CN111140495A

CN111140495A - Scroll compressor having a plurality of scroll members

Info

Publication number: CN111140495A
Application number: CN201811312810.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 贾祥敏; 赵小冬; 周启明
Original assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies Suzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Copeland Suzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-06
Filing date: 2018-11-06
Publication date: 2020-05-12

Abstract

The present invention provides a scroll compressor, including: the compression mechanism comprises a fixed scroll and a movable scroll, wherein the fixed scroll comprises a fixed scroll end plate, a fixed scroll wrap and a peripheral wall on the radial outer side of the fixed scroll wrap; the movable scroll plate comprises a movable scroll plate end plate, a movable scroll wrap and a hub; the central through hole of the main bearing seat is communicated with the hub of the movable scroll to form a shaft cavity, the peripheral wall of the fixed scroll is contacted with the first side surface of the end plate of the movable scroll to form a contact part, and the oil delivery passage supplies lubricating oil in the shaft cavity to the contact part and outputs the lubricating oil in the contact part to the outside of the compression mechanism.

Description

Scroll compressor having a plurality of scroll members

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a scroll compressor, and more particularly, to a scroll compressor improved in terms of lubrication of oil supplied to a contact portion between an outer peripheral end surface of a fixed scroll and an end plate of a movable scroll.

Background

This section provides background information related to the present invention, and such information does not necessarily constitute prior art.

Compressors (e.g., scroll compressors) may be used in, for example, refrigeration systems, air conditioning systems, and heat pump systems. The scroll compressor includes: a compression mechanism including a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll, the fixed and orbiting scroll wraps being engaged with each other to define a series of working fluid receiving chambers; and the main bearing seat supports the movable scroll and is fixedly connected with the fixed scroll, the movable scroll is positioned between the main bearing seat and the fixed scroll and can perform orbiting motion relative to the fixed scroll, wherein the end surface of the peripheral wall of the fixed scroll is in contact with a region positioned on the radial outer side of the movable scroll on one side surface of the end plate of the movable scroll to form a contact part, during the work period, as the movable scroll performs orbiting relative motion relative to the fixed scroll, relative friction motion exists between two contact surfaces of the contact part to generate more heat, and when impurities exist between the two contact surfaces, the abrasion of the movable scroll and the fixed scroll can be greatly accelerated to cause failure. The conventional compressor cannot effectively discharge impurities between the contact surfaces and cannot effectively discharge heat generated by friction between the contact surfaces.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of possible heat generation and abrasion of impurities, it is desirable to facilitate heat dissipation of the compression mechanism and discharge of impurities between the two contact surfaces.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a scroll compressor improved in the above-mentioned aspects.

Disclosure of Invention

This summary is provided to introduce a general summary of the invention, and not a comprehensive disclosure of the full scope of the invention or all of its features.

The present invention is directed to improvements in one or more of the above-mentioned problems. In general, the present invention provides a scroll compressor as described below, which can significantly improve oil supply lubrication performance and heat radiation performance of a compression mechanism in a contact portion between an outer peripheral end surface of a fixed scroll and an end plate of a movable scroll, and can carry away impurities in the contact portion, thereby significantly reducing the risk of the fixed scroll and the movable scroll being worn out and failing.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scroll compressor comprising:

a compression mechanism adapted to compress a working fluid and including a fixed scroll end plate, a fixed scroll wrap extending from one side face of the fixed scroll end plate, and a peripheral wall extending from the side face and radially outward of the fixed scroll wrap, and an orbiting scroll including an orbiting scroll end plate, an orbiting scroll wrap extending from a first side face of the orbiting scroll end plate, and a hub extending from a second side face of the orbiting scroll end plate, the fixed scroll wrap and the orbiting scroll wrap engaging each other to define a series of working fluid receiving chambers;

a main bearing seat supporting the movable scroll and fixed with the fixed scroll such that the movable scroll is located between the fixed scroll and the main bearing seat and the movable scroll is capable of orbiting with respect to the fixed scroll; and

a lubricating oil source for supplying lubricating oil to the compression mechanism,

wherein the peripheral wall of the fixed scroll and the first side surface of the movable scroll end plate contact each other to form a contact portion, the scroll compressor further provided with an oil delivery passage including: at least one first oil delivery passage fluidly communicating from the lubricating oil source to the contact portion; at least one oil transfer groove in fluid communication with the at least one first oil transfer passage to guide a flow of the lubricating oil in the contact portion; and at least one second oil delivery passage in fluid communication with the at least one oil delivery groove to discharge the lubricating oil directly to the outside of the compression mechanism.

