Patent Application
20080019844
Practical and presently preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrative as shown in the following Examples and Comparative Examples.
However, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, on consideration of this disclosure, may make modifications and improvements within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The present invention employs a compressor structure in which refrigerant supplied to a swash plate chamber can be directly inhaled into cylinder bores through an internal portion of a hollow drive shaft.
According to the compressor structure, a passage is formed in the drive shaft, and the refrigerant supplied to the swash plate chamber is directly inhaled into the cylinder bores through the passage when the drive shaft is rotated. Thus, the refrigerant is uniformly distributed to each cylinder bore positioned at both sides of the swash plate chamber, and the amount of refrigerant flowed to the driving parts such as the swash plate in the swash plate chamber and the drive shaft is increased, thereby improving the lubricating performance due to oil.
By employing such compressor structure, the present invention is to minimize inhaling resistance of the refrigerant and also improve the lubricating performance at the thrust bearing which supports the swash plate.
As shown in the drawings, the compressor 100 of the present invention includes a drive shaft 150 to which a swash plate 160 is inclined coupled so as to be rotated in a swash plate chamber 136 in the compressor 100, front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 in which the drive shaft 150 is rotatably disposed at a shaft supporting hole 133, 143, a plurality of pistons 170 which are respectively coupled through shoes 165 to a circumference of the swash plate 160 and receiprocated in the cylinder bores 131 and 141 formed at both sides of the swash plate chamber 136 of the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 according to rotation of the swash plate 160, front and rear housings 110 and 120 which are coupled to both sides of the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 so as to have a discharge chamber 111, 121 therein, and a valve unit 190 which is disposed between the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 and the front and rear housings 110 and 120.
A plurality of bolt holes 113 and 123 are formed at inner edges of the front and rear housings 110 and 120. Through the bolt holes 113 and 123, the front and rear housings 110 and 120 are coupled to each other by bolts 200 in the status that a plurality parts are assembled therein. Of course, at the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 and the valve unit 190, there are also formed bolt holes 138, 148 and 194 through which the bolts 200 are passed.
Both ends of the drive shaft 150 are rotatably inserted into the shaft supporting holes 133 and 143 of the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140. Herein, one of the ends is extended so as to pass thorugh a center portion of the front housing 110 and then connected with an electromagnetic clutch (not shown).
Meanwhile, during operation of the compressor 100, the swash plate 160 is rotated in an inclied state so as to move the pistons 170 to front and rear sides. Thus, since the swash plate 160 is joggled in the right and left direction, it is apprehended that the swash plate 160 or the drive shaft 150 is deformed. In order to prevent the problem, a thrust bear 180 is interposed between both ends of the swash plate 160 and the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140. As shown in
The swash plate 160 which is rotated in the swash plate chamber 136 is inclinedly coupled with the drive shaft. In the drive shaft 150, there is formed a passage 151 through which the swash plate 136 and the cylinder bore 131, 141 are commnunicated with each other so that the refrigerant inhaled in the swash plate chamber 136 from an outside through an inlet port 146 can be flowed through the swash plate 160 to the cylinder bore 131, 141.
The passage 151 is formed with an inlet hole 152 as a refrigerant inhaling port for inhaling the refrigerant and an outlet hole 153 for discharging the refrigerant, and the inlet hole 152 and the outlet hole 153 are spaced apart from each other. The inlet hole 152 is communicated with the swash plate chamber 136, and the outlet hole 153 is communicated with each communication passage 132, 142 of the front and rear cylinder block 130, 140.
Herein, the inlet hole 152 of the passage 151 is formed to perpendiculary penetrate a side of the drive shaft 150. Only one inlet hole 152 of the passage 151 may be formed at the drive shaft 150, or two inlet holes 152 may be formed at both sides of the drive shaft 150 in the opposite direction to each other.
The outlet hole 153 of the passage 151 is formed at both sides of the drive shaft 150 in the opposite direction so as to be spaced apart from the inlet hole 152. Therefore, when the drive shaft 150 is roated, the refrigerant can be simultaneously inhaled into each cylinder bore 131, 141 formed at both sides of the swash plate chamber 136.
That is, since the swash plate 160 is disposed to be inclined to one side, some of the plurality of pistons 170, which are disposed in the opposite direction to each other, perform the same intake or compression stroke. Therefore, the both outlet holes 153 of the passage 151 should be formed in the opposite direction to each other, and thus the refrigerant can be inhaled at the same time into the cylinder bores 131 and 141 formed both side of swash plate chamber 136.
Of course, a direction of each outlet holes 153 of the passage 151, which is formed at the drive shaft 150, may be changed according to a design intention like the number of pistons 170.
Meanwhile, the swash plate 160 is formed with a sub-inlet hole 154 of which one end is contacted with the thrust bearing 180 and the other is communicated with the inlet hole 152 of the passage 151.
