U.S. patent application number 11/891227 was filed with the patent office on 2008-06-26 for hermetic compressor.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jong Rea Park.
Application Number | 20080152520 11/891227 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39543065 |
Filed Date | 2008-06-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080152520 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Park; Jong Rea |
June 26, 2008 |
Hermetic compressor
Abstract
A hermetic compressor including a cylinder defining a
compressing chamber, a piston to rectilinearly reciprocate in the
compressing chamber so as to compress a refrigerant, a rotating
shaft having an eccentric shaft portion to be eccentrically
rotated, and a connecting rod to connect the eccentric shaft
portion and the piston to each other so as to convert the eccentric
rotation of the eccentric shaft portion into the rectilinear
reciprocation of the piston. The connecting rod includes a first
coupling portion to be coupled to the eccentric shaft portion, a
second coupling portion to be coupled to the piston, and an elastic
member having both ends to be secured, respectively, to the first
and second coupling portions so as to connect the first and second
coupling portions to each other.
Inventors: |
Park; Jong Rea; (Seoul,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Charles N.J. Ruggiero, Esq.;Ohlandt, Greeley, Ruggiero & Perle, L.L.P.
10th Floor, One Landmark Square
Stamford
CT
06901-2682
US
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO.,
LTD.
|
Family ID: |
39543065 |
Appl. No.: |
11/891227 |
Filed: |
August 9, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
417/437 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04B 39/0022
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
417/437 |
International
Class: |
F04B 9/02 20060101
F04B009/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 26, 2006 |
KR |
2006-133763 |
Claims
1. A hermetic compressor comprising a cylinder defining a
compressing chamber, a piston to rectilinearly reciprocate in the
compressing chamber so as to compress a refrigerant, a rotating
shaft having an eccentric shaft portion to be eccentrically
rotated, and a connecting rod to connect the eccentric shaft
portion and the piston to each other so as to convert the eccentric
rotating motion of the eccentric shaft portion into the rectilinear
reciprocating motion of the piston, wherein the connecting rod
comprises a first coupling portion to be coupled to the eccentric
shaft portion, a second coupling portion to be coupled to the
piston, and an elastic member having both ends to be secured,
respectively, to the first and second coupling portions so as to
connect the first and second coupling portions to each other.
2. The hermetic compressor according to claim 1, wherein the
elastic member includes a coil spring.
3. The hermetic compressor according to claim 2, wherein the
connecting rod further comprises an anti-distortion member to
prevent mutual distortion of the first and second coupling
portions.
4. The hermetic compressor according to claim 3, wherein the
anti-distortion member comprises a fixing portion formed at one end
thereof so as to be fixed to any one of the first and second
coupling portions, and an insert portion formed at the other end
thereof so as to be inserted into an insertion recess formed in the
remaining one of the first and second coupling portions, the insert
portion being adapted to move forward or rearward in the insertion
recess according to expanding and contracting operations of the
elastic member.
5. The hermetic compressor according to claim 4, wherein the insert
portion and the insertion recess are configured to prevent mutual
relative rotation thereof.
6. The hermetic compressor according to claim 5, wherein the insert
portion has a polygonal cross section, and side surfaces of the
insert portion come into close contact with the insertion
recess.
7. The hermetic compressor according to claim 4, wherein the insert
portion is located inside the insertion recess in a state in which
no external force is applied to the elastic member.
8. The hermetic compressor according to claim 4, wherein the
elastic member is a coil spring, and the anti-distortion member is
installed through an interior of the elastic member.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent
Application No. 2006-0133763, filed on Dec. 26, 2006 in the Korean
Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present disclosure relates to a hermetic compressor,
and, more particularly, to a hermetic compressor which can
efficiently reduce wear of a piston or connecting rod and noise
caused by a worn piston or connecting rod even upon an initial
starting time or when a refrigeration cycle is abnormally
overloaded.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In general, a hermetic compressor is employed in a
refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator or air conditioner, and
conventionally includes a hermetic container defining the outer
appearance thereof, a compressing unit to compress a refrigerant,
and a drive unit to provide refrigerant compressive power, both the
compressing unit and the drive unit being arranged in the hermetic
container.
[0006] The drive unit takes the form of a conventional motor
including a stator and a rotor. The compressing unit includes a
cylinder defining a compressing chamber therein and a piston to
perform rectilinear reciprocating motion in the compressing
chamber, for the purpose of compressing a refrigerant.
[0007] The power of the drive unit is transmitted to the piston via
a rotating shaft. The rotating shaft is press-fitted in the rotor
of the drive unit, so as to be rotated together with the rotor. One
end of the rotating shaft defines an eccentric shaft portion to be
eccentrically rotated. The eccentric shaft portion is connected to
the piston via a connecting rod.
