WO2017163809A1

WO2017163809A1 - Oil separator

Info

Publication number: WO2017163809A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/008387
Authority: WO
Inventors: 泰造佐藤
Original assignee: サンデン・オートモーティブコンポーネント株式会社
Priority date: 2016-03-24
Filing date: 2017-02-24
Publication date: 2017-09-28
Also published as: JP2017172895A

Abstract

An oil separator (100) including: an outside member (110) having a cylindrical inner space (111); and an inside cylinder member (120) forming an annular space (130) between same and the inner circumferential surface of the outside member (110). The oil separator (100) has a configuration whereby: an oil-containing gas introduced from a gas introduction hole (114) is separated into oil and gas as a result of forming a swirling flow and passing through the annular space (130); the separated oil is guided downwards; and the separated gas passes through the inside of the inside cylinder member (120) and flows out upwards. The lower end of the inside cylinder member (120) is blocked, openings (120a, b) that connect the inside of the inside cylinder member (120) and the annular space (130) are formed in a lower area of the circumferential wall of the inside cylinder member (120), and flowing out of the separated oil is suppressed.

Description

Oil separator

The present invention relates to an oil separator that separates oil-containing gas into oil and gas.

An oil separator (oil separator) described in Patent Document 1 is known as an example of this type of oil separator. The oil separator is provided in the scroll compressor and separates the lubricating oil from the refrigerant gas discharged into the discharge chamber. The oil separator has an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder, and the oil separator introduces the refrigerant gas into a hollow portion formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, and the introduced refrigerant gas By forming a swirling flow, the lubricating oil is separated from the refrigerant gas. The separated lubricating oil flows downward on the inner wall surface of the outer cylinder, and is then dropped and stored in the oil storage chamber. It flows out from the outlet.

JP 2006-17130 A

However, in the oil separator, for example, when the flow rate of the refrigerant is increased and a high-speed swirling flow is formed, the separated lubricating oil, in particular, the lubricating oil before being dropped into the oil storage chamber is swirled. As a result, there is a possibility that the lubricating oil may flow out together with the removed gas.
Such a problem is not limited to the oil separator provided in the scroll compressor, and the oil is separated from the oil-containing gas using a swirling flow. In other words, the oil-containing gas is separated from the oil. This is common to oil separators configured to separate into gas.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to suppress the separated oil from flowing out in an oil separator configured to separate oil-containing gas into oil and gas using a swirl flow. .

According to one aspect of the present invention, the oil separator has a cylindrical inner space having an open upper end, an outer member formed with a gas introduction hole for introducing oil-containing gas into the inner space, and the outer member. An inner cylindrical member disposed in the inner space of the member and forming an annular space between an outer peripheral surface of the member and an inner peripheral surface of the outer member, wherein the oil-containing gas becomes a swirling flow The oil is separated into oil and gas by passing through the space, and the separated oil is guided downward, while the separated gas passes through the inside of the inner cylindrical member and flows upward. . In the oil separator, the lower end of the inner cylindrical member is closed, and an opening that communicates the inside of the inner cylindrical member with the annular space is formed in a lower region of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member. ing.

