U.S. patent application number 14/412905 was filed with the patent office on 2015-06-18 for scroll compressor.
The applicant listed for this patent is Edwards Limited. Invention is credited to Alan Ernest Kinnaird Holbrook, Ian David Stones.
Application Number | 20150167672 14/412905 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46766236 |
Filed Date | 2015-06-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150167672 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stones; Ian David ; et
al. |
June 18, 2015 |
SCROLL COMPRESSOR
Abstract
The present invention relates to a scroll compressor comprising
a scroll pumping arrangement comprising two scrolls each having a
scroll wall with inner and outer scroll wall surfaces which
co-operate with respective outer and inner scroll wall surfaces of
the other scroll wall providing two pairs of co-operating surfaces
which, on relative orbiting motion of the scrolls, pump fluid from
an inlet to an outlet of the arrangement, the scroll walls having a
respective plurality of wraps I, II, III, IV, V between the inlet
and the outlet and wherein the co-operating scroll wall surfaces of
one of said pairs of at least one wrap are generally circular.
Inventors: |
Stones; Ian David;
(Felbridge, GB) ; Holbrook; Alan Ernest Kinnaird;
(Pulborough, GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Edwards Limited |
Crawley, West Sussex |
|
GB |
|
|
Family ID: |
46766236 |
Appl. No.: |
14/412905 |
Filed: |
June 10, 2013 |
PCT Filed: |
June 10, 2013 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB2013/051517 |
371 Date: |
January 5, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
418/55.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04C 23/003 20130101;
F04C 18/0269 20130101; F04C 18/045 20130101; F04C 23/001 20130101;
F04C 28/24 20130101; F04C 18/0215 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F04C 23/00 20060101
F04C023/00; F04C 28/24 20060101 F04C028/24; F04C 18/02 20060101
F04C018/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 6, 2012 |
GB |
1212026.7 |
Claims
1. A scroll compressor comprising: a scroll pumping arrangement
comprising two scrolls, each scroll of the two scrolls including a
respective scroll wall including a respective inner scroll wall
surface and a respective outer scroll wall surface which co-operate
with respective outer and inner scroll wall surfaces of the other
scroll wall providing two pairs of co-operating scroll wall
surfaces which, on relative orbiting motion of the scrolls, pump
fluid from an inlet to an outlet of the arrangement, wherein each
scroll wall of the respective scroll walls includes a respective
plurality of wraps between the inlet and the outlet, and wherein
the co-operating scroll wall surfaces of one pair of the two pairs
of co-operating scroll wall surfaces of at least one wrap are
generally circular.
2. The scroll compressor of claim 1, wherein the respective scroll
walls have an outer wrap adjacent the inlet and wherein the
co-operating scroll wall surfaces of one pair of the two pairs of
co-operating scroll wall surfaces of the outer wrap are
circular.
3. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein the respective scrolls
comprise a fixed scroll wall and an orbiting scroll wall which is
configured to move relative to the fixed scroll wall for pumping
fluid from the inlet to the outlet, and wherein a radially inner
co-operating scroll wall surface of the outer wrap of the fixed
scroll wall and a radially outer co-operating scroll wall surface
of the outer wrap of the orbiting wall are circular.
4. The scroll compressor of claim 1, wherein one scroll wall of the
respective scroll walls includes a radially inner co-operating
surface which is involute and a radially outer co-operating surface
which is circular.
5. The scroll compressor of claim 3, wherein the fixed scroll wall
defines one or more pumping channels between successive wraps
thereof.
6. The compressor of claim 5, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement includes a plurality of inlets through which fluid can
be pumped along respective pumping channels, and an outer pumping
channel is circular.
7. The scroll compressor of claim 5, wherein one or more of the
respective pumping channels are circular and converge to form a
single involute pumping channel.
8. The scroll compressor of claim 5, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and wherein the one or more
circular pumping channels are deeper than the one or more involute
pumping channels.
9. The scroll compressor of claim 1, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and a flow intersection between
the circular pumping channels and the involute pumping channels is
in flow communication with a blow-off valve for releasing over
pressure from the scroll pumping arrangement.