In the above-described scroll compressor according to the present invention, the oil delivery passage supplies lubricating oil to the contact portion, guides the flow of lubricating oil in the contact portion, and discharges the lubricating oil at the contact portion directly to the outside of the compression mechanism again, and it can be seen that with this configuration, it is possible to ensure that sufficient lubricating oil is supplied to the contact area between the outer peripheral end face of the fixed scroll and the end plate of the movable scroll, not only is good lubricating performance ensured under any operating condition ensured, but also the lubricating oil supplied into the contact area can carry impurities that may be present in the contact area and heat in the entire compression mechanism to be discharged to the outside of the compression mechanism through the oil delivery passage, the lubricating oil supplied into the contact area does not substantially enter the closed compression pockets formed by the fixed scroll wraps and the movable scroll wraps under the guidance of the oil delivery grooves, thereby prevent that impurity from getting into in the compression chamber, avoid the scroll to be worn out of order to through taking away the heat, can prevent that compression mechanism is overheated.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the first oil delivery passage includes: a first inlet fluidly connected to the source of lubricating oil; a first outlet opening to the contact portion; and a first passage extending from the first inlet to the first outlet, and the second oil delivery passage includes: a second inlet opening to the contact portion; a second outlet opening to an exterior of the compression mechanism; and a second passage extending from the second inlet to the second outlet.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the contact portion includes an annular first contact region on an end surface of the peripheral wall of the non-orbiting scroll and an annular second contact region on a first side surface of the orbiting scroll end plate, and each of the first outlet, the oil feed groove, and the second inlet is provided in any one of the first contact region and the second contact region.

According to an aspect of the invention, the first outlet, the oil sump and the second inlet are each provided in the first contact area or in the second contact area, the first outlet and the second inlet being positioned at diametrically opposite positions of the first contact area or the second contact area.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the first passage includes at least one of a passage provided in the fixed scroll, a passage provided in the movable scroll, and a separate conduit, or includes a combination of at least one of a passage provided in the fixed scroll, a passage provided in the movable scroll, and a separate conduit, and a passage provided in the main bearing housing; and

the second passage includes at least one of a passage provided in the fixed scroll, a passage provided in the movable scroll, and a separate conduit, or includes a combination of at least one of a passage provided in the fixed scroll, a passage provided in the movable scroll, and a separate conduit, and a passage provided in the main bearing housing.

According to one aspect of the invention, the oil transfer groove is formed as an arc-shaped, spiral-shaped or annular groove.

According to an aspect of the present invention, at least a portion of the oil transfer groove is adjacent to a radially outermost outer sidewall of the non-orbiting scroll wrap or the orbiting scroll wrap.

According to an aspect of the invention, the first contact area comprises a first sub-area which is kept in contact with the second contact area at all times during operation and a second sub-area which is intermittently in contact with the second contact area during operation, the first outlet, the oil sump and/or the second inlet being arranged in the first sub-area.

According to one aspect of the invention, the source of lubricating oil comprises at least one of: an oil sump at a bottom of a housing of the scroll compressor, an oil storage recess of the main bearing housing, a space defined between the orbiting scroll end plate and an end surface of a drive shaft for driving the hub portion to move, a compression chamber in the working fluid receiving chamber.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the main bearing housing includes an oil reservoir extending along an edge of the central through hole adjacent to the boss portion, and the first inlet communicates with the oil reservoir.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the at least one second oil delivery passage is provided to discharge the lubricating oil directly to the outside of a space formed by the compression mechanism and the main bearing housing.

According to one aspect of the invention, the scroll compressor is a high side scroll compressor.

In summary, the scroll compressor according to the present invention provides at least the following advantageous effects: according to the scroll compressor provided by the invention, the oil delivery passage is arranged, so that lubricating oil can be directly supplied to the contact part between the outer peripheral end surface of the fixed scroll and the end plate of the movable scroll, and the lubricating oil supplied to the contact part can be discharged to the outside of the compression mechanism, therefore, the scroll compressor provided by the invention can obviously improve the oil supply lubricating performance in the contact part and the heat radiation performance of the compression mechanism, can remove impurities in the contact part and prevent the impurities from entering a closed compression cavity formed by the fixed scroll wrap and the movable scroll wrap, thereby obviously reducing the risk that the fixed scroll and the movable scroll wrap are worn and fail, and the scroll compressor provided by the invention has the advantages of simple structure, easiness in processing and manufacturing and higher cost benefit.