In the oil separator, the swirling flow is weakened by the opening, so that a high-speed swirling flow is prevented from flowing below the lower end of the inner cylindrical member. Further, since the separated gas flows into the inner cylindrical member from the opening, it floats below the lower end of the inner cylindrical member as compared with the case of flowing from the lower end of the inner cylindrical member. It is difficult for oil to flow into the inner cylindrical member. For this reason, according to the said oil separator, compared with the past, it is suppressed that the said separated oil flows out.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the oil separator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect | action of the said oil separator. It is a figure which shows the modification of the said oil separator. It is a figure which shows the other modification of the said oil separator. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the refrigerant compressor containing the said oil separator.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an oil separator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The oil separator 100 according to the embodiment introduces an oil-containing gas (for example, a refrigerant containing lubricating oil) and separates the introduced oil-containing gas into an oil (for example, a lubricating oil) and a gas (for example, a refrigerant). . The oil separator 100 includes an outer member 110 having a columnar inner space 111 having an upper end opened and a lower end closed, and an inner cylindrical member 120 disposed in the inner space 111 of the outer member 110. In the present embodiment, the outer member 110 is formed as a bottomed cylindrical member. However, it is not restricted to this, The outer member 110 should just have the cylindrical internal space 111, The shape and magnitude | size are not ask | required. Further, the columnar inner space 111 may be a passage formed in the outer member 110 or the like.
The outer member 110 further has a lower space 112 below the cylindrical inner space 111. The internal space 111 and the lower space 112 communicate with each other through a through hole 113a formed in the partition wall 113 therebetween.
The outer member 110 is formed with a gas introduction hole 114 for introducing the oil-containing gas into the internal space 111. The gas introduction hole 114 is formed so as to introduce the oil-containing gas from the outside along the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 (that is, the peripheral edge of the internal space 111). Although not shown in the drawing, the lower space 112 communicates with an oil supply portion that receives oil supply via an oil supply passage.
The inner cylindrical member 120 is disposed in the inner space 111 of the outer member 110. The inner cylindrical member 120 is formed so as to form an annular space 130 between its outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the inner space 111 of the outer member 110. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the inner cylindrical member 120 has a large outer diameter portion 121 having a large outer diameter on the upper end side and a small outer diameter portion 122 having an outer diameter smaller than that of the large outer diameter portion 121. is doing. The large outer diameter portion 121 is disposed above the gas introduction hole 114 formed in the outer member 110, and the space between the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the inner space 111 of the outer member 110 is maintained in an airtight state. Yes. The small outer diameter portion 122 extends downward from the large outer diameter portion 121, and an annular space 130 is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the small outer diameter portion 122 and the inner peripheral surface of the inner space 111 of the outer member 110. ing. Note that the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120 (that is, the lower end of the small outer diameter portion 122) is separated from the inner bottom surface of the internal space 111 (that is, the upper surface of the partition wall 113) by a predetermined distance H.
In the present embodiment, the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120 (the lower end of the small outer diameter portion 122) is closed. In addition, the inside of the inner cylindrical member 120 and the annular space 130 communicate with each other in the vicinity of the lower end of the peripheral wall (side wall) of the inner cylindrical member 120 (that is, in the vicinity of the lower end of the peripheral wall (side wall) of the small outer diameter portion 122). The first opening 120a and the second opening 120b are formed so that the first opening 120a and the second opening 120b sandwich the axis X of the inner cylindrical member 120 (= the axis of the outer member 110). The opening area of the first opening 120a and the second opening 120b is not particularly limited as long as it is larger than the opening area of the gas introduction hole 114. It is greater than the internal cross-sectional area.
Next, the operation of the oil separator 100 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the oil-containing gas is introduced into the internal space 111 from the gas introduction hole 114 of the outer member 110. As described above, the gas introduction hole 114 is formed so as to introduce the oil-containing gas from the outside along the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 (the peripheral edge of the inner space 111). In the internal space 111, an annular space 130 is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical member 120 (the small outer diameter portion 122). For this reason, the oil-containing gas introduced into the internal space 111 through the gas introduction hole 114 passes through the annular space 130 as a downward swirling flow as indicated by a thick solid line arrow in the figure. Then, oil having a specific gravity larger than that of the gas collides with and adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 by centrifugal force (that is, is centrifuged). In this way, the oil-containing gas is separated into oil and gas.
The separated oil, that is, the oil adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 flows down the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 downward as shown by a thin solid arrow in the figure, and the inner space 111 It is temporarily stored in the inner bottom portion, and then guided to the lower space 112 through the through hole 113a and stored in the lower space 112. The oil stored in the lower space 112 is appropriately supplied to the oil supplied portion through the oil supply passage.
