U.S. patent application number 11/889812 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-01 for rotary compressor.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Soo Hyuk Ro.
Application Number | 20080101974 11/889812 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39330395 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080101974 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ro; Soo Hyuk |
May 1, 2008 |
Rotary compressor
Abstract
A rotary compressor for preventing, to the maximum extent
possible, oil within the compressor from being discharged to a gas
discharge port. The rotary compressor includes a drive device and a
compression device which are mounted in a hermetic container. The
hermetic container includes an upper cover formed with a gas
discharge port. The rotary compressor includes a scroll chamber
defined in an inner surface of the upper cover around the discharge
port, to separate oil from gas to be discharged, and a discharge
guiding member installed inside the upper cover, to guide the gas,
discharged from the hermetic container, into the scroll chamber and
to guide the gas, having passed through the scroll chamber, to the
discharge port.
Inventors: |
Ro; Soo Hyuk; (Seoul,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700, 1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
39330395 |
Appl. No.: |
11/889812 |
Filed: |
August 16, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
418/55.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04C 18/3564 20130101;
F04C 29/026 20130101; F04C 23/008 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
418/55.6 |
International
Class: |
F01C 1/02 20060101
F01C001/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 1, 2006 |
KR |
2006-107235 |
Nov 1, 2006 |
KR |
2006-107236 |
Claims
1. A rotary compressor comprising a hermetic container, and a drive
device and a compression device mounted in the hermetic container,
the hermetic container having an upper cover formed with a gas
discharge port, the rotary compressor further comprising: a scroll
chamber defined in an inner surface of the upper cover around the
discharge port, to separate oil from gas to be discharged; and a
discharge guiding member installed inside the upper cover, to guide
the gas, discharged from the hermetic container, into the scroll
chamber and to guide the gas, having passed through the scroll
chamber, to the discharge port.
2. The rotary compressor according to claim 1, wherein the scroll
chamber is opened downwardly and comprises an inner curved surface
upwardly recessed from the inner surface of the upper cover, the
scroll chamber being circularly disposed around the discharge
port.
3. The rotary compressor according to claim 2, wherein the
discharge guiding member comprises: a circular plate portion
installed below the discharge port so as to be spaced apart from
the inner surface of the upper cover, an outer diameter of the
circular plate portion being determined such that a rim of the
circular plate portion is located close to the scroll chamber; and
a protrusion portion protruding from an upper surface of the
circular plate portion toward the discharge port, to guide
discharge of the gas.
4. The rotary compressor according to claim 3, further comprising:
a discharge flow path provided between the upper cover and the
discharge guiding member to guide the gas from the scroll chamber
to the discharge port, the discharge flow path having an U-shaped
oil trap for separation of the oil from the gas; and an oil
discharge hole formed in the discharge guiding member to discharge
the oil gathered in a bottom region of the U-shaped oil trap.
5. The rotary compressor according to claim 4, wherein the upper
cover comprises a bell-mouse shaped inner surface forming a top
surface of the discharge flow path, and the protrusion portion
comprises a conical outer surface spaced apart from the bell-mouse
shaped inner surface, the conical outer surface forming a bottom
surface of the discharge flow path.
6. The rotary compressor according to claim 5, wherein the conical
outer surface of the protrusion portion and the upper surface of
the circular plate portion form a continuous curved surface
together.
7. The rotary compressor according to claim 5, wherein the upper
surface of the circular plate portion comprises an U-shaped curved
surface forming a bottom surface of the U-shaped oil trap, the
U-shaped curved surface and the conical outer surface of the
protrusion portion forming a continuous curved surface
together.
8. The rotary compressor according to claim 5, further comprising:
a first raised oil-shield portion taking the form of a stepped
portion provided at a boundary between the bell-mouse shaped inner
surface of the upper cover and the scroll chamber and a second
raised oil-shield portion taking the form of a convex curved
portion provided on the rim of the circular plate portion, for
separating the oil from the gas being introduced into the discharge
flow path.
9. The rotary compressor according to claim 8, wherein the
discharge port is provided at the center of the upper cover, and
centers of the discharge port, the scroll chamber, and the
discharge guiding member coincide with one another.
10. The rotary compressor according to claim 3, wherein at least
one whirling blade is formed at an outer surface of the protrusion
portion, to whirl the gas flowing to the discharge port.
