Patent Application
20100074766
The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0094304, filed on Sep. 25, 2008, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compressor of a vehicle's cooling system, and more particularly, to a compressor of a vehicle's cooling system which can minimize flow resistance of a refrigerant in the compressor and increase compression efficiency, and further can improve the performance of an air conditioner.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a vehicle's cooling system circulates a refrigerant by using a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator, and cools air in the interior of the vehicle by using an evaporative latent heat of the refrigerant. That is, the refrigerant is heat-exchanged with the air of the vehicle interior as it passes through the evaporator, thereby cooling the interior of the vehicle and changing to a low temperature low pressure gas state. This refrigerant of the low temperature low pressure gas state changes to a high temperature high pressure gas state in the compressor, and then is heat-exchanged with air outside the vehicle as it passes through the condenser and changes to a high temperature high pressure liquid state, and then changes to a low temperature low pressure liquid state as it passes through the expander and is moved back to the evaporator.
Among them, the compressor also functions as a driving source for allowing the refrigerant to circulate, as well as compressing the refrigerant. Thus, the compression efficiency of the refrigerant in the compressor significantly affects the performance of the vehicle's cooling system.
Referring to
A storage space 1a for storing the refrigerant entering and exiting the body 1 is formed in the body 1, a compression space 1b for compressing the refrigerant is formed, spaced apart inward from the storage space 1a, a shaft 6 is rotatably disposed in the compression space 1b, horizontally penetrating the compression space 1b, a swash plate 7 is rotatably coupled to an outer surface of the shaft 6 so as to be rotatable along with the shaft 6 in a circumferential direction, and a piston 8 for compressing the refrigerant to be filled in the compression space is coupled to the swash plate 7.
The swash plate 7 is obliquely formed so as to receive rotational force of the shaft 6 and reciprocate the piston 8, and the piston 8 reciprocates in the compression space 1b in company with the rotation of the swash plate 7 to thus compress the refrigerant filled in the compression space 1b.
The covers 2 and 3 comprise a front cover 2 disposed at the front side of the body 1 and a rear cover 3 disposed at the rear side of the body 1. Suction chambers 2a and 3a, which are a space for introducing a refrigerant from the storage space 1a of the body 1, and discharge chambers 2b and 3b, which are a space for discharging the refrigerant back to the storage space 1a after introduction of compressed refrigerant from the compression space 1b, are respectively formed on the front cover 2 and the rear cover 3. Although not shown, a hole through which the refrigerant can move is formed in the body 1, the storage space 1a of the body 1 and the suction chambers 2a and 3a communicate with each other through this hole, and the storage space 1a of the body 1 and the discharge chambers 2b and 3b of the covers 2 and 3 also communicate with each other.
A pulley 9 connected to the shaft 6 to transfer rotational force to the shaft 6 is disposed on an outer side of the front cover 2, and the pulley 9 has grooves 9a for mounting a belt transferring the rotational force from the engine thereon.
Valve plates 4 and 5 are disposed between the front side of the body 1 and the front cover 2 and between the rear side of the body 1 and the rear cover 3, respectively. The valve plates 4 and 5 have suction openings 4a and 5a for sucking a low temperature low pressure refrigerant from the suction chambers 2a and 3a to the compression space 1b and discharge openings 4b and 5b for discharging a refrigerant sucked into the compression space 1b and compressed at a high temperature and high pressure to the discharge chambers 2b and 3b.
The valve plates 4 and 5 are provided with suction valves in the suction openings 4a and 5a. The suction valves are opened only during the suction stroke of the piston 8 to suck a low temperature low pressure refrigerant from the suction chambers 2a and 3a to the compression space 1b and closed by pressure during the discharge stroke of the piston 8, thereby preventing a high temperature high pressure refrigerant from leaking into the suction chambers 2a and 3a from the compression space 1b.
