US20090031753A1 - Compressor - Google Patents
Compressor Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20090031753A1 US20090031753A1 US12/181,987 US18198708A US2009031753A1 US 20090031753 A1 US20090031753 A1 US 20090031753A1 US 18198708 A US18198708 A US 18198708A US 2009031753 A1 US2009031753 A1 US 2009031753A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- oil
- compressor
- casing
- recollecting
- pump
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B31/00—Compressor arrangements
- F25B31/002—Lubrication
- F25B31/004—Lubrication oil recirculating arrangements
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- 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
- F04C15/00—Component parts, details or accessories of machines, pumps or pumping installations, not provided for in groups F04C2/00 - F04C14/00
- F04C15/06—Arrangements for admission or discharge of the working fluid, e.g. constructional features of the inlet or outlet
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- 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
- F04C2/00—Rotary-piston machines or pumps
- F04C2/08—Rotary-piston machines or pumps of intermeshing-engagement type, i.e. with engagement of co-operating members similar to that of toothed gearing
- F04C2/10—Rotary-piston machines or pumps of intermeshing-engagement type, i.e. with engagement of co-operating members similar to that of toothed gearing of internal-axis type with the outer member having more teeth or tooth-equivalents, e.g. rollers, than the inner member
- F04C2/102—Rotary-piston machines or pumps of intermeshing-engagement type, i.e. with engagement of co-operating members similar to that of toothed gearing of internal-axis type with the outer member having more teeth or tooth-equivalents, e.g. rollers, than the inner member the two members rotating simultaneously around their respective axes
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- 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
- F04C23/00—Combinations of two or more pumps, each being of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type, specially adapted for elastic fluids; Pumping installations specially adapted for elastic fluids; Multi-stage pumps specially adapted for elastic fluids
- F04C23/008—Hermetic pumps
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- 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
- F04C29/00—Component parts, details or accessories of pumps or pumping installations, not provided for in groups F04C18/00 - F04C28/00
- F04C29/02—Lubrication; Lubricant separation
- F04C29/025—Lubrication; Lubricant separation using a lubricant pump
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- 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
- F04C29/00—Component parts, details or accessories of pumps or pumping installations, not provided for in groups F04C18/00 - F04C28/00
- F04C29/02—Lubrication; Lubricant separation
- F04C29/026—Lubricant separation
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B43/00—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat
- F25B43/02—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat for separating lubricants from the refrigerant
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- 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
- F01C11/00—Combinations of two or more machines or engines, each being of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type
- F01C11/002—Combinations of two or more machines or engines, each being of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type of similar working principle
- F01C11/004—Combinations of two or more machines or engines, each being of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type of similar working principle and of complementary function, e.g. internal combustion engine with supercharger
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- 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
- F04C2210/00—Fluid
- F04C2210/14—Lubricant
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- 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
- F04C2240/00—Components
- F04C2240/80—Other components
- F04C2240/806—Pipes for fluids; Fittings therefor
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- 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
- F04C29/00—Component parts, details or accessories of pumps or pumping installations, not provided for in groups F04C18/00 - F04C28/00
- F04C29/04—Heating; Cooling; Heat insulation
- F04C29/045—Heating; Cooling; Heat insulation of the electric motor in hermetic pumps
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2400/00—General features or devices for refrigeration machines, plants or systems, combined heating and refrigeration systems or heat-pump systems, i.e. not limited to a particular subgroup of F25B
- F25B2400/02—Centrifugal separation of gas, liquid or oil
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to a compressor, and, more particularly, to an oil recollecting apparatus of a compressor capable of separating and recollecting oil from a refrigerant discharged from a compressing unit.
- a compressor is a device for converting kinetic energy into compression energy of a compressive fluid.
- a hermetic compressor is configured such that a motor for generating a driving force and a compression unit for compressing fluid by the driving force received from the motor are all installed in an inner space of a hermetically sealed container.
- the hermetic compressor When the hermetic compressor is provided as a component in a refrigerant compression refrigeration cycle, a certain amount of oil is stored in the hermetic compressor in order to cool the motor of the compressor or smooth and seal the compression unit.
- the refrigerant discharged from the compressor into the refrigeration cycle includes oil mixed in with the refrigerant. Part of the oil discharged into the refrigeration cycle is not recollected to the compressor but remains in the refrigeration cycle, thereby causing a decrease in the amount of oil in the compressor. This may result in decrease in compressor reliability and also degradation of heat-exchange capability of the refrigeration cycle due to the oil remaining in the refrigeration cycle.
- an oil separator is disposed at a discharge side of the compressor to separate oil from the discharged refrigerant, and such separated oil is recollected to a suction side of the compressor, thereby avoiding the lack of oil in the compressor and also maintaining the heat-exchange capability of the refrigeration cycle.
- the high pressure refrigerator when recollecting oil separated by the oil separator into the suction side of the compressor, the high pressure refrigerator is also recollected together with the oil, which results in decreasing the amount of refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle, thereby lowering a cooling capability of the compressor.
- temperature of suction gas in the compressor is increased to thereby raise temperature of discharge gas. Accordingly, the reliability of the compressor is degraded.
- a specific volume of the sucked refrigerant is increased, so as Lo decrease he actual amount of the sucked refrigerant, thereby degrading the cooling capability.
- the lack of oil pumped causes cooling refrigerant gas to be more recollected than oil, whereby the amount of refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle is decreased. Accordingly, the cooling capability of the compressor is further degraded.
- an object of the present invention is to provide a compressor having an oil recollecting apparatus for recollecting oil separated from a refrigerant discharged from a compressing unit.
- a compressor having a compressor main body including a casing defining an inner space, a suction pipe corrected to the casing, a discharge pipe connected to the casing, a motor located at the inner space of the casing, a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant, an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged from the compressing unit, and an oil recollecting unit configured to pump the oil separated by the oil separating unit and recollect the separated oil into the compressor main body.
- a compressor having a casing having an inner space, a suction pipe connected to the casing, a discharge pipe connected to the casing, a motor located in the inner space of the casing to generate a driving force, a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant, an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit, and an oil recollecting unit including an oil recollecting pump driven by a rotation force of the motor to pump oil separated by the oil separating unit.
- a compressor having a casing having an inner space, a suction pipe connected to the casing, a discharge pipe connected to the casing, a motor located in the inner space of the casing to generate a driving force, a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant, an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit, and an oil recollecting unit.
