Patent ID: 6948909

Claim:
A rotary compressor, comprising: a shaft rotatable about an axis; at least one compressor wheel mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and having an inlet end of relatively small diameter and a radial discharge end of relatively large diameter; a nominally donut-shaped intercooling heat exchanger centered about said shaft and adjacent said compressor wheel, said heat exchanger having heat exchange fluid flow paths in heat exchange relation with each other including a compressed gas flow path and a coolant flow path, said coolant flow path being bounded in part by a wall of a diameter at least as great as said relatively large diameter; a housing for said compressor wheel and said heat exchanger and together with said wall defining a compressed gas directing space extending from said radial discharge end to an entrance to said compressed gas flow path; and a plurality of flow straightening vanes thermally coupled to, aid wall and extending across said compressed gas directing space so that heat in said compressed gas may be rejected to said vanes and then to coolant in said coolant flow path.