Abstract:
A rotary piston compressor comprises a cylinder block ( 100 ), an eccentric rotor group ( 200 ) being fitted in the chamber of the cylinder block, a shaft ( 2 ) and a separating means ( 40 ). The eccentric rotor group ( 200 ) comprises a cylindrical rotor ( 4 ) provided on the shaft ( 2 ) and rotatable therewith, and a collar ( 3 ) rotationally provided on the cylindrical rotor ( 4 ). The separating means ( 40 ) is used for separating the axially extended sealed chamber, which is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric rotor group ( 200 ) and the inner wall of the cylinder block ( 100 ), into an induction chamber ( 70 ) and an exhaustion chamber ( 71 ). Wherein, the separating means ( 40 ) comprises: a baffle ( 8 ) provided between the inner wall of the cylinder block ( 100 ) and the collar ( 3 ) provided on the outer periphery of the eccentric rotor ( 4 ), a contact member ( 7 ) provided between the baffle ( 8 ) and the collar ( 3 ) and contacted therewith, and a jointing element ( 6 ) connecting the contact member ( 7 ) to the baffle ( 8 ) and the collar ( 3 ) respectively.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to an energy conversion device which converts mechanical energy into pressure energy, and particularly to a rotor compressor. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional rotor compressors have significant advantages compared to other types of compressors, but they have the following drawbacks: the manufacturing process is complicated, the sealing is not reliable, and the reliability of the mechanical structure and the sealing drops significantly especially when the volume increases, and as a result, it is difficult to increase flow volume. The main reason that results in the above drawbacks lies in that the movable separating block, which separates the high pressure chamber from the low pressure chamber, has a small moving range and has a poor reliability. And when increasing the flow volume, the manufacturing process is more difficult to realize. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In consideration of the above, an object of the invention is to provide a rotor compressor comprising: 
     a cylinder block which comprises a cylinder block body, a front end cover and a rear end cover which are attached to a front end surface and a rear end surface of the cylinder block body respectively, the cylinder block body and the front and rear end covers defining an inner chamber; 
     an eccentric rotor assembly fitted in the inner chamber of the cylinder block, the eccentric rotor assembly comprising a cylindrical rotor and a bush which is rotatably fitted over the cylindrical rotor, the bush contacting an inner wall of the cylinder block so as to form an axially extending sealing region; 
     a shaft, the cylindrical rotor being mounted on the shaft and being rotatable therewith; 
     separating means for separating an axially extending sealed chamber into an induction chamber and an exhaustion chamber, the axially extending sealed chamber being formed between the outer circumferential surface of the eccentric rotor assembly and the inner wall surface of the cylinder block, the induction chamber and the exhaustion chamber communicating with an inlet and an outlet respectively; 
     wherein the separating means comprising: 
     a separator plate which is provided with a pivot shaft at an end opposite to the eccentric rotor assembly, the cylinder block body being formed with an axially extending hole which opens to the inner chamber, the pivot shaft being fitted in the hole and being rotatably supported by the hole so that the separator plate can rotate in a predetermined range; 
     one of the separator plate and the bush being provided with a contact member, the contact member comprising an axially extending cylindrical surface, and the other one of the separator plate and the bush being formed with an axially extending circular arc slot, the cylindrical surface being positioned in the circular arc slot and making a sealing contact with the circular arc slot; 
     the contact member being connected with the other one of the separator plate and the bush by means of a connecting member, the connection provided by the connecting member allowing the separator plate and the bush to rotate relative to each other with a central axis of the cylindrical surface as an axis. 
     Preferably, the contact member is fixedly attached to the separator plate, and the axially extending circular arc slot is formed on an outer circumferential surface of the bush. 
     Preferably, the contact member is fixedly attached to the bush, and the axially extending circular arc slot is formed on the separator plate. 
     Preferably, the contact member is formed with an axial hole at an axial end thereof and a sectorial cutout with the axial hole as a center, and a center of the axial hole coincides with a center of the cylindrical surface of the contact member; 
     the bush is formed with an axial hole at an axial end thereof and a slot which opens to the axial hole; 
     the connecting member takes the shape of U, its two legs are respectively received in the axial hole of the contact member and the axial hole of the bush, and a connecting part, which connects the two legs of the connecting member, is located within the sectorial cutout of the contact member and the slot of the bush. 
     Preferably, the contact member is formed with an axial hole at an axial end thereof and a sectorial cutout with the axial hole as a center, and a center of the axial hole coincides with a center of the cylindrical surface of the contact member; 
     the separator plate is formed with an axial hole at an axial end thereof and a slot which opens to the axial hole; 
     the connecting member takes the shape of U, its two legs are respectively received in the axial hole of the contact member and the axial hole of the separator plate, and a connecting part, which connects the two legs of the connecting member, is located within the sectorial cutout of the contact member and the slot of the separator plate. 