- the oil recollecting unit includes an oil recollecting pipe for connecting the oil separating unit to the casing and an oil recollecting pump cooperating with the oil recollecting pipe to pump oil separated by the oil separating unit.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed outside a casing according to the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an inside of the scroll compressor of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an oil supplying pump and an oil recollecting pump of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another exemplary embodiment of the oil recollecting unit according to the present invention
- FIG. 4A is a detailed view of the inlets of the oil recollecting unit as designated by call-out A of FIG. 4 ;
- FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an inlet of the oil recollecting pump of FIG. 4 ;
- FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another exemplary embodiment of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed outside a casing according to the present invention
- FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an exemplary embodiment of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed inside a casing according to the present invention
- FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view showing a fluid flowing state in an oil separating cap of FIG. 7 ;
- FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section view showing another exemplary embodiment of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed outside a casing according to the present invention.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of a scroll compressor according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention where an oil separating unit is disposed outside a casing
- FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an inside of the scroll compressor of FIG. 1
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an oil supplying pump and an oil recollecting pump of FIG. 1
- the scroll compressor according to the present invention may include a compressor casing (hereinafter, referred to as ‘casing’) 10 having a hermetic inner space, a motor 20 located in the inner space of the casing 10 , and a compressing unit 30 driven by the motor 20 .
- the compressing unit 30 includes a fixed scroll 31 and an orbiting scroll 32 driven by the motor 20 to compress a refrigerant.
- the inner space of the casing 10 is configured to hold a refrigerant at a suitable discharge pressure.
- a suction pipe SP is formed through one side of the casing 10 to be in communication with a suction chamber formed by the fixed scroll 31 and the orbiting scroll 32 .
- a discharge pipe DP is connected to another side of the casing 10 to guide a refrigerant discharged out of the inner space of the casing 10 to a refrigeration cycle.
- the motor 20 may be a constant speed motor rotating at a uniform speed, or an inverter motor rotating at variable speed depending on the needs of a refrigerating device to which the compressor is applied.
- a crankshaft 23 of the motor 20 is supported by a main frame 11 and a sub-frame 12 fixedly installed at both upper and lower ends of the casing 10 .
- An oil passage 23 a is formed through the crankshaft 23 in an axial direction.
- An oil supplying pump 25 for pumping oil contained in the casing 10 is disposed below the oil passage 23 a, in particular, below the crankshaft 23 .
- a displacement pump may be used as the oil supplying pump 25 as shown in FIG. 2 .
- An example of such a displacement pump includes a trochoid gear pump which forms a variable capacity between an inner gear and an outer gear so as to pump oil.
- An oil suction pipe 26 is connected to an inlet of the oil supplying pump 25 to suck oil located in a bottom of the casing 10 .
- the oil suction pipe 26 has an inlet with a suitable length so as to extend into the oil contained at the bottom of the casing 10 .
- the compressing unit 30 includes the fixed scroll 31 coupled to the main frame 11 , the orbiting scroll 32 engaged with the fixed scroll 31 to provide a pair of compression chambers P which continuously move, an Oldham ring 33 disposed between the orbiting scroll 32 and the main frame 11 to induce the orbiting motion of the orbiting scroll 32 , and a check valve 34 disposed to switch a discharge opening 31 c of the fixed scroll 31 so as to block a backflow of discharge gas discharged through the discharge opening 31 c.
- a fixed wrap 31 a and an orbiting wrap 32 a are spirally provided at the fixed scroll 31 and the orbiting scroll 32 , respectively.
- the fixed wrap 31 a and the orbiting wrap 32 a are engaged with each other to form the compression chambers P.
- the suction pipe SP is directly connected to a suction opening 31 b of the fixed scroll 31 for guiding a refrigerant from the refrigeration cycle into the compressor.
- the compressed refrigerant is continuously discharged to an upper space S 1 of the casing 10 through the discharge opening 31 c of the fixed scroll 31 and then moved down to a lower space S 2 of the casing 10 , thereby being discharged into a refrigeration cycle system through the refrigerant discharge pipe DP.
- the compressed refrigerant may be moved from upper space S 1 to lower space S 2 using various approaches, such as, for example providing a passage (not shown) through the fixed scroll 31 and/or main frame 11 .
- the oil supplying pump 25 disposed below the crankshaft 23 pumps oil contained in the casing 10 using a variable capacity formed between the inner gear and outer gear of the oil supplying pump 25 .
- Oil is sucked toward an upper end through the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 and the oil is partially supplied to respective bearing surfaces of the sub-frame 12 and the main frame 11 , and partially supplied to the compression chambers P through a bearing surface between the main frame 11 and the orbiting scroll 12 at the upper end of the crankshaft 23 so as to seal or smooth the compression chambers P.
- the oil recollecting pump 52 pumps and recollects oil separated from a refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit. A detailed description thereof will now be given.
- an oil separating unit 40 for separating oil from a refrigerant discharged into the refrigeration cycle through the discharge pipe DP is located at an outlet portion of the discharge pipe DP outside the casing 10 .
- an oil recollecting unit 50 is connected to the oil separating unit 40 .
- the oil recollecting unit 50 is configured to pump oil separated from a refrigerant by the oil separating unit 40 and to either recollect the separated oil in the inner space of the casing 10 (See FIG. 6 ) or to recollect such oil directly into the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 .
- the oil separating unit 40 may include an oil separator 41 disposed in parallel with one side of the casing 10 , and an oil separating member (not shown) disposed at the oil separator 41 to separate oil from a refrigerant discharged from the compressing unit 30 .
- the oil separator 41 may be supported by being connected to the discharge pipe DP at its middle portion or supported by a supporting member 42 (e.g., a clamp) separately disposed between the casing 10 and the oil separator 41 .
- a refrigerant pipe RP is connected to an upper end of the oil separator 41 to allow the separated refrigerant to flow toward a condenser of the refrigeration cycle.
- An oil recollecting pipe 51 is connected to a lower end of the oil separator 41 such that oil separated by the oil separator 41 can be recollected into the casing 10 of the compressor or directly into the compressing unit 30 via the oil passage 23 a.
- the oil separating unit 40 may use various methods for separating oil.
- a mesh screen may be installed inside the oil separator 41 to thereby separate oil from a refrigerant, or the discharge pipe DP may be connected to the oil separator 41 at an incline such that a refrigerant rotates in a form of cyclone to thereby separate relatively heavy oil from the refrigerant.