Further, the valve plates 4 and 5 are provided with discharge valves in the discharge holes 4b and 5b. The discharge valves are opened only during the discharge stroke of the piston 8 to discharge a high temperature high pressure refrigerant from the compression space 1b to the discharge chambers 2b and 3b and closed by pressure during the suction stroke of the piston 8, thereby preventing a low temperature low pressure refrigerant from leaking into the discharge chambers 2b and 3b from the compression space 1b.
The operation of the thus-constructed compressor of the vehicle's cooling system according to the prior art will be discussed below.
A low temperature low pressure refrigerant introduced into the storage space 1a via an entrance hole during the suction stroke of the piston 8 is moved to the suction chambers 2a and 3a, and then is sucked into the compression space 1b via the suction openings 4a and 5a formed in the valve plates 4 and 5 and compressed by the compression stroke of the piston 8. Next, the refrigerant is discharged to the discharge chambers 2b and 3b via the discharge openings 4b and 5b formed on the valve plates 4 and 5 during the discharge stroke of the piston 8, and then introduced into the storage space 1a and discharged to a condenser via an exit hole.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
Various aspects of the present invention are directed to provide a compressor of a vehicle's cooling system which can minimize flow resistance of a refrigerant in the compressor and increase compression efficiency, and further can improve the performance of an air conditioner.
In an aspect of the present invention, the compressor of a vehicle's cooling system may include a body formed to introduce a refrigerant from the outside in a radial direction thereof, and a shaft rotatably coupled to the body and formed such that the refrigerant introduced into the body enters into the shaft in the radial direction thereof, flows in an axial direction thereof, and then exits in the radial direction thereof toward a refrigerant compression space formed in the body.
A body refrigerant inlet hole may be formed on a circumferential surface of the body so as to introduce the refrigerant from the outside into the shaft in the radial direction of the body.
A refrigerant flow path may be formed in the shaft so as to move the refrigerant in the axial direction thereof.
At least a portion of the shaft may be formed in a hollow shape, one end of which is closed.
Shaft refrigerant inlet holes for allowing the refrigerant introduced into the body to enter into the shaft and shaft refrigerant outlet holes for discharging the refrigerant introduced to the inside of the shaft to the refrigerant compression space of the body may be respectively formed on a circumferential surface of the shaft in the radial direction thereof.
The shaft refrigerant inlet holes and the shaft refrigerant outlet holes may be spaced with a predetermined angle therebetween in a rotational direction of the shaft.
The shaft refrigerant inlet holes may be formed substantially in a middle portion of the shaft and the shaft refrigerant outlet holes are disposed at forward and rearward sides from the shaft refrigerant inlet holes.
The shaft refrigerant inlet holes and the shaft refrigerant outlet holes may be formed in plural number, respectively.
A first boss portion to which the shaft is axially coupled is formed at a central portion of the body, and body refrigerant outlet holes communicating with the shaft refrigerant outlet holes and for discharging the refrigerant coming from the shaft to the refrigerant compression space may be formed in a second boss portion of the body, wherein the body refrigerant outlet holes are formed in a direction inclined at a predetermined angle from a longitudinal axis of the shaft toward the distal ends of the body.
Front and rear surfaces of the refrigerant compression space of the body may be respectively opened, and front and rear heads for guiding the compressed refrigerant coming from the refrigerant compression space to the outside are coupled to the opened front and rear surfaces respectively, wherein discharge valves for controlling discharge of the refrigerant are installed between the refrigerant compression space and the front and rear heads.
A swash plate may be axially coupled to the shaft, and a swash plate refrigerant inlet hole communicating with the shaft refrigerant inlet holes is formed on the swash plate so as to guide the refrigerant introduced into the body to the shaft, wherein the shaft refrigerant inlet holes and the swash plate refrigerant inlet hole are disposed on a straight line in the radial direction of the shaft, wherein the swash plate includes a first boss portion axially coupled to the shaft and a disc portion formed in a circumferential direction of the first boss portion and disposed at an inclination inside the body, and the swash plate refrigerant inlet hole is formed in the first boss portion, and wherein a piston for compressing the refrigerant in the refrigerant compression space while moving back and forth according to rotation of the shaft is coupled to the disc portion of the swash plate.
At least a portion of the shaft may be formed in a hollow shape, of which one end is closed and an additional inlet hole for guiding the refrigerant not introduced to the shaft refrigerant inlet holes is formed at the other end of the shaft.
In another aspect of the present invention, a compressor of a vehicle's cooling system may include a body having a body refrigerant inlet hole formed therein to introduce a refrigerant from the outside in a radial direction thereof, a shaft rotatably disposed in the body and having shaft refrigerant inlet holes and shaft refrigerant outlet holes, the shaft refrigerant inlet holes for introducing the refrigerant introduced via the body refrigerant inlet hole and the shaft refrigerant outlet holes for discharging the refrigerant introduced to the inside of the shaft toward a refrigerant compression space formed in the body in a radial direction of the shaft, a swash plate axially coupled to the shaft and having a swash plate refrigerant inlet hole communicating with the shaft refrigerant inlet hole, a piston coupled to one side of the swash plate and linearly reciprocating in the body during rotation of the shaft, and front and rear heads respectively installed on opened front and rear surfaces of the body and for discharging the compressed refrigerant coming from the refrigerant compression space to the outside.
A refrigerant flow path may be formed in the shaft so as to move the refrigerant in an axial direction thereof.
Body refrigerant outlet holes communicating with the shaft refrigerant outlet holes may be formed in the body for discharging the refrigerant coming from the shaft to the refrigerant compression space.
In various aspects of the present invention, the compressor of the vehicle's cooling system according to the present invention is configured such that an external refrigerant is introduced into a shaft in a radial direction through a body, flows in the shaft in an axial direction, and then is discharged to a refrigerant compression space in the body, thereby shortening the flow path of the refrigerant and minimizing flow path resistance. Since no suction valves and suction chambers are required, the structure is simplified and the cost is reduced.
The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description of the Invention, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.
In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.
Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Referring to
The body 50 includes a manifold portion 55 having a suction port 52 and a discharge port 54 for introducing and discharging a refrigerant.
Furthermore, the body 50 has a body refrigerant inlet hole 56 formed such that the refrigerant introduced through the suction port 52 is introduced in a radial direction to the shaft 70.
The refrigerant compression space 51 for compressing a refrigerant by the piston 90 is formed in the body 50. The refrigerant compression space 51 is disposed to be spaced apart inward from the manifold portion 55. The refrigerant compression space 51 is defined by the piston 90 and the front and rear heads 60 and 62.
The body 50 is formed so as to be opened at the front and rear surfaces, the front surface of the body 50 is disposed to be covered by the front head 60, and the rear surface of the body 50 is disposed to be covered by the rear head 62.
Discharge chambers 63 and 64 for discharging the refrigerant compressed in the refrigerant compression space 51 are formed on the front head 60 and the rear head 62, respectively. The discharge chambers 63 and 64 are formed so as to communicate with the manifold portion 55, and therefore the refrigerant discharged to the discharge chambers 63 and 64 is discharged to the outside through the discharge port 54 of the manifold portion 55.
A front discharge valve sheet 65 for controlling discharge of the refrigerant compressed in the refrigerant compression space 51 is disposed between the front surface of the body 50 and the front head 60. A front discharge valve 66 is provided on the front discharge valve sheet 65.
A rear discharge valve sheet 67 is disposed between the rear surface of the body 50 and the rear head 62. A rear discharge valve 68 is provided on the rear discharge valve sheet 67.
The front discharge valve 66 and the rear discharge valve 68 may be configured so as to be opened in a direction in which the refrigerant is discharged by a discharge pressure of the refrigerant.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, because the refrigerant introduced into the body 50 in the radial direction is configured so as to be directly introduced to the shaft 70, all of the suction chambers and suction valves of the prior art may be omitted.
Referring to
Referring to
The shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73 may be formed in plural number. The following description will be given of a case where two shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73 are formed at positions spaced apart at a predetermined angle along the circumferential surface of the shaft 70.
Further, the rear end portion of the shaft 70 is opened, and therefore has an additional inlet hole 74 through which the refrigerant not introduced to the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73, among the refrigerant in the body 50, can be introduced into the shaft 70.
A guide groove portion 69 for guiding the refrigerant in the body 50 to the additional inlet hole 74 may be formed on the rear head 62.
Further, shaft refrigerant outlet holes 75, 76, and 77 for discharging the refrigerant introduced to the inside and flowing in an axial direction to the refrigerant compression space 51 are formed on the circumferential surface of the shaft 70.
The shaft refrigerant outlet holes 75, 76, and 77 may be formed in plural number. The following description will be given of a case where the shaft refrigerant outlet holes 75, 76, and 77 are disposed at front and rear sides with respect to the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73.
In addition, the shaft refrigerant outlet holes 75, 76, and 77 may be formed in plural number at positions spaced apart at a predetermined angle along the circumferential direction at the front and rear sides of the shaft 70. The shaft refrigerant outlet holes 75, 76, and 77 may be formed in a slot shape.
Meanwhile, a second boss portion 57 to which the shaft 70 is axially coupled is formed at a central portion of the body 50, and body refrigerant outlet holes 58 and 59 communicating with the shaft refrigerant outlet holes 75, 76, and 77 are formed in the boss portion 57. The body refrigerant outlet holes 58 and 59 may be respectively inclined at a predetermined angle toward the ends, i.e, forward and backward, of the body 50.
The swash plate 80 is disposed at an inclination so as to receive rotational force of the shaft 70 and reciprocate the piston 90.
The swash plate 80 comprises a first boss portion 81 axially coupled to the shaft 70 and a disc portion 82 formed in a circumferential direction of the first boss portion 81 and disposed at an inclination inside the body 50.
The swash plate 80 has a swash plate refrigerant inlet hole 83 communicating with the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73. The swash plate refrigerant inlet hole 83 is formed in the first boss portion 81, and communicates with the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73.
Since the swash plate refrigerant inlet hole 83, along with the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73, is disposed on a straight line, flow path resistance can be minimized.
The flow of a refrigerant in the thus-constructed compressor of the vehicle's cooling system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be discussed below.
First, a refrigerant from the outside is introduced to the manifold portion 55 via the body refrigerant inlet hole 56 in a radial direction.
The refrigerant introduced into the body 50 sequentially passes through the swash plate refrigerant inlet hole 83 and the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73, and enters into the shaft 70.
That is, a suction path of refrigerant is configured such that a refrigerant sequentially passes through the body refrigerant inlet hole 56, the swash plate refrigerant inlet hole 83, and the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73 and then enters into the shaft 70.
Such a suction path of refrigerant is formed in a radial direction perpendicular to an axial direction and is nearly a straight line, and hence suction path resistance can be minimized.
Further, since no suction chambers or suction valves are required, the cost can be reduced.
Moreover, the refrigerant not passed through the shaft refrigerant inlet holes 72 and 73, among the refrigerant introduced to the body 50, may be introduced into the shaft 70 via the guide groove portion 69 of the rear head 62 and the additional inlet hole 74 of the shaft 70.
Meanwhile, the refrigerant introduced into the shaft 70 flows forward and backward of the shaft 70. The refrigerant flowing forward and backward of the shaft 70 sequentially passes through the shaft refrigerant outlet holes 75, 76, and 77 and the body refrigerant outlet holes 58 and 59, and then is released to the refrigerant compression space 51 of the body 50.
The refrigerant released to the refrigerant compression space 51 from the inside of the shaft 70 is compressed by the reciprocation of the piston 90.
The refrigerant compressed in the refrigerant compression space 51 passes through the discharge valves 66 and 68 and the discharge chambers 63 and 64, and then is discharged through the discharge port 54.
Accordingly, with the above-described configuration of the refrigerant flow path, suction valves and suction chambers can be omitted, and flow path resistance can be minimized, thereby improving compression efficiency and performance.
For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “front”, “rear”, “inside”, “inner”, and “outer” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures.
The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2008-0094304 | Sep 2008 | KR | national |
