JP2008232134A - Electric compressor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric compressor capable of reinforcing a lubricating oil reservoir section by using the existing structural member while suppressing the axial elongation of a housing. <P>SOLUTION: A lubrication oil reservoir chamber 50 provided at the bottom of the housing 11 is placed below a compression mechanism section 20 or an electric motor 30 and in the vicinity of a mounting bracket 17 provided at the lower part on the outer side of a middle case 13. Therefore, the lubrication oil reservoir chamber 50 is provided by effectively using a dead space formed below the compression mechanism section 20 in the housing 11, and also the rigidity of the mounting bracket 17 can secure the strength of the lubrication oil reservoir chamber 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric compressor in which a compression mechanism and an electric motor are integrated.

As a conventional electric compressor, a compression mechanism portion and an electric motor that drives the compression mechanism portion are housed in a housing, and a lubricating oil storage portion that lubricates a required lubricating portion of the compression mechanism portion is provided at the bottom of the housing. Is known.

Patent Document 1 discloses a horizontal electric compressor. In this case, for example,
The housing for the electric motor of the housing is extended outward in the axial direction, and a lubricating oil reservoir is provided in the extended portion, and the lubricating oil in the reservoir is supplied to the required lubrication location of the compression mechanism, and return lubrication The oil is returned to the lubricating oil reservoir.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-2684

However, in the conventional electric compressor, since the lubricating oil reservoir is provided in the axially extending portion of the housing, the housing is inevitably elongated in the axial direction and the electric compressor is increased in size.

In addition, since the lubricating oil reservoir is formed by simply extending the housing, in order to reinforce the lubricating oil reservoir, a reinforcing structure such as increasing the thickness of the housing or providing reinforcing ribs is provided. It may be necessary to pick up and cause weight increase.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain an electric compressor that can reinforce a lubricating oil reservoir using an existing component member while suppressing an increase in the length of the housing in the axial direction.

In the invention of claim 1, at least the compression mechanism (20) is provided in the housing (11).
And an electric motor (30) for driving the compression mechanism (20), and an electric compressor having a mounting bracket (17) projecting at least at the lower part outside the housing (11) 10), the lubricating oil storage chamber (50) provided at the bottom of the housing (11) is below the compression mechanism (20) or the electric motor (30) and the mounting bracket (17). It is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of.

  In the invention of claim 2, the discharge port (16, 16A) for discharging the fluid that is open to the housing (11) and compressed by the compression mechanism (20) to the outside of the housing; A pressure introducing passage (61) communicating the discharge port (16) and the lubricating oil reservoir (50, 50A), the lubricating oil reservoir (50, 50A), and the compression mechanism section (20); And a lubricating oil supply passage (62) communicating with the sliding portion.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lubricating oil storage chamber provided at the bottom of the housing that houses at least the compression mechanism and the electric motor is disposed below the compression mechanism or the electric motor, thereby The dead oil space can be effectively used to provide the lubricating oil storage chamber without extending the housing, so that the housing is prevented from being lengthened in the axial direction, and consequently the size of the electric compressor is suppressed. Can do.

In addition, since the lubricating oil storage chamber is disposed in the vicinity of the mounting bracket projecting from the outer lower portion of the housing, the rigidity of the mounting bracket can ensure the strength of the lubricating oil storage chamber, which in turn increases the weight of the electric compressor. Can be avoided.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the operation and effect of the first aspect, the pressure of the discharge port acts on the oil in the lubricating oil storage chamber via the pressure introduction passage, so that the oil is compressed. Therefore, there is no need to provide an oil supply pump, leading to a reduction in the number of parts.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in this embodiment, the case where an electric compressor is applied to the refrigerating cycle of the air conditioner of a motor vehicle is illustrated. In this case, the fluid compressed by the electric compressor serves as a refrigerant for the refrigeration cycle.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an electric compressor according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the electric compressor.

In the electric compressor 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rear case 12, a middle case 13, and a front case 14 that are divided into three in the axial direction (left and right in FIG. 2) are combined to form a housing. 11 is configured. As shown in FIG. 2, the compression mechanism 20 is housed in the middle case 13, the electric motor 30 is housed in the rear case 12, and the motor that controls the energization of the electric motor 30 in the front case 14. The drive circuit unit 40 is accommodated.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerant introduced into the housing 11 from the introduction port 15 formed in the middle case 13 is compressed by the compression mechanism portion 20 and then discharged from the discharge port 16 formed in the rear case 12. It has become.

The compression mechanism unit 20 is configured as a rotary type having vanes, and as shown in FIG. 2, a cylinder block 22 having a cylinder chamber 21 formed in a noncircular shape with a smooth inner periphery, and rotates in the cylinder chamber 21. A compressor rotor 23 that is freely stored, and vanes 24 that are arranged in and out of the outer periphery of the compressor rotor 23 so that their tips are in sliding contact with the inner periphery of the cylinder chamber 21 and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, The compressor block 2 is disposed on both sides of the cylinder block 22 in the axial direction and closes both sides of the cylinder chamber 21 in the axial direction.
3 schematically includes a side block 25 and a side block 25 on the suction side and the discharge side on which 3 is in sliding contact.

A suction port (not shown) is formed in the left suction side block 25 in FIG. 2 so that the refrigerant introduced from the introduction port 15 is introduced into the cylinder chamber 21 through the suction port. It has become. Further, a discharge port (not shown) through which the compressed refrigerant in the cylinder chamber 21 is discharged is formed in the outer peripheral portion of the cylinder block 22 or the right discharge side block 26.

Therefore, in the compression mechanism unit 20, the compressor rotor 23 is rotated by the drive shaft 31 of the electric motor 30, so that the volume in the circumferential direction of the cylinder chamber 21 is changed while the vane 24 is projected and retracted, and thereby the suction port The low-pressure refrigerant sucked into the cylinder chamber 21 is compressed, and the compressed high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from the discharge port.

The high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the discharge port passes through the inner periphery of the middle case 13 and the compression mechanism unit 20.
The electric motor 30 is discharged from the discharge port 16 after passing through the rear case 12 in which the electric motor 30 is housed. At this time, the refrigerant passing through the rear case 12 generates heat from the electric motor 30. The part is cooled.

The electric motor 30 includes a cylindrical stator 32 that is press-fitted and fixed to the inner periphery of the rear case 12, and
And a rotor 33 rotatably accommodated in the stator 32. The stator 32 is excited by energizing a plurality of coil winding portions provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the stator 32. As a result, the rotor 33 rotates.

A drive shaft 31 is inserted in the central portion of the rotor 33 while being locked in the rotational direction, and one end portion (left end portion in the figure) of the drive shaft 31 is formed integrally with the compressor rotor 23 of the compression mechanism portion 20. The rotation of the drive shaft 31 is transmitted to the compressor rotor 23 by being connected to the end portion (right end portion in the figure) of the rotating shaft 27 via a non-circular fitting portion 31S.

As shown in FIG. 2, a partition wall 14 </ b> W is provided on the middle case 13 side of the front case 14, and the opposite side is opened, and the motor drive circuit unit 40 is accommodated in the front case 14 from the opened side. After that, the open end is closed by the end plate 14E.

The motor drive circuit unit 40 includes a substrate 41. This circuit board 41 has circuit ON / OFF
An inverter including an electronic component such as a switching element (for example, a MOS-FET, an IGBT, or the like) that switches between is mounted.

The motor drive circuit 40 and the coil winding portion provided on the stator 32 of the electric motor 30 are electrically connected by a harness 44, and a connection terminal 45 is interposed in the middle of the harness 44. The terminal 45 is disposed in an upper space portion 11U formed by bulging the upper portions of the middle case 13 and the front case 14.

By the way, a mounting bracket 17 for projecting the electric compressor 10 in the engine room, for example, a cylinder block of the engine or the like is partially protruded from the housing 11.

That is, the mounting bracket 17 is provided at a total of three locations including an outer upper portion of the middle case 13, an outer lower portion (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and a rear end portion of the rear case 12 (see FIG. 2). The mounting bracket 17 is rib-shaped and protrudes integrally from the outer periphery of the middle case 13 or the rear case 12. Each mounting bracket 17 is formed with a mounting hole 17a penetrating in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the housing 11 and inserting a mounting bolt (not shown).

Here, in this embodiment, the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 provided at the bottom of the housing 11 is located below the compression mechanism 20 and in the vicinity of the mounting bracket 17 (the mounting bracket 17 provided at the lower outside of the middle case 13). Is arranged.

That is, in the lower part of the front case 14, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower space portion 11 </ b> L for housing the electronic component 43 of the motor drive circuit portion 40 has a width W <b> 2 slightly smaller than the left and right width W <b> 1 of the mounting bracket 17. The lubricating oil storage chamber 50 is formed in the lower space 1.
Between the 1L and the mounting bracket 17, the lower part of the middle case 13 is connected to the mounting bracket 1
7 is formed by bulging with a width W1 equal to 7.

An opening 51 is formed at the bottom of the lubricating oil storage chamber 50, and the opening 51 is detachably sealed with a plug 52.

On the other hand, in the compression mechanism section 20, the rotating shaft 27 of the compressor rotor 23 is rotatably supported via sliding bearings 28F and 28R formed on the side blocks 25 and 26 on both sides in the axial direction. An oil passage 29 (lubricating oil supply passage) that connects the 28R and the bottom of the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 is formed, and the lubricating oil in the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 is sucked into the sliding bearing 28R as the compressor rotor 23 rotates. It has become so.

That is, according to the electric compressor 10 of the present embodiment, since the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 provided at the bottom of the housing 11 is disposed below the compression mechanism section 20, the housing 1
The lubricating oil storage chamber 5 is effectively used by making effective use of a dead space formed below the compression mechanism portion 20 in 1.
0 can be provided. For this reason, since the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 can be provided without extending the housing 11 in the axial direction, it is possible to suppress the housing 11 from being elongated in the axial direction, and hence to suppress the increase in size of the electric compressor 10. Can do.

