Dual-plate swash pump

Abstract

A swash-plate machine for pumping fluids uses dual swash plates in complementary or mirror-image orientation. The vibration that is generated as a reaction to forced nutatory motion imposed on a single swash plate is thereby largely cancelled. Rotated orientation of the divider plate position in one chamber with respect to the other (preferably 90 degrees difference) provides four outputs per revolution instead of the two available from both sides of a single swash plate. Improved bearings for the part-spherical swash plate base permits only oscillatory movement for that part and facilitate better sealing.

1 - 12 . (canceled) 
   
   
       13 . A dual swashplate pump having a body including two pumping chambers each holding a nutatable swash plate; each swash plate being attached along a common, shared, shaped drive shaft such that when in use each swash plate is caused to nutate in a direction opposite to that of the other swash plate, so that a tendency for vibratory motion of the pump body arising from a reaction to the nutation of either one swash plate is partially cancelled by opposite movement of the other swash plate; each swash plate being transected though a notch by a fixed divider plate that crosses the chamber and is sealed against the swash plate by means of a trunnion; characterised in that the divider plate along with the associated port or ports of the first pumping chamber is fixed at a controlled angle or phase around the rotatable shaft in relation to the position of the divider plate and the associated port or ports of the second pumping chamber; the angle being between 75 and 105 degrees. 
   
   
       14 . A dual swashplate pump as claimed in  claim 13 ; characterised in that the divider plate along with the associated port or ports of the first pumping chamber is fixed at a controlled angle or phase of between 85 to 95 degrees around the rotatable shaft in relation to the position of the divider plate with the associated port or ports of the second pumping chamber, so that, when in use, residual vibration arising from respective movements of the swash plates is further cancelled out. 
   
   
       15 . A dual swashplate pump as claimed in  claim 14 ; characterised in that the divider plate along with the associated port or ports of the first pumping chamber is fixed at a controlled angle or phase of 90 degrees around the rotatable shaft in relation to the position of the divider plate with the associated port or ports of the second pumping chamber, so that, when in use, residual vibration arising from respective movements of the swash plates is further cancelled out. 
   
   
       16 . A swashplate pump as claimed in  claim 15 , characterised in that the angle between the first output port associated with a divider plate within the first pumping cavity, and the second output port associated with a divider plate within the second pumping cavity is a right angle, so that when in use one complete revolution of the shaft of the pump causes four evenly spaced pump output events to occur. 
   
   
       17 . A swashplate pump as claimed in  claim 16 , characterised in that both output ports of either the first or the second pumping cavity are joined together so that the issuing flowable material flows from the joined-together output port more evenly. 
   
   
       18 . A swashplate pump as claimed in  claim 17 , characterised in that all four output ports of both the first and the second pumping cavity are joined together so that the issuing flowable material flows more evenly.