Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A rotary valve including a rotor assembly rotatable by a driver to cause material to be transferred from an inlet side to an outlet side of the rotary valve. The rotor assembly includes a rotor coupled to a shaft which rotates about an axis when driven by the driver. The rotor includes an outer tube, an inner tube, and a plurality of radial blades. The rotary valve includes a casing assembly for supporting the rotor assembly that includes an inlet for allowing the material to enter pockets of the rotor assembly and an outlet for allowing the material to exit the rotor assembly. The casing assembly includes an upper cap disposed at a top of the casing assembly that contains an opening for allowing the material to enter the pockets of the rotor assembly, a shaft opening, and a wiper assembly that removes material from the tops of the blades as the blades pass by the inlet opening. The rotary valve also includes a plurality of springs coupling a lower cap to the sleeve that serve to compress the rotor between the caps. The rotary valve includes a bearing assembly for rotatably supporting the rotor inside the casing assembly. The bearing assembly includes an upper bearing which separates the upper cap from the top of the rotor by a minimum gap, a lower bearing which separates the lower cap from the bottom of the rotor by a minimum gap, and bearing grooves in which the bearings are disposed.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim