CN216922507U

CN216922507U - Scroll compressor having a plurality of scroll members

Info

Publication number: CN216922507U
Application number: CN202220572924.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨春; 吴凌云; 郭伟平
Original assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies Suzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Copeland Suzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-16
Filing date: 2022-03-16
Publication date: 2022-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-16

Abstract

The present invention relates to a scroll compressor, comprising: an air intake joint through which the working fluid is sucked from the outside of the scroll compressor to the inside of the scroll compressor; a compression mechanism configured to compress a working fluid sucked into an interior of the scroll compressor; a main bearing housing including a wall portion that defines a recess that collects lubricant, and the wall portion is provided with a drain hole adapted to drain the lubricant inside the recess to an outside of the main bearing housing; and a drive shaft supported by the main bearing housing and driving the compression mechanism, the compressor further including a lubricant regulating device disposed at the discharge hole and configured to be selectively in an open position allowing discharge of lubricant and a closed position preventing discharge of lubricant in accordance with a change in rotational speed of the drive shaft based on a magnitude of an impact of a flow of working fluid sucked into the interior of the scroll compressor via the intake joint. The utility model provides a compressor capable of automatically adjusting oil circulation rate to improve performance and reliability.

Description

Scroll compressor having a plurality of scroll members

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a scroll compressor.

Background

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

A scroll compressor generally includes a compression mechanism composed of a fixed scroll member and a movable scroll member. In order to ensure the normal operation of the compression mechanism, the non-orbiting and orbiting scroll members need to be properly lubricated. During operation of the compressor, lubricant supplied to various moving parts in the compressor is thrown and splashed to form droplets or mist. These lubricant droplets or mist will be mixed in the working fluid (or refrigerant) drawn in from the inlet connection. The working fluid mixed with lubricant droplets is then drawn into the compression chambers between the non-orbiting and orbiting scroll members to effect lubrication, sealing and cooling of the interior of the scroll members. This lubrication between the orbiting and non-orbiting scroll members is commonly referred to as oil mist lubrication. In addition, the working fluid mixed with lubricant droplets also achieves lubrication and sealing of contact surfaces of other components such as cross slip rings, floating seals, and the like.

However, under certain conditions, such oil mist lubrication does not supply sufficient lubricant to the orbiting and non-orbiting scroll members, which increases wear of the orbiting and non-orbiting scroll members and affects the sealing effect therebetween, thereby causing a performance degradation of the entire compressor.

In the related art, a discharge hole is formed in the wall of the main bearing housing to facilitate the outflow of the lubricant in the recess of the main bearing housing, a part of the lubricant flowing out is mixed into the refrigerant from the inlet joint to participate in the compression cycle to improve the lubrication of the components in the housing to some extent, and the rest of the lubricant is returned to the bottom oil sump.

However, the compressor with the above-mentioned construction, particularly the inverter compressor, has the following drawbacks: the compressor pumps less oil (e.g., lubricant/lube oil) at low rotational speeds, so that the recess of the main bearing housing has less lubricant and therefore less lubricant flows out of the main bearing housing, the oil circulation rate is small, resulting in insufficient lubrication and wear of parts, decreasing reliability; the compressor pumps much oil at high rotation speed, so that the recess of the main bearing housing has much lubricant and hence much lubricant flows out of the main bearing housing, the suction entrained oil amount is large, the oil circulation rate is large, resulting in a reduction in performance.

The oil circulation of the prior art compressor is considerably lower than the target value at low rotational speeds and considerably higher at high rotational speeds. There is therefore a need for lubrication of compressors: at low rotational speeds, it is desirable to increase oil circulation to achieve a target value for oil circulation, increasing lubrication to reduce part wear; at high rotational speeds, it is desirable to reduce the oil circulation to achieve a target value for oil circulation to improve system performance.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model aims to provide a compressor which automatically adjusts an oil circulation rate through a lubricant adjusting device so as to improve the system performance and reliability.

According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a scroll compressor including: an air intake joint through which working fluid is drawn from an exterior of the scroll compressor to an interior of the scroll compressor; a compression mechanism configured to compress a working fluid sucked into an interior of the scroll compressor; a main bearing housing including a wall portion that defines a recess capable of accumulating lubricant and that is provided with a drain hole adapted to drain lubricant within the recess to an outside of the main bearing housing; and a drive shaft supported by the main bearing housing and for driving the compression mechanism, the scroll compressor further including a lubricant regulating device provided at the discharge hole, and configured to be selectively in an open position allowing discharge of lubricant and a closed position preventing discharge of lubricant based on a magnitude of an impact of a flow of working fluid sucked into an interior of the scroll compressor via the intake joint according to a change in a rotation speed of the drive shaft.