11. The rotary compressor according to claim 3, wherein an inclined
guiding surface is provided at the rim of the circular plate
portion, to guide the rising gas from the interior of the hermetic
container into the scroll chamber.
12. The rotary compressor according to claim 3, further comprising:
a spacer member interposed between the discharge guiding member and
the inner surface of the upper cover; and a fastening member to
secure the discharge guiding member to the upper cover.
13. The rotary compressor according to claim 4, wherein the drive
device comprises a stator secured to an inner surface of the
hermetic container and a rotor rotatably installed inside the
stator, and the oil discharge hole is inclined toward the center of
the rotor.
14. A rotary compressor, comprising: a hermetic container having an
upper cover formed with a gas discharge port; a drive device and a
compression device mounted in the hermetic container; an oil
collecting device to separate oil from gas to be discharged,
wherein the oil collecting device comprises: a scroll chamber
formed as an inner curved surface upwardly recessed from the inner
surface of the upper cover and circularly disposed around the gas
discharge port, a discharge guiding member to guide the gas
discharged from the hermetic container into the scroll chamber.
15. The rotary compressor according to claim 14, wherein the
discharge guiding member comprises: a circular plate portion
installed below the discharge port and spaced apart from the inner
surface of the upper cover; and a protrusion portion protruding
from an upper surface of the circular plate portion toward the
discharge port, to guide discharge of the gas.
16. The rotary compressor according to claim 15, further
comprising: a U-shaped oil trap for separation of the oil
positioned between the upper cover and the discharge guiding
member; and an oil discharge hole formed in the discharge guiding
member to discharge the oil gathered in a bottom region of the
U-shaped oil trap.
17. The rotary compressor according to claim 15, further
comprising: a first raised oil-shield portion formed as a stepped
portion in the inner surface of the upper cover; and a second
raised oil-shield portion formed as a convex curved portion
provided on the rim of the circular plate portion.
18. The rotary compressor according to claim 15, further comprising
at least one whirling blade formed at an outer surface of the
protrusion portion.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent
Applications No. 2006-0107236 and No. 2006-107235, filed on Nov. 1,
2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a rotary compressor, and,
more particularly, to a rotary compressor capable of preventing, to
the maximum extent possible, oil within the compressor from being
discharged toward a refrigerant gas discharge port.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No 10-2004-0023069
(published on Mar. 18, 2004) discloses a rotary compressor in which
an oil flow path is formed in a rotating shaft, to supply oil
gathered in a bottom region of a hermetic container to a
compression device during operation of the compressor.
[0006] The oil flow path includes an upright flow path perforated
from a lower end to an upper end of the rotating shaft, and a
radial communication flow path to communicate the upright flow path
with an outer surface of the rotating shaft. When the rotating
shaft is rotated at a high speed, accordingly, oil is ejected
radially through the communication flow path and supplied to the
compression device, thereby acting to lubricate or cool frictional
portions of the compression device.
[0007] However, the above described rotary compressor has a problem
in that the amount of oil gathered in the compressor may be
gradually reduced as time passes. This is because particulate-phase
oil, as a part of the oil radially ejected through the
communication flow path, is mixed with refrigerant gas within the
hermetic container to thereby be discharged toward a refrigerant
gas discharge port.
[0008] If the amount of oil within the compressor is reduced, it is
difficult to achieve efficient lubrication and cooling of the
compression device and drive device of the compressor and
consequently, the compressor may suffer from many problems, for
example, overheating, malfunction, and performance degradation.
Furthermore, the oil discharged through the discharge port along
with the refrigerant gas may have a risk of forming an oil film at
an inner surface of a heat exchanger or pipe included in a cooling
system employing the compressor. This results in a degradation in
the efficiency of heat exchange and consequently, a degradation in
the performance of the cooling system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention has been made in order to solve the
above problems. It is an aspect of the invention to provide a
rotary compressor capable of preventing, to the maximum extent
possible, oil within the compressor from being discharged toward a
refrigerant gas discharge port.
[0010] Consistent with one aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention provides a rotary compressor including a hermetic
container, and a drive device and a compression device mounted in
the hermetic container, the hermetic container having an upper
cover formed with a gas discharge port, the rotary compressor
further including: a scroll chamber defined in an inner surface of
the upper cover around the discharge port, to separate oil from gas
to be discharged; and a discharge guiding member installed inside
the upper cover, to guide the gas, discharged from the hermetic
container, into the scroll chamber and to guide the gas, having
passed through the scroll chamber, to the discharge port.
[0011] The scroll chamber may be opened downwardly and include an
inner curved surface upwardly recessed from the inner surface of
the upper cover, the scroll chamber being circularly disposed
around the discharge port.
[0012] The discharge guiding member may include: a circular plate
portion installed below the discharge port so as to be spaced apart
from the inner surface of the upper cover, an outer diameter of the
circular plate portion being determined such that a rim of the
circular plate portion is located close to the scroll chamber; and
a protrusion portion protruding from an upper surface of the
circular plate portion toward the discharge port, to guide
discharge of the gas.
[0013] The rotary compressor may further include: a discharge flow
path provided between the upper cover and the discharge guiding
member to guide the gas from the scroll chamber to the discharge
port, the discharge flow path having an U-shaped oil trap for
separation of the oil from the gas; and an oil discharge hole
formed in the discharge guiding member to discharge the oil
gathered in a bottom region of the U-shaped oil trap.
[0014] The upper cover may include a bell-mouse shaped inner
surface forming a top surface of the discharge flow path, and the
protrusion portion may include a conical outer surface spaced apart
from the bell-mouse shaped inner surface, the conical outer surface
forming a bottom surface of the discharge flow path.
[0015] The conical outer surface of the protrusion portion and the
upper surface of the circular plate portion may form a continuous
curved surface together.
[0016] The upper surface of the circular plate portion may include
an U-shaped curved surface forming a bottom surface of the U-shaped
oil trap, the U-shaped curved surface and the conical outer surface
of the protrusion portion forming a continuous curved surface
together.
[0017] The rotary compressor may further include: a first raised
oil-shield portion taking the form of a stepped portion provided at
a boundary between the bell-mouse shaped inner surface of the upper
cover and the scroll chamber and a second raised oil-shield portion
taking the form of a convex curved portion provided on the rim of
the circular plate portion, for separating the oil from the gas
being introduced into the discharge flow path.
[0018] The discharge port may be provided at the center of the
upper cover, and centers of the discharge port, the scroll chamber,
and the discharge guiding member coincide with one another.
[0019] At least one whirling blade may be formed at an outer
surface of the protrusion portion, to whirl the gas flowing to the
discharge port.
[0020] An inclined guiding surface may be provided at the rim of
the circular plate portion, to guide the rising gas from the
interior of the hermetic container into the scroll chamber.
[0021] The rotary compressor may further include: a spacer member
interposed between the discharge guiding member and the inner
surface of the upper cover; and a fastening member to secure the
discharge guiding member to the upper cover.
[0022] The drive device may include a stator secured to an inner
surface of the hermetic container and a rotor rotatably installed
inside the stator, and the oil discharge hole may be inclined
toward the center of the rotor.
[0023] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will
be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,
will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by
practice of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the exemplary
embodiments of the invention will become apparent and more readily
appreciated from the following description of the embodiments,
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0025] FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a
rotary compressor consistent with the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an oil collecting device
of the rotary compressor consistent with a first embodiment of the
present invention;
[0027] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a discharge guiding
member of the rotary compressor consistent with the first
embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an oil collecting device
of the rotary compressor consistent with a second embodiment of the
present invention;
[0029] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a discharge guiding
member of the rotary compressor consistent with the second
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0030] FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an oil collecting device
consistent with a third embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0031] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are
described below to explain the present invention by referring to
the figures.
[0032] The rotary compressor consistent with the present invention,
as shown in FIG. 1, includes a hermetic container 10, a drive
device 20 installed in an upper region of the hermetic container 10
and adapted to generate a rotating force, and a compression device
30 installed in a lower region of the hermetic container 10 and
connected to the drive device 20 through a rotating shaft 21.
[0033] The hermetic container 10 includes a cylindrical body 11, a
lower cover 12 coupled to a lower end of the body 11, and an upper
cover 13 coupled to an upper end of the body 11. Both the lower
cover 12 and the upper cover 13 are coupled to the body 11 by
welding, etc., so as to seal the upper and lower ends of the body
11.
[0034] The drive device 20 includes a cylindrical stator 22 secured
to an inner surface of the body 11 of the hermetic container 10,
and a rotor 23 rotatably installed inside the stator 22 and
centrally coupled to the rotating shaft 21.
