US2691348A - Ball piston pump - Google Patents

Description

Q) QL ...uit .5 F/G. l l/ Oct. 12, 1954 .1,J. GNTHER 2,591,348

BALL PISTON PUMP Filed Jan. 8, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l A TroRNeYs.

Oct. l2., 1954 1 J. GNTHER 2,691,348

BALL PISTON PUMP Filed Jan. 8, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fa 2 NVEN' 019 Johannes j. @UNT/lf@ BY." a (U ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 12, 1954 UNITED y --jfe2i6912348f Y BALLQPJSTON PUMP Johannes Joseph Gnther, -Hamburg-Harburg, Germany, assigner-Ito himself and MalteiVil- `helm .Itbrmliom` andOlg'a Maria-CarolinaiiRnn- .bom,;. bothxofr'Lingarden, Ystad, Sweden ApplicationJanuary 8, 1952', Serial N o.' 265,477

3 (Elaims.y

In the known ball pumps of the recent art, the

driving Ashaft as well asV theloose-sha-ft are each securelycoupledto a double actionpiston, Where-- inthe-pistons are turnedoverat- 90 -toi'eachi other: These ball pumpsv have-only'four-A piston chambers. The ballitself isturned,`l by rotation.: of'thedriving shaft; by the'piston of'thedrivingy shaft4 acting as' aY driver, andfisdirected in such a manner bythepiston of theloosefsliaft'that' the ball` carries' out` anrv oscillatory movement,

whereby'4v the piston chambers alternately" openy and. close; Thepumping processV is thereby car*-t riediout.v Theball itself is not coupledlf'ast-f to one'ofV the two shafts but liesloosely-in the hous ing and is-- controlledV by thefpistonA inside thefballcupg'ofv the housing: 4The-ball ofthispump` will therefore -=be referred to' as` a ball-piston', becaus'eit carriesout the -pumpingprocess whilst the rpiston-itself only carries outa rotary'movement on'its'shaft;

The ball pumps .made in practice and whicharealsa made reversible,serve for thev feeding oftviscouszliquids. Alli efforts' to use the'v ball pumps-also for' uid drivesl 'havef hithertoA been unsuccessful. `With' the-present trials` with ball pumps of" th'e previous' constructions theres-wereestablishedas; definite failings; f

' 1'. Withlowdriving' force, the -ball is forced against the housing by the liquid pressure, where-- Harder againstr` the" housing and increases the power-consuming friction.

4': Because'ofthe low numberof the pistons of the-knownball pump in thedead-point position onlyone-piston chamber is in operation on the suction side-andone-on the pressure side, where-r the` rotation moment as well` as the fluid stream will be--too disproportionate. It has been found-that the-above named failings are inherent in' the construction of the ball pump, and, in" the conditionfoftheir technical development hitherto, couldnot beovercome.

' The. advancein the-practice whichhasbeen in question' for 3'0 years i. e.' fixed; positioning of the ball on afthrough-going:drivingi shaftand elimination of the -loose shaft -is now-vfnliillediby.

the-present invention;

The present inventiondiscloses a basically al-` (a) Now vonly one'strongdriving'shaft passing' through the ball f is `coupledi fast torthe .ballf andv carried in bearingsat bothV side ofiA the housing. By thismeans, and through the arrangement :of special controlling. members. for the piston, the loose=shaft1canwbe eliminated'. Th'eviluid pressure will hereinafter. act from. the ball.' di-rectlyf onv the drivingshaft and from `,this Llatter on thef shaft bearings'at-both sides. The-unfavourable oscillating movement ofthe ballfintheball pump..

of known construction is-` now/.avoided soA that this latter, inthe presentlinvention, only. carries out ysimple rotary. motion.

(b) The prejudiciali effect of the centrifugal force is borne by the through-goingdrivingtshaft,'

because the ball canl nollonger bepressedsagainst thehousing and thus/no friction. can occurbe-l tween the ball and housing;

Also, the swinging forces operatingson the ve pump y pistons will bev removed by.' suitableprovi' sionsfso that,v herealso,fno-frictionzon the house ing can take place. th'efdriving fluid will thereby be avoided.

(cl-'In the-present embodimentanumber of' pistonsof'simple-operation can bearranged-in a circle, Wherebyvthe rotational moment yasewell as the fluid stream of the pump will boe-increasingly proportional.

(d) The pumpinggprocess is carried' outbythe half of the ball'lying opposite to'thedrivingggside; whilst at the otherssicieare`v disposedY the. con'-r trollingA means. By this means, an. Vespecially compactv construction ofthe pumpl is madepossible.

(e) The controlling part. permitsa control. of the driving quantities and an alteration of direction of the uidstream with direction otrotation and speed of rotation ofthemotor remaining the same.

The higher` working efficiency ofi the pump according to the present invention. to' be.` expectedfrom the aboveenamedproposals will permit its application as primary: and; secondary parts-ofl atransmission:

An unallowable 2 heatingl cfa The pump is illustrated by way of an example as a primary driver in the drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a vertical section of the machine along the line A--B of Fig. 2 with placing of the control at highest power.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of Fig. 1 along the line C-D or Cl---D1 in Fig. 3, with positioning of the controlling member at no-load running.