- the oil recollecting unit 50 may include the oil recollecting pipe 51 connected to the oil separating unit 40 to guide oil, and an oil recollecting pump 52 installed at the oil recollecting pipe 51 to pump oil from the oil separator 41 .
- One end of the oil recollecting pipe 51 is connected to the lower end of the oil separator 41 , and the other end thereof penetrates through the casing 10 to be connected to an inlet of the oil recollecting pump 52 .
- the oil recollecting pipe 51 may be a metallic pipe having a suitable strength so as to stably support the oil separator 41 .
- the oil recollecting pipe 51 may be curved through an angle so that the oil separator 41 is oriented parallel with the casing 10 , thus to reduce a vibration of the compressor.
- the oil recollecting pump 52 may be installed above or below the oil supplying pump 25 to be driven by a driving force from the motor 20 .
- the oil recollecting pump 52 may be a trochoid gear pump in which an inner gear is coupled to the crankshaft 23 of the motor 20 and the inner gear is engaged with an outer gear to provide a variable capacity.
- An outlet of the oil recollecting pump 52 is in communication with an outlet of the oil supplying pump 25 such that oil recollected through the oil recollecting pump 52 can be introduced into the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 together with oil sucked through the oil supplying pump 25 .
- the outlet of the oil recollecting pump 52 and the outlet of the oil supplying pump 25 may be independently formed to allow oils from each of them to be independently introduced into the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 .
- the oil separator 41 separates oil from a refrigerant discharged out of the inner space of the casing 10 .
- Such separated oil is recollected into the inner space of the casing 10 via the oil recollecting pump 52 , or may be directly be supplied into the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 .
- oil introduced into the compression chamber P is discharged together with a refrigerant to be introduced into the oil separator 41 via the discharge pipe DP.
- Such oil and refrigerant are separated from each other in the oil separator 41 .
- the separated refrigerant then flows up to a condenser of the refrigeration cycle via the refrigerant pipe RP whereas the separated oil is collected at the bottom of the oil separator 41 .
- the inner gear of the oil recollecting pump 52 rotates so as to configure a variable capacity between the inner gear and the outer gear, thereby generating a pumping force.
- the oil separated by the oil separator 41 is pumped by such pumping force.
- the oil pumped by the oil recollecting pump 52 is recollected into the inner space of the casing 10 through the oil recollecting pipe 51 and the oil recollecting pump 52 .
- Such recollected oil is accordingly re-supplied to each bearing surface and the compression chamber P by the oil supplying pump 52 via the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 . This process may be continuously repeated as the crankshaft 23 rotates.
- An oil supplying hole 14 for injecting oil into the inner space of the casing 10 may be formed at a lower portion of the casing 10 .
- the oil supplying hole 14 may be used as an oil equalizing hole to place the plurality of compressors in communication with each other in order to match liquid-level heights of each of the compressors.
- the first exemplary embodiment of the compressor includes an oil supplying pump
- a second exemplary embodiment is provided where a single oil recollecting pump is used to perform the function of the oil supplying pump.
- the second exemplary embodiment of the scroll compressor may be implemented as follows. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the oil recollecting pump 52 , which may be a trochoid gear pump, is installed below the crankshaft 23 , and a first inlet 52 a of the oil recollecting pump 52 is connected to an outlet of the oil recollecting pipe 51 while a second inlet 52 b of the oil recollecting pump 52 is sunk in oil collected at the bottom of the casing 10 .
- the scroll compressor in accordance with this exemplary embodiment is similar to that of the aforesaid embodiment in the basic configuration and operations, and accordingly a detailed description thereof will not be repeated.
- the inlet of the oil recollecting pump 52 is divided into the first inlet 52 a and the second inlet 52 b. Accordingly, oil separated by the oil separator 41 is sucked through the first inlet 52 a while oil collected at the bottom of the casing 10 is sucked through the second inlet 52 b.
- Such oils sucked through the first and second inlets 52 a and 52 b are all collected into the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 to be supplied to each bearing surface or the compression chamber P.
- FIG. 6 Still another embodiment of a scroll compressor according to the present invention will be described hereafter. While the aforementioned exemplary embodiments are configured such that the oil recollecting pump is installed inside the casing or coupled to the motor to use the driving force of the motor, a third exemplary embodiment of the scroll compressor, as shown in FIG. 6 , is configured such that an oil recollecting pump 152 of an oil recollecting unit 150 is installed outside the casing 10 , and is driven by a separate driving force, other than the driving force of the motor.
- the oil recollecting pump 152 is installed at an intermediate portion of the oil recollecting pipe 151 at the outside of the casing 10 , and an inverter motor having a rotation velocity, which can be changed (increase or decrease), in proportion to the rotation velocity of the motor 20 is provided.
- the oil recollecting pipe 151 may have an outlet which is directly connectable to the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 , however, in some cases, it may be connected to the inner space of the casing 10 .
- an oil separating unit 240 may include an oil separating cap 241 fixedly installed in the inner space of the casing 10 and an oil separating pipe 242 formed through one side wall surface of the oil separating cap 241 such that oil and refrigerant inside the casing 10 can be separated from each other while being introduced into the oil separating cap 241 .
- the oil separating cap 241 may have a gap spaced apart from the inner surface of the casing 10 .
- a guide cover 15 having a certain inner space to accommodate a discharge side of the compressing unit 30 is installed between the compressing unit 30 and the oil separating unit 240 .
- An inlet side fluid passage (not shown) is formed at a portion of the compressing unit 30 which is accommodated in the guide cover 15
- an outlet side fluid passage (not shown) is formed at a portion of the compressing unit 30 which is not accommodated in the guide cover 15 . Accordingly, refrigerant and oil discharged from the compression chamber P is allowed to flow toward a lower space S 2 of the casing 10 , namely, toward the motor 20 and then to flow toward an upper space S 1 of the casing 10 , in particular, toward the oil separating cap 241 .
- the discharge pipe DP for guiding the refrigerant separated by the oil separating cap 241 to the refrigeration cycle is connected to another side wall surface of the oil separating cap 241 .
- the discharge pipe DP is then connected to the refrigeration cycle through the casing 10 .
- An oil recollecting pipe 251 for guiding oil separated by the oil separating cap 241 to the bottom of the casing 10 is connected to a lower end of the oil separating cap 241 .
- An oil recollecting pump 252 for pumping oil separated by the oil separating cap 241 is located at an outlet of the oil recollecting pipe 251 .