Advantageously, the lubricant conditioning arrangement comprises a movable valve member for selectively opening and closing an outer port of the discharge bore and a resilient member arranged in the discharge bore to apply a resilient force to the valve member against the impact of the working fluid stream.

Advantageously, the discharge hole includes an inner section having a smaller diameter and an outer section having a larger diameter so as to be formed with a step portion, the elastic member being arranged in the outer section and abutting against the step portion.

Advantageously, the lubricant adjustment device further comprises an end cap adapted to guide movement of the valve member and/or to define an outermost position of the valve member.

Advantageously, the end cap comprises a bottom wall arranged to face the air intake fitting and a circumferential wall arranged to extend from the bottom wall towards the discharge aperture, and the end cap comprises a first through hole provided in the circumferential wall and a second through hole provided in the bottom wall.

Advantageously, the first through hole is a plurality of elongated holes arranged uniformly around the circumferential wall, extending in the direction of movement of the valve member, and the second through hole is a single circular hole arranged at the centre of the bottom wall.

Advantageously, the outer periphery of the circumferential wall is fixed to the wall portion of the main bearing housing such that the end cap surrounds the outer port of the discharge bore.

Advantageously, the valve member is a valve plate, and the resilient member is a coil spring having one end fixed in the discharge hole and the other end fixed to the valve plate.

Advantageously, the drain hole is located below the lubricant level in the recess.

Advantageously, the outlet hole is positioned such that the central axis of the outlet hole is higher than the central axis of the air inlet fitting.

Advantageously, the compression mechanism is lubricated solely by lubricant carried by the working fluid.

By adopting the lubricating oil adjusting device, the scroll compressor comprising the lubricating oil adjusting device can automatically adjust the oil content of the air inlet joint along with the change of the rotating speed of the driving shaft, and the system performance and the reliability of the compressor are improved.

Drawings

The features and advantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention will become more readily understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a scroll compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, showing a portion of a compression mechanism and a discharge hole on a main bearing housing.

FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of a scroll compressor showing a lubricant conditioning device and with the lubricant conditioning device in an open position according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 2 showing a lubricant adjusting device.

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of a scroll compressor showing a lubricant conditioning device and with the lubricant conditioning device in a closed position according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 4 showing the lubricant adjusting device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of components of a lubricant conditioning device of a scroll compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description of various embodiments of the utility model is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the utility model, its application, or uses. The same reference numerals are used to designate the same components in the respective drawings, and thus the configurations of the same components will not be described repeatedly.

The general construction and operating principle of the scroll compressor will be described first with reference to fig. 1. As shown in fig. 1, a scroll compressor 100 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a compressor) generally includes a housing 110, a top cover provided at one end of the housing 110, a bottom cover provided at the other end of the housing 110, and a partition plate provided between the top cover and the housing 110 to partition an internal space of the compressor into a high pressure side and a low pressure side. The space between the partition and the top cover constitutes a high pressure side, and the space between the partition, the housing 110, and the bottom cover constitutes a low pressure side. An intake port 118 for taking in fluid is provided on the low pressure side, and an exhaust port for discharging compressed fluid is provided on the high pressure side. A motor composed of a stator and a rotor is provided in the housing 110. A drive shaft 130 is provided in the rotor to drive a compression mechanism consisting of a non-orbiting scroll member and an orbiting scroll member 160. Orbiting scroll member 160 includes an end plate 164, a hub 162 formed on one side of the end plate, and a spiral vane 166 formed on the other side of the end plate. The fixed scroll member includes an end plate, a spiral blade formed on one side of the end plate, and an exhaust port formed at a substantially central position of the end plate. A series of compression chambers, the volume of which gradually decreases from the radially outer side to the radially inner side, are formed between the spiral vane of the non-orbiting scroll and the spiral vane 166 of the orbiting scroll 160. Wherein, the compression cavity at the radial outermost side is at suction pressure, and the compression cavity at the radial innermost side is at discharge pressure. The intermediate compression chamber is between the suction pressure and the discharge pressure and is therefore also referred to as the intermediate pressure chamber.

