Patent ID: 6139262
Filing Date: 2000-10-31
Classification: F04D,F05D

Abstract:
A system for a variable capacity centrifugal compressor for compressing a fluid, the compressor having a housing and an impeller, the impeller being rotatably mounted in the housing, the system comprising:a base plate fixed to the housing adjacent the impeller, the base plate having an elongated surface that cooperates with an opposed interior surface on the housing to define an outlet flow path;a moveable wall disposed on the base plate and selectively moveable relative to the base plate, the wall having a diffuser surface disposed opposite the interior surface on the housing to define a diffuser positioned between the impeller and the outlet flow path, the wall being movable between an open position where the diffuser is maximized to a closed position where the diffuser is minimized;wherein a flange projects outwardly from one of the moveable wall or the base plate toward a recess configured to receive the flange in the other, the flange cooperating with the recess to inhibit the formation of a passage between the wall and the base plate when the wall is moved between the open and closed positions.