[0008] The connecting rod takes the form of a single bar having
first and second coupling holes formed at opposite ends thereof,
respectively. The first coupling hole of the connecting rod is
rotatably fitted around the eccentric shaft portion. Also, in a
state in which the end of the connecting rod having the second
coupling hole is inserted into the piston, a piston pin is fastened
into the piston and the second coupling hole. In this way,
connection of the eccentric shaft portion and the piston is
accomplished.
[0009] With the above described configuration, if electric current
is applied to the stator of the drive unit, the rotor is rotated
via electromagnetic interaction between the stator and the rotor,
and simultaneously the rotating shaft press-fitted in the rotor is
rotated together with the rotor. Thereby, according to eccentric
rotation of the eccentric shaft portion, the piston, which is
connected to the eccentric shaft portion via the connecting rod,
rectilinearly reciprocates in the compressing chamber, so as to
compress a refrigerant.
[0010] A problem of the above described conventional hermetic
compressor is that the piston may shake violently if an excessive
load pressure is applied in an instant to a tip end of the piston
upon an initial starting time or when the refrigeration cycle is
abnormally overloaded. If the piston shakes violently, the
connecting rod connected to the piston also vibrates. Consequently,
the piston as well as the connecting region between the end of the
connecting rod and the piston suffer from excessive wear and
generation of serious noise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Therefore, it is an aspect of the disclosure to provide a
hermetic compressor which can efficiently reduce wear of a piston
or connecting rod and noise caused by a worn piston or connecting
rod upon an initial starting time or when a refrigeration cycle is
abnormally overloaded.
[0012] In accordance with an aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the
hermetic compressor comprises a cylinder defining a compressing
chamber, a piston to rectilinearly reciprocate in the compressing
chamber so as to compress a refrigerant, a rotating shaft having an
eccentric shaft portion to be eccentrically rotated, and a
connecting rod to connect the eccentric shaft portion and the
piston to each other so as to convert the eccentric rotation of the
eccentric shaft portion into the rectilinear reciprocation of the
piston, wherein the connecting rod comprises a first coupling
portion to be coupled to the eccentric shaft portion, a second
coupling portion to be coupled to the piston, and an elastic member
having both ends to be secured, respectively, to the first and
second coupling portions so as to connect the first and second
coupling portions to each other.
[0013] The elastic member may include a coil spring.
[0014] The connecting rod may further comprise an anti-distortion
member to prevent mutual distortion of the first and second
coupling portions.
[0015] The anti-distortion member may comprise a fixing portion
formed at one end thereof so as to be fixed to any one of the first
and second coupling portions, and an insert portion formed at the
other end thereof so as to be inserted into an insertion recess
formed in the remaining one of the first and second coupling
portions, the insert portion being adapted to move forward or
rearward in the insertion recess according to expanding and
contracting operations of the elastic member.
[0016] The insert portion and the insertion recess may be
configured to prevent mutual relative rotation thereof.
[0017] The insert portion may have a polygonal cross section, and
side surfaces of the insert portion may come into close contact
with the insertion recess.
[0018] The insert portion may be located inside the insertion
recess in a state in which no external force is applied to the
elastic member.
[0019] The elastic member may be a coil spring, and the
anti-distortion member may be installed through the interior of the
elastic member.
[0020] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the hermetic
compressor will be set forth in part in the description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the exemplary
embodiments of the hermetic compressor will become apparent and
more readily appreciated from the following description of the
embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0022] FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating the general
configuration of a hermetic compressor according to a preferred
embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration
of a connecting rod included in the hermetic compressor according
to the preferred embodiment;
[0024] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connecting rod
of FIG. 2;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the connecting rod,
illustrating a state in which an elastic member performs no
shock-absorbing function; and
[0026] FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the
elastic member performs a shock-absorbing function.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Reference will now be made in detail to a hermetic
compressor according to an exemplary embodiment, examples of which
are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like
reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The
embodiment is described below to explain the present invention by
referring to the figures.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the hermetic compressor according to the
present embodiment includes a hermetic container 10 formed by
coupling an upper container 10a and a lower container 10b to each
other. The hermetic container 10 is provided, at opposite sides
thereof, with a suction pipe 11 to guide a refrigerant, passed
through an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle, into the hermetic
container 10 and with a discharge pipe 12 to guide the refrigerant,
compressed within the hermetic container 10, to a condenser of the
refrigeration cycle at the outside of the hermetic container
10.
[0029] Provided within the hermetic container 10 are a compressing
unit 20 to compress a refrigerant, and a drive unit 30 to provide
power required to compress the refrigerant. Both the compressing
unit 20 and the drive unit 30 are installed via a frame 40.
