Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
  • F01C—ROTARY-PISTON OR OSCILLATING-PISTON MACHINES OR ENGINES
  • F01C21/00—Component parts, details or accessories not provided for in groups F01C1/00 - F01C20/00
  • F01C21/04—Lubrication
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B3/00—Rotary drilling
  • E21B3/02—Surface drives for rotary drilling
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
  • A61B2017/00535—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets pneumatically or hydraulically operated
  • A61B2017/00544—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets pneumatically or hydraulically operated pneumatically
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
  • F04C—ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
  • F04C2230/00—Manufacture
  • F04C2230/90—Improving properties of machine parts
  • F04C2230/91—Coating
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
  • F05C—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO MATERIALS, MATERIAL PROPERTIES OR MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS FOR MACHINES, ENGINES OR PUMPS OTHER THAN NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES
  • F05C2251/00—Material properties
  • F05C2251/14—Self lubricating materials; Solid lubricants

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a pneumatic motor.
• the invention has been developed primarily for use in underground mining and tunnelling tools, such as a s roofbolter, and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use. Other applications include motors for processing equipment in the food and pharmaceutical industry, in which contamination-free process equipment is required.
• Pneumatic motors use rotors driven by compressed air and are common in power tools and other machinery. Pneumatic motors using very clean and dry air can be operated without supplementary lubrication. However, most pneumatic motors require supplementary lubrication to function reliably with durability.
• the supplementary lubrication is fed into the compressed air stream by a controlled drip rate of oil relative to s the supplied airflow. All the components exposed to the compressed air are then coated with a film of oil.
• the lubricators which feed oil into the airflow are generally unreliable and often result in too little or too much oil being fed in. As noted above, lack of oil feed will reduce the operational life of the equipment. Excessive oiling reduces the performance of s the equipment due to the sludging of internal components. Excessive oiling can also render the equipment inoperable.
• the responsibility for maintaining oil supply to the lubricators generally falls to the operators, who, in practice, rarely check the lubricator oil level and often operate equipment without sufficient oil.
• a lubricator without sufficient oil can also act as a 0 water trap which results in water being fed into the air stream and the misconception that the lubricator is full of oil.
• equipment with motors having supplementary lubrication expel a fine mist of oil with their exhausted air. This can be detrimental to the health of operators who inhale the contaminated air and creates a potential occupational health and safety liability.
• the present invention provides a pneumatic motor having: a motor body having an air inlet and an air outlet; at least one rotor mounted in a chamber of the motor body and adapted to be driven by compressed air fed into the air inlet; and an adhesive lubricant applied to the at least one rotor, the lubricant being sufficiently adhesive to remain substantially adhered to the at least one rotor under operational speeds in excess of 13500 rpm.
• the at least one rotor includes a drive rotor and an idler rotor.
• the rotors are mounted on sealed cage deep groove ball bearings.
• the motor body is constructed from corrosion resistant material.
• the motor further includes a reduction gearbox having a gearbox body constructed from a corrosion resistant material.
• the corrosion resistant material comprises nylon, stainless steel or acetyl resin engineering plastic.
• the motor is adapted for bidirectional rotation and the air inlet and air outlet are selectively interchangeable.
• the motor body includes internal baffling formed in the motor body and associated with the air outlet, the baffling being adapted to muffle motor noise.
• the motor body comprises a wall surrounding the chamber and the baffling is provided in a conduit formed within the wall, the conduit providing fluid communication between the chamber and the air outlet.
• the baffling is provided by the conduit following a corrugated path within the wall.
• the conduit extends around the wall, substantially circumventing the chamber.
• the adhesive lubricant is Optimol Paste White T Spray (trade mark), marketed by Castrol. Brief Description of the Drawings
• Fig. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a motor according to the invention
• Fig. 2 is a front view of the motor depicted in Fig. 1 ;
• Fig. 3 is an open top view of the motor of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the motor of Fig. 1, showing internal detail; and Fig. 5 is a top view of the motor of Fig. 4.
• Figs. 1 to 5 depict an embodiment of a motor 10 according to the present invention.
• the motor 10 comprises a motor body 12, having an air inlet 14 and an air outlet 16.
• the motor body 12 has a chamber 15 in fluid communication with the air inlet 14 and air outlet 16.
• the chamber 15 houses a steel alloy drive rotor 18 on a drive shaft 20 and a steel alloy idler rotor 22, intermeshed with the drive rotor 18, on an idler shaft 24.
• Each shaft 20, 24 is mounted on sealed cage deep groove ball bearings (not shown).
• a conduit 25 extends from an opening 26 to the air outlet 16.
• the conduit 25 is formed within the wall of the motor body 12, extending around the periphery of the chamber 15 and following a corrugated path.
• the rotors 18, 22 are sprayed with an adhesive lubricant such as Optimol Paste White T Spray (trade mark) marketed by Castrol.
• the lubricant is sufficiently adhesive to remain adhered to the rotors 18, 22 under operational speeds in excess of 13500 rpm.
• compressed air is fed into the air inlet 14. Since the intermeshed rotors 18, 22 prevent air passing between the rotors 18, 22, the air is forced around the periphery of the rotors 18, 22. As the air flows between the rotors 18, 22 and the wall of the motor body 12, the air drives the two rotors 18, 22 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows.
• the air then exits the chamber 15 via the opening 26 and flows along the corrugated conduit 25 around the periphery of the chamber 15 before being expelled via the air outlet 16.
• noise energy is absorbed into the wall of the motor body 12 and the noise output at the air outlet 16 is reduced.
• the motor body 12 is advantageously constructed from corrosion resistant material such as nylon, stainless steel or acetyl resin engineering plastic, such as polyoxymethylene. This construction provides a light weight motor that is not susceptible to corrosion when used in contaminated environments.
• the motor 10 can also be configured to operate selectively in forward or reverse, i.e. bidirectional rotation. When the motor is operated in reverse, the air inlet becomes the air outlet and vice versa. This feature is particularly advantageous in applications of the motor in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
• Motor Or Generator Frames (AREA)
• Connection Of Motors, Electrical Generators, Mechanical Devices, And The Like (AREA)
• Lubrication Of Internal Combustion Engines (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=38540730

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (11)

• 2007
  • 2007-03-29 AU AU2007231555A patent/AU2007231555A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-03-29 RU RU2008142732/06A patent/RU2008142732A/ru not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2007-03-29 US US12/294,847 patent/US20100028187A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-03-29 CN CNA2007800122670A patent/CN101415913A/zh active Pending
  • 2007-03-29 EP EP07718651A patent/EP2002091A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2007-03-29 WO PCT/AU2007/000404 patent/WO2007109859A1/en active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events