The present invention relates to a compressor lubricating oil transport system that uses configurations applied to the rotating shaft and to the rotor of the electric motor to provide oil transportation for the purpose of lubricating the bearings of said rotating shaft and for purposes of cooling the upper region of the coils of said electric motor.
As is known to those skilled in the art, hermetic compressors (usually reciprocating), provide for the use of lubricating oil to reduce friction and wear between moving components and, in particular, moving components that integrate the functional compression unit of the hermetic compressor, such as, for example, the eccentric shaft, the central rotating shaft, support bearings, among others. Lubricating oil is usually stored in a reservoir in the lower inner portion of the airtight housing.
In this sense, it is mandatory that the lubricating oil, stored in the lower portion of the hermetic compressor housing, be transported to the moving elements that integrate the compression functional units (moving parts) of the hermetic compressor. Thus, it is common to take advantage of the movement of the compressor's own rotating shaft to transport or pump this lubricating oil to the regions where the oil is needed.
As illustrated in
Additionally, a compressor block 4 is provided in order to partially accommodate the rotating shaft 3. An oil pump 6 is coupled to the shaft-rotor set and partially immersed in an oil reservoir 7 disposed in the lower portion of the housing 8 of the compressor.
For proper operation of the mechanical systems of the compressor, the rotating shaft 3 is provided with radial bearings, such as, for example, the radial bearings 5a and 5b, arranged in different positions in relation to said rotating shaft 3. The radial bearings 5a and 5b must receive lubrication from the lubricating oil of the oil reservoir 7.
As can be seen in more detail in
It is common in the art that the lubricating oil transport is performed by a lubricating oil pump, which acts in cooperation with the rotating shaft of the compressor that transports the oil with the aid of mechanical drag. In order to allow lubricating oil to enter the rotating shaft 3, the oil pump 6 is provided with a hole 39 in the lower region and, by centrifugal force, raises that oil until it finds the duct 36, which further accelerates the fluid. The helical channel 38, located outside the rotating region 33, has a mechanical pumping function, by dragging against the housing of the shaft in the compressor block 4.
A secondary function performed by the lubricating oil is to remove heat from the electromechanical assembly and assist in its transmission to the environment outside the compressor through the hermetic housing. In most compressors, this oil flow is a result of the excess pumping of lubricating oil to the bearings which naturally returns to the bottom of the hermetic housing. However, it is also possible to direct part of the oil flow to specific points of the motor, promoting additional cooling that reduces the temperature of these components and, therefore, increases the life of the compressor as a whole.
For example, the document U.S. Pat. No. 9,217,434, entitled “COMPRESSOR HAVING DRIVE SHAFT WITH FLUID PASSAGES”, published on Oct. 18, 2012, presents a compressor that comprises a rotating shaft that presents several oil transport channels located internally to said shaft. The channels presented in this document make it possible to transport lubricating oil from an oil reservoir located at the bottom of the compressor housing to the top of the electric motor, with this flow being specifically applied to the cooling of the motor coils. It is noted that the same oil flow that runs through these internal channels is applied in the lubrication of bearings that support moving parts of the compressor.
However, it is observed that the use of the oil flow that is carried through the channels internal to the rotating shaft, both for cooling purposes and for lubrication purposes, can cause failures in the oil supply, which would lead to problems in the lubrication of the bearings. In addition, there may be a reduction in the pumping pressure, since the flow of oil in the internal channels is diffuse, being divided along the rotating shaft.
In addition, document KR547434, entitled “A COOLING STRUCTURE OF END-COIL FOR HERMETIC COMPRESSOR”, published on Oct. 24, 2005, describes a compressor equipped with a rotor, an axis and a passage channel, this passage carrying lubricating oil from a pumping element. A concavity element is provided and comprises a series of radial openings that aim to distribute the flow of lubricating oil in the lower part of the stator. The purpose of the lubricating oil flow is to reduce the temperature/heat removal from the coils.
However, the solution proposed in this document does not allow to cool the upper part of the coils, which would continue without an additional oil flow. The durability of electrical insulators would continue to be determined by the hottest point of the coils at the top.
Additionally, the document U.S. Pat. No. 9,617,985, entitled “HERMETIC RECIPROCATING COMPRESSOR”, published on Oct. 31, 2013, describes a compressor that comprises a shaft, said shaft being provided with a helical channel that allows the lubricating oil to rise up to the top of the shaft. Additionally, an orifice is provided in the upper part of the shaft, said orifice being in communication with an eccentric part. The fundamental feature of this document is the fact that the external helical channel communicates directly with the oil pump mounted on the bottom of the shaft with the sole purpose of providing lubricating oil for the hermetic compressor bearings.
However, this document does not describe a system in which the external channels in the shaft cooperate with the channel system in the rotor to ensure an oil flow to the bearings without the amount of oil supplied by the pumping system to the bearings being impaired.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a lubricating oil transport system that avoids the problems of the state of the art.
Such objective is achieved by means of system for transporting lubricating oil in a compressor, comprising:
a housing;
an electric motor comprising a rotor and a stator,
the rotor comprising at least one inner wall;
an oil pump and an oil reservoir arranged inside the housing;
a rotary shaft as an integral part of the electric motor;
a compressor block capable of housing, at least partially, the rotary shaft;
the rotary shaft supported by at least one radial bearing;
the rotary axis comprising a lower region, an upper region and a rotating surface;
wherein the rotating shaft has at least one concavity that extends over part of the rotating surface in contact with the internal surface of the rotor and at least one restrictor hole which communicates with the internal region of the rotating shaft and with the concavity;
the rotor comprises a circumferential channel and at least one radial channel extending through the inner wall of the rotor;
the radial channel is arranged around the circumferential channel;
said circumferential channel) and the radial channel communicating with the concavity;
the circumferential channel, the radial channel and the concavity transport oil for cooling the upper part of the rotor and the stator.
Conveniently, the system according to the present invention consists of the fact that the concavity has a helicoid shape.
Additionally, the system according to the present invention consists of the fact that the circumferential channel has an external diameter smaller than the external diameter of the rotating shaft housing in the compressor block.
In addition, the system according to the present invention consists of the fact that the radial channel outlet is inscribed in a circle with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the rotating shaft housing in the compressor block.
Furthermore, the system according to the present invention consists of the fact that the concavity has an annular shape and the rotor does not need the circumferential channel, communicating the radial channel directly with said annular-shaped concavity.
Additionally, the system according to the present invention consists of the fact that the rotating shaft does not need the concavity, directly communicating the restricting hole to the circumferential channel.
The present invention also provides a system for transporting lubricating oil in a compressor, comprising:
a housing;
an electric motor comprising a rotor and a stator,
the rotor comprising at least one inner wall;
an oil pump and an oil reservoir arranged inside the housing;
a rotating shaft as an integral part of the electric motor;
a compressor block capable of housing, at least partially, the rotating shaft;
the rotating shaft supported by at least one radial bearing;
the rotating shaft comprising a lower region, an upper region and a rotating surface;
wherein the rotor has at least one radial channel arranged around a circumferential channel;
wherein the circumferential channel extends over at least part of the inner wall of the rotor;
wherein the circumferential channel is located at an intermediate level between the upper part of the oil pump and the lower region of the rotating shaft; and
wherein the circumferential channel and the radial channel carry oil for cooling the upper part of the rotor and the stator.
Conveniently, the system according to the present invention consists of the fact that the radial channel outlet is inscribed in a circle with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the rotating shaft housing in the compressor block.
Additionally, the system according to the present invention consists of the fact that there is a partial juxtaposition between the entrance of the radial channel and the outer diameter of the circumferential channel.
Thus, the main objective of the present invention is to reveal a lubricating oil transport system in a hermetic compressor that uses configurations applied to the rotating shaft and applied to the rotor of the electric motor.
Furthermore, the present invention also aims to reveal a lubricating oil transport system in a hermetic compressor that allows the provision of oil transport for the purpose of lubricating support bearings and for the purpose of cooling the upper region of the electric motor coils.
Finally, it is the objective of the present invention to provide a lubricating oil transport system in a hermetic compressor that does not present lubricating oil flow failures or lubricating oil pumping pressure drop.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail based on the Figures listed below.
In accordance with the general objectives of the present invention, a lubricating oil transport system is provided in a hermetic compressor for cooling the upper coils of the electric motor in addition to the normal lubricating oil transport system for the bearings and moving parts, as shown in
According to
Said concavity 35, in general, defines a type of recess formed in the rotating surface 33 of the rotating shaft 3, such concavity 35 being partially closed by the inner wall 11 of the rotor 1. Thus, for the lubricating oil be transported, the rotating surface 33 interacts with the inner wall 11 of the rotor 1, forming a type of pumping mechanism that operates by centrifugal force, depending on the operation of the compressor.
According to
In a first preferred embodiment, the concavity 35 has a helicoid shape, extending in a spiral over part of the rotating surface 33. The recess must open towards the circumferential channel 12. This circumferential channel 12 also communicates with at least one radial channel 13.
The number of concavities 35 and restrictor holes 34 depend on the cooling need of the stator 2, where the electric motor coils are housed.
In a second possible embodiment, illustrated in
In a third alternative embodiment, illustrated in
In any constructive situation of the rotor 1, preferably two or more radial channels 13 are applied to the inner wall 11, said channels 13 disposed in order to guarantee the symmetry of the rotor 1 and avoid problems of unbalance. These radial channels 13 can and should follow the rotation angle of the aluminum bars of the rotor 1 cage and being obtained directly from the stamping of the rotor 1 blades.
The previous embodiments can be applied to compressors whose oil pump 6 is mounted by internal or external interference to the lower region 31 of the rotating shaft 3, or even by interference in relation to the internal wall 11 of the rotor 1, the deviation of oil for cooling the coil being carried out by the restrictor hole 34 provided on the rotating shaft 3.
A fourth embodiment is illustrated in
The circumferential channel 12 can be obtained directly by stacking sheets of electric steel. However, this will cause the height h to be an integer multiple of the thickness of the blade of the electric rotor steel. If this height h results in an oil flow deviated for the cooling of the electric motor coils that affects the flow required for the lubrication of the radial bearings 5a and 5b, for example, an additional restriction can be provided by the partial juxtaposition of the outside diameter of the circumferential channel 12 with the diameter of the upward radial channel 13, as represented by the dimension dr in the detail of
It is important to note that the above descriptions have the sole purpose of describing in particular exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, it is clear that modifications, variations and constructive combinations of the elements that perform the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results, remain within the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2020 001095 6 | Jan 2020 | BR | national |
10 2021 000804 0 | Jan 2021 | BR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/BR2021/050019 | 1/18/2021 | WO |