[0030] The drive unit 30 includes a stator 31 secured around an
upper portion of the frame 40, and a rotor 32 provided inside the
stator 31 and adapted to be rotated via electromagnetic interaction
with the stator 31.
[0031] The compressing unit 20 includes a cylinder 21 integrally
formed at a lower portion of the frame 40 and defining a
compressing chamber 21a therein, a piston 22 installed to
rectilinearly reciprocate in the compressing chamber 21a so as to
compress a refrigerant, a cylinder head 23 coupled to an end of the
cylinder 21 so as to hermetically seal the compressing chamber 21a,
the cylinder head 23 defining a refrigerant suction chamber 23b and
a refrigerant discharge chamber 23a therein, and a valve device 24
interposed between the cylinder 21 and the cylinder head 23 to
control the flow of the refrigerant being suctioned from the
refrigerant suction chamber 23b into the compressing chamber 21a or
being discharged from the compressing chamber 21a into the
refrigerant discharge chamber 23a.
[0032] Here, the refrigerant suction chamber 23b serves to guide
the refrigerant, introduced into the hermetic container 10 through
the suction pipe 11, into the compressing chamber 21a. The
refrigerant discharge chamber 23a is connected to the discharge
pipe 12. Reference numeral 13 denotes a suction muffler to guide
the refrigerant, introduced into the hermetic container 10 through
the suction pipe 11, into the refrigerant suction chamber 23b with
a reduced pressure pulsation.
[0033] To transmit the power of the drive unit 30 to the
compressing unit 20, a rotating shaft 50 is installed in the center
of the frame 40. The frame 40 has a center through-hole 41 and a
journal bearing 42 installed in the through-hole 41 to rotatably
support the rotating shaft 50. Specifically, the rotating shaft 50
is press-fitted into the rotor 32 through an upper portion of the
journal bearing 42. A lower end portion of the rotating shaft 50,
protruding downward from the frame 40, defines an eccentric shaft
portion 51 to be eccentrically rotated upon rotation of the
rotating shaft 50. The eccentric shaft portion 51 is connected to
the piston 22 via a connecting rod 60.
[0034] In the above described configuration, if the rotating shaft
50 is rotated together with the rotor 32 via electromagnetic
interaction between the stator 31 and the rotor 32, the piston 22,
which is connected to the eccentric shaft portion 51 via the
connecting rod 60, rectilinearly reciprocates in the compressing
chamber 21a, thereby creating a pressure difference between the
interior and the exterior of the compressing chamber 21a. With the
pressure difference, a refrigerant, which is guided into the
hermetic container 10 along the suction pipe 11 from the evaporator
of the refrigeration cycle, is suctioned into the compressing
chamber 21a by way of the refrigerant suction chamber 23b of the
cylinder head 23, so as to be compressed in the compressing chamber
21a. Then, the compressed refrigerant is discharged toward the
condenser of the refrigeration cycle at the outside of the hermetic
container 10 by way of the refrigerant discharge chamber 23a of the
cylinder head 23 and the discharge pipe 12. As the above described
process is repeatedly performed, the compression of the refrigerant
by the hermetic compressor is accomplished.
[0035] Meanwhile, upon an initial starting time or when the
refrigeration cycle is abnormally overloaded, an excessive load
pressure is applied in an instant to a tip end of the piston 22,
thus causing the piston 22 and the connecting rod 60 connected to
the piston 22 to shake violently. Thereby, the piston 22 and the
connecting rod 60 may cause serious wear and noise. In the hermetic
compressor according to the present embodiment, to solve the above
problem, the connecting rod 60 is configured to perform a
shock-absorbing function.
[0036] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the configuration of the connecting
rod 60 in detail.
[0037] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the present embodiment, the
connecting rod 60 includes a first coupling portion 61 to be
coupled to the eccentric shaft portion 51, a second coupling
portion 62 to be coupled to the piston 22, and an elastic member 63
to connect the first coupling portion 61 and the second coupling
portion 62 to each other.
[0038] Specifically, the first coupling portion 61 has a first
coupling opening 61a to be rotatably fitted around the eccentric
shaft portion 51. The second coupling portion 62 has a second
coupling opening 62a. If the second coupling portion 62 is inserted
into a rear region of the piston 22, a piston pin 22a is fastened
into the piston 22, and subsequently fitted into the second
coupling opening 62a, so as to connect the second coupling portion
62 to the piston 22. The elastic member 63 is a coil spring having
both ends secured to the first coupling portion 61 and the second
coupling portion 62, respectively. Here, the first coupling portion
61 and the second coupling portion 62 each has a coupling hole 61 b
or 62b, for the coupling of either end of the elastic member 63.
Both the ends of the elastic member 63 can be attached to the
coupling holes 61b and 62b by welding, bonding, etc.