Drawings

The foregoing and additional features and characteristics of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of example only and which are not necessarily drawn to scale. Like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a scroll compressor according to the present invention showing the arrangement of the fixed scroll and the orbiting scroll;

FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the scroll compressor of FIG. 1 including the compression mechanism illustrating the arrangement of the oil supply passage in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional perspective view of the fixed scroll of FIG. 2 with the fixed scroll end plate removed, showing in detail the arrangement of the oil supply passages of FIG. 2; and

fig. 4a and 4b show the arrangement of the oil supply passage according to other embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates a sectional view of a orbiting scroll according to the present invention, in which the arrangement of an oil supply passage according to another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

List of reference marks

A scroll compressor 1; a housing 12; a drive shaft 16; a main bearing housing 11; a cover 26; base 28

A stator 14; a rotor 15; a central bore 52; an eccentric hole 56; compression mechanism CM

A fixed scroll 22; a movable scroll 24; a orbiting scroll end plate 241; oil pool OR

A hub G; a peripheral wall S of the fixed scroll; oil storage tank V

A central through hole O; a contact portion P; the first contact region P1; second contact area P2

An oil delivery passage 13; a first oil delivery passage 131; a first inlet 131A; first outlet 131B

A second oil delivery passage 132; a second inlet 132A; a second outlet 132B; oil delivery groove 130

The first channel 131C; second channel 132C

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying fig. 1-5. The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

In the exemplary embodiments described below, the scroll compressor is illustratively shown as a vertical scroll compressor. However, the scroll compressor according to the present invention is not limited to this type, and may be any suitable type of scroll compressor, for example, a horizontal type scroll compressor, a high pressure side scroll compressor, a low pressure side scroll compressor, or the like. The "high-pressure side scroll compressor" referred to herein refers to a scroll compressor in which the motor is in the discharge pressure region (high-pressure region) of the housing. The "low-pressure side scroll compressor" described herein refers to a scroll compressor in which a motor is in a suction pressure region (low-pressure region) of a housing.

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a scroll compressor according to the present invention. First, an overall structure of a scroll compressor according to the present invention is schematically described with reference to fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the scroll compressor 1 may include a housing 12 having a substantially cylindrical shape, an electric motor (including a stator 14 and a rotor 15), a drive shaft 16, a main bearing housing 11, an orbiting scroll 24, and a non-orbiting scroll 22. The orbiting scroll 24 and the non-orbiting scroll 22 constitute a compression mechanism CM adapted to compress a working fluid (e.g., a refrigerant), wherein the non-orbiting scroll 22 includes a non-orbiting scroll end plate, a non-orbiting scroll wrap, and a discharge port at the center of the non-orbiting scroll; the orbiting scroll 24 includes an orbiting scroll end plate 241, an orbiting scroll wrap extending from a first side surface of the driven scroll end plate 241, and a boss portion G extending from a second side surface of the driven scroll end plate 241, an open suction chamber in fluid communication with an intake port of the compression mechanism CM is defined in the compression mechanism CM, and a closed compression chamber formed by the engagement of the orbiting and non-orbiting scroll wraps for compressing a working fluid.

A cover 26 at the top of the housing 12 and a base 28 at the bottom of the housing 12 may be mounted to the housing 12, defining an interior volume of the scroll compressor 1. Lubricant, such as lubricating oil, may be stored in an oil sump OR within the bottom portion of housing 12 for lubricating the various components of scroll compressor 1 (e.g., orbiting scroll 24, non-orbiting scroll 22, and thrust plate OR thrust face of main bearing housing 11, etc.). Here, it is to be noted that the oil sump OR may be used as a lubricating oil source (lubricant source) according to the present invention.

The electric motor includes a stator 14 and a rotor 15. The rotor 15 is used to drive the drive shaft 16 to rotate the drive shaft 16 about its axis of rotation relative to the housing 12. Drive shaft 16 may include an eccentric pin mounted to or integrally formed with a first end (tip) of drive shaft 16.

The drive shaft 16 may include a central bore 52 formed at a second end (bottom end) of the drive shaft 16 and an eccentric bore 56 extending upwardly from the central bore 52 to an end surface of the eccentric pin. The end (lower end) of the central bore 52 may be immersed in an oil sump OR at the bottom of the housing 12 of the scroll compressor 1 so that lubricating oil can be delivered from the oil sump OR at the bottom of the housing 12, for example under the action of centrifugal force due to rotation of the drive shaft 16, and caused to flow upwardly through the central bore 52 and eccentric bore 56 and out the end surface of the eccentric pin.

