SYMMETRICAL VANE PUMP APPARATUS AND METHOD
The invention relates to a vane cell pump (1) comprising an electrical drive unit with an electric motor and a motor shaft (6), a pump chamber (2) that connects to the electrical drive unit and has a pump ring (3), and also a rotor (4) that is arranged concentric to the motor shaft (6) within the pump chamber (2) and is in active connection with the motor shaft (6), wherein the rotor (4) has a number of guide slots (40) that extend inward from the outer circumference of the rotor and in each of which a vane (5) is arranged in a moveable manner with two vane ends (50, 51) opposite each other. The vane ends (50, 51) of each vane (5) have a mirror-symmetric design relative to the transverse center plane of the vane.
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This application claims priority through German Application No. 10 2009 056 008.4 filed Nov. 26, 2009 and Application No. PCT/EP2010/068183 filed on Nov. 25, 2010.
BACKGROUNDThe present invention relates to a vane cell pump comprising an electrical drive unit with an electric motor and a motor shaft, a pump chamber that connects to the electrical drive unit and has a pump ring, and also a rotor that is arranged concentric to the motor shaft within the pump chamber and is in active connection with the motor shaft, wherein the rotor has a number of guide slots that extend inward from the outer circumference of the rotor and in each of which a vane is arranged in a moveable manner with two vane ends opposite each other.
Vane cell pumps of the type named above, which are also frequently called rotary vane pumps, are already known in various constructions from the prior art. Examples for vane cell pumps can be found in DE 100 24 699 A1, DE 199 36 644 B4, DE 10 2006 058 977 A1, DE 10 2006 058 978 A1, DE 10 2006 058 979 A1, and DE 10 2006 058 980 A1.
The vane cell pumps known from the prior art have an electrical drive unit with an electric motor and a motor shaft, a pump chamber that connects to the electrical drive unit, and also a rotor that is arranged concentric to the motor shaft within the pump chamber. On its side, the rotor has a number of guide slots that extend inward from the outer circumference of the rotor. Each of these guide slots is suitable for holding a vane. Each of the vanes that has two vane ends opposite each other is arranged so that it can move in one of the guide slots. The vanes form work cells of different sizes depending on their rotational position with the inner wall of the pump ring, the outer wall of the rotor, and possibly adjacent vanes.
In
One problem in this solution known from the prior art is that, under some circumstances during assembly, the vanes can be inserted into the corresponding guide slots of the rotor in an incorrect orientation—that is, with the first vane end inward and with the second vane end outward. This incorrect assembly can remain undetected during a test of the vane cell pump and can lead, for long-term operation and under some circumstances, to undesired noise generation or also to vane breakage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis is where the present invention comes into play. The present invention is based on the task of disclosing a vane cell pump of the type named above in which the vanes are constructed so that they can be installed in the guide slots in a way that prevents incorrect installation.
This task is achieved by a vane cell pump comprising an electrical drive unit with an electric motor and a motor shaft, a pump chamber that connects to the electrical drive unit and has a pump ring, and also a rotor that is arranged concentric to the motor shaft within the pump chamber and is in active connection with the motor shaft, wherein the rotor has a number of guide slots that extend inward from the outer circumference of the rotor and in each of which a vane is arranged in a moveable manner with two vane ends opposite each other, the vane ends of each vane having a mirror-symmetric design relative to the transverse center plane of the vane. The dependent claims relate to advantageous refinements of the invention.
A vane cell pump according to the invention is characterized in that the vane ends of each vane have a mirror-symmetric design relative to the transverse center plane of the vane. The transverse center plane is understood to be the plane extending orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the vane and passing through the center point of the vane. One special advantage of the solution corresponding to the invention consists in that incorrect orientation of the vanes during installation in the guide slots can be prevented. In other words, the vanes can be inserted into the corresponding guide slots either with the first vane end or with the second vane end leading. Thus, the vanes can no longer be installed incorrectly, which could lead, for long-term operation of the vane cell pump and under some circumstances, to undesired noise generation or also to vane breakage. In one advantageous embodiment, there is the possibility that the vane ends of each vane also have a mirror-symmetric design relative to the longitudinal center plane of the vane.