     Preferably, the inlet and outlet are formed on the cylinder block body or the front and rear end covers. 
     Preferably, a receiving recess is formed in the inner wall of the cylinder block body, so that the separator plate is received in the receiving recess when pivoting to the uppermost position due to the rotation of the rotor assembly. 
     Preferably, the outlet is provided with a check valve which takes the form of a cylindrical valve, the cylindrical valve comprises a cylindrical closing and opening member for closing the outlet of the exhaustion chamber. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the rotor compressor may include a plurality of cylinders. And in the rotor compressor with a plurality of cylinders, the rotors are so arranged as to achieve dynamic balance. 
     With the separating means of the invention, the volume efficiency of the rotor compressor is increased greatly, and the rotor compressor has a simple structure and an excellent manufacturability, and achieves rational conditions for mechanical movement, the noise and vibration can be further reduced. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 
         FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of the rotor compressor in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line A-A in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3A  is an axial end view of the separating means, and  FIG. 3B  is a sectional view taken along line B-B in  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  are respectively the front view and the top view of the connecting member; 
         FIG. 5  is an axial end view of the bush; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the rotor compressor in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 7A  is an axial sectional view of the cylindrical closing and opening member, and  FIG. 7B  is an axial end view of the cylindrical closing and opening member; 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are respectively the front view and the side view of the guide member; and 
         FIG. 9  is an axial end view of the cylinder block body, showing the structure formed on the cylinder block body for receiving the cylindrical valve. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference is now made to  FIGS. 1 and 2  which are respectively the cross-sectional view and the longitudinal sectional view of the rotor compressor in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the rotor compressor in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a cylinder block  100 , the cylinder block  100  is comprised of a cylindrical cylinder block body  1 , a front end cover  13  and a rear end cover  14 , the front end cover  13  is attached to the front end surface of the cylinder block body  1  and the rear end cover  14  is attached to the rear end surface of the cylinder block body  1 . The cylinder block body  1  and the front and rear end covers  13  and  14  define an inner chamber. 
     In the inner chamber of the cylinder block there is disposed an eccentric rotor assembly  200 , and an axially extending sealed chamber  300  is formed between the outer circumferential surface of the eccentric rotor assembly  200  and the inner wall surface of the cylinder block. The eccentric rotor assembly  200  is mounted on a shaft  2  and is circumferentially fixed by means of a key  5 . The shaft  2  is supported by the bearings  15  which are respectively mounted in the front and rear end covers  13  and  14 . The eccentric rotor assembly  200  has a contact portion  60  which contacts the inner wall surface of the cylinder block during the rotation of the eccentric rotor assembly  200 , and an axially extending sealing region is formed at the contact portion. 
     A separating means  40 , which separates the sealed chamber  300  into an induction chamber  70  and an exhaustion chamber  71 , is provided in the cylinder block  100 . On the two sides of the separating means  40 , there are respectively provided an inlet  12  and an outlet  9  in the wall of the cylinder body which communicates with the induction chamber and the exhaustion chamber respectively. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the eccentric rotor assembly  200  comprises a cylindrical rotor  4  which is eccentrically mounted on the shaft  2  through a key  5 , and a bush  3  is rotatably fitted over the cylindrical rotor  4 . Since the bush  3  is rotatably fitted over the cylindrical rotor  4 , the cylindrical rotor  4  can rotate relative to the bush  3  and drive the bush  3  when the rotor compressor operates. 
     The separating means  40  comprises a separator plate  8  which is pivotally mounted on the cylindrical cylinder block body  1  via a pivot shaft  11  at its one end. A contact member  7 , which makes contact with the eccentric rotor assembly  200 , is provided at the other end of the separator plate  8 . The contact member  7  is formed with a cylindrical surface  27  extending axially; and a circular arc slot  15 , which extends axially, is formed on the circumferential surface of the bush  3 , and the radius of the cylindrical surface of the contact member  7  is substantially equal to or slightly smaller than the radius of the circular arc slot  15 . In an assembled state, the cylindrical surface of the contact member  7  is positioned in the circular arc slot  15  formed on the circumferential surface of the bush  3 , and a sealing contact is formed there between to separate the sealed chamber  300  into the induction chamber  70  and the exhaustion chamber  71 . 
     Furthermore, a receiving recess  21  is formed in the inner wall of the cylinder block body  1 , so that the separator plate  8  and the contact member  7  can be received in the receiving recess when pivoting to the uppermost position due to the rotation of the rotor assembly  200 , thus improving the volume efficiency of the rotor compressor. 
     The pivot shaft  11  is fitted in a hole  22  which is formed in the cylinder block body  1  and extends axially, the hole  22  opens to the inner chamber of the cylinder block. The pivot shaft  11  is mounted in the hole  22  and thus is rotationally supported by the hole  22 . The pivot shaft  11  is disposed between the inner end surfaces of the front and rear end covers with a necessary axial fit clearance between the shaft  11  and the inner end surfaces of the front and rear end covers, and thus the pivot shaft  11  is not associated with the end covers in any other way. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a connecting member  6  is provided to connect the bush  3  of the eccentric rotor assembly  200  and the contact member  7  of the separating means  40 . As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the connecting member  6  takes the shape of U, and comprises two cylindrical legs  66  and a connecting part  65  which connect the two legs. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the contact member  7  is formed with a central hole  76  at each of its two axial ends for receiving one leg  66  of the connecting member  6 . Furthermore, each axial end of the contact member  7  is formed with a sectorial cutout  75  which has a center corresponding to the central hole  76 . In an assembled state, the connection part  65  of the connecting member  6  is located within the sectorial cutout  75  so as not to protrude from the axial end surface of the contact member  7 . The sectorial cutout  75  allows the connecting member  6  (and thus the bush  3 ) and the contact member  7  (and thus the separating means  40 ) to rotate relative to each other with the central hole  76  as the center within a range defined by the sectorial cutout  75 . The circumferential size of the sectorial cutout  75  is so determined that, on one hand, it should be small enough to ensure a sealed separation between the high pressure chamber and the low pressure chamber, i.e. a situation will not occur that the two circumferential ends of the sectorial cutout communicate with the high pressure chamber and the low pressure chamber simultaneously; and on the other hand, it should be big enough to enable the connecting member  6  (and thus the bush  3 ) and the contact member  7  (and thus the separating means  40 ) to rotate relative to each other in desired range to achieve the desired operation of the rotor compressor. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the bush  3  is formed with an axial hole  36  at each of its axial ends, which receives the other leg  66  of the connecting member  6 . And furthermore, the bush  3  is formed with a slot  35  at each of its axial ends, which opens to the axial hole  36 . In an assembled state, the connecting part  65  of the connecting member  6  is located within the slot  35  so as not to protrude from the axial end surface of the bush  3 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the outlet  9  is provided with a check valve  10 , the closing and opening member  10 ′ is biased by a spring  10 ″ and thus closes the outlet. Preferably, the check valve  10  is a cylindrical valve.  FIG. 7  shows the structure of the cylindrical valve, in which  FIG. 7A  is an axial sectional view and  FIG. 7B  is an end view. As shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the closing and opening member  30  is a cylindrical member which has a radial cutout  31  formed there through at each of its two axial ends, this cutout is used to receive the guide part  33  of a guide member  32  which guides the movement of the cylindrical closing and opening member. 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  are respectively the front view and side view of the guide member  32 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the guide member  32  takes the shape of T, comprises a guide part  33  and a fixing part  34  connected with the guide part, and the guide part  33  is adapted to be inserted into the radial cutout  31  of the cylindrical closing and opening member  30  to guide the movement of the cylindrical closing and opening member  30 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , on the axial ends of the cylinder block body  1  there is formed with a T-shaped slot  40   a , the radial inner end of the T-shaped slot  40   a  opens to a cavity  41  within which the cylindrical valve member  30  is accommodated, the cavity  41  communicates with the exhaustion chamber  71  via a communicating hole  42 . The surface of the cavity  41  at the radial inner side is formed as a cylindrical surface  43  the radius of which is substantially the same as that of the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical valve member  30 , thus forming the mounting seat of the cylindrical valve member  30 . The communicating hole  42  is formed in the cylindrical surface  43 . The guide member  32  is mounted in the T-shaped slot to be fixed in place relative to the cylinder block body  1 . 
     In an assembled state, the guide members  32  are mounted in the T-shaped slots on the axial end surfaces of the cylinder block body  1 , and the cylindrical valve member  30  is mounted on the mounting seat in the form of the cylindrical surface  43 , and the outer extension of the guide part  33  of the guide member  32  inserts into the radial cutout  31  of the cylindrical valve member  30 ; and at the same time, the cylindrical valve member  30  is biased by a spring (not shown) to close the communicating hole  42 . 
     The cylindrical valve member  30  described above is a hollow cylindrical member. Alternatively, it can also be a solid cylindrical member. 
