U.S. patent application number 14/921302 was filed with the patent office on 2016-05-26 for fluid compressor.
This patent application is currently assigned to Bristol Compressors International, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Bristol Compressors International, LLC. Invention is credited to Kelly Wood CHANDLER, Jeffry Lynn HAMILTON, Kevin Neal MUMPOWER, John Williard TOLBERT, JR..
Application Number | 20160146207 14/921302 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55761626 |
Filed Date | 2016-05-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160146207 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MUMPOWER; Kevin Neal ; et
al. |
May 26, 2016 |
FLUID COMPRESSOR
Abstract
An apparatus includes an electric motor including a rotor and a
stator, and a compression device including a compression chamber
and a compression mechanism. The compression chamber is within
either the rotor or the stator of the electric motor.
Inventors: |
MUMPOWER; Kevin Neal;
(Bristol, VA) ; HAMILTON; Jeffry Lynn; (Bristol,
VA) ; CHANDLER; Kelly Wood; (Bristol, VA) ;
TOLBERT, JR.; John Williard; (Bristol, VA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Bristol Compressors International, LLC |
Bristol |
VA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Bristol Compressors International,
LLC
Bristol
VA
|
Family ID: |
55761626 |
Appl. No.: |
14/921302 |
Filed: |
October 23, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62068375 |
Oct 24, 2014 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
417/423.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04C 18/0207 20130101;
F04D 25/06 20130101; F04C 23/02 20130101; F04C 27/008 20130101;
F25B 1/04 20130101; F04C 18/344 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F04C 23/02 20060101
F04C023/02; F04D 25/06 20060101 F04D025/06 |
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising: an electric motor including a rotor and
a stator; and a compression device including a compression chamber
and a compression mechanism, the compression chamber being within
either the rotor or the stator of the electric motor.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the compression
chamber is inside the rotor of the electric motor.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the compression
chamber is inside the stator of the electric motor.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a seal
including an inner race and an outer race.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a seal
ring located between the inner race and the outer race and
configured to change position when the electric motor is turned
on.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the seal ring moves
from a position in the inner race when the motor is off to a
position partially within the outer race when the motor is turned
on.
7. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a
plurality of metal spheres located between the inner race and the
outer race.
8. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a seal
ring located in contact with a surface of the inner race and a
surface of the outer race.
9. An apparatus comprising: an electric motor including a rotor, a
stator, and a shaft, the rotor including a central passage, at
least a portion of the shaft being located in the central passage
of the rotor; an upper bearing supporting an upper end of the
rotor, the upper bearing extending into an upper portion of the
central passage of the rotor; and a lower bearing supporting a
lower end of the rotor, the lower bearing extending into a lower
portion of the central passage of the rotor.
10. An apparatus comprising: an electric motor including a rotor
and a stator; and a seal including an upper race, a lower race, and
a seal ring, the seal ring located in an annular groove in an outer
perimeter of the upper race, the annular groove in the outer
perimeter of the upper race being adjacent to an annular groove in
an inner perimeter of the lower race such that when the upper race
rotates with the rotor, the seal ring moves at least partly into
the annular groove in the inner perimeter of the lower race to seal
an interface between the upper and lower races.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Application No. 62/068,375, filed Oct. 24,
2014, the entire content of which is incorporated into the present
application by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present subject matter relates generally to a fluid
compressor. In particular, it relates to a fluid compressor in
which the fluid being compressed is compressed in a compression
chamber within the motor driving the compressor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Present fluid compressors generally include a compression
chamber for compressing the fluid, and a separate electric motor to
drive the apparatus that compresses the fluid in the compression
chamber. Including these two separate mechanisms causes the overall
structure to be bulky and costly. Accordingly, the present
inventors sought out a way to include the compression apparatus
inside the electric motor that drives the compression
apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] One aspect of the present invention broadly comprises a
compressor including an electric motor including a rotor and a
stator; and a compression device including a compression chamber
and a compression mechanism. The compression chamber is within
either the rotor or the stator of the electric motor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] A full and enabling disclosure of the present subject
matter, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of
ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which
makes reference to the appended figures, in which:
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of
the present invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a side cutaway view of the embodiment shown in
FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the embodiment
shown in FIG. 1 with the parts disassembled from each other;
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of the compression chamber at
a start of the compression cycle;
[0010] FIGS. 5-7 illustrate a top view of the compression chamber
at subsequent points of the compression cycle;
[0011] FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of the compression chamber at
an end of the compression cycle;
[0012] FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of the rotor showing
the cooling fluid fan and a cooling fluid inlet hole;
[0013] FIG. 10 illustrates an aspect of the present invention
embodied as an axial compressor;
[0014] FIG. 11 illustrates an aspect of the present invention
embodied as a scroll compressor;
[0015] FIGS. 12A-12G illustrates a first embodiment of the seal of
the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 13A-13F illustrates the movement of the seal ring in
the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12A-12G;
[0017] FIG. 14 shows a view of the bearings of one embodiment of
the invention;
[0018] FIGS. 15 and 15A illustrates a second embodiment of the seal
of the present invention;
[0019] FIGS. 16 and 16A illustrates an embodiment of a bearing of
the present invention;
[0020] FIGS. 17A-17E illustrates the second embodiment of the seal
of the present invention;
[0021] FIGS. 18A-18G illustrates a third embodiment of the seal of
the present invention; and
[0022] FIG. 19 shows a top view of an embodiment of the invention
with the compression chamber inside the stator.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] Reference is presently made in detail to exemplary
embodiments of the present subject matter, one or more examples of
which are illustrated in or represented by the drawings. Each
example is provided by way of explanation of the present subject
matter, not limitation of the present subject matter. In fact, it
will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made in the present subject
matter without departing from the scope or spirit of the present
subject matter. For instance, features illustrated or described as
part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield
a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present
subject matter covers such modifications and variations as come
within the scope of the disclosure and equivalents thereof.
[0024] FIGS. 1-9 depict a first embodiment of a rotary compressor.
However, the present invention can be applied to many other types
of compressors including and not limited to: turbine compressors,
scroll compressors, axial compressors, and screw compressors. For
example, FIGS. 10 and 11 depict aspects the present invention
embodied as an axial compressor and a scroll compressor,
respectively. These figures show that compression mechanisms 200
are located within electric motors 250 of their respective
compressors. Each of these figures show a compressor including a
compression mechanism inside either a rotor or a stator of the
electric motor driving the compression mechanism, which is one
aspect of the present invention.
[0025] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-9, rotary compressor 100
includes a housing 10 made of lower housing 12, main housing 14,
and upper housing 16. Lower housing 12 includes fluid intake 13 and
upper housing 16 includes fluid exit 17. The embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1-9 includes three housing portions bolted together, but
other configurations are possible as known in the art. The
modifications are within the scope of the invention.
[0026] In FIGS. 1-9, the housing contains a shaft 20 for a motor 30
including stator 32 and rotor 34. Shaft 20 includes a lower hollow
portion 22 that receives gas from intake 13 to be compressed. Shaft
20 also includes an upper hollow portion 24 that receives
compressed fluid to be communicated through valve 40 to fluid exit
17. Further, shaft 20 includes a slot 26 that receives a leaf
spring 27 and a vane 28.
[0027] Electric motor 30 may be a single speed, multispeed, or
variable speed motor. Further, electric motor 30 may be any type of
electric motor including and not limited to an induction motor, a
permanent magnet motor, a brushless DC motor, and a switched
reluctance motor.
[0028] When the rotor 34 turns as a result of current flowing
through the motor 30, vane 28 will move forward and back within
slot 26 due to biasing by leaf spring 27. The outer edge of vane 28
will remain in contact with the inner surface of the compression
chamber 36, which is within rotor 34. Compression chamber 36 has a
cross-section of approximately a circle when viewed along the shaft
direction, but a center of compression chamber 36 is offset from a
center of shaft 20. Accordingly, compression chamber 36 rotates
eccentrically around a center of shaft 20 during each compression
cycle, as shown in FIGS. 4-8.
[0029] Although FIGS. 1-9 show that the biasing of the vane 28 is
done with leaf spring 27, this biasing may also be done by a coiled
spring, or gas or fluid pressure, such as the gas or fluid within
the compressor. These modifications are also within the scope of
the invention.
[0030] At the start of a cycle as shown in FIG. 4, vane 28 divides
lower hollow portion 22 from upper hollow portion 24 such that
fluid at first enters compression chamber 36, but cannot flow
directly to fluid exit 17. As the rotor 34 rotates, the vane causes
the volume that the fluid can access to shrink, compressing the
fluid, as shown in FIGS. 5-7. As the rotor 34 continues to rotate
and compress the fluid, upper hollow portion 24 becomes accessible
to the fluid, as shown in FIG. 8. The now compressed fluid can then
travel out of the compression chamber 36 by passing through valve
40.
[0031] The outer wall of compression chamber 36 is a solid sleeve
36A (labeled in FIG. 14) such as metal to prevent the fluid from
escaping. This is in contrast to conventional electric motor rotors
which may only contain laminate structures. In particular, solid
sleeve 36A may be made of steel.
[0032] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-9, the compressor may
have a displacement of 10 in.sup.3. In other embodiments, the
compressor may have a displacement of 0.5 to 200 in.sup.3. In
embodiments of the invention using scroll compressors, higher
displacements are more efficient. Finally, at very big
displacements, the invention may be embodied using a screw
compressor. The compressor in FIGS. 1-9 may compress a refrigerant
fluid such as an R-400 series or R-500 series refrigerant. Other
fluids may be compressed as well, and these modifications are all
within the scope of the invention. Further, portions of the
compressor components may extend beyond the length of the rotor
and/or stator to allow greater displacements independent of the
dimensions of the rotor and stator. For example, FIG. 10 shows an
axial compressor in which compression mechanism 200 extends in the
length direction beyond the end of electric motor 250 at both
ends.
[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, the rotor also
includes a cooling fluid fan 50 for driving cooling fluid through
the rotor 34 to cool the portions within. FIG. 9 shows that cooling
fluid fan 50 includes vanes 52, one of which has a hole 54 at a
base thereof. Each vane is at an acute angle with respect to the
top of rotor 34, such that a vane with a hole 54 at its base can
catch and drive cooling fluid outside the rotor 34 into the hole
54. Rotor 34 may have passages therein in communication with hole
54 to allow the cooling fluid to penetrate and cool the internal
rotor parts. The cooling fluid can then exit the rotor through hole
56 (labeled in FIG. 14) on a lower surface of rotor 34. The cooling
fluid may be oil, refrigerant, or lubricating fluid or a
combination of these fluids.
[0034] FIG. 9 shows a rotor 34 with a single hole 54 at the base of
one of six vanes 52. However, in other embodiments, multiple vanes
52 may have holes at their base, such as each of 6 vanes having a
hole at their base. Further, the angle between the top of rotor 34
and each oil vane may be between 0 and 90 degrees. All of these
modifications are within the scope of the invention.
[0035] FIGS. 12A-12G shows close-ups of the first embodiment of
seal 80 shown in FIG. 1. Seal 80 includes upper race 82, lower race
84, seal ring 86, and o-rings 88 and 89. Upper race 82 includes an
annular groove 82A around an outer perimeter and an annular groove
82B around an inner perimeter. Lower race 84 includes an annular
groove 84A around an inner perimeter and an annular groove 84B
around an inner perimeter. O-ring 88 is located in groove 82B to
frictionally seal the upper race 82 to the shaft such that upper
race 82 rotates with the rotor. O-ring 89 is located in groove 84B
to seal the interface between the lower race 84 and the upper
bearing cup 92 (labeled in FIG. 14). Seal ring 86 is initially
located in groove 82A of the upper race when the motor is off.
However, as the motor runs, split 86A in seal ring 86 allows seal
ring 86 to increase in diameter as the rotor spins, which then
causes the seal ring to at least partially enter groove 84A of the
lower race 84, as shown in FIGS. 13A-13F. This allows the seal ring
to prevent any contaminants from passing through the interface
between the upper and lower races.
[0036] FIG. 14 shows a close-up of the bearings 90A and 90B. In the
embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-9 and 12-14, bearings 90A and 90B are
bronze, oil lubricated, sleeve drawn bushings. However, other
bearings are possible, such as magnetic, oil-less, and sealed
roller bearings. All of these modifications are within the scope of
the invention.
[0037] Upper bearing 90A supports the upper end of rotor 34, and
lower bearing 90B supports the lower end of rotor 34. Bearings 90A
and 90B are located much closer together than conventional
bearings. As shown in FIG. 14, each of bearings 90A and 90B extend
within the opening at each end of rotor 34 into the central passage
of the rotor 34 where shaft 20 is located. This allows for a more
stable running condition and less load on the bearings. Further,
they have a larger diameter and are longer in length than
conventional bearings, which provides more support than
conventional bearings. As shown in FIG. 14, the upper bearing 90A
is adjacent the upper bearing cup 92, which may be made of steel.
The lower bearing 90B is adjacent the lower bearing cup 94, which
also may be made of steel. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14,
rotor 34 may include aluminum rotor end rings 34A which are roughly
even in height with the bearings 90A and 90B, while the portion of
rotor 34 between the bearings 90A and 90B may be steel laminations
34B. As noted previously, rotor 34 also include steel sleeve 36A
which provides the outer boundary of compression chamber 36.
[0038] FIGS. 15 and 15A show a second embodiment of a seal of the
present invention. Seal 180 includes an outer race 184 and an inner
race 182, shown in FIG. 17A. Inner race 182 includes surface 182A
that contacts surface 184A of outer race 184. This provides a seal
to prevent oil from leaking out of the compressor. The angle of
surface 182A and 184A may be, for example, 20.degree. with respect
to the vertical. However, other configurations are within the scope
of the invention as claimed. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15
and 15A, o-rings are located in grooves in the inner surface of the
inner race and the outer surface of the outer race.
[0039] FIGS. 16 and 16A show an embodiment of a sealed bearing of
the present invention. Bearing 280 includes metal spheres 282
located between inner race 286 and outer race 284.
[0040] FIGS. 18A-18G illustrate a third embodiment of the seal of
the present invention. Seal 380 includes inner race 382, outer race
384, and seal ring 388. Outer race 384 includes surface 384A which
contacts seal ring 388, and inner race 382 includes surface 382A
which also contacts seal ring 388. Accordingly, seal ring 388 can
prevent oil from leaking out through the interface between the
inner and outer races. In one embodiment, surfaces 382A and 384A
make an angle of 45.degree. with respect to the vertical. However,
other configurations are within the scope of the invention as
claimed.
[0041] FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of the invention where the
compression chamber is inside the stator instead of the rotor, as
shown in FIGS. 1-9. Compressor 500 includes compression chamber 536
inside stator 532, which is inside rotor 534. Vane 528 moves in and
out of shaft 520 to expand and contract the side of compression
chamber 536. Thus, a compressor with the compression chamber inside
the stator can operate in a similar manner as the compressor shown
in FIGS. 1-9.
[0042] The present written description uses examples to disclose
the present subject matter, including the best mode, and also to
enable any person skilled in the art to practice the present
subject matter, including making and using any devices or systems
and performing any incorporated and/or associated methods. While
the present subject matter has been described in detail with
respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated
that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of
the foregoing may readily produce alterations to, variations of,
and equivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the
present disclosure is by way of example rather than by way of
limitation, and the subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion
of such modifications, variations and/or additions to the present
subject matter as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary
skill in the art.
* * * * *