment described herein, the fluid is air, in other embodiments the fluid may comprise any of the different gases, liquids or mixtures thereof. The basic components of one embodiment of the main body 12 of the compressor 10 are illustrated in Figure 2. The main body 12 includes a jet plate housing 20 defining a jet plate chamber 22 therein, and a block 26 of static cylinder mounted in the housing 20. A drive shaft 40 extends through both the housing 20 and the cylinder block 26 and rotates therein. A jet plate 24 is placed in the jet plate chamber 22 and mounted on the shaft 40. A plurality of pistons 30 is coupled to the jet plate 24, and the cylinder block 26 has a plurality of channels 32 of piston received by the pistons 30. The pistons 30 are reciprocally positioned within the piston channels 32 in order to produce suction and compression movements. Each piston 30 has a face 31 to come into contact with the air that will be compressed. Accordingly, a compression chamber 34 is formed from the space in the piston channel 32 to which the piston face 31 is exposed. The compression chamber 34, which is in fluid communication with the air system, receives air that will be compressed and discharge air after compressing it. Accordingly, the air pressure in the compression chamber 34 corresponds to the air pressure in the air system, thereby ensuring a state of pressure equilibrium for the compressor 10, as will be explained below. Typically, the main body 12 of the compressor 10 further includes a compressor head 18 mounted adjacent to the cylinder block 26. The compressor head has an inlet channel 80 and an outlet channel 82 which are in communication with the compression chambers 34. In order to regulate the input of the uncompressed air from the inlet channel 80, and the discharge of the compressed air to the outlet channel 82, and to avoid feedback of this air, the compressor 10 is typically provided with a plurality of valves 84, 85 of input and output. Valves 84, 85 which very often are cam or tab valves, allow air to flow along a path from the high pressure area to the low pressure area, and are typically part of the head 18 of the compressor, or are created using valve plates 86, 87 positioned between the compressor head 18 and the cylinder block 26. In some embodiments, the compressor head 18 is provided with inlet and outlet ports 90, 92, which are in fluid communication with the inlet and outlet channels 80, 82, respectively. Accordingly, the air can be sucked through the inlet port 90, into the inlet channel 80 and beyond the inlet valves 84, to compression chambers 34 where it can be compressed. Likewise, once the air is compressed and discharged from the compression chambers 34 through the outlet valves 85 and into the outlet channel 82, the air can be directed to the air system via the outlet port 92. . In other embodiments, however, as shown in Figure 3, the jet plate housing 20 is provided with an inlet port 91, thereby eliminating the need for an inlet port in the compressor head 18. In these embodiments, air enters the jet plate chamber 22, cooling any bearing that may be within it, and communicates to the input channel 80 via a passage 93. In certain advantageous embodiments, as illustrated in Figures 3-4, the jet plate 24 has an outer part 42 and an inner part 44, wherein the outer part 42 is coupled to the inner part 44 by means of a bearing 46. The inner part 44 is mounted in the shaft 40 with a series of pins 48, so that the inner part 44 rotates with the shaft 40. As the shaft 40 rotates, the bearing 46 allows the outer part 42 of the jet plate 24 to be restrained as that the inner part 44 rotates with the shaft 40. Accordingly, the outer part 42, the pistons 30 and the cylinder block 26 can all be non-rotating. With this arrangement, the shaft 40 can continue to rotate even when the compressor 10 is not compressing air and the pistons 30 are immobile. As a consequence, the accessories coupled to the shaft 40, such as, for example, a fuel pump (not shown), continue to operate. In certain embodiments, to prevent the outer portion 42 from rotating, the jet plate 24 receives a radially extending retainer 49 which engages an axial slot in the housing 20, as shown in Figure 4. In other embodiments, as shown in Figure 2, a fairing arm 100 can be used to prevent the outer part 42 from rotating. Referring once again to Figures 2-3, in order to facilitate reciprocal movement of the pistons 30 within the piston channels 32, the entire jet plate 24 remains inclined at a fixed angle 140 with respect to the longitudinal axis 39 of the piston. axis 40. Because the angle 140 is fixed, the inclined plane of the jet plate 24 rotates as the shaft 40 rotates. In this way, the rotational movement of the jet plate 24 about the shaft 40 causes a reciprocal displacement of the pistons 30 parallel to the axis 39 of the shaft 40. To allow this reciprocal displacement, the pistons 30 are coupled to the jet plate 24. by means of a bearing. In the embodiment described herein, the outer portion 42 of the jet plate 24 includes a plurality of ball links each of which is comprised of a jet plate rod 52 and a ball element 54. In certain embodiments, the rods 52, which are typically spaced apart angularly and equidistantly from one another along an outer periphery of the jet plate 24 and extend radially therefrom, are screws having one of their threaded ends , which are screwed into the jet plate 24, and a nut 58 at the opposite end. The ball element 54 has a spherical outer surface for slidably engaging a flange 62 of the piston rod 60, which extends parallel to the axis of rotation 40. Accordingly, as the inclination plane of the jet plate 24 rotates, and the position of the flange 62 changes relative to the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 39 of the drive shaft 40, the cooperating surfaces of the ball element 54 and the tab 62 slides relative to one another. This relative displacement allows the piston rod 60 and the ball element 54 to move axially together, while the ball element 54 rotates within the flange 62 in response to the tilting rotation angle of the jet plate 24. Although the cooperation surfaces of the ball element 54 and the flange 62 are represented as annular, in certain embodiments, other shapes that move in a synchronized manner may be used as long as they are angularly positioned relative to each other. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the bearing by which the pistons 30 are coupled to the jet plate 24 may have other shapes. As explained above, in certain advantageous embodiments, an outer jet plate portion 42 is coupled to an inner jet plate portion 44 by means of a bearing 46 and the inner jet plate portion 44, in turn, is fixed to the shaft 40 at an angle 140 relative to the longitudinal axis 39 of the shaft 40 which remains fixed. Accordingly, while the bearing 46 allows the outer part 42 not to rotate together with the inner part 44 and the shaft 40, the angle of inclination of the outer part 42 will rotate along the angle of inclination of the inner part 44. In this way, the pistons 30 are positioned forwards and backwards within the piston channels 32, thereby generating suction and compression movements. For example, the inner part 44 may be connected to the shaft 40 by a plurality of fasteners, such as pins 48, so that the inner part 44 remains at a fixed angle with respect to the longitudinal axis 39 of the shaft 40. In other embodiments, the inner part 44 may otherwise be attached to the shaft 40, such as by welding the inner part 44 to the shaft 40, or by manufacturing the shaft 40 so that the inner part 44 is integrally formed therewith. In other advantageous embodiments, as illustrated in Figure 5, the jet plate 24 may consist of a single non-rotating part 45 that engages directly with the shaft 41 such that it does not rotate with the shaft 41. This can be achieved, for example, by providing a shaft 40 having a running ring 43 integrally formed therein, and employing a bearing assembly such as the bearing 46. In order to eliminate the need for a separate thrust bearing, the bearing 46 is a bearing adapted to accommodate not only the radial load resulting from the rotation of the shaft 40 relative to at least a portion of the jet plate 24, but also the axial load resulting from the sliding movement of the pistons 30 within the channels 32 of piston. In certain advantageous embodiments, this bearing comprises an angular contact bearing. As can be seen by comparing Figure 6a (representing a standard radial bearing) with Figure 6b (representing an angular contact bearing), an angular contact bearing, unlike the standard radial bearing, allows the ball 110 to move in the . high part of the edge of one of the driving channels.
As illustrated in Figures 6B-7, this is achieved using conduction channels where one of the shoulders 112 is higher than the other shoulder 114, the taller shoulder 112 of the first conduit channel 120 is located at the opposite end of the shoulder 116 higher of the second driving channel 122. As a result, instead of the ball 110 contacting the conduit channel 120 at an angle directly perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 39 of the shaft 40, the ball 110 will contact the conduit channel 120 at an angle 126, thereby allowing that the bearing 46 absorb more axial load. This contact angle 126 is typically 15, 30 or 40 degrees of the normal contact angle of a standard radial bearing, but does not necessarily have to be one of these specific angles. In other embodiments, however, the bearing 46 may comprise any other bearing adapted to accommodate both the axial and radial load of the compressor 10. For example, as illustrated in Figure 8, the bearing 46 may comprise a tapered roller bearing . In other embodiments, where only a little more axial load accommodation is needed, a four-point contact bearing can be used as shown in Figure 9. In certain advantageous embodiments, the bearing assembly contains several angular contact bearings. side by side, commonly referred to as a duplex bearing. For example, in some embodiments, the bearing assembly may comprise a tandem duplex bearing, as shown in Figure 10a. In these embodiments, two angular contact bearings that are oriented in the same direction are placed adjacent to each other in order to increase the level of axial load that can accommodate the bearing assembly. In other embodiments where the bearing assembly includes a duplex bearing such as those where the axial loads exist in two directions, two angular contact bearings may be placed adjacent to each other so that the bearings are oriented in the opposite directions. These arrangements serve to decentralize the opposite axial loads, and could be useful, for example, in double-acting or double-pass piston compressors. In certain embodiments, as shown in Figure 10b, a face-to-face duplex bearing is used, which allows a greater misalignment angle. In other embodiments, as shown in Figure 10c, a back-to-back duplex bearing is used, which provides greater rigidity. In some embodiments, a double-row angular contact bearing is used, as shown in Figure 10Od. In these embodiments, two rows of angular contact bearings are accommodated with the shoulders positioned in the same manner as the back-to-back duplex bearings, but the inner and outer rings 130 and 132 each are a single piece covering both rows of balls . In some of these modes, the bearings are armored, as illustrated in Figure 10. In these bearings, the shells 134, which in some cases, are made of steel, are placed at both ends of the bearing to be able to keep the foreign material out of the bearing. In other embodiments, the bearings are sealed, as illustrated in Figure 10Of. In these embodiments, the seals 136 are placed on both ends of the bearing to maintain the foreign material and any grease that is used in the bearing away from the bearing. It should be understood that the foregoing description is illustrative and not limiting, and that obvious modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, reference should be made principally to the appended claims, rather than to the above specification, to determine the scope of the invention.