The lubricating oil that flows out from the end surface of the eccentric pin can flow into, for example, a lubricating oil supply region formed between the eccentric pin and the orbiting scroll 24 and between the main bearing housing 11 and the orbiting scroll 24. The lubricating oil in this lubricating oil supply region can lubricate, for example, the rotating joints and sliding surfaces between the eccentric pin and the orbiting scroll 24 and between the main bearing housing 11 and the orbiting scroll 24. Also, as will be described further below, the lubricating oil in the lubricating oil supply areas may also be supplied to the compression mechanism CM, so that these lubricating oil supply areas may also serve as lubricating oil sources according to the invention.

The orbiting scroll 24 is axially supported by the main bearing housing 11 and is supported by the main bearing housing 11 so as to be capable of orbiting. The hub G of the orbiting scroll 24 may be rotatably coupled to an eccentric pin. Alternatively, the hub G may be rotatably coupled to the eccentric pin via a bushing or bearing. As described above, the lubricating oil fed to and flowing out from the eccentric pin by the above-described exemplary eccentric oil feeding scheme or the like can further enter the space inside the hub portion G. The lubricating oil is accumulated in a concave portion, i.e., an oil reservoir V, on the inner side wall of the central through hole O of the main bearing housing 11 after lubricating the boss portion G, the eccentric pin, the bearing, or the like. In another example, even without the oil reservoir V, lubricating oil after lubricating the hub G, the eccentric pin, the bearing, or the like may be accumulated in the concave portion of the main bearing housing 11 for accommodating and allowing the hub G and the eccentric pin to rotate. The oil reservoir V or the recess described above may be used as a lubricating oil source according to the present invention. Under rotational agitation such as a boss G of the orbiting scroll and/or a balance weight (not shown), the lubricating oil in the concave portion of main bearing housing 11 adheres to the peripheral wall of the fixed scroll, the orbiting scroll end plate, and the main bearing housing in the form of oil mist, whereby lubrication can be performed.

The non-orbiting scroll 22 is mounted to the main bearing housing 11 using, for example, mechanical fasteners such as screw fastening members. The orbiting scroll 24 is driven by an electric motor via the drive shaft 16 (specifically, an eccentric pin) so as to be capable of translational rotation, i.e., orbiting, relative to the fixed scroll 22 by means of the oldham ring (i.e., the axis of the orbiting scroll 24 revolves relative to the axis of the fixed scroll 22, but both the orbiting scroll 24 and the fixed scroll 22 do not themselves rotate about their respective axes). Thus, each of the accommodation chambers defined by the fixed scroll wrap and the orbiting scroll wrap changes from an unsealed suction chamber to an outer low pressure compression chamber to an intermediate medium pressure compression chamber to a central high pressure compression chamber (having the highest pressure) in the process of moving from the radially outer side to the radially inner side, and the volume of the accommodation chamber gradually decreases from large to small. In this way, the pressure in the accommodation chamber also gradually rises, so that the working fluid (e.g., refrigerant) in the accommodation chamber (compression chamber) is compressed and finally discharged from the discharge port located at the radial center of the end plate of the fixed scroll 22 and further discharged to the outside of the shell 12 of the scroll compressor 1 via the discharge fitting, thereby achieving a working cycle of suction, compression, and discharge of the working fluid.

The scroll compressor 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 2 to 4 b.

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the scroll compressor 1 in fig. 1 including the compression mechanism CM, showing the arrangement of the oil supply passage 13 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; fig. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional perspective view of the non-orbiting scroll 22 of fig. 2 with the non-orbiting scroll end plate removed, showing in detail the arrangement of the oil supply passage 13 of fig. 2. As can be understood with reference to fig. 2 to 3, according to the present invention, in general, the compression mechanism CM includes a fixed scroll 22 and a movable scroll 24, a center region of a movable scroll end plate 241 of the movable scroll 24, which faces a second side surface of the main bearing housing 11, has a cylindrical boss portion G, the fixed scroll 22 includes a peripheral wall S extending from one side surface of the fixed scroll end plate and surrounding a fixed scroll wrap, the peripheral wall S of the fixed scroll 22 abuts against the main bearing housing 11 and is fastened to the main bearing housing 11, thereby fixedly connecting the fixed scroll 22 and the main bearing housing 11 to each other, and the main bearing housing 11 and the fixed scroll 22 are fixed such that the movable scroll 24 is located between the fixed scroll 22 and the main bearing housing 11 and the movable scroll 24 is capable of performing an orbiting motion with respect to the fixed scroll 22. It should be appreciated that the main bearing housing 11 and the non-orbiting scroll 22 may be mounted in any other suitable manner, for example, the main bearing housing 11 and the non-orbiting scroll 22 may each be mounted directly to the shell 12. Main bearing housing 11 includes a central through hole O that communicates with hub G of orbiting scroll 24 to form a shaft cavity in which drive shaft 16 is fitted, as previously described, and into which lubricating oil from drive shaft 16 enters (as indicated by the arrow in fig. 1).

