FLUID COMPRESSOR
An apparatus includes an electric motor including a rotor and a stator, and a compression device including a compression chamber and a compression mechanism. The compression chamber is within either the rotor or the stator of the electric motor.
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This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Application No. 62/068,375, filed Oct. 24, 2014, the entire content of which is incorporated into the present application by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present subject matter relates generally to a fluid compressor. In particular, it relates to a fluid compressor in which the fluid being compressed is compressed in a compression chamber within the motor driving the compressor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPresent fluid compressors generally include a compression chamber for compressing the fluid, and a separate electric motor to drive the apparatus that compresses the fluid in the compression chamber. Including these two separate mechanisms causes the overall structure to be bulky and costly. Accordingly, the present inventors sought out a way to include the compression apparatus inside the electric motor that drives the compression apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne aspect of the present invention broadly comprises a compressor including an electric motor including a rotor and a stator; and a compression device including a compression chamber and a compression mechanism. The compression chamber is within either the rotor or the stator of the electric motor.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present subject matter, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:
Reference is presently made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter, one or more examples of which are illustrated in or represented by the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the present subject matter, not limitation of the present subject matter. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present subject matter without departing from the scope or spirit of the present subject matter. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present subject matter covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the disclosure and equivalents thereof.
In the embodiment shown in
In
Electric motor 30 may be a single speed, multispeed, or variable speed motor. Further, electric motor 30 may be any type of electric motor including and not limited to an induction motor, a permanent magnet motor, a brushless DC motor, and a switched reluctance motor.
When the rotor 34 turns as a result of current flowing through the motor 30, vane 28 will move forward and back within slot 26 due to biasing by leaf spring 27. The outer edge of vane 28 will remain in contact with the inner surface of the compression chamber 36, which is within rotor 34. Compression chamber 36 has a cross-section of approximately a circle when viewed along the shaft direction, but a center of compression chamber 36 is offset from a center of shaft 20. Accordingly, compression chamber 36 rotates eccentrically around a center of shaft 20 during each compression cycle, as shown in
Although
At the start of a cycle as shown in
The outer wall of compression chamber 36 is a solid sleeve 36A (labeled in
In the embodiment shown in
In one embodiment of the present invention, the rotor also includes a cooling fluid fan 50 for driving cooling fluid through the rotor 34 to cool the portions within.
Upper bearing 90A supports the upper end of rotor 34, and lower bearing 90B supports the lower end of rotor 34. Bearings 90A and 90B are located much closer together than conventional bearings. As shown in
The present written description uses examples to disclose the present subject matter, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the present subject matter, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated and/or associated methods. While the present subject matter has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing may readily produce alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is by way of example rather than by way of limitation, and the subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion of such modifications, variations and/or additions to the present subject matter as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising:
- an electric motor including a rotor and a stator; and
- a compression device including a compression chamber and a compression mechanism, the compression chamber being within either the rotor or the stator of the electric motor.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the compression chamber is inside the rotor of the electric motor.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the compression chamber is inside the stator of the electric motor.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a seal including an inner race and an outer race.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:
- a seal ring located between the inner race and the outer race and configured to change position when the electric motor is turned on.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the seal ring moves from a position in the inner race when the motor is off to a position partially within the outer race when the motor is turned on.
7. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:
- a plurality of metal spheres located between the inner race and the outer race.
8. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:
- a seal ring located in contact with a surface of the inner race and a surface of the outer race.
9. An apparatus comprising:
- an electric motor including a rotor, a stator, and a shaft, the rotor including a central passage, at least a portion of the shaft being located in the central passage of the rotor;
- an upper bearing supporting an upper end of the rotor, the upper bearing extending into an upper portion of the central passage of the rotor; and
- a lower bearing supporting a lower end of the rotor, the lower bearing extending into a lower portion of the central passage of the rotor.
10. An apparatus comprising:
- an electric motor including a rotor and a stator; and
- a seal including an upper race, a lower race, and a seal ring, the seal ring located in an annular groove in an outer perimeter of the upper race, the annular groove in the outer perimeter of the upper race being adjacent to an annular groove in an inner perimeter of the lower race such that when the upper race rotates with the rotor, the seal ring moves at least partly into the annular groove in the inner perimeter of the lower race to seal an interface between the upper and lower races.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 23, 2015
Publication Date: May 26, 2016
Applicant: Bristol Compressors International, LLC (Bristol, VA)
Inventors: Kevin Neal MUMPOWER (Bristol, VA), Jeffry Lynn HAMILTON (Bristol, VA), Kelly Wood CHANDLER (Bristol, VA), John Williard TOLBERT, JR. (Bristol, VA)
Application Number: 14/921,302