One side of orbiting scroll part 160 is supported by thrust plate 141 on main bearing housing 140, and one end of drive shaft 130 is supported by a main bearing provided in main bearing housing 140. One end of drive shaft 130 is provided with an eccentric crank pin 132 and a relief bushing 142 is provided between eccentric crank pin 132 and a hub 162 of orbiting scroll member 160. Upon actuation by the motor, orbiting scroll member 160 will be rotated in translation relative to the non-orbiting scroll member (i.e., the central axis of orbiting scroll member 160 rotates about the central axis of the non-orbiting scroll member, but orbiting scroll member 160 does not itself rotate about its central axis) to effect compression of the fluid. The translational rotation is achieved by an oldham ring disposed between the non-orbiting scroll member and orbiting scroll member 160. The fluid compressed by the fixed scroll part and the movable scroll part is discharged to a high pressure side through an exhaust port.

The lubrication process of each component in the compressor will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the example of the vertical scroll compressor shown in fig. 1, lubricant is stored in the bottom of the compressor housing. Accordingly, a passage extending substantially in the axial direction thereof, i.e., a center hole formed at the lower end of the drive shaft 130 and an eccentric hole (not shown) extending upward from the center hole to the end surface of the eccentric crank pin 132, is formed in the drive shaft 130. The end of the central bore is immersed in lubricant at the bottom of the compressor housing or otherwise supplied with lubricant. In one example, a lubricant supply, such as an oil pump or oil fork, may be provided in or near the central bore. During operation of the compressor, one end of the central bore is supplied with lubricant by the lubricant supply, and lubricant entering the central bore is pumped or thrown into the eccentric bore by centrifugal force during rotation of the drive shaft 130 and flows up the eccentric bore to the end face of the eccentric crank pin 132. The lubricant discharged from the end surface of the eccentric crank pin 132 flows down along the gap between the unload bushing 142 and the eccentric crank pin 132 and the gap between the unload bushing 142 and the hub 162 to the recess 146 of the main bearing housing 140. A portion of the lubricant collected in recess 146 flows downwardly through the main bearing and a portion of the lubricant is agitated by hub 162 to move upwardly to the underside of end plate 164 of orbiting scroll member 160 and spread over the thrust surface between orbiting scroll member 160 and thrust plate 141 as orbiting scroll member 160 rotates in translation.

During operation of the compressor, lubricant supplied to various moving parts in the compressor is thrown and splashed to form droplets or mist. These lubricant droplets or mist will be mixed in the working fluid (or refrigerant) drawn in from the inlet connection. The working fluid mixed with lubricant droplets is then drawn into the compression chambers between the non-orbiting and orbiting scroll members to effect lubrication, sealing and cooling of the interior of the scroll members to effect oil mist lubrication between the orbiting and non-orbiting scroll members.

Referring again to FIG. 1, main bearing housing includes wall portions 148, wall portions 148 defining recesses 146 capable of collecting lubricant, lubricant discharged from eccentric bores of drive shaft 130 will collect in recesses 146 of main bearing housing 140. Wall 148 is provided with a drain 143 adapted to drain lubricant from the recess to the exterior of the main bearing housing, and a portion of the drained lubricant is mixed into the refrigerant from the inlet fitting to participate in the compression cycle and provide lubrication to the internal components of the housing, with the remaining lubricant returning to the sump at the bottom. This configuration compensates to some extent for the lack of lubrication by oil mist lubrication (particularly under certain operating conditions) which results in reduced performance.

However, the compressor with this configuration, in particular the inverter compressor, has the following drawbacks: at low rotation speed, less pump oil (lubricant) is used, so that less lubricant flows out of the main bearing seat, oil circulation is greatly lower than a target value, and lubrication is insufficient; and the pump oil is more at high rotating speed, so that more lubricant flows out of the main bearing seat, the oil circulation is greatly higher than a target value, the oil carrying capacity is large, and the performance is reduced.

There is therefore a need for: at low rotation speed, the oil circulation is expected to be improved to reach the target value of the oil circulation, and the abrasion of parts is reduced; at high rotational speeds, it is desirable to reduce the oil circulation to achieve the target oil circulation and improve product performance.

Next, a scroll compressor having a lubricant adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 6. Fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a scroll compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, showing a portion of a compression mechanism and a discharge hole on a main bearing housing. FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of a scroll compressor showing a lubricant conditioning device and with the lubricant conditioning device in an open position according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 2 showing a lubricant adjusting device. FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of a scroll compressor showing a lubricant conditioning device and with the lubricant conditioning device in a closed position according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 4 showing the lubricant adjusting device. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of components of a lubricant conditioning device of a scroll compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The construction and arrangement of the lubricant regulating device of the scroll compressor of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig. 2, the lubricant regulating device 120 being provided at the discharge port 143, and the lubricant regulating device may be configured to be selectively able to be placed in an open position allowing the discharge of lubricant and a closed position preventing the discharge of lubricant, based on the magnitude of the impact of the flow of working fluid drawn into the interior of the scroll compressor via the intake joint, in accordance with the change in the rotational speed of the drive shaft.