As shown, the end surface of the peripheral wall S of the non-orbiting scroll 22 and the region on the first side surface of the orbiting scroll end plate 241, which is located radially outside of the orbiting scroll wrap, contact each other to form a contact portion P, which includes a first contact region P1 on the end surface of the peripheral wall S of the non-orbiting scroll 22 and a second contact region P2 on the first side surface of the orbiting scroll end plate 241, the first contact region P1 and the second contact region P2 being formed around the wraps as annular contact regions, respectively. The scroll compressor 1 is also provided with an oil delivery passage 13, and as shown by the arrow in the drawing, the oil delivery passage 13 is configured to supply the lubricating oil in the shaft cavity to the contact portion P, guide the lubricating oil to flow in the contact portion P, and output the lubricating oil at the contact portion P to the outside of the compression mechanism CM. In the preferred embodiment shown in fig. 2-3, the oil transfer passage 13 includes: a first oil delivery passage 131 fluidly communicating from the shaft cavity to the contact portion P; a second oil delivery passage 132 fluidly communicating from the contact portion P to the outside of the compression mechanism CM; and an oil delivery groove 130 provided in the contact portion P to fluidly communicate the first oil delivery passage 131 with the second oil delivery passage 132.

The first oil delivery passage 131 is configured to supply the lubricating oil at the lubricating oil source to the contact portion P. The oil sump 130 is configured to guide the flow and distribution of the lubricating oil at the contact portion P. The second oil delivery passage 132 is configured to discharge the lubricating oil from the oil delivery groove 130 directly to the outside of the compression mechanism CM. The "direct discharge" as referred to herein means that the lubricating oil in the oil sump 130 is discharged to the outside of the compression mechanism without entering the compression chamber. Of course, it should be understood that the "not entering the compression chambers" described herein is not absolute, and for example, the lubricating oil in the oil delivery groove 130 may leak into the compression chambers between the first contact region P1 and the second contact region P2. The present disclosure does not consider the lubricating oil leaked into the compression chambers between the first contact region P1 and the second contact region P2. In other words, in the present disclosure, a lubrication oil circuit is formed at the contact portion P by providing the oil delivery passage 13 to actively flow the lubrication oil through the contact portion P, so that heat generated from friction in the contact area, impurities, and the like can be carried away while lubrication is satisfied.

Specifically, as shown in the drawing, the first oil delivery passage 131 includes a first inlet 131A that is located on the side wall of the shaft chamber and opens toward the space inside the shaft chamber and a first outlet 131B that opens toward the contact portion P, in the present embodiment, it is preferable that the first inlet 131A is provided on an inner sidewall of the central through hole O of the main bearing housing 11 and communicates with the oil reservoir V on the inner sidewall of the central through hole O, as shown in fig. 2, the oil reservoir V is located at the edge of the inner sidewall of the central through-hole O adjacent to the hub portion G, and, preferably, the first outlet 131B is provided in the first contact region P1 of the non-orbiting scroll 22 and opens toward the second contact region P2 of the orbiting scroll end plate 241, and the first passage 131C extends from the first inlet 131A through the main bearing housing 11 and into the non-orbiting scroll 22 via the peripheral wall S to the first outlet 131B. By providing the first oil delivery passage 131 of the above configuration, a large amount of lubricating oil in the central through hole O of the main bearing housing 11, particularly a large amount of lubricating oil collected in the oil reservoir V, can be delivered into the contact portion P, thereby ensuring sufficient supply of lubricating oil to the contact portion P.

The second oil delivery passage 132 includes a second inlet 132A located on the first contact region P1 and opening toward the second contact region P2, and a second outlet 132B opening toward the outside at the peripheral wall S, and a second passage 132C extends from the second inlet 132A through the peripheral wall S to the second outlet 132B. Also, as shown in fig. 3, the oil sump 130 is disposed in the first contact region P1 and extends from the first outlet 131B to the second inlet 132A. With this configuration, the lubricating oil supplied at the contact region P flows to the second inlet 132A via the oil delivery groove 130, is further delivered to the second outlet 132B through the second passage 132C, and is discharged to the outside of the compression mechanism CM.

According to the above preferred embodiment, a large amount of lubricating oil can be supplied to the contact region P, and therefore, in addition to the above-described improved lubricating performance, the large amount of lubricating oil supplied to the contact region P can flush the contact region P and carry away impurities that may be present in the contact region P, and can exchange heat with the compression mechanism CM to carry away heat generated by its operation, and finally be discharged to the outside of the compression mechanism CM through the second oil delivery passage 132, thereby not only preventing impurities from entering the fluid receiving chamber formed by the fixed scroll wrap and the movable scroll wrap, avoiding the wraps from being worn out, and preventing the compression mechanism CM from overheating.