On the other hand, the separated gas, that is, the gas after the oil is centrifuged, is formed in a portion near the lower end of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member 120, as indicated by a broken arrow in the figure. It flows into the inside of the inner cylindrical member 120 from the opening 120a and the second opening 120b, passes through the inside of the inner cylindrical member 120, and flows out upward. Specifically, the gas flowing into the inner cylindrical member 120 passes through the inner cylindrical member 120 and flows out from the upper end (opening end) of the inner cylindrical member 120 to the inner space 111 of the outer member 110, and then The outer member 110 flows out from the upper end (open end).
In the oil separator 100 according to the present embodiment, the first opening 120a and the second opening 120b communicating the inside of the inner cylindrical member 120 and the annular space 130 are located near the lower end of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member 120. It is formed at the site. For this reason, the swirling flow passing through the annular space 130 is weakened by the first opening 120a and the second opening 120b, and high-speed swirling flow is prevented from flowing into the region below the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120. . Therefore, the oil temporarily stored in the inner bottom portion of the internal space 111 (that is, the oil separated from the oil-containing gas) is hardly wound up.
Further, since the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120 is closed, the separated gas flows into the inner cylinder via the first opening 120a and the second opening 120b formed in the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member 120. It flows into the inside of the member 120. That is, compared to the case where the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120 is open, the oil floating below the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120 is less likely to flow into the inner cylindrical member 120. Yes. For this reason, even when the oil temporarily stored in the inner bottom portion of the internal space 111 is rolled up, the rolled up oil is suppressed from flowing into the inner cylindrical member 120.
Therefore, according to the oil separator 100 according to the present embodiment, the outflow of the separated oil is significantly reduced as compared with the conventional case.
In the above-described embodiment, the first opening 120 a and the second opening 120 b are formed in the vicinity of the lower end of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member 120. However, it is not limited to this. At least one opening that communicates the inside of the inner cylindrical member 120 and the annular space 130 is formed in a lower region of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member 120 (that is, below the intermediate position in the vertical direction). That's fine.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner cylindrical member 120 is located at a position lower than the first opening 120 a and the second opening 120 b toward the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 rather than the outer peripheral surface thereof. You may have the overhang | projection part 123 formed so that it might overhang. The overhanging portion 123 is, for example, the outer diameter of the disc-shaped closing member 124 attached to the lower end in order to close the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120, and the outer diameter of the inner cylindrical member 120 (the small outer diameter portion 122). It can be formed by being larger and smaller than the inner diameter of the outer member 110 (the diameter of the inner space). In this way, the swirling flow is further prevented from flowing into the region below the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120 by the overhanging portion 123, and the oil that floats below the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120 and the like Is more difficult to flow into the inner cylindrical member 120, so that the separated oil can be more effectively prevented from flowing out.
Further, the distance between the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical member 120 in the vicinity of the first opening 120a and the second opening 120b is larger than that in the vicinity of the gas introduction hole 114. May be. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the small outer diameter portion 122 of the inner cylindrical member 120 is formed such that the outer diameter of a predetermined range on the lower end side is smaller than the outer diameter on the upper side of the predetermined range. Also good. In this way, the swirling flow is weakened even in the predetermined range, and therefore, it is more effectively prevented that a high-speed swirling flow flows into the region below the lower end of the inner cylindrical member 120. In this case, it goes without saying that the inner cylindrical member 120 may have an overhanging portion 123 (see FIG. 3).
Although illustration is omitted, a taper portion in which the outer diameter gradually decreases downward at a position where the small outer diameter portion 122 of the inner cylindrical member 120 corresponds to the gas introduction hole 114 formed in the outer member 110. You may have. In this case, the oil-containing gas introduced from the gas introduction hole 114 is likely to be a downward swirling flow, and the oil-containing gas may be introduced so as to be substantially along the inner peripheral surface of the outer member 110. The gas introduction hole 114 can be easily formed.
The oil separator 100 according to the present embodiment or a modified example thereof can be applied to various devices and apparatuses that need to separate oil-containing gas into oil and gas. Hereinafter, a refrigerant compressor including the oil separator 100 will be described as an example.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refrigerant compressor (hereinafter simply referred to as “compressor”). The compressor 1 shown in FIG. 5 is incorporated in, for example, a refrigerant circuit of a vehicle air conditioner, compresses refrigerant sucked from the refrigerant circuit (low pressure side), and discharges it to the refrigerant circuit (high pressure side). The compressor 1 is configured as a so-called inverter body type electric compressor, and includes a compressor housing including a front housing 11, a rear housing 12, and an inverter cover 13, an inverter 20, an electric motor 30, a compression mechanism 40, and an oil separator 100. And including.
The rear housing 12 is fastened to one end (rear end) of the front housing 11 by fastening means (bolts or the like) not shown, and the inverter cover 13 is fastened to the other end (front end) of the front housing 11 by fastening means not shown. Has been. The front housing 11 and the rear housing 12 form a first housing space S1 that houses the electric motor 30 and the compression mechanism 40, and the front housing 11 and the inverter cover 13 form a second housing space S2 that houses the inverter 20. ing. The first housing space S1 and the second housing space S2 are partitioned by a partition wall 11a formed in the front housing 11.
The front housing 11 is formed with a suction passage 14 for sucking the refrigerant from the refrigerant circuit (low pressure side) into the first housing space S1. The rear housing 12 is formed with a discharge passage 15 for discharging the refrigerant compressed by the compression mechanism 40 (compressed refrigerant) to the refrigerant circuit (the high pressure side). The discharge passage 15 is formed as a cylindrical space whose upper end is open and whose lower end is closed.
The inverter 20 converts a direct current from an external power source such as a vehicle battery into an alternating current and supplies the alternating current to the electric motor 30. When the alternating current is supplied from the inverter 20, the electric motor 30 drives the compression mechanism 40 via the drive shaft 31 and the crank mechanism 50.
The compression mechanism 40 is a scroll type compression mechanism, and includes a fixed scroll 41 and a movable scroll 42. A suction chamber C1 communicating with the first accommodation space S1 is formed around the movable scroll 42. A discharge chamber C2 is formed on the back side of the fixed scroll 41 (on the side opposite to the movable scroll 42 side), and a back pressure chamber C3 is formed on the back side of the movable scroll 42 (on the side opposite to the fixed scroll 41 side). Has been.
The compression mechanism 40 takes in and compresses the refrigerant that is sucked into the first storage space S1 and then mixed with the lubricating oil supplied by a lubricating oil supply means (not shown) and led to the suction chamber C1, and compresses the compressed refrigerant. It discharges to the discharge chamber C2 through the discharge hole 43 and the discharge valve 44. During the operation of the compression mechanism 40, the movable scroll 42 is pressed against the fixed scroll 41 by the pressure in the back pressure chamber C3.
The oil separator 100 introduces the refrigerant discharged into the discharge chamber C2 (that is, the compressed refrigerant), and separates the introduced compressed refrigerant into lubricating oil and refrigerant. Here, in the compressor 1 shown in FIG. 5, the discharge passage 15 corresponds to the above-described cylindrical inner space 111, and the rear housing 12 having the discharge passage 15 corresponds to the above-described outer member 110. That is, in FIG. 5, the oil separator 100 includes the rear housing 12 having the discharge passage 15 and the inner cylindrical member 120 disposed in the discharge passage 15. The rear housing 12 is formed with a gas introduction hole 114 for introducing the compressed refrigerant (oil-containing gas) into the discharge passage 15 from the discharge chamber C2. The rear housing 12 further has a lower space 112 below the discharge passage 15. The discharge passage 15 and the lower space 112 communicate with each other through a through hole 113a formed in the partition wall 113 therebetween. The lower space 112 communicates with the suction chamber C1 or the back pressure chamber C3 via a lubricating oil supply passage (not shown) in which an orifice is disposed in the middle. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG.
Next, the operation of the compressor 1 will be described. The refrigerant (the refrigerant before compression) from the refrigerant circuit (low pressure side) is sucked into the first accommodation space S1 through the suction passage 14. The refrigerant sucked into the first storage space S1 is mixed with the lubricating oil supplied by the lubricating oil supply means and guided to the suction chamber C1. The refrigerant guided to the suction chamber C1 is taken in and compressed in a compression chamber formed between the spiral wrap of the fixed scroll 41 and the spiral wrap of the movable scroll 42, and the compressed refrigerant (compressed refrigerant) is compressed. The ink is discharged into the discharge chamber C <b> 2 through the discharge hole 43 and the discharge valve 44.
The compressed refrigerant discharged into the discharge chamber C <b> 2 is introduced into the discharge passage 15 (corresponding to the internal space 111) of the oil separator 100 through the gas introduction hole 114. The compressed refrigerant introduced into the discharge passage 15 passes through the annular space 130 as a downward swirling flow, and is separated into lubricating oil and refrigerant at that time. The separated lubricating oil is temporarily stored in the inner bottom portion of the discharge passage 15 and then guided to the lower space 112 through the through hole 113a and stored in the lower space 112. On the other hand, the separated refrigerant flows into the inner cylindrical member 120 from the first opening 120a and the second opening 120b formed in the vicinity of the lower end of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member 120, and It passes through the inside and flows upward, and is then discharged through the upper end (opening end) of the discharge passage 15 to the refrigerant circuit (the high pressure side).
Lubricating oil stored in the lower space 112 is supplied to the suction chamber C1 through the lubricating oil supply passage based on the pressure difference between the discharge chamber C2 and the suction chamber C1, or between the discharge chamber C2 and the back pressure chamber C3. Based on the pressure difference, the oil is supplied to the back pressure chamber 3 through the lubricating oil supply passage. That is, here, the suction chamber C1 or the back pressure chamber C3 corresponds to the oil supplied portion.
According to the compressor 1 according to the present embodiment, the outflow of lubricating oil to the refrigerant circuit is significantly reduced as compared with the conventional one. For this reason, the efficiency fall of the said vehicle air conditioner etc. is prevented.
In the compressor 1 according to the present embodiment, the scroll type compression mechanism is used as the compression mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the compression mechanism includes a piston type compression mechanism and a vane type compression mechanism. There can be various compression mechanisms.
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention and its modification were demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment and modification, Further deformation | transformation and change are possible based on the technical idea of this invention. It is.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigerant compressor 14 ... Intake passage 15 ... Discharge passage 40 ... Compression mechanism 100 ... Oil separator 110 ... Outer member 111 ... Inner space 112 ... Lower space 114 ... Gas introduction hole 120 ... Inner cylindrical member 120a ... First opening 120b ... 2nd opening part 121 ... Large outer diameter part 122 ... Small outer diameter part 123 ... Overhang part 130 ... Annular space