10. A scroll compressor comprising: a scroll pumping arrangement
comprising two scrolls each respective scroll of the two scrolls
including a respective scroll wall including a respective inner
scroll wall surface and a respective outer scroll wall surface
which co-operate with respective outer and inner scroll wall
surfaces of the other respective scroll wall providing two pairs of
co-operating surfaces which, on relative orbiting motion of the two
scrolls, pump fluid from an inlet to an outlet of the scroll
pumping arrangement, wherein the respective scroll walls each
includes a respective plurality of wraps between the inlet and the
outlet and wherein the co-operating scroll wall surfaces of one
pair of the two pairs of co-operating surfaces of at least one wrap
have a rate of change of radius with respect to the angle which is
less than the rate of change of the other wraps so that the
compression ratio of the one pair of the two pairs of co-operating
surfaces is less than for the other wraps.
11. The scroll compressor of claim 6, wherein one or more of the
respective pumping channels are circular and converge to form a
single involute pumping channel.
12. The scroll compressor of claim 6, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and wherein the one or more
circular pumping channels are deeper than the one or more involute
pumping channels.
13. The scroll compressor of claim 7, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and wherein the one or more
circular pumping channels are deeper than the one or more involute
pumping channels.
14. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein one scroll wall of
the respective scroll walls includes a radially inner co-operating
surface which is involute and a radially outer co-operating surface
which is circular.
15. The scroll compressor of claim 3, wherein one scroll wall of
the respective scroll walls includes a radially inner co-operating
surface which is involute and a radially outer co-operating surface
which is circular.
16. The scroll compressor of claim 2, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and a flow intersection between
the circular pumping channels and the involute pumping channels is
in flow communication with a blow-off valve for releasing over
pressure from the scroll pumping arrangement.
17. The scroll compressor of claim 3, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and a flow intersection between
the circular pumping channels and the involute pumping channels is
in flow communication with a blow-off valve for releasing over
pressure from the scroll pumping arrangement.
18. The scroll compressor of claim 4, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and a flow intersection between
the circular pumping channels and the involute pumping channels is
in flow communication with a blow-off valve for releasing over
pressure from the scroll pumping arrangement.
19. The scroll compressor of claim 5, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and a flow intersection between
the circular pumping channels and the involute pumping channels is
in flow communication with a blow-off valve for releasing over
pressure from the scroll pumping arrangement.
20. The scroll compressor of claim 6, wherein the scroll pumping
arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels and one
or more involute pumping channels, and a flow intersection between
the circular pumping channels and the involute pumping channels is
in flow communication with a blow-off valve for releasing over
pressure from the scroll pumping arrangement.
Description
[0001] This application is a national stage entry under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.371 of International Application No. PCT/GB2013/051517, filed
Jun. 10, 2013, which claims the benefit of G.B. Application
1212026.7, filed Jul. 6, 2012. The entire contents of International
Application No. PCT/GB2013/051517 and G.B. Application 1212026.7
are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a scroll compressor.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A prior art scroll compressor, or pump, 100 is shown in FIG.
4. The pump 100 comprises a pump housing 102 and a drive shaft 104
having an eccentric shaft portion 106. The shaft 104 is driven by a
motor 108 and the eccentric shaft portion is connected to an
orbiting scroll 110 so that during use rotation of the shaft
imparts an orbiting motion to the orbiting scroll relative to a
fixed scroll 112 for pumping fluid along a fluid flow path between
a pump inlet 114 and pump outlet 116 of the compressor.
[0004] The fixed scroll 112 comprises a scroll wall 118 which
extends perpendicularly to a generally circular base plate 120. The
orbiting scroll 110 comprises a scroll wall 124 which extends
perpendicularly to a generally circular base plate 126. The
orbiting scroll wall 124 co-operates, or meshes, with the fixed
scroll wall 118 during orbiting movement of the orbiting scroll.
Relative orbital movement of the scrolls causes a volume of gas to
be trapped between the scrolls and pumped from the inlet to the
outlet.
[0005] FIG. 5 shows the fixed scroll wall 118 and the orbiting
scroll wall 124. The fixed scroll wall has inner 128 and outer 130
scroll wall surfaces which co-operate with respective outer 132 and
inner 134 scroll wall surfaces of the orbiting scroll wall. This
arrangement provides two pairs 128, 132; 130, 134 of co-operating
scroll wall surfaces which, on relative orbiting motion of the
scrolls, pump fluid from the inlet 136, 137 to the outlet 138 of
the arrangement. The scroll walls 118, 124 have a respective
plurality of wraps I, II, III, IV, V between the inlet and the
outlet. The co-operating scroll wall surfaces 128, 132; 130, 134
are involute from the inlet to the outlet.
[0006] The specific scroll arrangement shown in FIG. 5 is a
so-called twin start arrangement having two inlets 136, 137 which
in this example are located at the same circumferential angle but
at different radii. Two parallel pumping channels extend from the
inlets and converge to a single pumping channel after approximately
360 degrees. A twin start arrangement is generally provided for
increasing capacity.
[0007] FIG. 6 shows a more detailed view of the fixed scroll 112.
The fixed scroll comprises an annular flange 140 having a plurality
of through holes 142 for fixing the fixed scroll to the remainder
of the pump housing (not shown). An annular recess 144 receives an
o-ring (not shown) for sealing between the fixed scroll and the
pump housing. The annular recess is located between the flange 140
and an annular raised portion 146. The outer wrap V of the fixed
scroll has radially inner co-operating surface 128 which is an
involute or spiral. The outer wrap V of the orbiting scroll wall
fits between wraps IV and V of the fixed scroll wall. Therefore,
the outer wrap V of the fixed scroll does not have an outer
co-operating scroll wall surface.
[0008] As indicated above, in some applications it is desirable to
increase a capacity of a scroll pump, and the arrangement shown in
FIG. 5 increases capacity by adopting a twin-start inlet. However,
invariably when capacity is increased, it is at the expense of
compression or requires a larger pump. In a twin-start pump, there
is one less wrap available for gradual compression from the inlet
to the outlet and therefore a twin-start pump generally offers
reduced compression. It should also be noted that a transitional
point 150 (see FIG. 5) where the two inlet channels converge to a
single channel causes inefficiency in the arrangement since it is
not possible to efficiently seal between wraps at the transitional
point. Accordingly, performance of the pump is reduced.
SUMMARY
[0009] The present invention seeks to provide a scroll compressor
having increased capacity and yet does not suffer, at least to the
same extent, from one or more of the problems associated with prior
art arrangements.
[0010] The present invention provides a scroll compressor
comprising a scroll pumping arrangement comprising two scrolls each
having a scroll wall with inner and outer scroll wall surfaces
which co-operate with respective outer and inner scroll wall
surfaces of the other scroll wall providing two pairs of
co-operating surfaces which, on relative orbiting motion of the
scrolls, pump fluid from an inlet to an outlet of the arrangement,
the scroll walls having a respective plurality of wraps between the
inlet and the outlet and wherein the co-operating scroll wall
surfaces of one of said pairs of at least one wrap are generally
circular.
[0011] The present invention also provides a scroll compressor
comprising a scroll pumping arrangement comprising two scrolls each
having a scroll wall with inner and outer scroll wall surfaces
which co-operate with respective outer and inner scroll wall
surfaces of the other scroll wall providing two pairs of
co-operating surfaces which, on relative orbiting motion of the
scrolls, pump fluid from an inlet to an outlet of the arrangement,
the scroll walls having a respective plurality of wraps between the
inlet and the outlet and wherein the co-operating scroll wall
surfaces of one of said pairs of at least one wrap have a rate of
change of radius with respect to the angle which is less than said
rate of change of the other wraps so that the compression ratio of
said one of said pairs is less than for the other wraps.
[0012] Other preferred and/or optional aspects of the invention are
defined in the accompanying claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] In order that the present invention may be well understood,
an embodiment thereof, which is given by way of example only, will
now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0014] FIG. 1 shows schematically a scroll pump;
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a first scroll pumping arrangement for the pump
shown in FIG. 1,
[0016] FIG. 3 shows a second scroll pumping arrangement for the
pump shown in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 4 shows a prior art scroll pump;
[0018] FIG. 5 shows a prior art scroll pumping arrangement of the
pump shown in FIG. 4; and
[0019] FIG. 6 shows a fixed scroll of a prior art pump in more
detail.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] A scroll compressor, or pump, 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The
pump 10 comprises a pump housing 12 and a drive shaft 14 having an
eccentric shaft portion 16. The shaft 14 is driven by a motor 18
and the eccentric shaft portion is connected to an orbiting scroll
20 so that during use rotation of the shaft imparts an orbiting
motion to the orbiting scroll relative to a fixed scroll 22 for
pumping fluid along a fluid flow path between a pump inlet 24 and
pump outlet 26 of the compressor.
[0021] The fixed scroll 22 comprises a scroll wall 28 which extends
perpendicularly to a generally circular base plate 30. The orbiting
scroll 20 comprises a scroll wall 34 which extends perpendicularly
to a generally circular base plate 36. The orbiting scroll wall 34
co-operates, or meshes, with the fixed scroll wall 28 during
orbiting movement of the orbiting scroll. Relative orbital movement
of the scrolls causes a volume of gas to be trapped between the
scrolls and pumped from the inlet to the outlet.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the fixed scroll wall 28 has inner 38
and outer 40 scroll wall surfaces which co-operate with respective
outer 42 and inner 44 scroll wall surfaces of the orbiting scroll
wall 34 providing two pairs of co-operating surfaces 38, 42; 40,
44. On relative orbiting motion of the scrolls 20, 22, fluid is
pumped from an inlet 46, 48 to an outlet 50 of the arrangement. The
scroll walls have a respective plurality of wraps I, II, III, IV, V
between the inlet and the outlet. The co-operating scroll wall
surfaces 38, 42; 40, 44 of one of the pairs of at least one wrap
are circular.
[0023] Typically, the co-operating scroll wall surfaces of a scroll
pump are involute, or spiral. Since the volume of fluid trapped by
each pair of co-operating surfaces reduces as the volume approaches
the outlet 26 the pump compresses the fluid. As indicated above
with reference to the prior art, many attempts have been made to
increase pumping capacity, or the amount of fluid that can be
pumped. These attempts have produced increased capacity but suffer
from disadvantages such as reduced compression or increased back
leakage. In the present invention, one pair of scroll wall surfaces
is not involute but instead is substantially circular.
[0024] For Archimedean spirals and large angles of an involute, the
geometry of a spiral in prior art pumps is such that the rate of
change of the radius is generally constant with respect to the
change in the angle. Where r is the radius and .theta. is the angle
about the centre of the spiral, for an Archimedean spiral
(r=a.theta.), dr/d.theta.=a, which is constant. For an involute,
dr/d.theta. is not constant but changes a lot over the first 1/2
turn and then it tends to a single value. In other words, for large
angles, it becomes reasonable constant. For a circle,
dr/d.theta.=0. That is, dr/d.theta. is a constant.
[0025] In the present invention, dr/d.theta. for at least one of
the pairs of scroll surfaces 38, 42; 40, 44 for at least one wrap
I, II, II, IV, V is reduced such that the spiral tends towards a
circular path and departs from a geometrical spiral or involute as
defined above. That is, if dr/d.theta. equals `a` for a spiral and
0 for a circle, then for embodiments of the invention dr/d.theta.
equals a value between `a` and 0, preferably approaching 0. In its
most preferred example therefore, the scroll wall surfaces are
circular, although benefits of the invention can be achieved by
decreasing dr/d.theta. thereby increasing the trapped volume
between the scroll wall surfaces. Therefore, decreasing dr/d.theta.
increases pumping capacity and decreases compression. The circular
or generally circular scroll wall surfaces may be located at any
one of the wraps I, II, III, IV, V, or may be located at more than
one wrap or at all of the wraps, the latter of which is shown in
the example described in more detail below with reference to FIG.
3.
[0026] In the first example as shown in FIG. 2, the fixed scroll
wall 28 of the outer wrap V has only one co-operating surface 40,
the other surface 41 being outside the pumped volume. The
co-operating surface 40 is circular. The orbiting scroll wall 34 of
the outer wrap V has two co-operating surfaces 43, 45 both of which
are circular. The outer surface 43 co-operates with the inner
surface 40 of the fixed scroll wall, whilst the inner surface 45
co-operates with the outer surface 47 of wrap IV of the fixed
scroll wall. The other radially inward wall surfaces of the pump in
this example are involute. The transition between circular and
involute surfaces is formed by the fixed scroll wall of wrap 4.
This scroll wall increases in radial thickness between a first
portion 49 and a second portion 51 thereby defining an outer
surface 47 which is circular and an inner surface 53 which is
involute.