- the oil separating pipe 242 includes an inlet in communication with the upper space S 1 of the casing 10 and an outlet in communication with the inner space of the oil separating cap 241 .
- the oil separating pipe 242 may be formed to be curved or bent, as shown in FIG. 8 , such that refrigerant and oil guided into the oil separating cap 241 are separated from each other while spirally orbiting together.
- the inlet of the oil recollecting pipe 251 is in communication with the lower end of the oil separating cap 241 and then penetrates through the compressing unit 30 , thereby being in communication with the inlet of an oil supplying pump 252 .
- an oil passage (not shown) for connecting the oil separating cap 241 to the oil recollecting pipe 251 is formed through the fixed scroll 31 and the main frame 11 .
- the oil recollecting pump 252 may be a trochoid gear pump having inner gear and outer gear as described above.
- the inner gear may be configured as same as in the aforementioned embodiments, such as being coupled to the crankshaft 23 of the motor 20 .
- the operation of this exemplary embodiment of the present invention the process in which oil is separated from the refrigerant to be recollected is the same or similar to those described above, so a detailed explanation thereof will not be repeated.
- the oil separating unit 240 is installed inside the casing 10 , the flow direction of the refrigerant and oil is different from that in the previous embodiments. That is, refrigerant and oil, after being discharged from the compression chamber P into the inner space of the guide cover 15 , flow to the lower space S 2 via the inlet side fluid passage. Thereafter, the refrigerant and oil flow to the upper space S 1 through the outlet side fluid passage.
- the refrigerant and oil are then introduced into the oil separating cap 241 through the oil separating pipe 242 to orbit inside the oil separating cap 241 . Accordingly, the refrigerant and the oil are separated from each other. Afterwards, the separated refrigerant then flows to the refrigeration cycle through the discharge pipe DP whereas the separated oil is recollected to the oil passage 23 a of the crankshaft 23 through the oil recollecting pipe 251 by a pumping force of the oil recollecting pump 252 . This process may be continuously repeated as the crankshaft 23 rotates.
- the scroll compressor may be configured to draw the oil recollecting pipe 251 out of the casing 10 to be then connected to the inside of the casing 10 .
- a radiating member (not shown) or a capillary tube (not shown) for lowering an oil temperature may be provided at the intermediate portion of the oil recollecting pipe 251 .
- an outlet of the oil recollecting pipe 251 may be connected to a wall surface of the casing 100 so as to be in communication with the lower space S 2 of the casing 10 .
- An oil recollecting pump 252 may include an inverter motor as described above with reference to FIG. 6 , and may be located at the intermediate portion of the oil recollecting pipe 251 .
- oil separated by the oil separator is recollected by the oil recollecting pump.
- the recollected oil is mixed with a refrigerant again, whereby it is allowed to prevent a backflow of such oil into the compressor.
- the simplification of the oil recollecting unit allows the decrease of manufacturing cost.
- the configuration of the compressor can be further simplified.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Applications Or Details Of Rotary Compressors (AREA)
- Rotary Pumps (AREA)
- Compressor (AREA)
Abstract
A compressor is provided that includes a casing defining an inner space, a suction pipe connected to the casing, a discharge pipe connected to the casing, a motor located at the inner space of the casing, a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant, an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged from the compressing unit, and an oil recollecting unit configured to pump the oil separated by the oil separating unit and recollect the separated oil into the compressor main body.
Description
- The present application claims priority to Korean Applications No. 10-2007-0076579, filed on Jul. 30, 2007, Korean Application No. 10-2007-0139286, filed on Dec. 27, 2007, and Korean Application No. 10-2008-0070336, filed on Jul. 18, 2008, which are herein expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates generally to a compressor, and, more particularly, to an oil recollecting apparatus of a compressor capable of separating and recollecting oil from a refrigerant discharged from a compressing unit.
- 2. Description of Related Art
- A compressor is a device for converting kinetic energy into compression energy of a compressive fluid. A hermetic compressor is configured such that a motor for generating a driving force and a compression unit for compressing fluid by the driving force received from the motor are all installed in an inner space of a hermetically sealed container.
- When the hermetic compressor is provided as a component in a refrigerant compression refrigeration cycle, a certain amount of oil is stored in the hermetic compressor in order to cool the motor of the compressor or smooth and seal the compression unit. However, when the compressor is driven, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor into the refrigeration cycle includes oil mixed in with the refrigerant. Part of the oil discharged into the refrigeration cycle is not recollected to the compressor but remains in the refrigeration cycle, thereby causing a decrease in the amount of oil in the compressor. This may result in decrease in compressor reliability and also degradation of heat-exchange capability of the refrigeration cycle due to the oil remaining in the refrigeration cycle.
- Accordingly, in the related art, an oil separator is disposed at a discharge side of the compressor to separate oil from the discharged refrigerant, and such separated oil is recollected to a suction side of the compressor, thereby avoiding the lack of oil in the compressor and also maintaining the heat-exchange capability of the refrigeration cycle.
- However, when recollecting oil separated by the oil separator into the suction side of the compressor, the high pressure refrigerator is also recollected together with the oil, which results in decreasing the amount of refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle, thereby lowering a cooling capability of the compressor. In addition, temperature of suction gas in the compressor is increased to thereby raise temperature of discharge gas. Accordingly, the reliability of the compressor is degraded. Also, as the temperature increases, a specific volume of the sucked refrigerant is increased, so as Lo decrease he actual amount of the sucked refrigerant, thereby degrading the cooling capability.
- Specifically, during a low speed operation of the compressor, the lack of oil pumped causes cooling refrigerant gas to be more recollected than oil, whereby the amount of refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle is decreased. Accordingly, the cooling capability of the compressor is further degraded.
- Therefore, in order to solve those problems of the related art compressor, an object of the present invention is to provide a compressor having an oil recollecting apparatus for recollecting oil separated from a refrigerant discharged from a compressing unit.
- To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a compressor having a compressor main body including a casing defining an inner space, a suction pipe corrected to the casing, a discharge pipe connected to the casing, a motor located at the inner space of the casing, a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant, an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged from the compressing unit, and an oil recollecting unit configured to pump the oil separated by the oil separating unit and recollect the separated oil into the compressor main body.
- According to a different aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compressor having a casing having an inner space, a suction pipe connected to the casing, a discharge pipe connected to the casing, a motor located in the inner space of the casing to generate a driving force, a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant, an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit, and an oil recollecting unit including an oil recollecting pump driven by a rotation force of the motor to pump oil separated by the oil separating unit.
- According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compressor having a casing having an inner space, a suction pipe connected to the casing, a discharge pipe connected to the casing, a motor located in the inner space of the casing to generate a driving force, a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant, an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit, and an oil recollecting unit. The oil recollecting unit includes an oil recollecting pipe for connecting the oil separating unit to the casing and an oil recollecting pump cooperating with the oil recollecting pipe to pump oil separated by the oil separating unit.
- Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.
- The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed outside a casing according to the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an inside of the scroll compressor ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an oil supplying pump and an oil recollecting pump ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another exemplary embodiment of the oil recollecting unit according to the present invention, andFIG. 4A is a detailed view of the inlets of the oil recollecting unit as designated by call-out A ofFIG. 4 ; -
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an inlet of the oil recollecting pump ofFIG. 4 ; -
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another exemplary embodiment of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed outside a casing according to the present invention; -
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an exemplary embodiment of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed inside a casing according to the present invention; -
FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view showing a fluid flowing state in an oil separating cap ofFIG. 7 ; and -
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section view showing another exemplary embodiment of a scroll compressor having an oil separating unit disposed outside a casing according to the present invention. - Description will now be given in detail of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the description of the present invention is given with reference to scroll compressors, the present invention is not limited to scroll compressors, but can be equally applied to other so-called hermetic compressors, such as rotary compressors, having a motor and a compressing unit disposed in the same casing.
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FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of a scroll compressor according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention where an oil separating unit is disposed outside a casing,FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an inside of the scroll compressor ofFIG. 1 , andFIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an oil supplying pump and an oil recollecting pump ofFIG. 1 - As shown in
FIGS. 1 to 3 , the scroll compressor according to the present invention may include a compressor casing (hereinafter, referred to as ‘casing’) 10 having a hermetic inner space, amotor 20 located in the inner space of thecasing 10, and a compressingunit 30 driven by themotor 20. The compressingunit 30 includes afixed scroll 31 and an orbitingscroll 32 driven by themotor 20 to compress a refrigerant. - The inner space of the
casing 10 is configured to hold a refrigerant at a suitable discharge pressure. A suction pipe SP is formed through one side of thecasing 10 to be in communication with a suction chamber formed by thefixed scroll 31 and theorbiting scroll 32. A discharge pipe DP is connected to another side of thecasing 10 to guide a refrigerant discharged out of the inner space of thecasing 10 to a refrigeration cycle. - The
motor 20 may be a constant speed motor rotating at a uniform speed, or an inverter motor rotating at variable speed depending on the needs of a refrigerating device to which the compressor is applied. Acrankshaft 23 of themotor 20 is supported by amain frame 11 and asub-frame 12 fixedly installed at both upper and lower ends of thecasing 10. - An
oil passage 23 a is formed through thecrankshaft 23 in an axial direction. Anoil supplying pump 25 for pumping oil contained in thecasing 10 is disposed below theoil passage 23 a, in particular, below thecrankshaft 23. A displacement pump may be used as theoil supplying pump 25 as shown inFIG. 2 . An example of such a displacement pump includes a trochoid gear pump which forms a variable capacity between an inner gear and an outer gear so as to pump oil. Anoil suction pipe 26 is connected to an inlet of theoil supplying pump 25 to suck oil located in a bottom of thecasing 10. Theoil suction pipe 26 has an inlet with a suitable length so as to extend into the oil contained at the bottom of thecasing 10. - The compressing
unit 30, as shown inFIG. 2 , includes thefixed scroll 31 coupled to themain frame 11, theorbiting scroll 32 engaged with thefixed scroll 31 to provide a pair of compression chambers P which continuously move, an Oldhamring 33 disposed between the orbitingscroll 32 and themain frame 11 to induce the orbiting motion of the orbitingscroll 32, and acheck valve 34 disposed to switch a discharge opening 31 c of thefixed scroll 31 so as to block a backflow of discharge gas discharged through the discharge opening 31 c. Afixed wrap 31 a and anorbiting wrap 32 a are spirally provided at thefixed scroll 31 and theorbiting scroll 32, respectively. Thefixed wrap 31 a and theorbiting wrap 32 a are engaged with each other to form the compression chambers P. The suction pipe SP is directly connected to a suction opening 31 b of thefixed scroll 31 for guiding a refrigerant from the refrigeration cycle into the compressor. - Operation of the compressor will be described with reference to the above configuration. When power is applied to the
motor 20, thecrankshaft 23 rotates together with arotor 22 to forward such rotational force to the orbitingscroll 32. The orbitingscroll 32 receiving the rotational force applied is then orbited by theOldham ring 33 on an upper surface of themain frame 11, thereby forming a pair of compression chambers P which are continuously moved between the fixedwrap 31 a of the fixedscroll 31 and the orbiting wrap 32 a of the orbitingscroll 32. Such compression chambers P are then moved to the center by the continuous orbiting motion of the orbitingscroll 32 such that their capacities decrease to thereby compress a sucked refrigerant. The compressed refrigerant is continuously discharged to an upper space S1 of thecasing 10 through thedischarge opening 31 c of the fixedscroll 31 and then moved down to a lower space S2 of thecasing 10, thereby being discharged into a refrigeration cycle system through the refrigerant discharge pipe DP. The compressed refrigerant may be moved from upper space S1 to lower space S2 using various approaches, such as, for example providing a passage (not shown) through the fixedscroll 31 and/ormain frame 11. - At the same time that the
crankshaft 23 is rotated, theoil supplying pump 25 disposed below thecrankshaft 23 pumps oil contained in thecasing 10 using a variable capacity formed between the inner gear and outer gear of theoil supplying pump 25. Oil is sucked toward an upper end through theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23 and the oil is partially supplied to respective bearing surfaces of thesub-frame 12 and themain frame 11, and partially supplied to the compression chambers P through a bearing surface between themain frame 11 and the orbitingscroll 12 at the upper end of thecrankshaft 23 so as to seal or smooth the compression chambers P. - An