Further, the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 is provided with a mounting bracket 17 projecting from the outer lower portion of the housing 11.
Therefore, the rigidity of the existing mounting bracket 17 can ensure the strength of the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 and, by extension, the weight of the electric compressor 10 can be avoided.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the electric compressor according to the present embodiment, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a rear view of the electric compressor according to the present embodiment.

  The electric compressor 10A includes the same components as the electric compressor 10 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, below, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about those similar components, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The electric compressor 10A according to the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment (see FIG. 2) in that two mounting brackets 17 and 17 are provided in the outer lower portion of the housing 11 so as to be separated from each other in the axial direction. .

  More specifically, one mounting bracket 17 projects from the outer lower part of the rear case 12, and the other mounting bracket 17 projects from the outer lower part of the middle case 13.

  In the present embodiment, the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 </ b> A is provided across the rear case 12 and the middle case 13 and is positioned between the two mounting brackets 17 and 17.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 </ b> A is provided below the electric motor 30.

  The lubricating oil storage chamber 50 </ b> A communicates with a discharge port 16 </ b> A that opens at the upper rear end of the rear case 12 via a pressure introduction passage 61. The pressure introduction passage 61 is formed through the outer wall of the rear case 12.

  More specifically, the pressure introducing passage 61 extends in the axial direction from the vertical passage 61a extending downward from the discharge port 16A opening at the upper rear end of the rear case 12, and from the lower end of the vertical passage 61a. And a lateral passage 61b communicating with the chamber 50A.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a lubricant introduction passage 63 that extends downward and opens to the outside of the housing 11 is branched from the middle of the pressure introduction passage 61. The opening of the lubricating oil introduction passage 63 is sealed with a plug portion 64.

  An oil passage 62 (lubricating oil supply passage) that communicates the front end portion (left end portion in FIG. 3) of the lubricating oil storage chamber 50A and the sliding portion (bearing hole) of the compression mechanism portion 20 in the present embodiment. The middle case 13 and the side block 26 are penetrated.

  That is, according to the electric compressor 10 </ b> A of the present embodiment, since the lubricating oil storage chamber 50 </ b> A is provided between the mounting brackets 17, 17 protruding from the outer lower portion of the housing 11, the dead space can be effectively used. . For this reason, since the lubricating oil storage chamber 50A can be provided without extending the housing 11 in the axial direction, it is possible to suppress the housing 11 from being elongated in the axial direction, and hence to suppress the increase in size of the electric compressor 10A. Can do.

  Further, since the pressure of the discharge port 16A acts on the oil in the lubricating oil storage chamber 50A via the pressure introduction passage 61, the oil is sent to the sliding portion of the compression mechanism portion 20, so that an oil supply pump is provided. This is not necessary, leading to a reduction in the number of parts.

  Further, since the pressure introduction passage 61 communicates the discharge port 16A and the lubricating oil storage chamber 50A without going through the internal space of the rear case 12, it can also be used as an oil-filled passage, and from the discharge port 16A to the lubricating oil storage chamber. When the oil is sealed in 50A, the oil can be reliably sealed in the lubricating oil storage chamber 50A without the oil adhering to the components (in this example, the electric motor 30) arranged in the internal space of the rear case 12.

  In the present embodiment, the pressure introduction passage 61 that communicates the discharge port 16A and the lubricating oil storage chamber 50A is provided with a downward slope, so that the oil separated from the refrigerant at the discharge port 16A passes through the pressure introduction passage 61. The lubricating oil storage chamber 50A is naturally supplied by gravity. If the oil separator is provided in the discharge port 16, the above effect becomes more effective.

  In FIG. 3, the harness 44 from the connection terminal 45 is broken halfway, and some components in the front case 14 are omitted.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the present invention is not limited to the electric compressor used in the refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner, and the fluid handled by the electric compressor is not limited to the refrigerant. The compressor may be an eccentric roller type rotary type or may be other than the rotary type.

1 is an overall perspective view of an electric compressor according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electric compressor concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electric compressor concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of the electric compressor concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a rear view of the electric compressor concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric compressor 11 Housing 16, 16A Discharge port 17 Mounting bracket 20 Compression mechanism part 30 Electric motor 50, 50A Lubricating oil storage chamber 61 Pressure introduction path 29, 62 Oil path (lubricating oil supply path)

Claims (2)

In the housing (11), at least the compression mechanism (20) and the electric motor (30) for driving the compression mechanism (20) are housed, and are attached to at least the lower part outside the housing (11). The electric compressor (10
) And
A lubricating oil reservoir (50) provided at the bottom of the housing (11) is disposed below the compression mechanism (20) or the electric motor (30) and in the vicinity of the mounting bracket (17). An electric compressor (10) characterized in that: A discharge port (16, 16A) for discharging the fluid opened to the housing (11) and compressed by the compression mechanism (20) to the outside of the housing;
A pressure introduction passage (61) communicating the discharge port (16) and the lubricating oil reservoir (50, 50A);
A lubricating oil supply passage (62) communicating the lubricating oil storage chamber (50, 50A) and the sliding portion of the compression mechanism (20);
The electric compressor (10) according to claim 1, characterized by comprising:

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