WO2011069066A1 - Removable chamber sealing counter-face for oscillating vane machines - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure describes an Oscillating Vane Machine (OVM) wherein one or more of the chamber sealing counter-faces are removable The OVM includes a stator, at least one chamber disposed within the stator, the chamber characterized by at least one counter-face, and at least one port, a vane disposed within the chamber, the vane characterized by a vane shaft and a vane tip, said vane tip being disposed proximally to the counter-face, ofthe chamber, and a removable liner, disposed between the vane tip and the counterface

Description

REMOVABLE CHAMBER SEALING COUNTER-FACE FOR OSCILLATING

VANE MACHINES

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a utility conversion of and claims the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/266,399 ('399), filed December 3, 2009. The entire teachings of the above application are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to Oscillating Vane Machines (OVM), in particular, to an OVM wherein one or more of the chamber sealing counter- faces are removable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In Oscillating Vane Machines, sealing between the vane and the housing is critical for efficient operation throughout the life of a machine. The performance and durability of the vane seals is heavily dependent on the interaction between the vane seals and the counter- faces of the working chamber with which the seals are in contact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure describes an Oscillating Vane Machine (OVM) wherein one or more of the chamber sealing liners are removable.

Specifically, the disclosure describes novel, removable chamber sealing liners for use in an OVM chamber. The removable liners may be energized by spring or other compressive material such that they keep themselves in contact with their corresponding vane surfaces.

The concept of the disclosed method revolves around the utilization of a removable counter-face to the vane sealing elements. Specifically, the sealing liners in the working chamber can be a separate component, isolating this critical surface from the larger and more costly housing in which it resides. Providing these removable counter-faces in the compression chamber in an OVM offers three key benefits:

1. Cost. Typically the preferred chamber wall material is hard and wear resistant, providing a complimentary counter-face to the vane seals. The material and processing cost for such a material is typically high and using this as the base housing material leads to high manufacturing costs. A removable counter-face allows the use of an inexpensive material for the housing, capturing the preferred material properties of the counter- face where desired and using a low cost material elsewhere.

2. Serviceability. Without the use of a removable counter-face, when wear occurs on the chamber walls the entire housing must be replaced. Likely the cost of this service will be prohibitive and the entire machine will need to be replaced. When a removable counter-face is used, chamber wall wear can be remedied by simply replacing the counter-face.

3. Tribological Pairing. As a separate component, the counter- face can be made from a material that is optimized for its tribological properties with respect to the vane seals, without the added structural, thermal, and manufacturing requirements imposed on the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a segmented configuration of a removable counter-face.

FIG. 2 shows a one piece removable counter-face that serves to line the entire chamber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.

Thus, the invention provides an Oscillating Vane Machine (OVM), characterized by at least one lined chamber. Preferred Oscillating Vane Machines have been described, for example, in US Patent Publication US 2009-0081061 by Chomyszak et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.

A typical Oscillating Vane Machine (OVM) for the embodiments contemplated comprises at least one stator, the stator comprising a removable endplate; at least one chamber disposed within the stator, the chamber comprising at least one liner, and at least one port; a vane disposed within the chamber, the vane comprising a vane shaft, preferably with at least one vane tip seal, at least one vane side seal, at least one bore seal, and a vane body. The liners can be attached to the counter surface with a bolt, nut, spline, taper, or other shaft-hub attachment methods well known to those skilled in the art.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an OVM comprising a removable chamber liner along the counter-face. A segmented configuration is shown, with the removable counter-faces 15 in place only where critical as a vane seal counter-face. This segmented configuration could also have liner sections corresponding to the end plate surfaces and vane side seals. Since liners are only necessary where vane sealing is required, manufacturing and maintenance economies are achieved by only using removable liners in those areas.

An alternative embodiment of the segmented configuration reverses the role of the seal and the liner, such that the liner itself is energized to become a positive contact seal. Methods for energizing the removable liner may include springs, an elastomeric compound, or any other method known in the art typically used to energize positive contact vane seals.

Figure 2 shows yet another preferred embodiment of an OVM comprising a single piece removable liner 35 that serves to line the entire chamber. The single piece removable liner 35 covers the chamber surfaces and can comprise port cutouts and may either be pressed into or fastened to the chamber, providing counter- faces for the bore and tip seals. In any of the embodiments described, removable liners may also be fastened to a removable stator end plate providing a counter-face for the vane side seals.

It is understood that there are alternative OVM designs and configurations to which the teachings of this disclosure would be applicable, though they are not discussed explicitly in this document.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. An Oscillating Vane Machine (OVM), the OVM comprising: a stator;

at least one chamber disposed within the stator, the chamber characterized by at least one counter- face, and at least one port; a vane disposed within the chamber, the vane characterized by a vane shaft and a vane tip, said vane tip being disposed proximally to the counter- face, of the chamber; and

a removable liner, disposed between the vane tip and the counter- face.

2. The OVM of claim 1 further comprising at least one vane tip seal, at least one vane side seal, at least one bore seal, and a vane body.

3. The OVM of claim 1 wherein the liner covers each surface of the chamber.

4. The OVM of claim 2 wherein the liner is a single unit.

5. The OVM of claim 1 wherein the liner is energized such that it forces itself into contact with at least a portion of the vane or the at least one vane seal.

6. The OVM of claim 1 wherein the liner is characterized by a hardness factor greater than the stator.