Fig. 3 is a view of the ball, (part I) and arcuate piston (parts 2 to 6) and driving shaft (part l), from D or B.

Fig. 4 is a partial section of Fig. 2 along E-F.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the coupling.

Fig. 6 is a plan View on the driver part IIa and the arcuate piston 2.

The pump parts I to 1 and I0 to I2 remain, with all movements, at the same separation from the middle point of the ball.

The pump is driven by the through-going driving shaft 'l directly coupled with the motor, which shaft is carried in bearings 2B and 2I at both sides of the housing I4. The ball body I is rigidly coupled to the driving shaft l. If the shaft 1 is set in rotary motion the part I and the arcuate pistons 2 to 6 are simultaneously carried therewith and in their turn the parts I I, 8, il, I and I5 are set in rotary motion by the driver IIa about an axis O-P inclined at an angle a to the shaft 1. By this means the pump chambers are opened and closed one after the other, and the pumping process thus carried out.

As is shown in Figs. l and 3, the piston chamber at 2 is quite open and iilled after the suction. With further gradual rotation of the ball I past the position of the arcuate pistons and 5, up to rotation about 180, the piston chamber will be completely closed and thereby emptied. With rotation of the ball back into its starting position, there is again the gradual sucking in of the liquid up to complete filling of the chamber. At each reversing and positioning of the stationary but adjustable support I2 one side of the ball becomes the pressure side and the other side the suction side. ning the axis O--P corresponds with the shaft axis. The position of the axis O-P is controlled by the control member i3 through the support I2.

Part I2 is movably carried at I6 and engages at I1 in the rotary piston carrier Il whereby the rotary movement thereof about the axis O-P is made possible.

Instead of the plain bearings I'I there can be used ball bearings. In order to prevent the rising of the parts I2 and II from their bearings at I6 and I1, the piston carrier I I is movably carried at IS on the reduced ball half I.

In order to permit reversal, there is provided in the piston carrier II a bell-shaped cavity 22 and in the support I2 a slot 23, in order to allow the shaft 'I to pass unhindered through the parts I2 and II.

Fig. 3 shows the ball I with 5 rectangular cavities in which the arcuate pistons 2 to 6 are disposed. The section lines of the ve central planes of these cavities correspond with the shaft axis.

The movements of the pistons. occur on the meridians of the ball. Nevertheless, an inaccuracy of manufacture, that is to say a small deviation of the arcuate pistons 2 to 6 from the meridian, is without prejudicial eect on the pumping process, in so far as the ball cavities each remain in a plane.

With the rotation of the ball I the ends of the With no-load runpistons 2 to 6 alter their distance from the axis 1. Thereby there is also altered the opposite position of these ends in the circumferential direction. As a result of this, there is simultaneously brought about, as shown in broken line in Fig. 5, a rotation of the parts I0, II and I5 up to the maximum angle a as far as positioning of the arcuate pistons 2 to E at the piston carrier Il. This movement is made possible by the linkage consisting of the cylinder 8 constructed transversely in the cylindrical part 9 and the ring I0 similarly movably engaging therein. The parts 8 and 9 can be replaced by a ball joint. The ring Ill has five cavities for the driver IIa. The parts I5 transfer the pressure removed from the piston carrier II onto the arcuate pistons 2 to 5 (piston pressure) whilst part I0 fixes the arcuate pistons 2 to 6 in their position to the piston carrier II, thereby allowing the alteration of the piston position at the opposite side.

By this linkage, moreover, inaccuracies in the manufacture of the pump parts will be compensated for, so that power-absorbing binding and disproportionate requirements of the pump parts will be avoided. The drivers Ila are in movable pre-tensioned contact at I9 with the arcuate pistons 2 to 6. The separation a in Fig. 6 between the driver IIal and the arcuate piston 2 is stipulated by the opposite separation of the arcuate pistons 2 to 6 altered by the rotation of the ball, so that with rotation of the ball I the drivers do not all come into operation simultaneously. The driver Ila which bears at I9 with tension on the arcuate pistons 2 to G, prevents in this way the prejudicial action of centrifugal force on the arcuate pistons 2 to 6 and the raising thereof from the ball I and thus also the friction of the arcuate pistons 2 to 6 on the housing walls I4. The pump works without valve means.

In application as a hydraulic motor the control parts I3 and I2 can be omitted and piston carrier II be carried at I1 in the housing I4 because, for example, with ships gear change and reversing gear the control of the speed and direction of rotation of the ships screw will be carried out from the crank I3 at the primary-part of the driving motor.

For lathes, power vehicles and automobiles the same applies.

- I claim:

l. A fluid pump comprising in combination a stationary housing having a spherical surface therein and inlet and outlet port means providing communication between the interior and exterior of the housing, bearings mounted in the housing at opposite sides thereof, a rotary driving shaft carried in said bearings and disposed diametrically through the housing, a rotary ball secured on the driving shaft and forming a close fit but not in contact with the spherical surface of the housing, said ball having a number of peripheral pumping chambers therein equallyspaced circumferentially about the axis of rotation of the ball, each pumping chamber being arcuate and having its central plane coincident with the axis of the driving shaft, each such pumping chamber opening at the periphery of the ball and being bounded thereat by the spherical surface of the housing, a stationary support within the housing, a rotary piston carrier journalled thereon with the axis of rotation of the piston carrier inclined with respect to the axis of rotation of the ball, and a number of arcuate pistons disposed one in each pumping chamber of the ball and secured to the piston carrier such that the pistons rotate about an axis parallel to that of the piston carrier and correspondingly inclined to the axis of the ball whereby rotation of the ball and pistons therein causes the pistons to be reciprocated arcuately in the pumping chambers about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said driving shaft, the inlet port means of the housing opening at the spherical surface thereof at a position to correspond to a greater' volume of each pumping chamber as the piston moves therein, and the outlet port means of the housing opening at the spherical surface thereof at a position to correspond to a lesser volume of each pumping chamber as the piston moves therein.

2. A fluid pump comprising in combination a stationary housing having a spherical surface therein and inlet and outlet port means providing communication between the interior and exterior of the housing, bearings mounted in the housing at opposite sides thereof, a rotary driving shaft carried in said bearings and disposed diametrically through the housing, a rotary ball secured on the driving shaft and forming a close fit but not in contact With the spherical surface of the housing, said ball having a number of peripheral pumping chambers therein equallyspaced circumferentia-lly about the axis of rotation of the ball, each pumping chamber being arcuate and having 'its central plane coincident with the axis of the driving shaft, each such pumping chamber opening at the periphery of the ball and being bounded thereat by the spherical surface of the housing, a non-rotary but adjustable support mounted in the housing for movement within limits about an axis coincident with the centre of the ball and at right angles to the axis of the driving shaft, said support having an elongated slot receiving the driving shaft, means within the housing in engagement with said support and protruding externally from the housing for adjustment of the position of the support from the exterior, a rotary piston carrier journalled' on the support with the axis of rotation of the piston carrier at an angle to the axis of rotation of the ball according to the position of adjustment of the support, and a number of arcuate pistons disposed one in each pumping chamber of the ball and secured to the piston carrier for rotation about an axis parallel to that of the piston carrier and at a corresponding angle to the axis of rotation of the ball whereby ro'- tation of the ball and pistons therein causes the pistons to be reciprocated arcuately in the pumping chambers about an axis perpendicular tol the axis of said driving shaft, the inlet port means of the housing opening at the spherical surface thereof at a position to correspond to a greater volume of each pumping chamber as the piston moves therein, and the outlet port means of the housing opening at the spherical surface thereof at a position to correspond to a lesser volume of each pumping chamber as the piston moves therein.

3. A fluid pump comprising in combination a stationary housing having a spherical surface therein and inlet and outlet port means providing communication between the interior and exterior of the housing, bearings mounted in the housing at opposite sides thereof, a rotary driving shaft carried in said bearings and disposed din ametrically through the housing, a rotary ball secured on the driving shaft and forming a close fit but not in contact with the spherical surface of the housing, said ball having a number of pumping chambers therein equally-spaced circumferentially about the axis of rotation of the ball, each pumping chamber being arcuate and having its central plane coincident with the axis of the driving shaft, each such pumping charnber opening at the periphery of the ball and being bounded thereat by the spherical surface of the housing, a non-rotary but adjustable support mounted in the housing for movement within limits about an axis coincident with the centre of the ball and at right angles to the axis of the driving shaft, said support having an elongated slot receiving the driving shaft, means within the housing in engagement with said support and protruding externally from the housing for adjustment of the position of the support from the exterior, a rotary piston carrier journalled on the support with its axis of rotation at an ang-le to the axis of rotation of the ball according to the position of adjustment of the support,` a ring on the support coaxial with the carrier, a number of arcuate pistons disposed one in each of the pumping chambers of the ball and slidably engaged with the ring for circumferential movement with respect to the carrier, the pistons being rotatable With the carrier about an axis at an angle to the axis of the ball whereby rotation of the ball and pistons therein causes the pistons to be recip-rocated arcuately in the pumping chambers about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said driving shaft, an annular pressure plate arranged on the carrier between the carrier and the pistons to receive the thrust of the pistons during pumping, and a resilient annular flange on the carrier engaged under tension with each piston to urge the piston Iinwardly against the ball and prevent'outward movement of the piston under centrifugal force, the inlet port means of the housing opening at the spherical surface thereof at a position to correspond toa greater volume of each chamber as the piston moves therein, and the outlet port means of the housing opening at the spherical surface thereof at a position to correspond to a lesser volume of each pumping chamber as the piston moves therein.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 826,985 Appel July 24, 1906 1,904,373 Kempthorne Apr. 18, 1933 1,967,167 Weis July 17, 1934 2,094,143 Cady Sept. 28, 1937 2,353,780 Neuland July 18, 1944 2,431,122 Jakobsen Nov. 18, 1947 2,501,998 Dutrey Mar. 28, 1950 2,525,907 Johnston Oct. 17, 1950

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