In addition, in practical applications, the impurities in the contact region P are generally concentrated in the region immediately adjacent to the non-orbiting scroll wrap, and therefore, it is preferable that, in the present embodiment (as shown in fig. 3), a large portion of the oil sump 130 is disposed immediately adjacent to the radially outer side wall of the non-orbiting scroll wrap, thereby removing the impurities in the contact region P as much as possible.

Although the oil delivery passage 13 in the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, the present invention is not limited thereto, and specifically, each of the first oil delivery passage 131, the second oil delivery passage 132, and the oil delivery groove 130 is not limited to one, but a plurality of first oil delivery passages 131, a plurality of second oil delivery passages 132, a plurality of oil delivery grooves 130 may be provided, respectively, and a plurality of first inlets 131A and/or first outlets 131B, a plurality of second inlets 132A and/or second outlets 132B may be provided, respectively. For example, fig. 4a and 4b illustrate the arrangement of the oil supply passage according to other embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 4a and 4B show the arrangement of the first outlet 131B, the second inlet 132A and the oil transfer groove 130 provided in the first contact area P1 of the fixed scroll. Specifically, referring to fig. 4a, one first outlet 131B and one second inlet 132A are provided in the first contact area P1, the first outlet 131B and the second inlet 132A being at substantially diametrically opposite positions. Two oil grooves 130 are provided between the first outlet 131B and the second inlet 132A, and the two oil grooves 130 extend from the first outlet 131B to the second inlet 132A, respectively, and are formed in a closed ring shape together. Referring to fig. 4B, two first outlets 131B and two second inlets 132A are provided in the first contact region P1, and two oil sumps 130, as shown in the drawing, the two oil sumps 130 extend from the respective first outlets 131B to the respective second inlets 132A, respectively, and are formed in arc shapes, respectively, and the two oil sumps 130 do not intersect with each other, and deliver the lubricating oil independently of each other. Preferably, by forming a closed annular oil delivery groove in the first contact region P1 that surrounds the entire annular shape of the wrap, not only can the contact portion P be sufficiently lubricated, but also impurities in the contact portion P and heat carried away from the compression mechanism CM can be removed as much as possible. Any other variations and modifications and any other arbitrary combinations may be envisaged by a person skilled in the art on the basis of the alternative embodiments shown in fig. 4a and 4 b.

According to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the first outlet 131B and the oil delivery groove 130 are both provided on the non-orbiting scroll 22 (specifically, in the first contact region P1), and therefore, the first outlet 131B, the oil delivery groove 130, and the second inlet 132A are always kept in communication with each other, thereby keeping the continuous supply of the lubricating oil to the contact portion P and the continuous output of the lubricating oil in the contact portion P to the outside of the compression mechanism CM. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and in practical applications, the first outlet 131B and the oil delivery groove 130 may be respectively disposed on the orbiting scroll 24, specifically, in the second contact region P2. In the present disclosure, the positions, shapes, sizes, numbers, and the like of the first outlet 131B, the oil delivery groove 130, and the second inlet 132A may vary as long as the first outlet 131B and the oil delivery groove 130 are capable of fluid communication (including constant communication and intermittent communication) and the oil delivery groove 130 and the second inlet 132A are capable of fluid communication (including constant communication and intermittent communication) to form a circuit for the flow of the lubricating oil at the contact portion P.

For example, fig. 5 shows an arrangement of an oil supply passage according to another embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from fig. 5, in the present embodiment, the first outlet 131B is provided in the second contact region P2 of the orbiting scroll 24 and opens toward the first contact region P1, and accordingly, the first inlet 131A is provided on the inner wall of the hub G of the orbiting scroll 24 and opens toward the inner space of the hub G, so that the lubricating oil from the drive shaft 16 and entering into the inner space of the hub G is supplied to the contact portion P, and the first passage 131C thus extends from the first inlet 131A through the orbiting scroll end plate 241 and to the first outlet 131B. In this case, the oil feed groove 130 may be provided in the first contact region P1 of the non-orbiting scroll 22, at which time the oil feed groove 130 is positioned to intermittently correspond to, i.e., fluidly communicate with, the first outlet 131B during operation of the compression mechanism CM (i.e., during orbiting motion of the orbiting scroll), thereby receiving the lubricating oil from the first oil feed passage 131, and the oil feed groove 130 extends to the second inlet 132A in the first contact region P1, thereby continuously feeding the lubricating oil into the second oil feed passage 132; alternatively, the oil delivery groove 130 may be provided in the second contact region P2 of the orbiting scroll 24, in which case the oil delivery groove 130 extends to the first outlet 131B in the second contact region P2 so as to be able to continuously receive the lubricating oil from the first oil delivery passage 131, and the oil delivery groove 130 is positioned so as to be able to intermittently correspond to, i.e., fluidly communicate with, the second inlet 132A during operation of the compression mechanism CM (i.e., during the orbiting motion of the orbiting scroll), so as to intermittently deliver the lubricating oil into the second oil delivery passage 132.

