Patent Grant
10087918
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compressor for compressing a gas.
Description of the Related Art
A reciprocation type multistage compressor has been conventionally known. For example, JP2014-020284 A discloses a compressor, which comprises a low-stage side compression part and a high-stage side compression part for further compressing a gas compressed in the low-stage side compression part. The low-stage side compression part comprises a first cylinder having a first compression chamber and a first piston for compressing a gas in the first compression chamber. The high-stage side compression part comprises a second cylinder having a second compression chamber, a second piston for compressing a gas in the second compression chamber, and a plurality of piston rings fixed to the second piston.
In a reciprocation type multistage compressor, having a plurality of compression chambers formed in a cylinder, there is a difficulty in processing if a cylinder is to be formed from a single member. To circumvent this, it is considered to form a cylinder from a plurality of divided bodies.
In order to form a cylinder from a plurality of divided bodies, however, a cylinder is assembled in consideration of variation of inner and outer diameters of the each divided body, making it difficult to minimize the width of a very small gap (hereinafter referred to as “minute gap”) formed between an outer peripheral surface of a piston and an inner peripheral surface of a cylinder at a front end side of the cylinder after assembling. It will be more difficult to minimize the width of the minute gap if a piston is also formed from a plurality of divided bodies.
On the other hand, a compression chamber, in which a high-pressure gas is introduced (hereinafter referred to as “high-pressure compression chamber”), is more likely to leak a gas as compared to a compression chamber, in which a low-pressure gas is introduced. The high-pressure compression chamber, therefore, is required to minimize the width of the minute gap mentioned above as much as possible.
The present invention was made in view of the problems described above, and it is an object thereof to minimize the width of a minute gap between a cylinder component and a pressing part.
As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides a compressor comprising a crankshaft, a first compression part for compressing a gas, and a second compression part for further compressing the gas discharged from the first compression part, wherein:
the first compression part comprises a first reciprocating motion conversion part connected to the crankshaft, linearly reciprocating with a rotation of the crankshaft, a first pressing part connected to the first reciprocating motion conversion part, capable of compressing a gas, and a first cylinder body for storing the first pressing part, the first cylinder body comprising a plurality of cylinder components mutually fitted together in a state of being arranged along a moving direction of the first pressing part, a plurality of compression chambers being arranged corresponding to the plurality of cylinder components, allowing a gas compression by the first pressing part; and
the second compression part comprises a second reciprocating motion conversion part connected to the crankshaft, linearly reciprocating with a rotation of the crankshaft, a second pressing part connected to the second reciprocating motion conversion part, capable of compressing a gas, and a second cylinder body for storing the second pressing part, the second cylinder body comprising a plurality of cylinder components mutually fitted together in a state of being arranged along a moving direction of the second pressing part, a plurality of compression chambers being arranged corresponding to the plurality of cylinder components, allowing a gas compression by the second pressing part, wherein the number of the cylinder components of the second cylinder body is smaller than that of the cylinder components of the first cylinder body.
According to the present invention, a compressor can be configured to be advantageous by minimizing the width of a minute gap between a cylinder component and a pressing part in a compression chamber, in which a higher pressure gas is introduced.
In this configuration, it is preferred that the first compression part further comprises a plurality of first ring member groups disposed between inner peripheral surfaces of the plurality of cylinder components and the first pressing part and the second compression part further comprises a plurality of second ring member groups disposed between inner peripheral surfaces of the plurality of cylinder components and the second pressing part.
Having such a configuration can suppress the leakage of a gas out of the each compression chamber.
Further, in this configuration, it is preferred that a stroke of the second pressing part is set to be smaller than that of the first pressing part.
In this embodiment, the wear of the second ring member groups is reduced by setting the stroke of the second pressing part to be smaller than that of the first pressing part, whereby the leakage of a gas out of the second ring member groups, which are exposed to a gas at a higher pressure than the first ring member groups, can be further reduced.
Further, in the present invention, it is preferred that the plurality of the first ring member groups are fitted in a plurality of annular groove parts formed on outer peripheral surfaces of the first pressing part and the plurality of the second ring member groups are fitted in a plurality of annular groove parts formed on outer peripheral surfaces of the second pressing part.
Having such a configuration can reduce the wear of the ring member groups as compared to a case where the ring member groups are attached to cylinder component sides.
Further, in the present invention, the number of the plurality of compression chambers of the second compression part is preferably two.
Having such a configuration can more reliably minimize the width of the minute gap mentioned above in the second compression part for compressing a high-pressure gas.
Further, in the present invention, it is preferred that the plurality of cylinder components of the first cylinder body and the plurality of cylinder components of the second cylinder body are arranged in parallel toward the same direction with reference to the crankshaft.
Having such a configuration can shorten a pipe connecting a compression chamber having the highest pressure among the plurality of compression chambers of the first compression part and a compression chamber having the lowest pressure among the plurality of compression chambers of the second compression part.
Further, in the present invention, it is preferred that the first pressing part comprises a plurality of pistons mutually fitted together, being arranged corresponding to the plurality of cylinder components of the first cylinder body and the second pressing part comprises a plurality of pistons mutually fitted together, being arranged corresponding to the plurality of cylinder components of the second cylinder body, wherein the number of the pistons of the second pressing part is smaller than that of the pistons of the first pressing part.
In this configuration, the pressing part is formed from the plurality of pistons, thereby making it easy to produce the pressing part. Further, the compressor can be configured to be advantageous by minimizing the width of the minute gap between the cylinder component and the piston in the compression chamber, in which a higher pressure gas is introduced.
As described above, according to the present invention, the width of a minute gap between a cylinder component and a pressing part can be minimized.
Hereinafter, a compressor 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
As shown in
The crankshaft 10 is held by the crankcase 20 so as to be rotatable around a specific rotation center axis JO. In the present embodiment, the crankcase 20 holds the crankshaft 10 and also includes an upward opened box-shaped body 22 and a lid part 24 of a shape of blocking the opening of the body 22, shown in
A pulley 30 is connected at one end of the crankshaft 10 outside of the crankcase 20. The pulley 30 is connected to a motor as a driving source (not illustrated) via a transmitting member such as a belt.
The first compression part 100 comprises a first reciprocating motion conversion part 110, a first cylinder body 120, a first pressing part 130 (See
The first reciprocating motion conversion part 110 comprises a first connecting rod 112, a first crosshead 114, and a first piston rod 116.
The first connecting rod 112 comprises a first annular part 113 connected to the crankshaft 10 while being allowed to rotate relatively therewith. The first connecting rod 112 is connected to the crankshaft 10 in a state that a center of the first annular part 113 is eccentric from the rotation center axis JO of the crankshaft 10.
The first crosshead 114 is connected at one end of the first connecting rod 112 on the opposite side where the first annular part 113 is disposed. The first crosshead 114 is formed into a shape of being guided by the crankcase 20 so as to move linearly in a direction orthogonal to the rotation center axis JO of the crankshaft 10 (a vertical direction in
The first piston rod 116 is a cylindrical member and connected to the first crosshead 114. Thus, the first piston rod 116 also performs linear reciprocating motion with the rotation of the crankshaft 10. The first piston rod 116 is extended through the lid part 24 of the crankcase 20 and an upper end part of the first piston rod 116 is positioned above the crankcase 20.
As shown in
The first cylinder component 121 is a cylindrical member and includes an inner peripheral surface 121a having a circular cross-section in a direction orthogonal to a center axis J1 of the first compression part 100. As shown in
As shown in
The third cylinder component 123 is a cylindrical member and includes an inner peripheral surface 123a having a circular cross-section in a direction orthogonal to the center axis J1. The third cylinder component 123 is provided with a cylindrical projecting part 123b projecting downward. The projecting part 123b is inserted in an upper part of the second cylinder component 122. The projecting part 123b is abutted with the inner peripheral surface 122a of the second cylinder component 122 in a direction orthogonal to the center axis J1. The third cylinder component 123 is fixed to the second cylinder component 122 using a fastener 126 such as a bolt.
As shown above, the first compression part 100 has such a structure that a cylinder component on an upper side is inserted in a cylinder component on a lower side, thus an inner diameter of the second cylinder component 122 is smaller than that of the first cylinder component 121 and an inner diameter of the third cylinder component 123 is smaller than that of the second cylinder component 122.
The first pressing part 130 comprises a first piston 131, a second piston 132, and a third piston 133. The first to third pistons 131 to 133 are mutually fitted together in a state of being arranged in the order toward an upper side in a gravity direction. The first to third pistons 131 to 133 are arranged corresponding to the first to third cylinder components 121 to 123. The first piston 131 is disposed inside the first cylinder component 121. The second piston 132 is disposed inside the second cylinder component 122. The third piston 133 is disposed inside the third cylinder component 123.
The first piston 131 includes an outer peripheral surface 131a, which is a cylindrical surface. The first piston 131 is connected to an upper end part of the first piston rod 116. A concave part 131b is formed at an upper end part of the first piston 131, i.e., at a front end part of the first piston 131.
As shown in
The second piston 132 includes an outer peripheral surface 132a, which is a cylindrical surface. A diameter of the outer peripheral surface 132a is smaller than that of the cylindrical surface 131a of the first piston 131. A lower end part of the second piston 132 is inserted into the concave part 131b of the first piston 131. A concave part 132b is formed at an upper end part of the second piston 132.
A minute gap C2 is formed between the outer peripheral surface 132a of the second piston 132 and the inner peripheral surface 122a of the second cylinder component 122. As the minute gap C1, the minute gap C2 is provided with a first ring member group 140 composed of a plurality of ring members. The first ring member group 140 is fitted in a plurality of annular groove parts 5 formed on the outer peripheral surface 132a of the second piston 132. Having such a configuration can prevent a gas introduced into the second compression chamber 122S from leaking out of the minute gap C2.
The third piston 133 includes an outer peripheral surface 133a, which is a cylindrical surface. A diameter of the outer peripheral surface 133a is smaller than that of the outer peripheral surface 132a of the second piston 132. A projecting part 133b is formed at a lower part of the third piston 133. The projecting part 133b is inserted into the concave part 132b of the second piston 132. A minute gap C3 is formed between the outer peripheral surface 133a of the third piston 133 and the inner peripheral surface 123a of the third cylinder component 123. As the minute gaps C1 and C2, the minute gap C3 is provided with a first ring member group 140. The first ring member group 140 is fitted in a plurality of annular groove parts 5 formed on the outer peripheral surface 133a of the third piston 133. Installation of the first ring member group 140 can prevent a gas introduced into the third compression chamber 123S from leaking out of the minute gap C3. A connection member 127 is attached to an upper part of the third cylinder component 123.
In the compression part 100, the first cylinder body 120 is formed from the three cylinder components 121 to 123, thus the first cylinder body 120 can be accurately and easily produced as compared with a compression part in which a cylinder body is formed from a single member. Similarly, the first pressing part 130 is formed from the three pistons 131 to 133, thus the first pressing part 130 can be accurately and easily produced as compared with a compression part in which a pressing part is formed from a single member.
As shown in
The second reciprocating motion conversion part 210 has basically the same structure as the first reciprocating motion conversion part 110. That is, the second reciprocating motion conversion part 210 comprises a second connecting rod 212 having a second annular part 213 connected to the crankshaft 10, a second crosshead 214 connected to the second connecting rod 212, and a second piston rod 216 connected to the second crosshead 214.
The second connecting rod 212 is connected to the crankshaft 10 at a position separated from the first connecting rod 112 in an axial direction of the crankshaft 10. A distance D2 between a center of the second annular part 213 and the rotation center axis JO of the crankshaft 10 is set to be smaller than a distance D1 between a center of the first annular part 113 and the rotation center axis JO of the crankshaft 10. That is, a stroke of the second reciprocating motion conversion part 210 is set to be smaller than that of the first reciprocating motion conversion part 110.
As shown in
The fourth cylinder component 224 is a cylindrical member and includes an inner peripheral surface 224a having a circular cross-section in a direction orthogonal to a center axis J2 of the second compression part 200. As shown in
As shown in
The second compression part 200, like the first compression part 100, has such a structure that a cylinder component on an upper side is inserted in a cylinder component on a lower side, thus an inner diameter of the fifth cylinder component 225 is smaller than that of the fourth cylinder component 224.
The second pressing part 230 comprises a fourth piston 234 and a fifth piston 235. The fourth piston 234 and the fifth piston 235 are mutually fitted together in a state of being arranged in the order toward an upper side in a gravity direction. The fourth and fifth pistons 234 and 235 are arranged corresponding to the fourth and fifth cylinder components 224 and 225. The fourth piston 234 is disposed inside the fourth cylinder component 224. The fifth piston 235 is disposed inside the fifth cylinder component 225.
The fourth piston 234 includes an outer peripheral surface 234a, which is a cylindrical surface. A lower end part of the fourth piston 234 is connected to an upper end part of the second piston rod 216. A convex part 234b is formed at an upper end part of the fourth piston 234, i.e., at a front end part of the fourth piston 234.
A minute gap C4 is formed between the outer peripheral surface 234a of the fourth piston 234 and the inner peripheral surface 224a of the fourth cylinder component 224. The minute gap C4 is smaller than the minute gap C3 of the first compression part 100. The minute gap C4 is provided with a second ring member group 240 composed of a plurality of ring members. The second ring member group 240 is fitted in a plurality of annular groove parts 5 formed on the outer peripheral surface 234a of the fourth piston 234. Installation of the second ring member group 240 can prevent a gas introduced into the fourth compression chamber 224S from leaking out of the minute gap C4.
The fifth piston 235 includes an outer peripheral surface 235a, which is a cylindrical surface. A diameter of the outer peripheral surface 235a is smaller than that of the outer peripheral surface 234a of the fourth piston 234. A concave part 235b is formed at a lower end part of the fifth piston 235. The convex part 234b of the fourth piston 234 is inserted into the concave part 235b.
A minute gap C5 is formed between the outer peripheral surface 235a of the fifth piston 235 and the inner peripheral surface 225a of the fifth cylinder component 225. The minute gap C5 is provided with a second ring member group 240 composed of a plurality of ring members. The second ring member group 240 is fitted in a plurality of annular groove parts 5 formed on the outer peripheral surface 235a of the fifth piston 235. Installation of the second ring member group 240 can prevent a gas introduced into the fifth compression chamber 225S from leaking out of the minute gap C5. A closing member 228 is attached to an upper part of the fifth cylinder component 225.
In the second compression part 200, the second cylinder body 220 is formed from the two cylinder components 224 and 225, thus the second cylinder body 220 can be accurately and easily produced. Similarly, the second pressing part 230 is formed from the two pistons 234 and 235, thus the second pressing part 230 can be accurately and easily produced.
In the compressor 1, a plurality of the cylinder components 121, 122, and 123 of the first cylinder body 120 and a plurality of the cylinder components 224 and 225 of the second cylinder body 220 are arranged in parallel toward the same direction (upward in a gravity direction) with reference to the crankshaft 10. Having such a configuration can shorten a pipe connecting the third compression chamber 123S of the first compression part 100 and the fourth compression chamber 224S of the second compression part 200.
When the compressor 1 is driven, a gas compressed by the first piston 131 in the first compression chamber 121S shown in
As shown in
Also in the second compression part 200, when a high-pressure gas is compressed, the gas tends to leak out of the compression chambers, thus the width of the minute gaps in a direction orthogonal to the center axis J2 is reduced in the order of the minute gap C4 of the fourth compression chamber 224S and the minute gap C5 of the fifth compression chamber 225S. Further, a higher pressure gas is compressed in the second compression part 200 as compared to the first compression part 100, thus the width of the minute gaps C4 and C5 of the fourth compression chamber 224S and the fifth compression chamber 225S is set to be smaller than that of the minute gaps C1 to C3 of the first to third compression chambers 121S to 123S.
As has been explained on the compressor 1, when a cylinder body has such a structure that a plurality of cylinder components are mutually fitted together, the cylinder body is assembled in consideration of variation of inner and outer diameters of the each cylinder component, thus making it difficult to minimize the width of a minute gap at a upper part of the cylinder body after assembling. The same logic is applied to a case where a pressing part is assembled from a plurality of pistons.
To cope with this, in the compressor 1, the number of the cylinder components 224 and 225 in the second compression part 200, in which a high-pressure gas is introduced, is set to be smaller than that of the cylinder components 121 to 123 in the first compression part 100, in which a low-pressure gas is introduced. As a result, in the second compression part 200, the number of cylinder components disposed at a position lower than the fifth cylinder component 225 is reduced, whereby the minute gap C5 between the fifth cylinder component 225 and the fifth piston 235 is easily minimized. Furthermore, the width of the minute gap C5 is settled within an acceptable range set in view point of preventing gas leakage or reducing excessive force acting on the second ring member groups 240.
Similarly, the number of the pistons 234 and 235 of the second pressing part 230 is set to be smaller than that of the pistons 131 to 133 of the first pressing part 130. As a result, in the second compression part 200, the number of pistons disposed at a position lower than the fifth piston 235 is reduced, whereby the width of the minute gap C5 is easily minimized. By minimizing the width of the minute gap C5, the wear of the second ring member groups 240 is suppressed.
In this regard, if a compression part having only the fifth compression chamber is separately provided, the size of various devices of a compressor is increased and it becomes difficult to secure the installation area. In contrast, in the compressor 1, the minute gaps can be properly determined while preventing an increase in the installation area.
Also, in the compressor 1, a stroke of the second pressing part 230 is set to be smaller than that of the first pressing part 130, thus the wear of the second ring member groups 240 of the second pressing part 230 can be further suppressed.
The first ring member groups 140 are fitted to the first pressing part 130 and the second ring member groups 240 are fitted to the second pressing part 230, thus the wear of the ring member groups 140 and 240 is reduced as compared with a case where each of the ring member groups 140 and 240 is attached to an inner surface of each of the corresponding cylinder components.
The embodiment of the present invention has been explained above. It is noted that the embodiment disclosed herein is exemplary in every aspect and should be understood as non-limiting. It is intended that the scope of the present invention is defined not by the foregoing embodiment but by the scope of the claims, and any modification within the scope of the claims or equivalent in meaning to the scope of the claims is included in the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the first compression part 100 and the second compression part 200 may be arranged in a horizontal direction. Even in this configuration, the width of a minute gap between a cylinder component and a pressing part at a front end side of the second compression part 200 can be minimized by setting the number of cylinder components of the second compression part 200 to be smaller than that of cylinder components of the first compression part 100. Furthermore, the first compression part 100 and the second compression part 200 may be arranged in opposite directions with reference to the crankshaft 10.
The first compression part 100 of the above embodiment may have such a structure that a gas pressure is gradually increased as it goes from a compression chamber at a front end, i.e., the one farthest from the crankshaft 10, to a compression chamber near the crankshaft 10. The same configuration may be also applied to the second compression part 200.
Each of the first ring member groups 140 may be fitted into the inner peripheral surface 121a of the first cylinder component 121, the inner peripheral surface 122a of the second cylinder component 122, and the inner peripheral surface 123a of the third cylinder component 123. Each of the pressing parts 130 and 230 may be composed of plungers instead of pistons.
In the above embodiment, when six or more compression chambers are provided, three or more compression parts may be provided. In this case, it is preferred that a relation between a compression part having two or more cylinder components and a next compression part having two or more cylinder components for further compressing a gas discharged from the compression part is equivalent to a relation between the first compression part 100 and the second compression part 200 described above. That is, the width of a minute gap between a cylinder component and a piston of the next compression part can be minimized by setting the number of the cylinder components of the next compression part to be smaller than that of the cylinder components of the compression part.
The compressor 1 can efficiently compress hydrogen having a small molecular weight, thus easily leaking out of a compression chamber. The compressor 1 can be also used for compressing a gas other than hydrogen.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-250856 | Dec 2014 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 745298 | Sergeant et al. | Nov 1903 | A |
| 1224661 | Parker | May 1917 | A |
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| 1467489 | Nordberg | Sep 1923 | A |
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| 6688854 | Sakamoto | Feb 2004 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1406476 | Jul 1965 | FR |
| 190888 | Jan 1923 | GB |
| 2014-020284 | Feb 2014 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| Extended European Search Report dated Apr. 28, 2016 in Patent Application No. 15194978.1. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160169216 A1 | Jun 2016 | US |