oil recollecting pump 52 coupled to thecrankshaft 23 configured to operate in cooperation with theoil supplying pump 25 is also provided. Theoil recollecting pump 52 pumps and recollects oil separated from a refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit. A detailed description thereof will now be given. - As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 , anoil separating unit 40 for separating oil from a refrigerant discharged into the refrigeration cycle through the discharge pipe DP is located at an outlet portion of the discharge pipe DP outside thecasing 10. In addition, anoil recollecting unit 50 is connected to theoil separating unit 40. Theoil recollecting unit 50 is configured to pump oil separated from a refrigerant by theoil separating unit 40 and to either recollect the separated oil in the inner space of the casing 10 (SeeFIG. 6 ) or to recollect such oil directly into theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23. - As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 , theoil separating unit 40 may include anoil separator 41 disposed in parallel with one side of thecasing 10, and an oil separating member (not shown) disposed at theoil separator 41 to separate oil from a refrigerant discharged from the compressingunit 30. Theoil separator 41 may be supported by being connected to the discharge pipe DP at its middle portion or supported by a supporting member 42 (e.g., a clamp) separately disposed between thecasing 10 and theoil separator 41. A refrigerant pipe RP is connected to an upper end of theoil separator 41 to allow the separated refrigerant to flow toward a condenser of the refrigeration cycle. Anoil recollecting pipe 51 is connected to a lower end of theoil separator 41 such that oil separated by theoil separator 41 can be recollected into thecasing 10 of the compressor or directly into the compressingunit 30 via theoil passage 23 a. - The
oil separating unit 40 may use various methods for separating oil. For example, a mesh screen may be installed inside theoil separator 41 to thereby separate oil from a refrigerant, or the discharge pipe DP may be connected to theoil separator 41 at an incline such that a refrigerant rotates in a form of cyclone to thereby separate relatively heavy oil from the refrigerant. - The
oil recollecting unit 50 may include theoil recollecting pipe 51 connected to theoil separating unit 40 to guide oil, and anoil recollecting pump 52 installed at theoil recollecting pipe 51 to pump oil from theoil separator 41. One end of theoil recollecting pipe 51 is connected to the lower end of theoil separator 41, and the other end thereof penetrates through thecasing 10 to be connected to an inlet of theoil recollecting pump 52. Theoil recollecting pipe 51 may be a metallic pipe having a suitable strength so as to stably support theoil separator 41. Also, theoil recollecting pipe 51 may be curved through an angle so that theoil separator 41 is oriented parallel with thecasing 10, thus to reduce a vibration of the compressor. - The
oil recollecting pump 52 may be installed above or below theoil supplying pump 25 to be driven by a driving force from themotor 20. For example, as shown inFIG. 3 , theoil recollecting pump 52 may be a trochoid gear pump in which an inner gear is coupled to thecrankshaft 23 of themotor 20 and the inner gear is engaged with an outer gear to provide a variable capacity. An outlet of theoil recollecting pump 52 is in communication with an outlet of theoil supplying pump 25 such that oil recollected through theoil recollecting pump 52 can be introduced into theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23 together with oil sucked through theoil supplying pump 25. In some cases, the outlet of theoil recollecting pump 52 and the outlet of theoil supplying pump 25 may be independently formed to allow oils from each of them to be independently introduced into theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23. - In the scroll compressor according to this exemplary embodiment, the
oil separator 41 separates oil from a refrigerant discharged out of the inner space of thecasing 10. Such separated oil is recollected into the inner space of thecasing 10 via theoil recollecting pump 52, or may be directly be supplied into theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23. For example, oil introduced into the compression chamber P is discharged together with a refrigerant to be introduced into theoil separator 41 via the discharge pipe DP. Such oil and refrigerant are separated from each other in theoil separator 41. The separated refrigerant then flows up to a condenser of the refrigeration cycle via the refrigerant pipe RP whereas the separated oil is collected at the bottom of theoil separator 41. As thecrankshaft 23 of themotor 20 rotates, the inner gear of theoil recollecting pump 52 rotates so as to configure a variable capacity between the inner gear and the outer gear, thereby generating a pumping force. The oil separated by theoil separator 41 is pumped by such pumping force. The oil pumped by theoil recollecting pump 52 is recollected into the inner space of thecasing 10 through theoil recollecting pipe 51 and theoil recollecting pump 52. Such recollected oil is accordingly re-supplied to each bearing surface and the compression chamber P by theoil supplying pump 52 via theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23. This process may be continuously repeated as thecrankshaft 23 rotates. - An
oil supplying hole 14 for injecting oil into the inner space of thecasing 10 may be formed at a lower portion of thecasing 10. When a plurality of compressors are used, theoil supplying hole 14 may be used as an oil equalizing hole to place the plurality of compressors in communication with each other in order to match liquid-level heights of each of the compressors. - While the first exemplary embodiment of the compressor includes an oil supplying pump, a second exemplary embodiment is provided where a single oil recollecting pump is used to perform the function of the oil supplying pump. For example, the second exemplary embodiment of the scroll compressor may be implemented as follows. As shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5 , theoil recollecting pump 52, which may be a trochoid gear pump, is installed below thecrankshaft 23, and afirst inlet 52 a of theoil recollecting pump 52 is connected to an outlet of theoil recollecting pipe 51 while asecond inlet 52 b of theoil recollecting pump 52 is sunk in oil collected at the bottom of thecasing 10. - The scroll compressor in accordance with this exemplary embodiment is similar to that of the aforesaid embodiment in the basic configuration and operations, and accordingly a detailed description thereof will not be repeated. However, the inlet of the
oil recollecting pump 52 is divided into thefirst inlet 52 a and thesecond inlet 52 b. Accordingly, oil separated by theoil separator 41 is sucked through thefirst inlet 52 a while oil collected at the bottom of thecasing 10 is sucked through thesecond inlet 52 b. Such oils sucked through the first andsecond inlets oil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23 to be supplied to each bearing surface or the compression chamber P. - Still another embodiment of a scroll compressor according to the present invention will be described hereafter. While the aforementioned exemplary embodiments are configured such that the oil recollecting pump is installed inside the casing or coupled to the motor to use the driving force of the motor, a third exemplary embodiment of the scroll compressor, as shown in
