Patent Application
20250207584
The present disclosure relates to compressor assemblies including lower covers having mounting feet skirts configured (e.g., full, rounded, and/or radiused skirts, etc.) for increasing mounting feet stiffness and provide better resistance to crack formation due to vibration, e.g., in mobile and transport applications, etc.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
The general structure of a scroll compressor includes the shell compressor internal components and mounting portions. Generally, the mounting portions includes a lower cover, which may be coupled to the shell of the scroll compressor. The lower cover includes mounting feet including mounting holes or apertures with or without slots. The holes or apertures in the mounting feet are configured for receiving mechanical hardware (e.g., bolts, etc.) for mounting the scroll compressor to a base. The lower cover may act as a base of the scroll compressor for positioning the scroll compressor at a required location with the help of a mounting system, e.g., grommets, bolts, rails, etc.
For example,
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals may indicate corresponding (though not necessarily identical) features throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
During qualification of some conventional scroll compressors using a modified MIL STD 810g profile, lower cover non-conformance/failure was observed near the mounting feet of the lower cover. As shown in
After recognizing the above, exemplary embodiments were developed and/or are disclosed herein of lower covers having mounting feet skirts configured (e.g., full, rounded, and/or radiused skirts, etc.) for increasing mounting feet stiffness and provide better resistance to crack formation due to vibration, e.g., in mobile and transport applications (e.g., road, marine, refrigerated trains, trailers, containers used in the mobile shipment of refrigerated goods, etc.), etc. The mounting feet skirts may comprise full, rounded, and/or radiused skirts disposed along or around the entire end portions of the mounting feet near the mounting holes (e.g., bolt holes, etc.) in the mounting feet. Using full, rounded, and/or radiused skirts avoids or eliminates sharp corners, such as the sharp corner fillet features of conventional lower covers that are prone to having cracks form due to vibration while in transit.
In exemplary embodiments, full, rounded, and/or radiused skirts are configured to reduce the dynamic stress due to random vibration. The full, rounded, and/or radiused skirts replace, eliminate, or avoid the sharp features adjacent the mounting feet's holes or apertures in conventional lower covers (e.g., lower cover 5 (
In exemplary embodiments, the lower cover is manufactured by forming so as to have full, rounded, and/or radiused skirt mounting feet to thereby avoid the sharp edges present in conventional lower covers. The elimination or avoidance of sharp edges advantageously eliminates or minimizes crack formation that would otherwise occur due to the sharp edges in the conventional lower cover. Although a lower cover have full, rounded, and/or radiused skirt mounting feet may be made via a forming manufacturing process, other manufacturing processes may also be used. For example, a lower cover having full, rounded, and/or radiused skirt mounting feet may also be made by welding and/or joining sheet metal.
In exemplary embodiments, the lower cover includes round skirt mounting feet that provide good stiffness around the bolt joints, which increases the lower cover's first natural frequencies. The round skirt mounting feet features also eliminate stress risers that would otherwise occur at the sharp corners near the bolt joints in the conventional lower cover. The round skirt mounting feet significantly reduce the random stress and the possibility of crack formations.
The full, rounded, and/or radiused skirt along a lower cover's mounting feet may be implemented with relatively little change being needed to existing parts and areas near interfaces. In exemplary embodiments, the lower cover skirting angle may be from 0 degree to 90 degrees with 90 degrees being the preferred lower cover skirting angle in some exemplary embodiments. The material for the lower cover and its full round skirt mounting feet may be selected or dependent upon requirement of fatigue life.
The circular and rectangular lower covers 404 and 504 are configured to increase natural frequency and thus keep the part away from resonance thus reducing dynamic stresses responsible for fatigue life, as shown by the finite element analysis (FEA) results in
In exemplary embodiments, the lower cover may be generally rectangular (e.g., square, etc.) with the mounting feet extending outwardly from each of the four corners. The lower cover may also include additional features to help guide and support the shell of the compressor assembly. For example, the lower cover may include guide sections that align with the shell of the compressor assembly.
The lower covers including mounting feet skirts (e.g., full, rounded, and/or radiused skirts, etc.) disclosed herein may be used with a wide range of compressor assemblies, such as scroll compressors for transport applications (e.g., road, marine, refrigerated tracks, trailers, containers used in the mobile shipment of refrigerated goods, etc.), other compressors, etc. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure should not be limited to use with any one particular type of compressor.
Disclosed are exemplary embodiments of lower covers for mounting compressors to bases. In exemplary embodiments, the lower cover comprises mounting feet extending outwardly from the lower cover. The mounting feet include mounting holes therethrough for receiving hardware for attaching and securing a compressor to a base. A full skirt is along or defines an end portion of each mounting foot generally around the mounting hole in the mounting foot. The full skirt is configured for increasing mounting foot stiffness and provide better resistance to crack formation due to vibration.
In exemplary embodiments, each full skirt extends downwardly relative to an upper surface of the end portion of the corresponding mounting foot.
In exemplary embodiments, each full skirt extends downwardly at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to an upper surface of the end portion of the mounting foot.
In exemplary embodiments, each full skirt extends along the entire end portion of the mounting foot.
In exemplary embodiments, each full skirt comprises a radiused skirt along or defining the end portion of the mounting foot generally around the mounting hole in the mounting foot.
In exemplary embodiments, each full skirt comprises a rounded skirt along or defining the end portion of the mounting foot generally around the mounting hole in the mounting foot.
In exemplary embodiments, the full skirts are configured to eliminate sharp corner fillet features along the end portions of the mounting feet that may otherwise be prone to having cracks form therein due to vibration.
In exemplary embodiments, the lower cover includes a skirt extending downwardly along an outer perimeter of the lower cover between each adjacent pair of end portions of the mounting feet. The full skirts along the end portions of the mounting feet and the skirts extending downwardly along the perimeter of the lower cover between adjacent pairs of end portions of the mounting feet may be configured to define a continuous skirt along the outer perimeter of the lower cover. The continuous skirt along the outer perimeter of the lower cove may be configured to provide a smooth transition, without any sharp corner fillet features, between the full skirts along the end portions of the mounting feet and the skirts extending downwardly along the perimeter of the lower cover between adjacent pairs of end portions of the mounting feet.
In exemplary embodiments, the mounting feet are arranged at regular intervals along the lower cover.
In exemplary embodiments, the lower cover includes a generally rectangular portion having first, second, third, and fourth corners. And the mounting feet comprise first, second, third, and fourth mounting feet extending outwardly from the respective first, second, third, and fourth corners of the generally rectangular portion of the lower cover.
In exemplary embodiments, a distance that each full skirt extends downwardly relative to an upper surface of the end portion of the corresponding mounting foot is greater than a material thickness of the lower cover. For example, the distance that each full skirt extends downwardly relative to the upper surface of the end portion of the corresponding mounting foot may be at least two times greater than the material thickness of the lower cover.
In exemplary embodiments, a compressor assembly comprises a compressor and a lower cover as disclosed herein. The compressor assembly may comprise a shell, a compression mechanism within the shell, and a motor operable for driving the compression mechanism. The lower cover may be coupled with the shell such that the shell and the lower cover cooperatively define a chamber housing the compression mechanism and the motor therein. The mounting feet of the lower cover may extend outwardly at regular intervals along a circumference of the shell. The compressor assembly may comprise a scroll compressor.
In exemplary embodiments, a mounting system for supporting a compressor comprises a lower cover as disclosed herein. The mounting system may further include a base and mechanical fasteners configured to be received within the mounting holes of the mounting feet for attaching and securing the compressor to the base.
In exemplary embodiments, a method comprises mounting a compressor to a base using a lower cover as disclosed herein. The method may include attaching and securing the compressor to the base by using mechanical fasteners within the mounting holes of the mounting feet of the lower cover.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “have,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The term “about” when applied to values indicates that the calculation or the measurement allows some slight imprecision in the value (with some approach to exactness in the value; approximately or reasonably close to the value; nearly). If, for some reason, the imprecision provided by “about” is not otherwise understood in the art with this ordinary meaning, then “about” as used herein indicates at least variations that may arise from ordinary methods of measuring or using such parameters. For example, the terms “generally”, “about”, and “substantially” may be used herein to mean within manufacturing tolerances.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer, or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements, intended or stated uses, or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202321088880 | Dec 2023 | IN | national |
This application is a continuation of allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/584,133 filed Feb. 22, 2024, which claimed priority to and the benefit of Indian Patent Application number 202321088880 filed Dec. 26, 2023. These applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18584133 | Feb 2024 | US |
| Child | 19075369 | US |