Likewise, although not shown in the drawings, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing that, in the case where the first outlet 131B is provided in the first contact region P1 of the fixed scroll 22, the oil delivery groove 130 may also be provided in the second contact region P2 of the moving scroll 24, in which case the oil delivery groove 130 is positioned so as to be able to intermittently correspond to, i.e., be in fluid communication with, the first outlet 131B and the second inlet 132A, respectively, during operation of the compression mechanism CM (i.e., during the orbiting motion of the moving scroll), thereby intermittently receiving lubricating oil from the first oil delivery passage 131 and intermittently delivering lubricating oil to the second oil delivery passage 132.

In addition, in the above preferred embodiment, the oil supply groove 130 is provided in an arc shape or a closed circular ring shape around the wrap, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the oil supply groove 130 may have any shape, such as a wave shape, a zigzag shape, or even a spiral shape formed in a plurality of turns around the wrap.

Also, as can be understood by referring to fig. 1 and 2, in the contact portion P where the fixed scroll 22 and the orbiting scroll 24 are in contact with each other, the first contact region P1 on the fixed scroll 22 has a first sub region always in contact with the second contact region P2 and a second sub region intermittently in contact with the second contact region P2 during operation due to the orbiting motion of the orbiting scroll 24, and preferably, in a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the first contact region includes a sub region always in contact with the second contact region during operation, and the first outlet 131B, the second inlet 132A and the oil delivery groove 30 are all disposed in the first sub region, thereby achieving higher lubrication oil feeding efficiency. The invention is not limited in this regard and in some implementations, the first outlet 131B, the second inlet 132A, and the sump 30 may all be disposed or partially disposed in the second sub-area.

Although the exemplary embodiments of the scroll compressor according to the present invention have been described in the foregoing embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto, but various modifications, substitutions, and combinations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the first passage 131C and the second passage 132C are not limited to the above-described extending paths as long as the first passage 131C can communicate from the first inlet 131A to the first outlet 131B, and likewise, the second passage 132C can communicate from the second inlet 132A to the second outlet 132B. Also, the oil delivery passage is not limited to various passages (e.g., the first passage 131C or the second passage 132C) formed in the components of the compressor, and may also include a separate pipe, for example. It is noted that, according to the present invention, it is most preferable to discharge the lubricating oil directly to the outside of the space formed by the compression mechanism and the main bearing housing by appropriately arranging the positions of the second passage and the second outlet, thereby ensuring that impurities and heat are kept away from the compression mechanism and the main bearing housing.

Further, the lubricating oil source in the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described specific embodiments, and any region capable of accumulating lubricating oil may be used as the lubricating oil source, for example, a compression chamber, an oil pool at the bottom of the housing of the scroll compressor, a space defined between the orbiting scroll end plate and the end face of the drive shaft, or the like. It will be appreciated that the arrangement of the first and/or second passages may be varied as appropriate when the location of the source of lubricating oil is different.

For example, when the compression chamber is used as the lubricating oil source, a first inlet opening to a selected compression chamber (e.g., an intermediate pressure chamber) may be provided on the orbiting scroll end plate, and a first passage extending from the first inlet opening to a first outlet opening to the contact portion may be provided in the orbiting scroll end plate, so that the lubricating oil in the compression chamber is guided to the contact portion. Also, similarly, in the case of a compression chamber as a source of lubricating oil, the first passage and/or the second passage may be formed by a passage provided in the non-orbiting scroll, or may be formed by any combination of at least one of a passage provided in the non-orbiting scroll and a passage provided in the main bearing housing.

For example, when the oil sump OR at the bottom of the casing is used as a source of lubricating oil, the lubricating oil in the oil sump OR may be introduced into the outer peripheral contact portion between the orbiting scroll and the non-orbiting scroll through a separate pipe and/OR discharged from the outer peripheral contact portion to the outside of the compression mechanism. In this case, the first channel and/or the second channel comprise separate conduits. In examples not shown, the first channel and/or the second channel may comprise any possible combination of: separate conduits, passages in the rotating shaft, passages in the orbiting scroll or main bearing housing, and passages in the non-orbiting scroll.