[0027] Typically, as shown in FIG. 6, the fixed scroll casing 140,
144, 146 148 is generally circular so that the fixed scroll has a
small overall volume and foot-print. However, the inner scroll wall
surface 128 of the fixed scroll wall 118 is spiral. Therefore,
referring to prior art FIG. 5, a region between circle 152 and the
outer wrap V of the fixed scroll is lost and not usefully available
for pumping fluid. It is an advantageous feature of the present
embodiment in FIG. 2 that the lost pumping region is brought within
the pumping volume of the scrolls. In this regard, instead of
having a transition between circular and spiral which is outside a
pumping volume, the transition is brought within the pumping
volume. Accordingly, as shown, the inner scroll surface 40 of the
fixed scroll wall 28 is circular and the transition between the
circular and spiral surfaces occurs at wrap IV of the fixed scroll.
Therefore, the pumping capacity of the pump is increased without an
increase in the overall volume or foot-print of the pump.
[0028] It will be appreciated that a single circular wrap does not
achieve compression since the trapped volume between co-operating
scroll wall surfaces is not reduced by pumping along a circular
surface. However, capacity is increased because the circular scroll
wall surfaces are inherently able to trap more volume than spiral
surfaces at the same radius and hence greater capacity is achieved.
Furthermore, if the co-operating surfaces of the outer scroll wrap
are circular, a previously unused region of the pump is brought
within the pumping volume.
[0029] Referring again to FIG. 2, wraps Ito III are involute, wrap
V is circular and wrap IV is transitional between circular and
spiral. In the example shown, the fixed scroll wall of wrap IV has
an outer scroll wall surface 47 which is circular and an inner
scroll wall surface 53 which is spiral. The transition necessitates
a relatively thick scroll wall and therefore it is advantageous
that the transition takes place on the stationary fixed scroll,
since a thicker orbiting scroll wall would increase the weight of
the moving components of the pump. Alternatively the transition may
take place on the orbiting scroll, and in this case the orbiting
scroll may be hollow to reduce the amount of mass which must be
moved during orbiting motion. In this regard, the outer wrap V of
the orbiting scroll may have an outer scroll wall surface which is
circular and an inner scroll wall surface which is spiral. In this
arrangement, only the co-operating surfaces at the outer wrap of
the scroll walls are circular. In other words, only an outer most
pumping channel is circular.
[0030] It will be noted that the transition between circular and
spiral pumping surfaces may take place on any of the wraps of the
orbiting scroll or any of the wraps of the fixed scroll (except the
outer wrap of the fixed scroll).
[0031] The inlet 24 to the scroll pumping arrangement shown in FIG.
2 is sub-divided into inlets 46, 48 to respective pumping channels
50, 52. Typically, as described above in relation to the prior art,
a two-start or multi-start arrangement is often used to increase
pumping capacity. The example shown comprises two inlets 46, 48 on
different radii, although in other examples, the inlets may be
provided on the same radius at different circumferential positions.
The present invention encompasses all such examples.
[0032] A problem that exists with multi-start arrangements occurs
where the pumping channels converge as shown by 150 in FIG. 5. In
more detail, the scroll wall is not continuous at the convergence
between multiple and single channels and therefore there is a gap
in the tip seals which resist back-leakage. Accordingly,
back-leakage is increased thereby reducing the pumping
efficiency.
[0033] In the embodiment of the invention, the pumping channels 50,
52 converge at 54 and the convergence is a source of some pumping
inefficiency as the tip seals are discontinuous thereby reducing
the capacity of the pump. However, the increased pumping capacity
produced by the circular pumping channel 50 at least partially and
preferably fully compensates for the back-leakage at the
convergence 54. In this regard, pumping channel 50 has two pairs of
co-operating surfaces formed on both sides of the outer wrap V of
the orbiting scroll wall 34. Accordingly, the embodiment provides a
multi-start scroll pumping arrangement which does not suffer from
reduced efficiency.
[0034] Whilst a multi-start arrangement is shown in FIG. 2, the
present invention applies equally to single start arrangements.
That is, the fixed scroll wall may define one pumping channel
between successive wraps (as in a single start arrangement) or more
than one pumping channel between successive wraps of the scroll
wall which may converge.
