Rotary piston and cylinder devices

Abstract

In a rotary piston and cylinder device (1) having a stator and a rotor, in which the stator at least partially defines an annular cylinder space and the rotor includes at least one piston that extends from the rotor into the cylinder space, and in which, during use, the piston moves through the annular cylinder space on rotation of the rotor relative to the stator, wherein at least part of an outer surface (30) of the rotor (22) is a substantially frusto-conical shaped surface.

Claims

1. A rotor for a rotary piston and cylinder device, the device comprising a rotor and a stator, the stator and the rotor defining an annular cylinder space, the rotor comprising at least one piston which extends from the rotor into the cylinder space, and in use the piston is moved through the annular cylinder space on rotation of the rotor relative to the stator, and the device comprising a rotatable shutter disc which is arranged to be moved to a closed position in which the shutter disc partitions the cylinder space and an open condition in which shutter disc allows passage of the at least one piston, wherein at least part of an outer surface of the rotor is a generally frusto-conical shaped surface, and said frusto-conical shaped surface is opposite a surface of the rotor which in part defines the annular cylinder space.

2. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 in which the frusto-conical shaped surface extends for part of the height of the rotor in a direction along a rotational axis of the rotor.

3. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 in which a plurality of generally frusto-conical shaped surfaces are provided.

4. The rotor as claimed in claim 3 in which each frusto-conical shaped surface has a different respective cone angle.

5. The rotor as claimed in claim 3, in which at least two of the frusto-conical shaped surfaces are spaced-apart in a direction along a rotational axis of the rotor by an intermediate curved surface, which is curved in cross-section.

6. The rotor as claimed in claim 5 in which the intermediate curved surface is provided with a fluid port.

7. The rotor as claimed in claim 5 in which the curved surface is generally central of the height of the rotor.

8. The rotor as claimed in claim 5 in which a single generally frusto-conical shaped surface is located to each side of a generally central curved surface.

9. The rotor as claimed in claim 3 in which at least two of the frusto-conical shaped surfaces are adjacent to each other.

10. The rotor as claimed in claim 3 in which a major surface area of the outer surface of the rotor comprises three frusto-conical surface portions.

11. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 in which a majority of the outer surface of the rotor is frusto-conical.

12. The rotor as claimed in claim 11 in which the majority of the outer surface comprises a single frusto-conical surface.

13. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 in which the outer surface consists essentially of a curved portion and a generally frusto-conical portion.

14. The rotor as claimed in claim 1, which comprises at least one shoulder arranged to seal with a stator, and a sealing surface of the shoulder is provided on the outer surface of the rotor.

15. The rotor as claimed in claim 14 in which only one of two faces forming the shoulder is used as the operative sealing face, in use.

16. The rotor as claimed in claim 14 in which a shoulder is provided at each distal end region of the rotor, spaced along an axis of rotation of the rotor.

17. The rotor as claimed in claim 14, wherein the at least one shoulder comprises a frusto-conical face, and a cylindrical face.

18. The rotor as claimed in claim 14, where at least one set of shoulders is located each side of a region in which a fluid port is located.

19. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 in which a fluid port is provided in the frusto-conical shaped surface.

20. The rotor as claimed in claim 1, where a series of grooves are provided in the frusto-conical shaped surface.

21. The rotor as claimed in claim 20, in which the frusto-conical shaped surface which is provided with the grooves is arranged such that relative motion in a normal direction between the rotor and mating stator surface is minimised to achieve a constant gap width during operation.

22. The rotor as claimed in claim 20, in which the frusto-conical shaped surface containing the groves is aligned such that at a time during or after assembly, a displacement or deformation of the rotor causes the grooves to cut into an abradable coating on an opposing sealing face of a stator, or of the rotor where the grooves are provided on the stator and an abradable coating is provided on the rotor.

23. The rotor as described in claim 1, wherein a cone angle of the generally frusto-conical shaped surface is selected to create a desired gap between opposing faces of the rotor and the stator at particular operating conditions, or during a range of conditions.

24. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 in which an inner surface of the rotor, which at least in part defines an annular cylinder space, comprises a curved surface.

25. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 having an inner surface which is of generally concave shape.

26. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 in which the rotor comprises a dished ring.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Various embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of rotor,

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rotary piston and cylinder device,

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a port of a rotor,

(5) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a rotor,

(6) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a rotor,

(7) FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a rotor,

(8) FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a rotor mounted in a stator,

(9) FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a rotor,

(10) FIGS. 9 to 11 show differently shaped grooves provided on a frusto-conical outer surface of a rotor,

(11) FIGS. 12 and 13 show mateable stator and rotor surfaces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(12) Reference is made initially to FIG. 2 which shows a rotary piston and cylinder device 1 which comprises a rotor 2, a piston blade 4 which is secured to an inner surface of the rotor, a fluid port 5 formed in the rotor, a rotatable shutter disc 7, which is formed with an aperture 7a. It will be appreciated the device 1 also comprises a stator, not illustrated, which receives the rotor and the shutter disc, and, together with the inner surface of the rotor, defines the (annular) cylinder space. It should further be noted that the representation of the rotor is simplified for clarity.

(13) FIG. 4 shows a first embodiment of a rotor where a curved (around the axis of rotation) outer surface of the rotor comprises a single substantially frusto-conical outer rotor surface 30, which surface constitutes the majority of the surface area of said outer surface. The surface 30 is configured to reduce the port volume and serves to increase stiffness of the rotor at its root due to the large thickness of material in that region. The rotor 22 also comprises an inner surface 13.

(14) FIG. 5 shows a second rotor embodiment, referenced 122, in which an outer rotor face comprises three adjacent (smaller) substantially frusto-conical surfaces, 130, 131 and 132. Each of the surfaces 130, 131 and 132 circumnavigates the rotor. This arrangement advantageously reduces the mass and inertia of the rotor compared to that shown in FIG. 1, which then allows for faster running speeds of the device, while still providing largely conical faces to obtain the benefits improved manufacturing accuracy and ease of inspection. It will be of course be understood that in other embodiments other numbers of conical faces may alternatively be included on the outer face.

(15) FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment comprising a rotor 222, in which the outer surface comprises three identifiable portions, 230, 231 and 232. A central segment 231 is substantially curved (in cross-section) and is formed from at least one radius. The curvature of the central segment 231 preferably substantially corresponds to that of the inner surface of the rotor. Adjacent to, and flanking the surface 231, there are provided frusto-conical surfaces 230 and 232. Each has a respective (and different) cone angle. Although the inclusion of the curved surface 231 may reduce the certainty in the manufacturing accuracy of that face, the volume of the exhaust port is reduced for a given strength of the rotor. This serves to improve volumetric efficiency of the device, and would be the desirable embodiment for certain operational conditions.

(16) In a further embodiment, the outer surface of the rotor comprises a frusto-conical portion and a curved portion, which occupy a major portion of the surface area of the outer surface of the rotor. In this embodiment, the frusto-conical portion is adjacent to the curved portion.

(17) FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment comprising a rotor 322 and a stator 400, in which outer surface portions are arranged as shoulders 325 and 326 to thereby improve sealing performance. Each of the shoulders is located at distal end regions of the rotor, and in particular, adjacent to a respective circumscribed end, at a base region and at an apex region, those regions being spaced with respect to the axis if rotation of the rotor. The shoulders each comprise two surface portions on the outer surface of the rotor which are orientated substantially orthogonal to each other, as best seen by surfaces 325a and 325b in the exploded sub-view in FIG. 7. One of the surfaces may be substantially cylindrical, and the other may be planar. An annular planar surface may be thought of as a frusto-conical surface with a ninety degree cone angle, and a cylindrical surface can be thought of as a frusto-conical surface with a zero degree cone angle. It is possible for both faces of each shoulder to be close-running to provide sealing with the stator, but preferably only one of the faces of each shoulder is used as the sealing face with the stator, the choice depending on the characteristics of the rotor during operation.

(18) For example, where the axial expansion of the rotor (i.e. expansion substantially in the direction of the rotational axis of the rotor) during service at the location of a particular shoulder is more significant than the radial expansion, the preferred sealing face is the one that is more substantially cylindrical, as the sealing gap will be less adversely affected by deformation of the rotor. Conversely if the radial expansion is more significant than the axial, sealing on the substantially planar face is preferred, as that gap will experience lower variation during operation of the device. It will be understood that both of these conditions can be experienced in different locations on a single rotor.