[0039] Accordingly, in a state in which the eccentric shaft portion
51 and the piston 22 are connected to each other via the connecting
rod 60, even if an excessive load pressure is applied to a tip end
of the piston 22 upon an initial starting time or when the
refrigeration cycle is abnormally overloaded, the elastic member 63
acts to buffer and absorb the load pressure applied to the piston
22 by being contracted from the state shown in FIG. 4 to the state
shown in FIG. 5. This efficiently prevents any shaking of the
piston 22 or connecting rod 60, thereby restricting wear of the
piston 22 or connecting rod 60, and consequently generation of
noise.
[0040] As a result of connecting the first coupling portion 61 and
the second coupling portion 62 of the connecting rod 60 to each
other via the elastic member 63 performing the shock-absorbing
function, the connecting rod 60 can efficiently absorb an excessive
pressure load applied to the piston 22 while guaranteeing a
simplified configuration thereof.
[0041] In a state in which the first coupling portion 61 and the
second coupling portion 62 are connected to each other via the
elastic member 63 in the form of a coil spring, however, there is
the risk of mutual distortion of the first coupling portion 61 and
the second coupling portion 62 as the elastic member 63 is
elastically deformed to absorb the load pressure applied to the
piston 22. Accordingly, to prevent the mutual distortion, the
connecting rod 60 is provided with an anti-distortion member 64, to
prevent the mutual distortion of the first coupling portion 61 and
the second coupling portion 62 without hindering the expanding and
contracting operations of the elastic member 63. The
anti-distortion member 64 is installed in the interior of the
elastic member 63 in the form of the coil spring, so as not to
occupy a separate installation space.
[0042] The anti-distortion member 64 has a linear bar shape. One
end of the anti-distortion member 64 is provided with a fixing
portion 64a to be fixedly coupled into the first coupling portion
61, and the other end of the anti-distortion member 64 opposite to
the fixing portion 64a is provided with an insert portion 64b to be
inserted into the second coupling portion 62.
[0043] The first coupling portion 61 has a fixing recess 61c for
the coupling and fixing of the fixing portion 64a. The fixing
portion 64a is inserted into the fixing recess 61c and fixedly
mounted by welding, bonding, etc.
[0044] The second coupling portion 62 has an insertion recess 62c
for the insert portion 64b. The insert portion 64b is configured to
be inserted into the insertion recess 62c such that it is forwardly
or rearwardly movable according to the expanding and contracting
operations of the elastic member 63 without interference with the
shock-absorbing operation of the elastic member 63. Preferably,
even when no external force is applied to the elastic member 63,
the insert portion 64b is located in the insertion recess 62c so as
not to be separated from the insertion recess 62c during the
installation of the connecting rod 60.
[0045] Both the insert portion 64b and the insertion recess 62c are
configured to prevent mutual relative rotation thereof, to restrict
the distortion of the first coupling portion 61 and the second
coupling portion 62.
[0046] For this, in the present embodiment, the insert portion 64b
has a rectangular cross section, and the insertion recess 62c has a
rectangular cross section corresponding to that of the insert
portion 64b. In particular, side surfaces of the insert portion 64b
are configured to come into close contact with corresponding inner
wall surfaces of the insertion recess 62c. This configuration is to
prevent the relative rotation of the insert portion 64b and the
insertion recess 62c.
[0047] Of course, it will be appreciated that the cross section of
the insert portion 64b and the insertion recess 62c may be changed
into other various shapes, for example, polygonal shapes including
triangular and pentagonal shapes, so long as the cross section of
the insertion recess 62c corresponds to the cross section of the
insert portion 64b and the relative rotation of the insert portion
64b and the insertion recess 62c can be prevented. Alternatively,
conversely to the present embodiment, the anti-distortion member 64
may be configured such that one end thereof facing the second
coupling portion 62 defines a fixing portion and the other end
thereof facing the first coupling portion 61 defines an insert
portion that is inserted into the first coupling portion 61 in a
forwardly or rearwardly movable manner without rotation.
[0048] As apparent from the above description, according to an
exemplary embodiment of a hermetic compressor, a connecting rod has
a first coupling portion to be coupled to an eccentric shaft
portion of a rotating shaft, and a second coupling portion to be
coupled to a piston, and the first coupling portion and the second
coupling portion are connected to each other via an elastic
member.
[0049] Accordingly, with the exemplary embodiment of the hermetic
compressor, even if an excessive load pressure is applied to a tip
end of a piston upon an initial starting time or when a
refrigeration cycle is abnormally overloaded, the load pressure can
be buffered and absorbed via the expanding and contracting
operations of the elastic member. Thereby, it is possible to
efficiently prevent the shaking of the piston or connecting rod,
and consequently, to restrict the wear of the piston and the
connecting rod and the generation of noise.
[0050] Although an exemplary embodiment has 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.
* * * * *