[0035] In an alternative arrangement, a multi-start or single start
scroll arrangement comprises one or more circular pumping channels
and one or more involute pumping channels and the circular pumping
channels are deeper than the involute pumping channels. The
transition from deep to shallow channels in prior art pumps can
often be a cause of inefficiency because the tip seals are not
continuous. In this example of the invention however, the circular
nature of the deeper pumping channels compensates for the
back-leakage caused at the transition.
[0036] In a further scroll pumping arrangement, there are one or
more circular pumping channels and one or more involute pumping
channels, and a flow intersection between the circular pumping
channels and the involute pumping channels is in flow communication
with a blow-off valve for releasing over pressure from the scroll
arrangement. The intersection is a suitable location for the
blow-off valve as it is located at the transition between a high
capacity region and a low capacity region and when running at high
inlet pressures substantial over-pressure may occur.
[0037] A still further scroll arrangement is shown in FIG. 3. The
fixed scroll 22 comprises a scroll wall 60 having four discrete
generally circular sections. The orbiting scroll 20 comprises a
scroll wall 62 having four discrete generally circular sections.
The orbiting scroll wall 62 co-operates, or meshes, with the fixed
scroll wall 60 during orbiting movement of the orbiting scroll.
Relative orbital movement of the scrolls causes a volume of gas to
be trapped between the scrolls and pumped from the inlet 64 to the
outlet 66.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the fixed scroll wall and the orbiting
scroll wall each have four wraps I, II, II, IV which in this
example are formed by four circular wall sections. The fixed scroll
wall sections of successive wraps form therebetween four circular
pumping channels 68, 70, 72, 74. For example, the fixed scroll wall
sections of wraps III and IV form pumping channel 68. The four
sections of the orbiting scroll wall are located within respective
pumping channels.
[0039] With regard to the outer pumping channel 68, the fixed
scroll wall sections of wraps III and IV form outer 76 and inner 78
scroll wall surfaces respectively. The orbiting scroll wall section
of wrap IV forms inner 80 and outer 82 scroll wall surfaces which
co-operate with respective outer 76 and inner 78 of the fixed
scroll wall surfaces forming two pairs of co-operating surfaces 76,
80; 78, 82 in pumping channel 68. On relative orbiting motion of
the scrolls, fluid in the outer pumping channel 68 is trapped
between both pairs of co-operating surfaces and pumped from a
channel inlet 84 to a channel outlet 86.
[0040] Each pumping channel extends through less than 360.degree.
(although not substantially less than 360.degree., e.g. about
350.degree.) so that the pumping channel forms an incomplete
circle. The ends of each pumping channel are closed by one or more
wall closures 88, 90 thereby separating the inlet from the outlet
in a pumping channel. The closures are arcuate so that an end of an
orbiting scroll wall section sweeps across its face during orbiting
motion. This arrangement allows fluid to be trapped efficiently by
the orbiting scroll wall.
[0041] The outlet 86 of each channel is connected by a duct (shown
by arrows 92) to an inlet 84 of the next inward pumping channel.
Trapped fluid in channel 68 is forced along a duct 92 entering
channel 70 and so on until fluid is forced through the outlet of
the most inward channel 74 to the outlet 66 of the pumping
arrangement. As fluid is pumped from one channel to the next it
becomes compressed because the trapped volume becomes progressively
smaller. Accordingly, compression occurs even though all the
pumping channels, and co-operating surfaces are circular.
[0042] Circular wall profiles are easier to design, manufacture and
inspect. The simple profile allows better tolerances to be
achieved. Having all the wraps as circular avoids over compression
between any of the stages, which maximises pumping efficiency.
[0043] In FIG. 2, an outer pumping channel is circular and the
remaining pumping channels are spiral. This arrangement reduces
dead space in the pump and thereby increases capacity. A circular
pumping channel achieves increased capacity without compression. In
FIG. 3, all the pumping channels are circular. The invention also
encompasses any arrangement between these two examples, such as
where one, two or three wraps or pumping channels are circular.
Therefore, the invention covers arrangements in which only one pair
of co-operating scroll wall surfaces are circular or at least
generally circular, and in which all of the co-operating surfaces
are circular and all possibilities in between.
[0044] In a multi-start pump, one pumping channel at a first start
may be circular, a plurality of pumping channels at more than one
start may be circular or all of the pumping channels at all of the
starts may be circular.
* * * * *