Referring again to fig. 3, 5 and 6, the lubricant adjusting device 120 may include a movable valve member 121 for selectively opening and closing an outer port of the discharge hole 143, and an elastic member 122 disposed in the discharge hole to apply an elastic force to the valve member against an impact of the sucked working fluid flow. The discharge hole 143 may include an inner section having a smaller diameter and an outer section having a larger diameter so as to be formed with a stepped portion, and the elastic member 122 is disposed in the outer section and abuts against the stepped portion. And wherein the lubricant conditioning arrangement 120 may further comprise an end cap 123, the end cap 123 comprising a bottom wall 126 arranged to face the air inlet joint 118 and a circumferential wall 127 arranged to extend from the bottom wall towards the discharge orifice, wherein the circumferential wall 127 guides the movement of the valve member 121 and the bottom wall 126 may define an outermost position of the valve member 121. Also, the end cap 123 may further include a first through hole 124 provided on the circumferential wall 127 and a second through hole 125 provided on the bottom wall 126. In one aspect of an embodiment, the outer periphery of circumferential wall 127 may be secured to wall portion 148 of main bearing housing such that an end cap surrounds the outer port of discharge bore 143.

According to the scroll compressor including the above lubricant adjusting device of the present invention, the lubricant adjusting device is in the open position when the rotation speed of the drive shaft is low, specifically, the valve sheet is in the open state against the gas force of the low speed gas flow by the spring force due to the low gas flow from the intake joint at the low speed operation to allow the lubricant in the recess of the main bearing housing to be discharged from the discharge hole, and the discharged lubricant is carried into the compression structure by the fluid from the intake joint for lubrication, that is, oil circulation is improved at the low speed operation to reduce the wear of parts. Further, when the rotational speed of the drive shaft is high, the lubricant adjusting device draws a large amount of fluid through the intake joint, so the speed and impact of the fluid flow become large, the valve sheet is in the closed position against the elastic force of the elastic member by the high-speed fluid from the intake joint, the lubricant in the recess of the main bearing housing is prevented from being discharged from the discharge hole, and the lubricant in the recess is isolated from the fluid from the intake joint, so the fluid from the intake joint does not carry the lubricant, that is, the oil circulation is reduced at the high rotational speed, and the product performance is improved. More precisely, according to the present application, in each sector of full speed, there is a suitable oil circulation rate, at low speeds the oil circulation not being much lower than the target value of the oil circulation, and at high speeds the oil circulation not being much higher than the target value of the oil circulation. That is, the object of the present application is: the target value of the oil circulation can be achieved at both high speed and low speed. Therefore, the scroll compressor according to the present invention can automatically adjust the oil content of the intake joint and more precisely, the lubricating oil carried by the fluid from the intake joint to be introduced into the compression mechanism with the change of the rotation speed of the drive shaft, improving the performance and reliability of the scroll compressor, which is particularly advantageous for the variable frequency scroll compressor.

The operation of the lubricant regulator will now be described with reference to fig. 1 to 6, when the rotation speed of the drive shaft 130 is low, the valve member 121 is in an open position (see fig. 3) against the bottom wall 126 of the end cover 123 away from the discharge hole 143 by the elastic member 122 to allow the lubricant from the recess 146 to be discharged from the discharge hole 143, and the lubricant can flow out of the end cover through the first through hole 124, and then the lubricant is carried into the compression structure by the fluid from the intake joint 118 for lubrication, so as to increase the oil circulation rate at low rotation speeds to reach a target value of oil circulation, thereby reducing the wear of parts. At a high rotation speed of the driving shaft 130, a large amount of fluid is sucked through the intake joint 118, and thus the velocity and impact of the fluid flow become large, the valve member 121 abuts against the step of the discharge hole against the elastic force of the elastic member 121 and closes the discharge hole to be in the closed position (see fig. 5) by the fluid flowing from the intake joint 118 into the end cover through the second through hole 125, the lubricant in the recess of the main bearing housing is prevented from being discharged from the discharge hole, and thus the fluid from the intake joint does not carry the lubricant to reduce the oil circulation rate to reach the target value of oil circulation at a high rotation speed, thereby improving the system performance.

