JP2007009875A - Compressor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compressor which reduces adhesion of oil to a valve portion of the pressure control valve by feeding a working fluid having a low oil mixture rate to a pressure control valve, and to avoid an unstable pressure control in a crankcase. <P>SOLUTION: In the compressor, if a supply passage 44 for supplying the working fluid to a pressure control valve 34 is provided in a rear housing 5, a supply inlet 45 of the supply passage 44 is opened downstream of an oil separation cylinder 39 of an oil separator 36. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure of a compressor having a pressure control valve for controlling the pressure of a crank chamber and an oil separation mechanism for separating oil mixed in a compressed working fluid.

  By relatively increasing the amount of oil (lubricating oil) flowing out from the compressor to the external cycle, not only does the compressor run out of oil, but also the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger arranged on the cycle is reduced. Such inconveniences occur. In order to avoid such inconvenience, a structure in which an oil separator (oil separator) for separating oil mixed in the compressed working fluid flowing out from the discharge chamber is provided on the discharge side of the compressor is already known ( For example, see Patent Document 1.)

  In addition, in order to attenuate the suction pulsation or the discharge pulsation of the compressor, one of the suction chamber and the discharge chamber formed on the center side of the rear housing is communicated with a corresponding discharge port portion via a tunnel-shaped communication path. In addition, a structure in which a muffler chamber is formed between the tunnel-shaped communication path and the pipe connection portion to which the discharge port portion is attached is already known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

On the other hand, the pressure control valve is provided, for example, on an air supply passage where one side communicates with the discharge chamber via the air supply inlet and the other side communicates with the crank chamber. By adjusting the degree, the pressure in the crank chamber is controlled (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
JP 2005-23847 A JP 2002-202054 A JP 2004-183623 A

  On the other hand, if the air supply inlet of the air supply passage is directly open to the discharge chamber as described above, the working fluid mixed with a relatively large amount of oil is sent to the air supply passage, so that the oil is pressure controlled. The valve opening / closing operation becomes dull due to adhesion to the valve portion inside the valve, and the passage area substantially varies due to oil adhering to the valve portion. For this reason, a desired amount of working fluid to be supplied into the crank chamber cannot be secured, and as a result, pressure control in the crank chamber may become unstable.

  Therefore, the present invention reduces the adhesion of oil to the valve portion of the pressure control valve by sending a working fluid having a relatively low oil mixing rate to the pressure control valve, thereby destabilizing the pressure control in the crank chamber. The purpose is to avoid.

  The compressor according to the present invention includes a housing, a crank chamber defined in the housing, a drive shaft rotatably supported by the housing and rotated by an external driving force, and rotation of the drive shaft. A compression mechanism that converts the movement into a compression action of the working fluid, a pressure control valve that controls the pressure in the crank chamber by supplying the working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism and having a relatively high pressure into the crank chamber; In the compressor having an oil separation mechanism for separating oil from the working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism, a supply air inlet of a supply passage for supplying the working fluid to the pressure control valve is the oil separation mechanism. An opening is provided on the flow path capable of taking in the working fluid from which oil has been separated and removed (claim 1). This working fluid may be, for example, a refrigerant of a Freon compressor or a refrigerant such as a CO2 compressor. In addition, “a pressure control valve that controls the pressure in the crank chamber by supplying the working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism and having a relatively high pressure to the crank chamber” refers to adjusting the opening of the air supply passage. It may be one that controls the flow rate of the working fluid flowing into the crank chamber (inlet control), or may control the pressure in the crank chamber by adjusting the opening degree of both the supply passage and the extraction passage. . Further, this compressor is of a piston reciprocating variable displacement type, and is applied to a swash plate type, a wobble type, and other similar types. The supply destination of the separated oil is a low pressure chamber such as a crank chamber or a suction chamber.

  More specifically, the oil separation mechanism includes an oil separation chamber that communicates with a discharge chamber in which the working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism is temporarily stored, and projects from the oil separation chamber to be introduced from the discharge chamber. And an oil separation cylinder that communicates the oil separation chamber with a discharge port for swirling the working fluid and discharging the working fluid to the outside of the compressor. It opens on the downstream side of the separation cylinder (claim 2). In this oil separator, a passage for supplying oil separated in the oil separation chamber to a low pressure chamber such as a crank chamber or a suction chamber is provided separately from the air supply passage.