FIG. 6 , is configured such that anoil recollecting pump 152 of anoil recollecting unit 150 is installed outside thecasing 10, and is driven by a separate driving force, other than the driving force of the motor. To this end, theoil recollecting pump 152 is installed at an intermediate portion of theoil recollecting pipe 151 at the outside of thecasing 10, and an inverter motor having a rotation velocity, which can be changed (increase or decrease), in proportion to the rotation velocity of themotor 20 is provided. Theoil recollecting pipe 151 may have an outlet which is directly connectable to theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23, however, in some cases, it may be connected to the inner space of thecasing 10. As shown in this exemplary embodiment, when theoil recollecting pipe 151 is in communication with the inner space of thecasing 10 instead of directly with theoil passage 23 a, foreign materials contained in the oil may be filtered upward in the inner space of thecasing 10 so as to prevent contamination of the oil supplied to each bearing surface or the compression chambers P. - According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the oil separating unit may be located at the inside of the casing of the compressor. For example, as shown in
FIG. 7 , anoil separating unit 240 may include anoil separating cap 241 fixedly installed in the inner space of thecasing 10 and anoil separating pipe 242 formed through one side wall surface of theoil separating cap 241 such that oil and refrigerant inside thecasing 10 can be separated from each other while being introduced into theoil separating cap 241. Theoil separating cap 241 may have a gap spaced apart from the inner surface of thecasing 10. - A
guide cover 15 having a certain inner space to accommodate a discharge side of the compressingunit 30 is installed between the compressingunit 30 and theoil separating unit 240. An inlet side fluid passage (not shown) is formed at a portion of the compressingunit 30 which is accommodated in theguide cover 15, whereas an outlet side fluid passage (not shown) is formed at a portion of the compressingunit 30 which is not accommodated in theguide cover 15. Accordingly, refrigerant and oil discharged from the compression chamber P is allowed to flow toward a lower space S2 of thecasing 10, namely, toward themotor 20 and then to flow toward an upper space S1 of thecasing 10, in particular, toward theoil separating cap 241. - The discharge pipe DP for guiding the refrigerant separated by the
oil separating cap 241 to the refrigeration cycle is connected to another side wall surface of theoil separating cap 241. The discharge pipe DP is then connected to the refrigeration cycle through thecasing 10. Anoil recollecting pipe 251 for guiding oil separated by theoil separating cap 241 to the bottom of thecasing 10 is connected to a lower end of theoil separating cap 241. Anoil recollecting pump 252 for pumping oil separated by theoil separating cap 241 is located at an outlet of theoil recollecting pipe 251. - The
oil separating pipe 242 includes an inlet in communication with the upper space S1 of thecasing 10 and an outlet in communication with the inner space of theoil separating cap 241. Theoil separating pipe 242 may be formed to be curved or bent, as shown inFIG. 8 , such that refrigerant and oil guided into theoil separating cap 241 are separated from each other while spirally orbiting together. - The inlet of the
oil recollecting pipe 251, as shown inFIG. 7 , is in communication with the lower end of theoil separating cap 241 and then penetrates through the compressingunit 30, thereby being in communication with the inlet of anoil supplying pump 252. In this configuration, an oil passage (not shown) for connecting theoil separating cap 241 to theoil recollecting pipe 251 is formed through the fixedscroll 31 and themain frame 11. - The
oil recollecting pump 252 may be a trochoid gear pump having inner gear and outer gear as described above. In particular, the inner gear may be configured as same as in the aforementioned embodiments, such as being coupled to thecrankshaft 23 of themotor 20. - In general, the operation of this exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the process in which oil is separated from the refrigerant to be recollected is the same or similar to those described above, so a detailed explanation thereof will not be repeated. However, because the
oil separating unit 240 is installed inside thecasing 10, the flow direction of the refrigerant and oil is different from that in the previous embodiments. That is, refrigerant and oil, after being discharged from the compression chamber P into the inner space of theguide cover 15, flow to the lower space S2 via the inlet side fluid passage. Thereafter, the refrigerant and oil flow to the upper space S1 through the outlet side fluid passage. The refrigerant and oil are then introduced into theoil separating cap 241 through theoil separating pipe 242 to orbit inside theoil separating cap 241. Accordingly, the refrigerant and the oil are separated from each other. Afterwards, the separated refrigerant then flows to the refrigeration cycle through the discharge pipe DP whereas the separated oil is recollected to theoil passage 23 a of thecrankshaft 23 through theoil recollecting pipe 251 by a pumping force of theoil recollecting pump 252. This process may be continuously repeated as thecrankshaft 23 rotates. - In still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
FIG. 9 , the scroll compressor may be configured to draw theoil recollecting pipe 251 out of thecasing 10 to be then connected to the inside of thecasing 10. In this case, a radiating member (not shown) or a capillary tube (not shown) for lowering an oil temperature may be provided at the intermediate portion of theoil recollecting pipe 251. When theoil recollecting pipe 251 is connected to thecasing 10 from the outside of thecasing 10, an outlet of theoil recollecting pipe 251 may be connected to a wall surface of the casing 100 so as to be in communication with the lower space S2 of thecasing 10. Anoil recollecting pump 252 may include an inverter motor as described above with reference toFIG. 6 , and may be located at the intermediate portion of theoil recollecting pipe 251. - As a result of one or more of the exemplary embodiments, oil separated by the oil separator is recollected by the oil recollecting pump. The recollected oil is mixed with a refrigerant again, whereby it is allowed to prevent a backflow of such oil into the compressor. Accordingly, the reduction of the amount of refrigerant circularly supplied into the refrigeration cycle can be avoided, thereby preventing a degradation of a cooling capacity of the compressor beforehand. Also, the simplification of the oil recollecting unit allows the decrease of manufacturing cost. In addition, as the driving force of the motor may be used to drive the oil recollecting pump, the configuration of the compressor can be further simplified.
- The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. This description is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features, structures, methods, and other characteristics of the exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additional and/or alternative exemplary embodiments.
- As the present features may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
Claims (23)
1. A compressor comprising:
a compressor main body including a casing defining an inner space;
a suction pipe connected to the casing;
a discharge pipe connected to the casing;
a motor installed at the inner space of the casing;
a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant;
an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged from the compressing unit; and
an oil recollecting unit configured to pump the oil separated by the oil separating unit and recollect the separated oil into the compressor main body.
2. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the oil recollecting unit includes an oil recollecting pipe connected to the oil separating unit.
3. The compressor of claim 2 , wherein the oil separating unit is located outside of the casing of the compressor main body, the oil separating unit having an inlet connected to the compressor main body via the discharge pipe and an outlet connected to the compressor main body via the oil recollecting pipe.
4. The compressor of claim 3 , wherein the oil recollecting pipe has one end connected to the compressor main body and another end connected to the outlet of the oil separating unit.
5. The compressor of claim 3 , wherein the oil separating unit is supported by a supporting member fixed to an outer circumferential surface of the casing of the compressor main body.
6. The compressor of claim 2 , wherein the oil recollecting unit includes an oil recollecting pump disposed at an intermediate portion of the oil recollecting pipe to pump oil separated by the oil separating unit.
7. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the oil separating unit is located inside the casing of the compressor main body.
8. The compressor of claim 7 , wherein the oil recollecting unit includes an oil recollecting pipe located inside the casing of the compressor main body to guide oil separated by the oil separating unit.
9. The compressor of claim 7 , wherein the oil recollecting unit includes an oil recollecting pipe to guide oil separated by the oil separating unit, and
wherein at least a portion of the oil recollecting pipe is located outside the casing of the compressor main body.
10. The compressor of claim 7 , wherein the oil separating unit includes:
an inner space; and
an oil separating pipe to guide the separated oil, the oil separating pipe being bent or curved such that a refrigerant introduced into the inner space of the oil separating unit spirally orbits.
11. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the compressing unit includes:
a fixed scroll fixedly installed at the casing; and
an orbiting scroll engaged with the fixed scroll and orbiting in cooperation with the motor, the fixed scroll and orbiting scroll defining at least one compression chamber.
12. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the inner space of the casing is a hermetic inner space.
13. A compressor comprising:
a casing having an inner space;
a suction pipe connected to the casing;
a discharge pipe connected to the casing;
a motor located in the inner space of the casing to generate a driving force;
a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant;
an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit; and
an oil recollecting unit including an oil recollecting pump driven by a rotation force of the motor to pump oil separated by the oil separating unit.
14. The compressor of claim 13 , wherein the motor includes:
a crankshaft; and
wherein the oil recollecting pump includes:
an inner gear coupled to the crankshaft of the motor;
an outer gear engaged with the inner gear to generate a variable capacity; and
an inlet to receive oil separated by the oil separating unit.
15. The compressor of claim 13 , wherein the oil recollecting pump includes a first inlet connected to the oil separating unit and a second inlet in communication with the inner space of the casing.
16. The compressor of claim 15 , wherein the crankshaft of the motor includes an oil passage located therein, the oil passage extending in an axial direction of the crankshaft, and
wherein the oil recollecting pump includes an outlet in communication with the first and second inlets, the outlet being in communication with the oil passage located in the crankshaft.
17. The compressor of claim 13 , further comprising an oil supplying pump disposed at one side of the oil recollecting pump,
wherein the motor includes a crankshaft, and the oil supplying pump is coupled to the crankshaft of the motor to rotate together with the oil recollecting pump, thereby pumping oil contained in the casing.
18. The compressor of claim 17 , wherein the oil supplying pump includes an inlet and an outlet, the oil recollecting pump includes an inlet and an outlet, and the inlet and outlet of the oil supplying pump are arranged independent of the inlet and outlet of the oil recollecting pump.
19. A compressor comprising:
a casing having an inner space;
a suction pipe connected to the casing;
a discharge pipe connected to the casing;
a motor located in the inner space of the casing to generate a driving force;
a compressing unit driven by the motor to compress a refrigerant;
an oil separating unit configured to separate oil from the refrigerant discharged out of the compressing unit; and
an oil recollecting unit including:
an oil recollecting pipe for connecting the oil separating unit to the casing; and
an oil recollecting pump cooperating with the oil recollecting pipe to pump oil separated by the oil separating unit.
20. The compressor of claim 19 , wherein the oil recollecting pipe has an outlet in communication with the inner space of the casing.
21. The compressor of claim 20 , wherein the motor includes a crankshaft and the oil recollecting pipe includes an outlet, the compressor further comprising:
an oil supplying pump having an inlet, the oil supplying pump being located at the crankshaft to pump oil contained in the casing while rotating together with the crankshaft, and the outlet of the oil recollecting pipe being connected to the inlet of the oil supplying pump.
22. The compressor of claim 19 , wherein the oil recollecting pump includes an inverter motor such that a pumping amount is variable in proportion to a rotation velocity of the motor.
23. The compressor of claim 19 , wherein the oil recollecting pump is located at an intermediate portion of the oil recollecting pipe.
Applications Claiming Priority (6)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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KR10-2007-0076579 | 2007-07-30 | ||
KR1020070076579 | 2007-07-30 | ||
KR10-2007-0139286 | 2007-12-27 | ||
KR20070139286 | 2007-12-27 | ||
KR1020080070336A KR101275185B1 (en) | 2008-07-18 | 2008-07-18 | Compressor |
KR10-2008-0070336 | 2008-07-18 |
Publications (1)
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US20090031753A1 true US20090031753A1 (en) | 2009-02-05 |
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Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US12/181,987 Abandoned US20090031753A1 (en) | 2007-07-30 | 2008-07-29 | Compressor |
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US (1) | US20090031753A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2020577B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2009030611A (en) |
ES (1) | ES2507559T3 (en) |
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US20120037554A1 (en) * | 2009-04-08 | 2012-02-16 | Akira Sakano | Oil Separator |
US20150276288A1 (en) * | 2013-06-06 | 2015-10-01 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Oil separator and method for producing oil separator |
US11904265B2 (en) * | 2020-03-31 | 2024-02-20 | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | Oil separator |
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KR101513632B1 (en) * | 2008-11-14 | 2015-04-20 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Hermetric compressor and refrigeration cycle device having the same |
JP6209730B2 (en) * | 2013-03-27 | 2017-10-11 | パナソニックIpマネジメント株式会社 | Hermetic compressor |
GB201321629D0 (en) | 2013-12-06 | 2014-01-22 | J & E Hall Ltd | External separator |
JP2021014812A (en) * | 2019-07-11 | 2021-02-12 | ダイキン工業株式会社 | Compressor and refrigeration device |
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US20150276288A1 (en) * | 2013-06-06 | 2015-10-01 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Oil separator and method for producing oil separator |
US9863675B2 (en) * | 2013-06-06 | 2018-01-09 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Oil separator and method for producing oil separator |
US11904265B2 (en) * | 2020-03-31 | 2024-02-20 | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | Oil separator |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2009030611A (en) | 2009-02-12 |
ES2507559T3 (en) | 2014-10-15 |
EP2020577A3 (en) | 2011-03-30 |
EP2020577B1 (en) | 2014-09-24 |
EP2020577A2 (en) | 2009-02-04 |
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