In an advantageous aspect of the embodiment, the first through holes 124 may be a plurality of elongated holes that are uniformly arranged around the circumferential wall, extending in the direction of movement of the valve member (axial direction of the end cover), and the elongated holes may be holes that are larger in size in the axial direction of the end cover and smaller in size in the circumferential direction of the end cover. Also, the second through hole 125 may be a single circular hole provided at the center of the bottom wall 126. The plurality of elongated holes/cross holes facilitate efficient outflow of lubricant for improved lubrication; the central circular hole enables the impact effect of fluid flowing into the end cover on the valve member to be more uniform and concentrated, and the adjusting device is more effective. Additionally, a portion of the fluid from the intake fitting may pass through the lower elongated hole/cross-hole to meet the lubricant flowing out of the discharge hole 143 to carry the lubricant out of the lower elongated hole/cross-hole and into the compression mechanism.

In another aspect of the embodiment, the valve member 121 may be a valve sheet, and the elastic member 122 may be a coil spring, one end of which is fixed in the discharge hole and the other end of which is fixed to the valve sheet. The valve member may also be a ball valve or a reed valve, as desired. For example, the reed valve may include a valve member for opening and closing the discharge hole, and a valve arm portion that applies an elastic force to the valve member, in particular. The reed valve may be disposed outside the wall of the main bearing housing 140, and the valve arm portion may be fixed to only the wall of the main bearing housing 140 with screws, rivets, or the like. Similar advantageous effects as in the above-described embodiment can be achieved.

The stiffness of the helical spring is adjustable. It is advantageous to select a helical spring with a suitable stiffness for a particular compressor, for the operating conditions (high speed, whether high or low speed, or high speed) for which the compressor is to be (predominantly) operated, and/or for the oil circulation rate to be predetermined to be achieved, for obtaining a suitable oil circulation rate.

In other aspects of embodiments of the utility model, the drain hole may be positioned below the lubricant level in the recess to facilitate drainage of the lubricant. And, the drain hole is positioned such that a central axis of the drain hole is higher than a central axis of the intake fitting such that fluid flow entering from the intake fitting is permitted to more fully encounter the lubricant to carry the lubricant in the open position. Further, the compression mechanism of the present invention can be lubricated only by the lubricant carried by the working fluid.

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described and illustrated in detail herein, and that other modifications and variations may be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the utility model. All such variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Moreover, all the components described herein may be replaced by other technically equivalent components.

Claims

1. A scroll compressor, comprising:

an air intake joint through which working fluid is drawn from an exterior of the scroll compressor to an interior of the scroll compressor;

a compression mechanism configured to compress a working fluid sucked into an interior of the scroll compressor;

a main bearing housing including a wall portion that defines a recess capable of accumulating lubricant and that is provided with a drain hole adapted to drain lubricant within the recess to an outside of the main bearing housing; and

a drive shaft supported by the main bearing housing and for driving the compression mechanism,

characterized in that the scroll compressor further comprises a lubricant regulating device disposed at the discharge hole, and the lubricant regulating device is configured to be selectively in an open position allowing discharge of lubricant and a closed position preventing discharge of lubricant based on a magnitude of an impact of a flow of working fluid sucked into the interior of the scroll compressor via the intake joint according to a change in a rotation speed of the drive shaft.

2. The scroll compressor according to claim 1 wherein said lubricant conditioning device includes a movable valve member for selectively opening and closing an outer port of said discharge port and a resilient member disposed in said discharge port for exerting a resilient force on said valve member against the impingement of the flow of working fluid.

3. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein the discharge port includes an inner section of smaller diameter and an outer section of larger diameter forming a step, the resilient member being disposed in the outer section and abutting against the step.

4. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein the lubricant conditioning device further comprises an end cap adapted to guide movement of the valve member and/or adapted to define an outermost position of the valve member.

5. The scroll compressor of claim 4, wherein the end cover includes a bottom wall disposed to face the intake fitting and a circumferential wall disposed to extend from the bottom wall toward the discharge hole, and wherein the end cover includes a first through-hole disposed on the circumferential wall and a second through-hole disposed on the bottom wall.

6. The scroll compressor of claim 5, wherein the first through-hole is a plurality of elongated holes uniformly disposed around the circumferential wall extending in a direction of movement of the valve member, and the second through-hole is a single circular hole disposed at a center of the bottom wall.

7. The scroll compressor of claim 5, wherein an outer periphery of the circumferential wall is secured to the wall portion of the main bearing housing such that the end cover surrounds the outer port of the discharge port.

8. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein the valve member is a valve plate and the resilient member is a coil spring having one end fixed in the discharge port and another end fixed to the valve plate.

9. The scroll compressor of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the discharge port is positioned below a lubricant level in the recess.

10. The scroll compressor of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the discharge port hole is positioned such that a central axis of the discharge port hole is higher than a central axis of the inlet fitting.

11. The scroll compressor of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the compression mechanism is lubricated solely by lubricant carried by the working fluid.