For example, where the space between the orbiting scroll end plate and the drive shaft end face is used as a source of lubricating oil, the first passage and/or the second passage may comprise any possible combination of: a passage in the orbiting scroll, a passage in the non-orbiting scroll, and a passage in the main bearing housing.

It is obvious that further different embodiments can be devised by combining different embodiments and individual features in different ways or modifying them.

The scroll compressor according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the specific embodiments. It will be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive, and that various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art in view of the above description without departing from the scope of the invention. Such variations and modifications are also included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A scroll compressor (1) comprising:

a Compression Mechanism (CM) adapted to compress a working fluid and including a fixed scroll (22) including a fixed scroll end plate, a fixed scroll wrap extending from one side of the fixed scroll end plate, and a peripheral wall (S) extending from the side and radially outward of the fixed scroll wrap, and a movable scroll (24) including a movable scroll end plate (241), a movable scroll wrap extending from a first side of the movable scroll end plate, and a hub (G) extending from a second side of the movable scroll end plate, the fixed and movable scroll wraps engaging each other to define a series of working fluid receiving chambers;

a main bearing housing (11) that supports the movable scroll and is fixed to the fixed scroll such that the movable scroll is located between the fixed scroll and the main bearing housing and the movable scroll is capable of orbiting movement relative to the fixed scroll; and

wherein a peripheral wall of the fixed scroll and a first side surface of the orbiting scroll end plate contact each other to form a contact portion (P), the scroll compressor is further provided with an oil delivery passage (13), the oil delivery passage (13) including: at least one first oil delivery passage (131) fluidly communicating from the lubricating oil source to the contact portion; at least one oil transfer groove (130) in fluid communication with the at least one first oil transfer passage (131) to guide a flow of lubricating oil in the contact portion (P); and at least one second oil delivery passage (132) in fluid communication with the at least one oil delivery groove (130) to discharge the lubricating oil directly to the outside of the compression mechanism.

2. The scroll compressor of claim 1, wherein the first oil delivery passage comprises: a first inlet (131A) fluidly connected to the source of lubricating oil; a first outlet (131B) opening toward the contact portion; and a first passage (131C) extending from the first inlet to the first outlet, and the second oil delivery passage includes: a second inlet (132A) opening toward the contact portion; a second outlet (132B) opening to the outside of the Compression Mechanism (CM); and a second channel (132C) extending from the second inlet to the second outlet.

3. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein the contact portion (P) includes an annular first contact area (P1) on an end face of the peripheral wall of the fixed scroll and an annular second contact area (P2) on the first side of the orbiting scroll end plate, each of the first outlet port, the oil sump (130), and the second inlet port being provided in any one of the first contact area and the second contact area.

4. A scroll compressor as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first outlet, the oil sump (130) and the second inlet are each provided in the first contact region or in the second contact region, the first outlet and the second inlet being located at diametrically opposite positions of the first contact region or the second contact region.

5. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein the first passage comprises at least one of a passage provided in the fixed scroll, a passage provided in the moving scroll, and a separate conduit, or a combination of at least one of a passage provided in the fixed scroll, a passage provided in the moving scroll, and a separate conduit, and a passage provided in the main bearing housing; and

6. The scroll compressor of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the oil delivery groove is formed as an arcuate, spiral, or annular groove.

7. The scroll compressor of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the oil transfer groove is immediately adjacent to a radially outermost outer sidewall of the non-orbiting or orbiting scroll wrap.

8. The scroll compressor of claim 3, wherein the first contact region includes a first sub-region that remains in contact with the second contact region at all times during operation and a second sub-region that intermittently contacts the second contact region during operation, the first outlet, the oil sump, and/or the second inlet being disposed within the first sub-region.

9. The scroll compressor of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the source of lubricating oil comprises at least one of: an oil sump (OR) at a bottom of a housing of the scroll compressor, an oil storing recess of the main bearing housing, a space defined between the orbiting scroll end plate and an end surface of a driving shaft for driving the hub portion to move, a compression chamber in the working fluid receiving chamber.

10. The scroll compressor of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the main bearing housing includes an oil reservoir extending along an edge of the central through hole adjacent to the hub portion, the first inlet communicating with the oil reservoir.

11. The scroll compressor according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one second oil delivery passage is provided to discharge lubricating oil directly to the outside of a space formed by the compression mechanism and the main bearing housing.

12. The scroll compressor of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the scroll compressor is a high side scroll compressor.