(19) FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment comprising a rotor 42 which comprises a first frusto-conical surface 44 and a second frusto-conical surface 45. Intermediate of the two frusto-conical surfaces there is provided a facet or shoulder 47 which protrudes generally outwardly of the rotor. The shoulder 47 extends around the rotor, and comprises two surfaces 47a and 47b, which are substantially orthogonal to each other. One or other or both of the surfaces is arranged to seal with an inner surface of a stator (not illustrated). This provides an alternative arrangement to that shown in FIG. 7 in which the shoulders are axially spaced from each other. In an alternative embodiment, the shoulder is replaced by an (annular) recess which is received by a complimentary formation on the inner surface of the stator. Shoulders of this type also add stiffness to the rotor.

(20) If the behaviour of the rotor during operation is well understood such that the location-dependant relative effects of thermal, centrifugal and pressure-related deformation on the rotor as well as any displacements are known, the preferred angle of a substantially conical sealing region (between the rotor and the stator) in any of the above examples can be calculated. Put otherwise, the cone angle can to tailored according to operational conditions. In one embodiment, a particular angle of the substantially conical face will minimise variation of the sealing gap at a particular position during operation of the device. Furthermore, the angle can be set to selectively vary the gap (between the rotor and the stator) during operation, such as to either prioritise frequent running conditions by minimising the sealing gap (i.e. reducing the size of the gap as compared to when the device is stationary) at those operating points, or reduce input power for transient conditions such as start-up by increasing the sealing gap under these scenarios.

(21) FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 show a further embodiment, where a series of grooves are cut into one of the frusto-conical surfaces of the rotor to further improve sealing. The grooves can be a plurality of circumferential groves, or be a single helical groove, so as to thereby form a labyrinth-type structure. The grooves can be of a range of possible cross-sections (including rectangular, triangular, skewed rectangular, for example) to improve sealing for a particular application.

(22) It is to be noted that it is the substantially outer faces of the ridges (which define the grooves) that are more significant for sealing purposes, and that the substantially inner surfaces of the grooves can conform to a plurality of different sections, including conical, curved or irregular. Although it is possible to cut grooves into a geometry which provides a constant operational gap width and obtain the benefits of improved axial leakage sealing performance with a controlled and substantially constant sealing gap, it may be preferred to instead orient the face to maximise relative motion along the normal direction. Here the deformation of the rotor at the location of the face is largely radial during operation, and less than the clearance between the labyrinth outer face and mating stator face. In this manner it is possible to control the sealing gap at different operating conditions, to either target specific operating conditions or reduce power consumption during transient conditions.

(23) In a further possible variant, the maximum deformation of the rotor at a particular point is greater than the static clearance between it and the stator, and a material that can be worn away by the ridges is applied to the mating face. The material is an abradable coating applied to the stator face (or alternatively which may be applied to the rotor conical surface, with ridge formations on the stator), and the labyrinth structure is formed of a series of circumferential grooves on the outer rotor face. The rotor may be assembled so that the sealing faces are clear of each other or such that they are touching (and then rotated to abrade on clearance). During operation, the substantially outward radial deformation of the rotor (towards the stator) causes the ridges to cut into the abradable coating on the mating stationary sealing face of the stator. This results in a sealing interface in which the gap is minimised during operation as shown in FIG. 12, and greater when the device is subsequently stopped, as shown in FIG. 13.

(24) It will be noted that it is also possible to assemble the device while the rotor is being rotated, such that the grooves wear away the abradable material during assembly, immediately resulting in a geometry similar to that shown FIG. 12. Such an assembly method can be used if the considered mating faces on the rotor and stator are designed to have a largely constant gap width during operation, in order for the labyrinth structure to always be engaged with the inverse geometry of the abradable coating.

(25) In a further variant, it is possible to create a mating inverse labyrinth geometry on the stator using a material that will not be worn by the groves on the rotor. While this approach reduces uncertainty in wear patterns of the abradable, it will be understood that the deformation of the rotor must be minimised in order to achieve low gap widths throughout the labyrinth during operation, without allowing the mating faces to touch.