Claims

An outer member having a cylindrical inner space with an open upper end and a gas introduction hole for introducing oil-containing gas into the inner space;
An inner cylindrical member that is disposed in the inner space of the outer member and forms an annular space between an outer peripheral surface thereof and an inner peripheral surface of the outer member;
The oil-containing gas is swirled and passes through the annular space to be separated into oil and gas, and the separated oil is guided downward, while the separated gas passes through the inside of the inner cylindrical member. An oil separator configured to flow upward,
The lower end of the inner cylindrical member is closed, and an opening that communicates the inside of the inner cylindrical member with the annular space is formed in a lower region of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member.
Oil separator.
The oil separator according to claim 1, wherein the opening is formed in a portion near the lower end of the peripheral wall of the inner cylindrical member.
3. The oil separator according to claim 1, wherein the opening includes a first opening and a second opening that are opposed to each other with an axis of the inner cylindrical member interposed therebetween.
The inner cylindrical member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inner cylindrical member has a protruding portion that protrudes toward the inner peripheral surface of the outer member and is disposed below the opening. Oil separator.
The gap between the inner peripheral surface of the outer member and the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical member in the vicinity of the opening is larger than that in the vicinity of the gas introduction hole. The oil separator described.
Provided in a compressor including a compression mechanism for compressing refrigerant;
Separating the lubricating oil contained therein from the refrigerant compressed by the compression mechanism;
The oil separator according to any one of claims 1 to 5.