US3332235A

US3332235A - Rotary device

Info

Publication number: US3332235A
Application number: US514287A
Authority: US
Inventors: Verbon H B Wilhite
Original assignee: Thiokol Corp
Current assignee: ATK Launch Systems LLC
Priority date: 1965-12-16
Filing date: 1965-12-16
Publication date: 1967-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 1984-07-25

Description

July 25, 1967 v. H. B. WILHITE ROTARY DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1965 INVENTOR. VERBON H.B. WILHITE ATTORNEY July 25, 1967 v. H. B. WILHITE ROTARY DEVI CE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 16, 1965 W b 8 4 w,

INVENTOR. VERBON H.B.W|L,H|TE

FIG. 3

BY EM 0W ATTORNEY United States Patent 3 ,332,235 ROTARY DEVICE Verbon H. B. Wilhite, Brigham City, Utah, assignor to Thiokol Chemical Corporation, Bristol, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 514,287 Claims. (Cl. 60-3955) This invention relates to a drive mechanism and, more particularly, to means for rotating a drive shaft or other rotatable member at a predetermined angular velocity.

By means of a preferred embodiment of this invention a drive shaft is rotated at a predetermined angular velocity, said embodiment comprising a source of high velocity gas, such as a solid propellant gas generator, and one or more deflectors that are carried by the shaft and arranged to deflect the flow of the gas relative thereto. More particularly, a preferred embodiment of this invention comprises a flywheel mounted on a rotatable drive shaft, a gas generator mounted on the drive shaft and adapted to discharge gas jets tangentially to the flywheel at diametrically opposed points thereon, and two deflectors each pivotally mounted on the flywheel so as to be respectively movable, as a result of the centrifugal force exerted there-on during the rotation of said shaft, into the paths of the gas jets. Thus, the tangential force exerted against the flywheel mounted on the drive shaft of the prefer-red embodiment can conveniently be varied by, for example, increasing or decreasing the mass of the deflectors connected to said flywheel, or by varying the flow of gas from the gas generator of said embodiment.

Accordingly, it is a broad object of this invention to provide a device for rotating a drive shaft or other rotatable member at a predetermined angular velocity.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for rotating a drive shaft at a predetermined angular velocity by means of a source of high velocity gas.

An additional object of this invention is to provide means for applying force to a drive shaft so as to impart rotational motion thereto and for varying the direction of this force relative to the drive shaft in accordance with the angular velocity thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood by consideration of the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, one component of the embodiment being broken away for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a View of the preferred embodiment taken along the plane represented by line 22 in FIG. 1, one component of the embodiment being illustrated in cross section; and

FIGURE 3 is a full longitudinal sectional view of the preferred embodiment, taken along the plane represented by line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

Throughout the specification and drawings like reference numbers refer to like parts.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 through '3, a preferred embodiment of this invention is provided with a gas generator in the form of a cylindrical casing having first and second end closures respectively secured to opposite ends thereof, these end closures being designated by the

numbers

12, 14 respectively. End closure 12 has a central aperture 16 therein, i.e., the longitudinal axis of said aperture is coincident with the longitudinal axis of casing 10. A combustible gas-generating charge 18 is disposed within casing 10, one face 20 of this charge being spaced from the inner surface of end closure 12. One end of a cylindrical member 22 is fixedly connected to 3,332,235 Patented July 25, 1967 each including an

internal passage

26a, 26b (illustrated by broken lines in the drawing) the inner end of which communicates with the interior of member 22 and the outer end of which terminates at an

orifice

28a, 28b the linear, terminal portion of which is disposed transverse to the common longitudinal axis of casing 10 and member 22. More particularly,

orifices

28a, 28b are equidistant from the common longitudinal axis of casing 10 and member 22, and as can be seen in FIG. 2, the linear, terminal portions of said orfices are perpendicular to

surfaces

29a, 29b of

ducts

24a, 24b, which surfaces lie in a plane that also includes the common longitudinal axis of casing 10 and member 22. A flywheel 30 is fixedly attached to the side of each

duct

24a, 24b which faces away from casing 10, the longitudinal axis of said flywheel being coincident with the common longitudinal axis of casing 10 and member 22. First and

second shafts

32a, 32b are respectively fixedly connected at one end thereof to end closure 14 and flywheel 30, and the longitudinal axes of these shafts are coincident with the common longitudinal axis of casing 10, member 22 and flywheel 30.

Each of a repair of

elongated deflectors

34a, 34b is pivotally connected at one end thereof to flywheel 30 by means of a

pivot pin

36a, 36b having a

head portion

38a, 38b and an integral shank portion which extends through a hole in said deflector and which is fixedly engaged within a hole in said flywheel (see FIG. 3, wherein both the head and shank portions of pivot pin 36b is illustrated). As can be seen in FIG. 2., each

pivot pin

36a, 36b is located adjacent a respective one of the

orifices

28a, 28b in

ducts

24a, 24b and is disposed in- Wardly thereof (i.e., the orifice is farther from the longitudinal axis of flywheel 30 than the pivot pin that is biased against its stop pin by means of a

tension spring

44a, 44b which is connected to a

support pin

46a, 46b fixedly engaged within a hole formed in the free end of the deflector and projecting perpendicularly from the surface thereof that faces casing 10, and which is also connected to a

support pin

48a, 48b fixedly engaged within a hole in flywheel 30' and projecting perpendicularly from the surface 37 thereof. Each of the

support pins

46a, 46b, 48a, 48b comprises head and shank portions that, for the sake of simplicity, are not separately identified in the drawings. It will be seen that

springs

44a, 44b respectively act to rotate

deflectors

34a, 34b about their

pivot pins

36a, 36b so that the free ends of said deflectors are biased inwardly (i.e., toward the longitudinal axis of flywheel 30).

The described rotary device is also provided with conventional bearing means (not shown) for rotatably supporting

shafts

32a, 32b and with a conventional igniter (not shown) for igniting charge 18. It will be obvious that the structural components of rotary device may be formed of a great variety of well-known materials and that charge 18 may comprise any one of the many materials, such as suitable solid propellants, that are presently employed for gas generation.

When surface 20 of charge 18 is ignited the gas generated by combustion of said charge flows through member 22 and the

passages

26a, 26b in

ducts

24a, 24b and is discharged from the

orifices

28a, 28b in said ducts in the form of two high velocity jets, the line of thrust 50a, 50b of each of said jets being spaced from the common longitudinal axis of

shafts

32a, 32b, casing member 22 and flywheel 30 and disposed transverse thereto. Thus the thrust of the two gas jets discharged from

orifices

28a, 28b causes the rotary device to rotate about the bearing means which support

shafts

32a, 32b in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1. As the angular velocity of the rotary device increases, the resultant centrifugal force exerted upon each

deflector

34a, 34b causes it to pivot about its

pivot pin

36a, 36b to a position thereof such as is illustrated in FIG. 1, i.e., to a position wherein the deflector intercepts the gas jet discharged from the

orifice

28a, 28b adjacent thereto. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the line of thrust of each of the gas jets discharged from

orifices

28a, 28b is substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of the linear portion of said orifice. For the purpose of interpretation of claims appended hereto, the pivotal motion of each

deflector

34a, 34b can therefore be defined as being between a first position wherein the deflector is disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the

orifice

28a, 28b that is adjacent thereto and a second position wherein the deflector intercepts said longitudinal axis of the same orifice. Since the orientation of the aforementioned gas jets relative to flywheel 30 (and to the other components of the rotary device) is varied when deflectors are disposed, for example, in the position illustrated by broken lines in FIG. 2, the torque applied to the rotary device depends upon the position of said deflectors. The angular velocity of the rotary device becomes constant when the forces acting upon it reach a state of equilibrium, which depends upon such factors as the external load or friction which resists rotation of the rotary device, the impulse of the gas jets discharged from

orifices

28a, 28b, the mass and modulus of elasticity of

springs

44a, 44b, and the mass of

deflectors

34a, 34b and other components of the rotary device. Consequently, the angular velocity of the preferred embodiment of the invention can conveniently be governed by varying one of the aforementioned factors.

It will be obvious that many modifications can be made in the rotary device herein described without departing in any way from the concepts of the invention. For example, in some

cases springs

44a, 44b may not be required, and other means for resiliently biasing

deflectors

34a, 34b toward

stop pins

42a, 42b may, of course, be substituted for said springs. The thrust means used to impart rotational motion to the flywheel 30 may comprise liquid or solid propellant rocket motors mounted on the periphery of said flywheel, or may be any other suitable means that can discharge a gas or other fluid at a velocity sufliciently high to effect the required angular velocity of a particular rotary device. Furthermore, the utility of embodiments of the invention is not limited to use in rotating a shaft about its longitudinal axis, since obviously the principles of the invention can be applied to govern the angular velocity of any member or body driven by fluid jets. Therefore, although the invention has been disclosed with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that this embodiment has been presented for the purpose of example only, the scope of the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotary device comprising:

a rotatable member;

thrust means carried by said member and adapted to impart rotational motion thereto by discharging a fluid the line of thrust of which is spaced from the axis of rotation of said member and disposed transverse thereto; and

a deflector carried by said member and adapted to pivot about a point thereon so that it intercepts said fluid discharged from said thrust means as said shaft is rotated and centrifugal force is exerted upon said deflector.

2. A rotary device as defined in claim 1 including means for resiliently biasing said deflector away from said fluid discharged from said thrust means until the centrifugal force exerted upon said deflector reaches a predetermined level.

3. A rotary device comprising:

a cylindrical casing having first and second end closures respectively secured to opposite ends thereof, said first end closure having a central aperture therein;

a gas-generating charge disposed within said casing;

a cylindrical member fixedly connected at one end thereof to said first end closure, the interior of said cylindrical member communicating with the interior of said casing through said aperture in said first end closure, the longitudinal axis of said cylindrical member being substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of said casing;

a pair of ducts fixedly connected to the other end of said cylindrical member, said ducts projecting from opposite sides of said cylindrical member and each including an internal passage the inner end of which communicates with the interior of said cylindrical member and the outer end of which terminates at an orifice the longitudinal axis of which is disposed transverse to the common longitudinal axis of said casing and cylindrical member;

a flywheel fixedly attached to said ducts, the longitudinal axis of said flywheel being substantially coincident with the common longitudinal axis of said casing and cylindrical member;

a pair of deflectors each having one end thereof pivotally connected to said flywheel at a point adjacent a respective one of said orifices in said ducts and disposed inwardly, thereof, each of said deflectors being rotatable between a first position thereof wherein it is disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said orifice adjacent thereto and a second position thereof wherein said deflector intercepts said longitudinal axis of the same orifice;

first and second shafts fixedly connected at one end thereof to said second end closure and said flywheel respectively, the longitudinal axis of said shafts being substantially coincident with the common longitudinal axis of said casing, cylindrical member and flywheel;

bearing means for rotatably supporting said first and second shafts; and

means for igniting said grain, whereby gas is discharged from said orifices in said ducts, said rotary device is rotated about the longitudinal axis of said shafts, and said deflectors are subjected to centrifugal force and respectively pivoted relative to said flywheel so that they intercept said gas discharged from each of said orifices.

4. A rotary device as defined in claim 3 including:

bias means for resiliently biasing the free end of each of said deflectors toward the common longitudinal axis of said flywheel, casing and cylindrical member; and

stop means for limiting the movement of each of said deflectors toward the common longitudinal axis of said flywheel, casing and cylindrical member under the force exerted thereon by said bias means.

5. A rotary device as defined in claim 4 wherein:

said bias means comprise a pair of tension springs 3 5 6 each connected at one end thereof to the free end References Cited of a respective one of said deflectors and at the UNITED STATES PATENTS tg i igggzfgg 322x 33 apomt adjacent 3,120,739 2/1964 Zillman et a1. 6039.35 3,210,929 10/1965 Thomanek 6039.35 X sald stop means comprlse a paxr of pms mounted on 5 said flywheel. CARLTON R. CROYLE, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A ROTARY DEVICE COMPRISING: A ROTATABLE MEMBER; THRUST MEANS CARRIED BY SAID MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO IMPART ROTATIONAL MOTION THERETO BY DISCHARGING A FLUID THE LINE OF THRUST OF WHICH IS SPACED FROM THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID MEMBER AND DISPOSED TRANSVERSE THERETO; AND A DEFLECTOR CARRIED BY SAID MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO PIVOT ABOUT A POINT THEREON SO THAT IT INTERCEPTS SAID FLUID DISCHARGED FROM SAID THRUST MEANS AS SAID SHAFT IS ROTATED AND CENTRIFUGAL FORCE IS EXERTED UPON SAID DEFLECTOR.