[0035] The compression device 30 includes a cylinder body 32
centrally defining a cylindrical compression chamber 31 therein,
and upper and lower flanges 33 and 34 coupled to upper and lower
surfaces of the cylinder body 32 to cover upper and lower ends of
the cylinder body 32. The upper flange 33 has a cylindrical upper
shaft supporting portion 35, which extends upward from the flange
33 by a predetermined length to support the rotating shaft 21. The
lower flange 34 has a cylindrical lower shaft supporting portion
36, which extends downward from the flange 34 by a predetermined
length to support the rotating shaft 21. All the upper flange 33,
cylinder body 32, and lower flange 34 are firmly coupled with one
another by means of a plurality of fastening bolts 37. The cylinder
body 32 has an outer diameter corresponding to an inner diameter of
the hermetic container 10 such that the cylinder body 32 is secured
close to the inner surface of the hermetic container 10. The
rotating shaft 21 is penetrated through the center of the
compression chamber 31 and rotatably supported by both the upper
shaft supporting portion 35 and the lower shaft supporting portion
36.
[0036] The compression device 30 further includes an eccentric
portion 38 located in the compression chamber 31 around the
rotating shaft 21, and a ring piston 39 rotatably installed to an
outer surface of the eccentric portion 38, the ring piston 39
having an outer surface coming into contact with an inner surface
of the compression chamber 31. Although not shown in the drawings,
the compression device 30 further includes a vain that is
reciprocally movable in a radial direction by rotation of the ring
piston 39 so as to divide the interior of the compression chamber
31 into a suction part and a discharge part, and a vain spring to
press the vane toward the ring piston 39.
[0037] The cylinder body 32 has a suction port 41 that communicates
with the suction part of the compression chamber 31 to allow
refrigerant gas to be introduced into the compression chamber 31.
The upper flange 33 has a discharge port 42 for discharge of the
compressed refrigerant gas. The suction port 41 is connected to a
refrigerant suction pipe 43 such that low-pressure refrigerant
delivered from an evaporator of a general cooling system is
introduced into the suction port 41. The upper cover 13 of the
hermetic container 10 has a discharge port 44 formed at the center
thereof for discharging the compressed refrigerant gas out of the
hermetic container 10. The discharge port 44 is connected to a
discharge pipe 45. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 46 denotes an
accumulator coupled to the refrigerant suction pipe 43.
[0038] The rotating shaft 21 has a first oil flow path 51 and a
second oil flow path 52 formed therein, to supply oil filled in a
bottom region of the hermetic container 10 to frictional portions
of the compression device 30. The first oil flow path 51 is
perforated through the rotating shaft 21 from a lower end to an
upper end of the rotating shaft 21, and the second oil flow path 52
is formed in a radial direction of the rotating shaft 21 to
communicate the first oil flow path 51 with the outside of the
rotating shaft 21. If necessary, a plurality of second oil flow
paths 52 may be provided at different positions including an upper
position or an intermediate position of the upper shaft supporting
portion 35. With this configuration, if oil rises along the first
oil flow path 51 by a centrifugal force generated during rotation
of the rotating shaft 21, the oil is scattered out of the rotating
shaft 21 through the second oil flow path 52, so as to be supplied
to frictional potions of the compression device 30. To facilitate
the rising of the oil through the first oil flow path 51, an oil
pickup member 53 having a spiral blade shape may be installed at a
lower end of the first oil flow path 51.
[0039] In the above described rotary compressor, if the rotating
shaft 21 is rotated by operation of the drive device 20, the
eccentric portion 38 within the compression chamber 31 is rotated,
and simultaneously the ring piston 39 is eccentrically rotated in
the compression chamber 31 by operation of the eccentric portion
38. With the eccentric rotation of the ring piston 39, the suction
part and the discharge part of the compression chamber 31 have a
variation in volume. As a result, refrigerant gas is suctioned into
the compression chamber 31 through the suction port 41. After being
compressed in the compression chamber 31, the refrigerant gas is
discharged to the interior of the hermetic container 10 through the
discharge port 42. The compressed refrigerant gas within the
hermetic container 10 flows upward through a gap 25 between the
stator 22 and the rotor 23, to thereby be discharged into the
discharge pipe 45 through the discharge port 44 of the upper cover
13. During the above described operation of the compression device
30, oil is supplied to frictional portions of the compression
device 30 through the first and second oil flow paths 51 and 52, so
as to achieve lubrication and cooling of the compression device
30.
[0040] Meanwhile, during the above described compressing operation,
particulate-phase oil scattered from the second oil flow path 52
may flow toward the discharge port 44 of the upper cover 13 along
with the compressed refrigerant gas. In the present invention, an
oil collecting device 60 is provided in the upper cover 13 to
collect the scattered oil, so as to prevent the discharge of oil to
the maximum extent possible. Hereinafter, the oil collecting device
60 will be described.
[0041] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the oil collecting device 60
consistent with a first embodiment of the present invention. The
oil collecting device 60 of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.
2, includes a scroll chamber 61 defined in an inner surface of the
upper cover 13, and a discharge guiding member 70 installed near
the inner surface of the upper cover 13 to define a discharge flow
path 62 along with the inner surface of the upper cover 13, the
discharge guiding member 70 allowing the refrigerant gas within the
hermetic container 10 to be discharged to the discharge port 44 by
way of the scroll chamber 61. The discharge flow path 62 has an
U-shaped oil trap 66 for collecting the oil in the course of
discharging the refrigerant gas. The discharge guiding member 70
has a plurality of oil discharge holes 77 for discharging the oil
gathered in the U-shaped oil trap 66.
[0042] The scroll chamber 61 is defined in the inner surface of the
upper cover 13 at a position close to a side surface of the upper
cover 13, to have a circular shape encircling the discharge port
44. The scroll chamber 61 has an inner curved surface 63 that is
upwardly recessed from the inner surface of the upper cover 13. The
scroll chamber 61 is opened downwardly for allowing the rising
refrigerant gas to be introduced into the scroll chamber 61. The
inner curved surface 63 of the scroll chamber 61 has a
semi-circular or oval cross section.
[0043] The upper cover 13 has a bell-mouse shaped inner surface 64,
which is connected to the discharge port 44 so as to guide the
refrigerant gas, having passed through the scroll chamber 61, to
the discharge port 44, the bell-mouse shaped inner surface 64
forming a top surface of the discharge flow path 62. The discharge
guiding member 70 is spaced apart downward from the bell-mouse
shaped inner surface 64, to define the discharge flow path 62 along
with the bell-mouse shaped inner surface 64. That is to say, the
discharge guiding member 70 forms a bottom surface of the discharge
flow path 62.
[0044] The discharge guiding member 70, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,
includes a circular plate portion 71 spaced apart from the inner
surface of the upper cover 13, an outer diameter of the circular
plate portion 71 being determined such that a rim of the circular
plate portion 71 is located adjacent to the scroll chamber 61, and
a protrusion portion 72 protruding from the center of an upper
surface of the circular plate portion 71 toward the discharge port
44. The protrusion portion 72 has a conical outer surface 73 spaced
apart from the bell-mouse shaped inner surface 64 of the upper
cover 13. The upper surface of the circular plate portion 71 has an
U-shaped curved surface 74 forming a bottom surface of the U-shaped
oil trap 66. The U-shaped curved surface 74 and the conical outer
surface 73 of the protrusion portion 72 form a continuous curved
surface. The oil discharge holes 77 are perforated from the deepest
position of the U-shaped curved surface 74 to a lower surface 75 of
the circular plate portion 71. This is to allow the oil gathered in
the U-shaped oil trap 66 to fall down through the oil discharge
holes 77. In this case, it is desirable that the oil discharge
holes 77 be located as close as possible to the center of the rotor
23, or be inclined toward the center of the rotor 23 for the sake
of efficient falling of the oil. This is to prevent the oil falling
from the oil discharge holes 77 to avoid a stream of the
refrigerant gas rising through the gap 25 between the stator 22 and
the rotor 23, thereby preventing, to the maximum extent possible,
the falling oil from being introduced again into the scroll chamber
61 by the rising stream of the refrigerant gas.
[0045] With the above described configuration, the upper surface of
the discharge guiding member 70 and the bell-mouse shaped inner
surface 64 of the upper cover 13 define the curved discharge flow
path 62 having a low flow resistance, thereby allowing the
refrigerant gas to be efficiently discharged from the scroll
chamber 61 toward the discharge port 44. To ensure efficient
discharge of the refrigerant gas, it is desirable that centers of
the discharge port 44, scroll chamber 61, and discharge guiding
member 70 coincide with one another, to allow a length of the
discharge flow path 62 from the scroll chamber 61 to the discharge
hole 44 to be constant in all directions.