To further simplify the installation, in one embodiment there is the possibility that each vane has a mirror-symmetric design relative to the transverse center plane of the vane. In addition, in one preferred embodiment, each vane can have a mirror-symmetric design relative to the longitudinal center plane of the vane.
In one advantageous embodiment, it is proposed that the vane ends of the vanes have a curved design. Therefore, damage to the vanes can be prevented in an especially effective way when the vane cell pump is operating. Advantageously, the vane ends of the vanes can have a convex curved design.
In one embodiment, it is proposed that the pump ring has elliptical inner contours. Such elliptical inner contours of the pump ring with a correspondingly shaped inner wall have the advantage that, in the interior of the pump chamber, smaller work cells are produced with significantly shorter extension paths of the vanes for each half revolution in comparison with a pump ring with circular contours for each full revolution. It has been shown that elliptical inner contours of the pump ring are especially advantageous for the case of a symmetric form of the vane ends.
In one embodiment it is proposed that the each of the guide slots of the rotor has a base section whose width is greater than the width of the vanes. Advantageously, the base sections of the guide slots are rounded and adapted, in particular, to the contours of the two vane ends.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Shown are:
The basic structural shape and the basic functional principle of a vane cell pump 1 made according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention are known from the prior art and will be explained in more detail below with reference to
In the interior of the pump chamber 2 there is a cylindrical rotor 4 in active connection with the motor shaft 6 of the drive unit. The rotor 4 has a number of guide slots 40, each of which is suitable for holding a vane 5. In this embodiment, the rotor 4 has a total of eight guide slots 40 that are distributed around the circumference of the rotor and that extend inward from the outer circumference of the rotor. Each of the vanes 5 is arranged so that it can move in one of the guide slots 40. The rotor 4 is driven by the motor shaft 6 of the electric motor when the vane cell pump 1 is operating and thus the rotor is set in rotation. As can be seen in
With further reference to
The guide slots 40 of the rotor 4 are likewise adapted to the shape of the vanes 5. In the interior of the rotor 4, each of the guide slots 40 has a base section 41 whose width is greater than the width of the vanes 5. As can be seen from
As various modifications could be made to the exemplary embodiments, as described above with reference to the corresponding illustrations, without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
REFERENCE LIST
- 1 Vane cell pump
- 2 Pump chamber
- 3 Pump ring
- 4 Rotor
- 5, 5′ Vane
- 6 Motor shaft
- 40 Guide slot
- 41 Base section
- 42 Outer wall
- 50, 50′ First vane end
- 51, 51′ Second vane end
- 501 First contour section
- 502 Second contour section
- 510 First rounded edge region
- 511 Second rounded edge region
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
10. A vane cell pump comprising:
- an electrical drive unit with an electric motor and a motor shaft;
- a pump chamber that connects to the electrical drive unit and has a pump ring;
- a rotor that is arranged concentric to the motor shaft within the pump chamber and is in active connection with the motor shaft;
- the rotor has a number of guide slots that extend inward from the outer circumference of the rotor and in each of which a vane is arranged in a moveable manner with two vane ends opposite each other; and
- the vane ends of each vane being symmetric relative to a transverse center plane of the vane.
11. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein the vane ends of each vane have a symmetric design relative to the longitudinal center plane of the vane.
12. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein each vane is symmetric relative to the transverse center plane of the vane.
13. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein each vane is symmetric relative to the longitudinal center plane of the vane.
14. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein the vane ends of the vanes are curved.
15. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein the vane ends of the vanes are convex.
16. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein the pump ring has elliptical inner contours.
17. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein each of the guide slots of the rotor has a base section whose width is greater than the width of the vanes.
18. The vane cell pump according to claim 10; wherein the base sections of the guide slots are rounded.
Type: Application
Filed: May 24, 2012
Publication Date: Mar 7, 2013
Applicant: Hella KGaA (Lippstadt)
Inventors: Theodor Hüser (Geseke), Alexander Rüther (Olsberg), Udo Schubert (Paderborn)
Application Number: 13/480,075
International Classification: F04C 2/00 (20060101);