Poppet Valve Assembly, System, and Apparatus for Use in High Speed Compressor Applications

Abstract

A poppet valve assembly for a high-speed compressor, the poppet valve assembly including a cage that includes a plurality of counter bores disposed therein. The poppet valve assembly further includes a plurality of poppets, each poppet having a stem and a head. The head of each poppet has a maximum diameter that is less than approximately 0.75 inches. The stem of the poppet is disposed in each of said counter bores. The poppet valve assembly also includes a seat plate overlying said cage, said seat plate including a plurality of through bores axially aligned with the counter bores of the cage. Each through bore is sized to have a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the head. A lift spacer is disposed in each of the counter bores.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A compressor system, the compressor system comprising:
 a high-speed gas compressor operable at speeds of at least 600 rpm, said high-speed compressor further comprising a high-speed poppet valve assembly, wherein the high-speed poppet valve assembly comprises:   a high-speed cage plate, said high-speed cage plate including a plurality of counter bores disposed therein wherein each counter bore has an open end and a bottom in the high-speed cage plate;   a plurality of high-speed poppet elements, each high-speed poppet element including a guide-stem having an outer stem diameter and a mushroom shaped head with a smooth continuous sealing surface, wherein the head has a maximum diameter that is both less than. 9 inches and larger than the outer stem diameter, and wherein the guide-stem is disposed proximate to a cage plate wall of one of said plurality of counter bores in a guide relationship with said one of said plurality of counter bores;   a coil spring disposed in a hollow portion of the guide-stem having bias characteristics suitable for a high-speed poppet-head operation;   a high-speed seat plate overlying said high-speed cage, said high-speed seat plate including a plurality of through bores axially aligned with the plurality of counter bores of the high-speed cage, wherein each of the plurality of through bores is sized to have a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the head; and   a lift spacer disposed in at least one of said plurality of counter bores, wherein said lift spacer limits axial movement and controls lift of said respective guide-stem to an amount less than a length of said cage plate and an amount suitable for high-speed poppet-head operation.   
     
     
         2 . The compressor system of  claim 1 , wherein said lift spacer includes an aperture therethrough. 
     
     
         3 . The compressor system of  claim 1 , wherein the maximum diameter of the head is less than 0.75 inches. 
     
     
         4 . The compressor system of  claim 1 , wherein a first lift spacer, which controls lift of a first poppet-head and is disposed in a first of said plurality of counter bores, has different dimensions than a second lift spacer, which controls lift of a second poppet-head and is disposed in a second of said plurality counter bores. 
     
     
         5 . The compressor system of  claim 1 , wherein said high-speed compressor is operable at speeds of at least 1000 rpms. 
     
     
         6 . A compressor system, the compressor system comprising:
 a high-speed gas compressor operable at speeds of between about 600 and about 1500 cycles per minute, said high-speed compressor further comprising a high-speed poppet valve assembly, wherein the high-speed poppet valve assembly comprises:   a high speed cage plate, said high speed cage plate including a plurality of counter bores disposed therein;   a plurality of high-speed poppet elements, each high-speed poppet element including a guide-stem having an outer stem diameter and a mushroom shaped head with a smooth continuous sealing surface, each high-speed poppet element composed of a high performance engineering thermoplastic, wherein the mushroom shaped head has a diameter between one half and three quarters of an inch, the diameter of the mushroom shaped head being larger than the outer stem diameter, and wherein the guide-stem is disposed proximate to a cage plate wall of a respective one of said plurality of counter bores, in a guide relationship with said respective one of said plurality of counter bores;   a coil spring disposed in a hollow portion of the guide-stem having bias characteristics suitable for a high-speed poppet-head operation;   a seat plate overlying said cage, said seat plate having a plurality of through bores axially aligned with the said plurality of counter bores of the cage, said seat plate being composed of steel, wherein each through bore is sized to have a smaller diameter than the diameter of the respective mushroom shaped head; and   a lift spacer disposed in each of the said plurality of counter bores.   
     
     
         7 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein each said lift spacer includes an aperture therethrough. 
     
     
         8 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein each guide-stem is cylindrical. 
     
     
         9 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein each high speed poppet element has a mushroom shaped cross section. 
     
     
         10 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , further comprising at least one alignment pin, at least one through hole in the seat plate, and at least one through hole in the high speed cage plate, wherein the at least one alignment pin is located within both the at least one through hole in the seat and the at least one through hole in the cage. 
     
     
         11 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein each high speed seat plate through bore has a chamfer. 
     
     
         12 . The compressor system of  claim 11 , wherein each high speed seat plate through bore chamfer is 45 degrees. 
     
     
         13 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein the high speed cage plate is cylindrical. 
     
     
         14 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein each through bore on the seat plate is chamfered. 
     
     
         15 . The compressor system of  claim 14 , wherein each seat plate chamfer is 45 degrees. 
     
     
         16 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of high speed poppet elements and corresponding through bores are arranged in at least two arrays of two different diameters, centered about the center axis of the cage. 
     
     
         17 . The compressor system of  claim 6 , wherein a diameter of the high speed cage plate counter bores is less than the diameter of the mushroom shaped heads.