[0046] As shown in FIG. 2, the circular plate portion 71 of the
discharge guiding member 70 has an inclined guiding surface 76
formed at the lower side of the rim thereof. The inclined guiding
surface 76 serves to guide the rising refrigerant gas from the
interior of the hermetic container 10 into a corner of the scroll
chamber 61. Accordingly, after the rising refrigerant gas collides
against the inner surface of the scroll chamber 61, the refrigerant
gas temporarily stays in the scroll chamber 61 so as to be whirled
in the scroll chamber 61. This is to allow the oil, which is rising
along with the refrigerant gas, to be adhered to the inner curved
surface 63 of the scroll chamber 61, so as to be separated from the
refrigerant gas.
[0047] To facilitate separation of the oil from the refrigerant gas
being introduced into the discharge flow path 62 through the scroll
chamber 61, a first raised oil-shield portion 65 and a second
raised oil-shield portion 78 are formed at an entrance side of the
discharge flow path 62. The first oil-shield portion 65 is a
stepped portion formed at a boundary between the bell-mouse shaped
inner surface 64 of the upper cover 13 and the scroll chamber 61.
The second oil-shield portion 78 is a convex curved portion formed
at the upper side of the rim of the circular plate portion 71. As
the oil contained in the refrigerant gas flows from the scroll
chamber 61 into the discharge flow path 62, the oil is able to be
separated from the refrigerant gas by colliding against the first
and second raised oil-shield portions 65 and 78. Accordingly, the
first and second raised oil-shield portions 65 and 78 have the
effect of improving the separation efficiency of the oil.
[0048] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a plurality of spacer members 81
are provided at the upper surface of the discharge guiding member
70, to space the discharge guiding member 70 apart from the inner
surface of the upper cover 13. A plurality of fastening screws 82
for securing the discharge guiding member 70 to the upper cover 13
are fastened into the spacer members 81. Although the spacer
members 81 are integrally formed with the discharge guiding member
70 as illustrated in FIG. 3, the spacer members 81 may be formed as
separate elements. Further, although the fastening bolts 82 are
fastened into the spacer members 81 by penetrating through the
upper cover 13 as illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is
not limited thereto, and the fastening bolts 82 may be fastened by
penetrating through the discharge guiding member 70. Alternatively,
the discharge guiding member 70 may be secured to the upper cover
13 by other fastening means, for example, protruded portions of the
discharge guiding member 70, rather than the fastening bolts.
[0049] Now, an oil collecting operation performed by the above
described oil collecting device 60 will be described.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 2, the rising refrigerant gas from the
interior of the hermetic container 10 collides against the lower
surface 75 of the discharge guiding member 70 and thus, further
rising of the refrigerant gas is not allowed. Therefore, the
refrigerant gas is guided toward the scroll chamber 61, and more
particularly, guided to the corner of the scroll chamber 61 by the
inclined guiding surface 76 provided at the rim of the discharge
guiding member 70. Accordingly, the oil, which rises along with the
refrigerant gas, collides against the lower surface 75 and the
inclined guiding surface 76 of the discharge guiding member 70, to
thereby be adhered thereto. This causes an increase in the size of
oil droplets, thus causing the oil to fall down. Also, once the oil
is introduced into the scroll chamber 61 along with the refrigerant
gas, the oil collides against the inner curved surface 63 of the
scroll chamber 61 to thereby be adhered to the inner curved surface
63 and consequently, the oil falls down along the inner surface of
the scroll chamber 61.
[0051] The refrigerant gas, having passed through the scroll
chamber 61, flows toward the discharge port 44 through the
discharge flow path 62. Similarly, a part of the oil contained in
the refrigerant gas collides against the first and second raised
oil-shield portions 65 and 78 provided at the entrance side of the
discharge flow path 62, thereby being separated from the
refrigerant gas. Furthermore, in the course that the refrigerant
gas passes through the U-shaped oil trap 66 of the discharge flow
path 62, the oil is adhered to the inner surface of the U-shaped
oil trap 66 to thereby be separated from the refrigerant gas. In
this case, the oil gathered in the bottom region of the U-shaped
oil trap 66 falls down through the oil discharge holes 77.
[0052] As stated above, in the present invention, the oil is
primarily separated from the refrigerant gas by the lower surface
75 and the inclined guiding surface 76 of the discharge guiding
member 70, secondarily separated in the scroll chamber 61, and
thirdly separated by the first and second raised oil-shield
portions 65 and 78. In addition, the oil is fourthly separated by
the U-shaped oil trap 66 of the discharge flow path 62.
Consequently, the discharge of oil through the discharge port 44
can be prevented to the maximum extent possible.
[0053] The discharge flow path 62 is tapered such that a cross
section of the discharge flow path 62 gradually decreases from the
scroll chamber 61 to the discharge port 44. Accordingly, the
pressure of the refrigerant gas increases in the course of being
discharged through the discharge flow path 62. That is to say, the
refrigerant gas to be discharged is gathered from the surrounding
scroll chamber 61 to the discharge port 44 through the discharge
flow path 62 and thus, subjected to an increase in pressure in the
course of being discharged.
[0054] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an oil collecting device consistent
with a second embodiment of the present invention. As compared to
that of the above described first embodiment, the oil collecting
device 160 of the second embodiment further includes a plurality of
whirling blades 183, which are installed at an outer surface of a
protrusion portion 172 of a discharge guiding member 170 to cause
the discharge gas to be whirled. Other configurations of the
present embodiment are identical to those of the first embodiment.
For example, a scroll chamber 161, first and second raised
oil-shield portions 165 and 178, circular plate portion 171 of the
discharge guiding member 170, inclined guiding surface 176 of the
circular plate portion 171, U-shaped oil trap 166, oil discharge
holes 177, spacer members 181, and the like are identical to those
of the first embodiment.
[0055] The plurality of whirling blades 183 are spirally bent in a
rotating direction of the rotor 23 of the drive device 20. With
this configuration, the whirling blades 183 produce a whirling
stream of the refrigerant gas having the same direction as the
rotating direction of the rotor 23 and this has the effect of
facilitating the flow of the refrigerant gas to be discharged to
the discharge port 44. Specifically, since the rising refrigerant
gas from the interior of the hermetic container 10 is introduced
into the scroll chamber 161 while being whirled in a predetermined
direction by a rotating movement of the rotor 23, the refrigerant
gas has a tendency of being whirled in the predetermined direction
when being discharged from the scroll chamber 161 into a discharge
flow path 162. Accordingly, by guiding the discharge refrigerant
gas to be whirled in the predetermined direction (i.e. in the
rotating direction of the rotor 23) by the whirling blades 183, it
is possible to achieve efficient flow of the refrigerant gas to be
discharged.
[0056] FIG. 6 illustrates an oil collecting device consistent with
a third embodiment of the present invention. As compared to the
above described first embodiment, the oil collecting device of the
third embodiment has no U-shaped oil trap and oil discharge holes.
In this case, the circular plate portion 71 has a flat upper
surface. Other configurations of the present embodiment are
identical to those of the first embodiment.
[0057] As apparent from the above description, the present
invention provides a rotary compressor having the following
effects.
[0058] Firstly, according to the present invention, oil contained
in refrigerant gas to be discharged is primarily separated by a
lower surface and an inclined guiding surface of a discharge
guiding member, secondarily separated by an inner surface of a
scroll chamber, and thirdly separated in the course of passing
through a discharge flow path. This has the effect of preventing
the discharge of oil through a refrigerant gas discharge port to
the maximum extent possible.
[0059] Secondly, in the course of being discharged through the
discharge flow path, the oil is separated by first and second
raised oil-shield portions and additionally, separated by an
U-shaped trap of the discharge flow path, so as not to be
discharged out of the compressor to the maximum extent
possible.
[0060] Thirdly, the present invention has the function of
collecting the oil, gathered in the discharge flow path, by use of
oil discharge holes, and therefore, has the effect of achieving a
further reduction in potential discharge of oil.
[0061] Finally, according to the present invention, refrigerant gas
to be discharged is guided to be whirled in the same direction as a
rotating direction of a rotor by whirling blades. This has the
effect of ensuring more efficient flow of the refrigerant gas to be
discharged.
[0062] Although embodiments of the present invention have been
shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in
the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without
departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the
scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *