Patent Grant
9784272
This application is a U.S. National Stage Patent Application under 37 U.S.C. §371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2014/074667, filed on Sep. 18, 2014, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2013-194078, filed on Sep. 19, 2013, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a scroll-type fluid machine, and in particular, relates to a rotation-inhibiting mechanism for a movable scroll.
A scroll-type fluid machine includes: a scroll unit having a fixed scroll and a movable scroll, which respectively have a spiral wrap standing on a bottom plate and which are meshed with respective wraps facing each other to form sealed spaces between both scroll wraps, where while the rotation-preventing mechanism prevents the rotation of the movable scroll, the movable scroll is orbited around the shaft center of the fixed scroll to change the volumes of the sealed spaces in order to compress or expand fluid.
As the rotation-inhibiting mechanism of such a scroll-type fluid machine, for example, there is known a rotation-inhibiting mechanism described in Patent Document 1. Specifically, multiple rotation-inhibiting parts, each composed of pins provided to protrude on the movable scroll side and the housing side, respectively, and a ring engaged with both pins, are arranged in the circumferential direction of the movable scroll. In such a structure, when the movable scroll is turned about the shaft center of the fixed scroll, the pin on the movable scroll side of each of the rotation-inhibiting parts is turned around the pin on the housing side while being restricted by the ring to inhibit the rotation of the movable scroll.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2008-208715
In the meantime, for example, in a scroll-type compressor, a rotational moment is generated in the movable scroll by a compression reaction force caused by compression, and a load of this rotational moment acts on the rotation-inhibiting parts. When the load concentrates on one rotation-inhibiting part, there arises a problem that the pins are damaged or the like. Therefore, in the rotation-inhibiting mechanism described in Patent Document 1, such an arrangement structure of multiple rotation-inhibiting parts that the load will not concentrate on one rotation-inhibiting part when the rotational moment is maximum is illustrated.
However, Patent Document 1 does not mention a case in which the spiral wrap center is made eccentric to the bottom plate center of the movable scroll in order to reduce the size of the scroll-type fluid machine (to reduce the body diameter of the compressor). When the spiral wrap center is made eccentric to the bottom plate center of the movable scroll, distance from the bottom plate center of the movable scroll to the center of the compression reaction force acting on the movable scroll during one turn of the movable scroll changes to vary the rotational moment generated depending on the turning position of the movable scroll even if the compression reaction force is constant. Therefore, as for a scroll-type fluid machine in which the spiral wrap center is made eccentric to the bottom plate center of the movable scroll to achieve downsizing, it is important to determine the arrangement of rotation-inhibiting parts in consideration of the variation in the rotational moment depending on the turning position of the movable scroll as well to reduce the load acting on the rotation-inhibiting parts in order to improve the durability of the rotation-inhibiting mechanism.
The present invention has been made by focusing attention on the above problems, and it is an object thereof to provide a scroll-type fluid machine capable of downsizing the scroll-type fluid machine and improving the durability of a rotation-inhibiting mechanism.
A scroll-type fluid machine of the present invention includes: a scroll unit including a fixed scroll and a movable scroll, which respectively have a spiral wrap standing on a bottom plate with a spiral center of the wrap eccentric to a center of the bottom plate and which are meshed with respective wraps facing each other to form sealed spaces; and a rotation-inhibiting mechanism in which at least three or more rotation-inhibiting parts are arranged in the circumferential direction of the movable scroll, each rotation-inhibiting part being composed of a circular hole formed in either one of a back face of the bottom plate of the movable scroll and a housing wall facing the back face, and a pin protruding on the other in a form of being engaged with the circular hole, where while the rotation-inhibiting mechanism inhibit the rotation of the movable scroll, the movable scroll is orbited around a shaft center of the fixed scroll to change the volumes of the sealed spaces, wherein in the rotation-inhibiting mechanism, at least one of the rotation-inhibiting parts is arranged to locate the center of the circular hole on a straight line extending perpendicularly to a straight line connecting the bottom plate center of the movable scroll and the spiral center of the wrap and passing through the bottom plate center.
According to the scroll-type fluid machine of the present invention, at least one of three or more pin-and-hole type rotation-inhibiting parts is arranged to locate the center of the circular hole on the straight line extending perpendicularly to the straight line connecting the bottom plate center of the movable scroll and the spiral center of the wrap and passing through the bottom plate center. In the scroll-type fluid machine in which the bottom plate center of the movable scroll and the wrap spiral center are made eccentric to each other, distance from the bottom plate center of the movable scroll to the rotation-inhibiting part becomes longest when distance from the bottom plate center to the center of a compression reaction force during one turn of the movable scroll is maximum. Therefore, the load of a rotational moment generated by the movable scroll and acting on the pin of the rotation-inhibiting part can be reduced, and hence the durability of the rotation-inhibiting mechanism can be improved while downsizing the scroll-type fluid machine.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. Although a scroll-type fluid machine according to the present invention can be used as a compressor or an expander, an example of the compressor is described here.
A scroll-type compressor 1 includes a scroll unit 4 having a fixed scroll 2 and a movable scroll 3 arranged to face each other in the center axis direction. As illustrated in
Both scrolls 2 and 3 are so arranged that both wraps 2b and 3b are meshed to bring a protruding-side edge of the wrap 2b of the fixed scroll 2 into contact with the bottom plate 3a of the movable scroll 3 and a protruding-side edge of the wrap 3b of the movable scroll 3 into contact with the bottom plate 2a of the fixed scroll 2. Note that a chip seal is provided on the protruding-side edge of each of both wraps 2b and 3b.
Further, both scrolls 2 and 3 are so arranged that side walls of both wraps 2b and 3b come into partial contact with each other in a state in which the angles of both wraps 2b and 3b in the circumferential direction are deviated from each other. Thus, fluid pockets 5 as crescent-shaped sealed spaces are formed between both wraps 2b and 3b.
The movable scroll 3 is assembled in such a manner to make the bottom plate center 3c (shaft center) eccentric to the bottom plate center 2c (shaft center) of the fixed scroll 2. The movable scroll 3 is orbited by a drive mechanism around the bottom plate center 2c of the fixed scroll 2 with a turning radius AOR defined by contact between both wraps 2b and 3b while inhibiting the rotation thereof by a rotation-inhibiting mechanism 30 to be described later. This causes the fluid pockets 5 formed between both wraps 2b and 3b to move from the outer end portions of the wraps 2b and 3b toward the center portions while contacting between both wraps 2b and 3b so that the volumes of the fluid pockets 5 are changed in a direction to reduce the volumes. Therefore, fluid (e.g. refrigerant gas) taken from the outer end side of the wraps 2b and 3b into the fluid pockets 5 is compressed.
In the case of an expander, the fluid pockets 5 are moved reversely from the central portions toward the outer end portions of the wraps 2b and 3b to change the volumes of the fluid pockets 5 in a direction to increase the volumes so that the fluid taken from the center side of the wraps 2b and 3b into the fluid pockets 5 are expanded.
A housing of the scroll-type compressor 1 is composed of a center housing 6 containing the scroll unit 4, a front housing 7 arranged on the front side of the center housing 6, and a rear housing 8 arranged on the rear side of the center housing 6.
In the embodiment, the center housing 6 is formed integrally with the fixed scroll 2 as a housing part (outer shell) of the scroll unit 4. Note that the fixed scroll 2 and the center housing 6 may be constructed as separate embers in such a manner to house and fix the fixed scroll 2 in and to the center housing 6. The rear side of the center housing 6 is closed by the bottom plate 2a, and the front side thereof is open.
The front housing 7 is fastened by bolts (not illustrated) to the opening side of the center housing 6. The front housing 7 supports the movable scroll 3 in the thrust direction and houses a drive mechanism of the movable scroll 3.
In the front housing 7, a suction chamber 9 for the fluid mentioned above, which is connected to a suction port (not illustrated) formed in the outer wall of the front housing 7, is internally formed.
In the front housing 7 and the center housing 6, a bulged part 10 is partially formed in the circumferential direction. Inside the bulged part 10, a fluid passage space 11 is formed to extend in a direction parallel to the central shaft of the compressor. The fluid passage space 11 guides the above-mentioned fluid from the suction chamber 9 on the side of the front housing 7 to the vicinity of the outer ends of both wraps 2b and 3b of the scroll unit 4 on the side of the center housing 6.
The rear housing 8 is fastened by bolts 12 to the center housing 6 on the side of the bottom plate 2a to form a discharge chamber 13 for the above-mentioned fluid between the rear housing 8 and the back face of the bottom plate 2a. In a central portion of the bottom plate 2a of the fixed scroll 2, a discharge hole 14 for compressed fluid is formed, and a one-way valve 15 is attached to the discharge hole 14. The discharge hole 14 is connected to the discharge chamber 13 through the one-way valve 15. The discharge chamber 13 is connected to a discharge port (not illustrated) formed in the outer wall of the rear housing 8.
The above-mentioned fluid is introduced from the suction port into the suction chamber 9 in the front housing 7, taken from the outer end side of the scroll unit 4 into the fluid pockets 5 formed by contact between the wraps 2b and 3b via the fluid passage space 11 inside the bulged part 10 of the front housing 7 and the center housing 6, and subjected to compression. The compressed fluid is discharged from the discharge hole 14 bored in the central portion of the bottom plate 2a of the fixed scroll 2 to the discharge chamber 13 inside the rear housing 8, and guided therefrom and output to the outside through the discharge port.
The front housing 7 has a thrust receiving part 17 inside an outer circumferential part fastened by bolts (not illustrated) to the opening side of the center housing 6 to face the back face of the bottom plate 3a of the movable scroll 3 in order to receive a thrust force from the movable scroll 3 through a thrust plate 16.
Further, the front housing 7 rotatably supports, in a central portion, a drive shaft 20 as the core of the drive mechanism of the movable scroll 3. One end side of the drive shaft 20 protrudes outside the front housing 7, and a pulley 22 is attached there through an electromagnetic clutch 21. Thus, the drive shaft 20 is driven to rotate by a rotation driving force input from the pulley 22 through the electromagnetic clutch 21. The other end side of the drive shaft 20 is coupled to the movable scroll 3 through a crank mechanism.
In the embodiment, the crank mechanism includes a cylindrical boss part 23 formed to protrude from the back face of the bottom plate 3a of the movable scroll 3, and an eccentric bush 25 attached eccentrically to a crank 24 provided at an end of the drive shaft 20, where the eccentric bush 25 is fitted in the boss part 23 through a shaft bearing 26. Note that a balancer weight 27 is attached to the eccentric bush 25 to counterbalance a centrifugal force during the operation of the movable scroll 3.
As illustrated in
The operation of the scroll-type compressor 1 having such a structure is described in brief.
When the pulley 22 is rotated by a rotation driving force from the outside, the drive shaft 20 rotates through the electromagnetic clutch 21 to cause the movable scroll 3 to orbit around the shaft center of the fixed scroll 2 through the crank mechanism while inhibiting the rotation by the rotation-inhibiting mechanism 30. By the orbiting motion of the movable scroll 3, fluid (refrigerant gas) is taken from the suction port into the fluid pockets 5 between the wraps 2b and 3b of the scroll unit 4 via the suction chamber 9 and the fluid passage space 11, and fluid compressed by a change in reduction of the volumes of the fluid pockets 5 is discharged from the discharge hole 14 in the central portion of the fixed scroll 2 to the discharge chamber 13. The fluid discharged to the discharge chamber 13 is guided and output to the outside through the discharge port.
Next, the rotation-inhibiting mechanism 30 of the embodiment is described in detail.
As mentioned above, in the scroll-type fluid machine 1 of the embodiment, the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 and the movable spiral center 3d of the wrap 3b are made eccentric to each other. In this case, as illustrated in
The distance between a rotation-inhibiting part, which receives a load caused by the rotational moment generated in the movable scroll 3, and the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 also varies during one turn of the movable scroll 3. In the rotation-inhibiting mechanism 30 of the embodiment, even when the bottom plate centers 2c and 3c of both scrolls 2 and 3 are misaligned in the manufacturing and assembling of the fixed scroll 2 and the movable scroll 3, an allowable turning radius POR of the movable scroll 3 defined by a gap between the circular hole 31 and the pin 32 of each rotation-inhibiting part 33 of the rotation-inhibiting mechanism 30 is set larger than the turning radius AOR defined by contact between the wrap 2b of the fixed scroll 2 and the wrap 3b of the movable scroll 3 (AOR<POR) to ensure the contact between the wrap 2b of the fixed scroll 2 and the wrap 3b of the movable scroll 3.
Thus, when the turning radius AOR defined by contact between the wrap 2b and the wrap 3b, and the allowable turning radius POR of the movable scroll 3 defined by the gap between the circular hole 31 and the pin 32 of the rotation-inhibiting part 33 bear the relationship AOR<POR, even if multiple rotation-inhibiting part 33 (five in the figure) are arranged, one rotation-inhibiting part 33 takes charge of a rotation-inhibiting force (equivalent to the load of the rotational moment acting on the pin 32) to inhibit the rotation of the movable scroll 3 as illustrated in
The scroll-type fluid machine 1 of the embodiment determines the placement of each of the rotation-inhibiting parts 33 in the circumferential direction of the movable scroll in consideration of the above-mentioned variation in the rotational moment and variation in the distance from the bottom plate center 3c (rotation center) of the movable scroll 3 to the point of application of the rotational moment during one turn of the movable scroll 3 so that the distance from the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 to the rotation-inhibiting part 33 becomes longest at a position of the movable scroll where the distance between the center of the compression reaction force and the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 is maximum during one turn of the movable scroll 3. Specifically, at least one of the rotation-inhibiting parts 33 is placed on a straight line extending perpendicularly to a straight line connecting the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 and the movable spiral center 3d (the spiral center of the wrap 3b) and passing through the bottom plate center.
A specific procedure for arranging the rotation-inhibiting parts 33 of the embodiment is described with reference to
First, as illustrated in
Next, the above straight line A is rotated on the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 by 90° in a direction opposite to the wrapping direction of the wrap 3b, and a point at which the rotated straight line A intersects the rotation-inhibiting pitch circle p having the bottom plate center 3c as its center and the length from this bottom plate center 3c to the center of the circular hole 31 as its radius is set as the center position of the first rotation-inhibiting part 33.
Next, the center positions of the other rotation-inhibiting parts 33 are placed on the rotation-inhibiting pitch circle p at even intervals based on the center point B of the rotation-inhibiting part 33 determined in
According to such a scroll-type fluid machine 1 of the embodiment, the load of the rotational moment generated by the movable scroll 3 and acting on the rotation-inhibiting part 33 when the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 and the spiral center 3d of the wrap 3b are made eccentric to each other can be reduced, and hence the durability of the rotation-inhibiting mechanism 30 can be improved while reducing the size of the scroll-type fluid machine 1.
When the turning radius of the movable scroll 3 having the shaft center of the fixed scroll 2 as its center is denoted by R0, the posture of the movable scroll 3 is stabilized and the movable scroll 3 starts turning smoothly by setting the eccentricity of the bottom plate center 3c of the movable scroll 3 and the spiral center 3d of the wrap 3b to ⅓ or of the turning radius R0 from
In the rotation-inhibiting mechanism 30 of the embodiment, the circular hole 31 is formed on the side of the movable scroll 3 and the pin 32 is protruding on the side of the front housing 7, but the structure may also be such that the circular hole 31 is formed on the side of the front housing 73 and the pin 32 protruding on the side of the movable scroll 3. In this case, however, since the protruding length of the pin 32 is restricted by the thickness of the bottom plate 3a of the movable scroll 3, there is a need to make the bottom plate 3a of the movable scroll 3 thick enough to avoid the risk of causing the pin 32 to fall out, and this leads to an increase in the weight of the scroll unit 4. Therefore, such a structure in which the circular hole 31 is formed on the side of the movable scroll 3 and the pin 32 is protruding on the side of the front housing 7 is preferred like in the embodiment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-194078 | Sep 2013 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2014/074667 | 9/18/2014 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2015/041284 | 3/26/2015 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20020182094 | Mori et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20070178002 | Hiwata | Aug 2007 | A1 |
| 20070253853 | Takeuchi et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20100202911 | Ni | Aug 2010 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2002-357188 | Dec 2002 | JP |
| 2008-208715 | Sep 2008 | JP |
| 4745882 | Aug 2011 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160230759 A1 | Aug 2016 | US |