     The operation of the rotor compressor in accordance with the invention is now described in connection with the drawings. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , when the eccentric rotor assembly  200 , which is driven by the shaft  2 , rotates clockwise, the volume of the induction chamber  70  increases, and therefore a negative pressure is established in the induction chamber. As a result, gas or liquid is sucked into the cylinder via the inlet  12  which communicates with the induction chamber; at the same time, the gas or liquid in the exhaustion chamber  71  is compressed as the contact portion  60  rotates clockwise, and is discharged via the outlet  9  which communicates with the exhaustion chamber. By means of the connecting member  6  and the action of the pressure difference between the induction chamber  70  and the exhaustion chamber  71 , the cylindrical surface of the contact member  7  of the separating means is kept in good contact with the circular arc slot  15  on the bush  3  all the time. Therefore, a good sealing is achieved between the induction chamber and the exhaustion chamber to allow for the above-mentioned operation. The above process is repeated continuously as the rotor assembly rotates. 
     The rotor compressor in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention will be described in connection with  FIG. 6 . The structure of the rotor compressor in accordance with the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the rotor compressor in accordance with the first embodiment, the difference lies in the structure of the separating means  40 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , in the second embodiment of the invention, the contact member  7 ′ with a cylindrical surface is fixedly attached to the bush  3  of the eccentric rotor assembly  200 , and a side of the separator plate  8 , which faces the bush  3 , is formed with a circular arc slot  15 ′ which extends axially, and the radius of the cylindrical surface of the contact member  7 ′ is substantially equal to or slightly smaller than the radius of the circular arc slot  15 ′. In an assembled state, the cylindrical surface of the contact member  7 ′ is positioned in the circular arc slot  15 ′ formed on the separator plate  8 , and a sealing contact is established therebetween to separate the sealed chamber  300  into the induction chamber  70  and the exhaustion chamber  71 . 
     Similar to the first embodiment (refer to  FIGS. 3-5 ), the contact member  7 ′, which is fixedly attached to the bush  3 , and the separator plate  8  are connected through the connecting member  6 . The contact member  7 ′ is formed with a central hole at each of its two axial ends for receiving one leg  66  of the connecting member  6 . Furthermore, each axial end of the contact member  7 ′ is formed with a sectorial cutout which has a center corresponding to the central hole. In an assembled state, the connecting part  65  of the connecting member  6  is located within the sectorial cutout so as not to protrude from the axial end surface of the contact member  7 ′. The sectorial cutout allows the connecting member  6  (and thus the separating means) and the contact member (and thus the bush) to rotate relative to each other with the central hole as the center within the range defined by the sectorial cutout. The circumferential size of the sectorial cutout is so determined that, on one hand, it should be small enough to ensure a sealed separation between the high pressure chamber and the low pressure chamber, i.e. a situation will not occur that the two circumferential ends of the sectorial cutout communicate with the high pressure chamber and the low pressure chamber simultaneously; and on the other hand, it should be big enough to enable the connecting member  6  (and thus the separating means) and the contact member (and thus the bush) to rotate relative to each other in a desired range to achieve the desired operation of the rotor compressor. 
     The separator plate  8  is formed with an axial hole at each of its axial ends which receives the other leg  66  of the connecting member  6 . And furthermore, the separator plate  8  is formed with a slot at each of its axial ends which opens to the axial hole. In an assembled state, the connecting part  65  of the connecting member  6  is located within the slot so as not to protrude from the axial end surface of the separator plate  8 . 
     Although the invention has been described in connection with the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments are only exemplary but not limitative, various modifications to the embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     For example, in the above embodiments, the inlet  12  and the outlet  9  are respectively formed in the circumferential wall of the cylinder block body  1 , however they can also be provided in the front and rear end covers. 
     In the above embodiments, two connecting members are used to connect the contact member  7  and the bush  3  or the contact member  7 ′ and the separator plate  8  at the two axial ends. However, it is obvious that only one connecting member can be used to make the connection. Furthermore, the way of connecting the contact member  7  and the bush  3  or the contact member  7 ′ and the separator plate  8  is not limited to the particular one described above, any other way, which can achieve the same function, is also possible. 
     In the first embodiment described above, the separator plate  8 , the pivot shaft  11  and the contact member  7  are integrally formed. However, the separator plate  8 , the pivot shaft  11  and the contact member  7  can also be separate members, and are fixedly attached to one another to form the separating means  40 . 
     In the embodiments described above, the invention is described and illustrated as a rotor compressor with one cylinder. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is also applicable to a rotor compressor with more than one cylinder. Where a plurality of cylinders are applied, the cylinders may be arranged in the axial direction. The phase angle between the rotors in the cylinder blocks may be equal to 360 degrees/n, where n is the number of the cylinders.