As shown in
As described above, since the inlet hole 152 and the sub-inlet hole 154 are formed at the swash plate 160 so as to be communicated with each other, the refrigerant introduced in the swash plate chamber 136 can be simultaneously inhaled in the passage 151 of the drive shaft 150 through the inlet hole 152 and the sub-inlet hole 154. Therefore, since it is possible to secure the sufficient refrigerant inhaling passage without any limitation in increasing a size thereof like in the conventional compressor, an amount of refrigerant inhaled per unit time is increased, thereby minimizing the refrigerant inhaling resistance in the passage 151 of the drive shaft 150. Further, because one end of the sub-inlet hole 154 is exposed to the side of thrust bearing 180, when the refrigerant introduced in the swash plate chamber 136 is passed, in turn, through the thrust bearing 180, the sub-inlet hole 154 and the inlet hole 152 together with oil contained in the refrigerant and then inhaled into the passage 151 of the drive shaft 150, a contact surface between the roller 183 and the race 181, 182 is lubricated by the oil so as to reduce the friction force therebetween, thereby increasing durability of the thrust bearing 180 and extending a life span thereof. Thus, the performance of the compressor is remarkably improved.
The front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 has the plurality of cylinder bores 131 and 141 at both sides of the swash plate chamber 136 and the shaft supporting holes 133 and 143 at the center portion thereof to support the drive shaft 50.
Further, the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 is formed with the communication passage 132, 142 which communicates the shaft supporting holes 133 and 143 and the cylinder bores 131 and 141 so that the refrigerant inhaled from the swash plate chamber 136 to the passage 151 of the drive shaft 150 can be inhaled into each cylinder bore, in turn, when the drive shaft 150 is rotated.
Furthermore, at an outer surface of one of the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140, there are formed the inlet port 146 which is communicated with the swash plate chamber 136 so that the refrigerant can be supplied to the swash plate chamber 136, and the outlet port 147 which is communicated with the discharge chamber 111, 121 so that the refrigerant in the discharge chamber 111, 121 can be discharged to the outside.
The front and rear cylinder block 130, 140 is formed with a discharge path 134, 144 which communicates the front and rear housings 110 and 120 and the discharge chamber 111, 121. At the outer surface of the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140, there is formed a muffler 135, 145 which is formed by expanding the discharge path 134, 144 so as to reduce the pulsating pressure of the discharged refrigerant and thus reduce the noise.
The valve unit 190 is provided with a valve plate 191 having a pluratlity of refrigerant discharging holes 191a through which each cylinder bore 131, 141 is communicated with the discharge chamber 111, 121 of the front and rear housings 110 and 120, and a discharging lead valve 192 which is disposed at a side of the valve plate 191 so as to open and close the refrigerant discharging hole 191a.
In other words, the discharging lead valve 192 is provided with a valve plate 192a which is disposed so as to be directed toward the discharge chamber 111, 121 of the front and rear housings 110 and 120 on the basis of the valve plate 191, and which is elastically deformed so as to open the refrigerant discharging hole 191a upon the compression stroke of the piston 170 and close the refrigerant discharging hole 191a upon the intake stroke.
Moreover, the valve plate 191 is formed with a communication path 191b which communicates the discharge chamber 111, 121 and the discharge path 134, 144 so that the refrigerant in the discharge chamber 111, 121 can be discharged to the outlet port 147 through the discharge path 134, 144 of the front and rear cylinder block 130, 140.
Meanwhile, a fixing pin 193 formed at both surfaces of the valve plate 191 is inserted into the fixing hole 112, 122 formed in opposed surfaces of the front and rear housings 110 and 120 and the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140. And thus the valve unit 190 can be fixedly positioned.
As described above, in the compressor 100 according to the present invention, if drive shaft 150 which is selectively driven by the electromagnetic clutch (not shown) is rotated, the swash plate 160 is rotated. At this time, the plurality of pistons 170 are reciprocated in the cylinder bores 131 and 141 of the front and rear cylinder block 130 and 140 according to the rotation of the swash plate 160, and thus the inhaling and compressing of the refrigerant are performed repeatedly.
That is, upon the intake stroke of the piston 170, the refrigerant is supplied from the outside to the swash plate chamber 136 through the inlet port 146 and then direcetly inhaled into the cylinder bores 131 and 141 through the sub-inlet hole 154 and the inlet hole 152 of the passage 151 of the drive shaft 150.
And upon the comprssion stroke of the piston 170, the refrigerant inhaled into the cylinder bores 131 and 141 is compressed by the piston 170, and discharged to the discharge chamber 111, 121 of the front and rear housing 110, 112 and then discharged to the outlet port 147 through the discharge path 134, 144 of the front and rear cylinder blocks 130 and 140 and the muffler 135, 145.
In the present invention as described above, since the sub-inlet hole is employed to the suction rotary valve type fixed capacitance swash plate compressor in which a drive shaft is integrally formed and the passage 151 is formed in the hollow drive shaft 150 so that the refrigerant inhaled in the swash plate chamber 136 is flowed to the cylinder bores 131 and 141 through the passage 151, it is possible to minimize the inhaling resistance of the refrigerant and lubricate the thrust bearing 180 sufficiently. Also, the present invention can be applied to various types of the compressor with the same method and structure and also obtain the same effect.
According to the present invention, since the sub-inlet hole of which one end is contacted with the thrust bearing and the other is communicated with the inlet hole is further provided at a side of the hub of the swash plate, it is possible to minimize the inhaling resistance of the refrigerant and lubricate the thrust bearing sufficiently, thereby remarkably increasing the performance of the compressor.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conceptions and specific embodiments disclosed in the foregoing description may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other embodiments for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that such equivalent embodiments do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2006-0068836 | Jul 2006 | KR | national |