  The oil separation mechanism defines a muffler chamber in the housing, and communicates the muffler chamber and a discharge chamber into which the working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism is discharged through a first communication path. The muffler chamber and a discharge port for discharging the working fluid to the outside of the compressor are communicated with each other via a second communication path, and the air supply inlet is located downstream of the muffler chamber. It may be opened (claim 3). The muffler chamber has a function of preventing the separated oil from flowing out from the second communication passage, and the passage for supplying the oil separated from the muffler chamber to a low pressure chamber such as a crank chamber or a suction chamber is provided in the first muffler chamber. And it communicates separately from the second communication path.

  Therefore, according to these inventions, since the oil is separated and removed by the oil separation mechanism and the working fluid having a relatively reduced oil mixing rate is sent to the pressure control valve, the valve portion inside the pressure control valve The ratio of oil to the surface decreases. Accordingly, it is possible to control the opening / closing operation of the pressure control valve as desired, and the controllability of the compressor is improved.

  Particularly, in the invention according to claim 3, the muffler chamber is for attenuating the suction pulsation or the discharge pulsation of the compressor, and the oil is separated from the working fluid when the working fluid passes through the muffler chamber. Thus, an oil separation mechanism is provided by separately providing a passage for supplying the separated oil to the crank chamber and the low pressure chamber. Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 3, since the muffler chamber having a function as an oil separating mechanism is used, the oil is separated from the working fluid sent to the pressure control valve. Such an oil separation mechanism does not need to be provided separately, and the structure of the compressor can be made relatively simple.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a piston reciprocating variable displacement compressor 1 as an example of a compressor 1 to which the present invention is used. The configuration of the compressor 1 will be described. The cylinder block 3, the front housing 4 fixed to the front side of the cylinder block 3, and the valve plate 26 on the rear side (right side in FIG. 1) of the cylinder block 3 are described. The cylinder block 3, the front housing 4, the valve plate 26 and the rear housing 5 are inserted through the fastening bolt 7 along the axial direction of a cylinder bore 18 which will be described later. By joining and fixing to each other, a substantially cylindrical housing 2 made of metal is formed.

  A crank chamber 8 is defined by the front housing 4 and the cylinder block 3. The crank chamber 8 houses a drive shaft 6 having one end protruding from the front housing 4. A clutch plate 10 is fixed to a portion of the drive shaft 6 protruding from the front housing 4 via a relay member 9 attached in the axial direction. A drive pulley 11 that is rotatably fitted on the boss portion 4a of the front housing 4 is provided to face the clutch plate 10, and this drive pulley 11 is rotatably attached to the boss portion 4a via a bearing 12. It is fitted. The clutch plate 10 is attracted to the drive pulley 11 by energization of the excitation coil 13 embedded in the drive pulley 11 and transmits the rotational power applied to the drive pulley 11 to the drive shaft 6.

  In addition, the one end side of the drive shaft 6 is hermetically sealed with the front housing 4 via a shaft seal device 14 provided between the drive shaft 6 and a radial bearing 15 that is externally provided on the outer peripheral surface. The other end of the drive shaft 6 is rotatably supported by the cylinder block 3 by a radial bearing 17 housed in the support recess 16 of the cylinder block 3. .

  The cylinder block 3 is formed with the support recess 16 for supporting the drive shaft 6 and a plurality of cylinder bores 18 arranged at equal intervals on a circumference centering on the support recess 16. A single-head piston 19 is inserted into each cylinder bore 18 so as to be able to reciprocate.

  A thrust flange 20 that rotates integrally with the drive shaft 6 is fixed to the drive shaft 6 in the crank chamber 8. The thrust flange 20 is rotatably supported on the inner wall surface of the front housing 4 formed substantially perpendicular to the drive shaft 6 via a thrust bearing 21. A swash plate 23 is connected to the thrust flange 20 via a link member 22.

  The swash plate 23 is held so as to be tiltable via a hinge ball 24 provided on the drive shaft 6, and rotates integrally with the rotation of the thrust flange 20. And the peripheral part of the swash plate 23 is moored by the engaging part 19a of the single-headed piston 19 via a pair of shoes 25 provided in the front and back.

  The thrust flange 20, the swash plate 23, and the single-headed piston 19 constitute a compressor mechanism that converts the rotation of the drive shaft 6 into a compressive action of the working fluid. When the drive shaft 6 rotates, it synchronizes with this. The swash plate 23 rotates as a unit, and this rotational motion is converted into a reciprocating linear motion of the single-headed piston 19 via the shoe 25. By the reciprocating motion of the single-headed piston 19, the single-headed piston 19 and the valve plate 26 The volume of the compression chamber 27 formed during the period is changed.

  The rear housing 5 is joined to the cylinder block 3 via the valve plate 26, thereby defining a suction chamber 29 and a discharge chamber 30 formed continuously around the suction chamber 29. The valve plate 26 has a suction hole 31 that communicates the suction chamber 29 and the compression chamber 27 via a suction valve (not shown), and a discharge that communicates the discharge chamber 30 and the compression chamber 27 via a suction valve (not shown). A hole 32 is formed.

  Further, the rear housing 5 is provided with a mounting hole 33 on the side peripheral surface, and in this embodiment, a pressure control valve 34 for controlling the pressure of the crank chamber 8 is mounted. The pressure control valve 34 will be described in detail later. Describe.

  Further, the rear housing 5 is provided with an oil separator 36 for separating oil mixed in the compressed working fluid discharged into the discharge chamber 30. The oil separator 36 is discharged into the oil separation chamber 38 and communicated with the discharge chamber 30 through the discharge flow path 37, and flows into the oil separation chamber 38 through the discharge flow path 37. The oil separation cylinder 39 communicates the external cycle and the separation chamber 38 while rotating the working fluid. That is, the oil separation chamber 38 has a space that communicates with the discharge port portion 40 for connection to an external cycle and extends in the axial direction of the discharge port portion 40. 38 is defined by inserting an oil separation cylinder 39 into the small-diameter opening formed at the boundary with 38 from the opening side of the discharge port 40.

  As a result, the compressed working fluid is introduced from the discharge chamber 30 into the oil separation chamber 38 via the discharge flow path 37, and the introduced working fluid turns around the separation cylinder 39 while being centered in the rear housing 5. In the process, the oil mixed in the working fluid is separated. Then, the working fluid from which the oil has been separated passes through the inside of the separation cylinder 39 and is sent to the external cycle from the discharge port portion 40, and the separated oil passes through the lubricating oil flow path 42 and the crank chamber 8 or the suction chamber 29 or the like. Supplied to the low pressure chamber.

  By the way, the air supply passage 44 for sending the working fluid to the pressure control valve 34 has its air supply inlet 45 opened in the discharge port 40 further downstream than the downstream side of the separation cylinder 39. . In order to send the working fluid to the crank chamber 8, an air supply passage 46 extending from the pressure control valve 34 to the crank chamber 8 is provided. Further, an extraction passage 47 for allowing the working fluid flowing into the crank chamber 8 to escape to the suction chamber 29 is provided in the valve plate 26. In this embodiment, a so-called inlet control system in which only the amount of working fluid supplied to the crank chamber 8 is controlled by the pressure control valve 34 provided in the middle of the supply passages 44 and 46 is shown. You may apply what is called an entrance-and-exit control system which controls both opening degree by a pressure control valve.

  According to the above configuration, the working fluid from which oil has been separated and removed by passing through the oil separator 36 is sent from the air supply inlet 45 to the pressure control valve 34 through the air supply passage 44 and then supplied to the pressure control valve 34. Since the air is returned to the crank chamber 8 through the air passage 46, it is possible to reduce the possibility that oil mixed in the working fluid adheres to the pressure control valve 34. Thereby, the valve opening / closing operation of the pressure control valve 34 can be controlled as desired, and the controllability of the compressor 1 can be improved.

  2 and 3, a compressor 1 that does not have an oil separator 36 is shown as another embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the compressor 1 will be described with reference to these drawings. However, the same components as those of the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the compressor 1 shown in FIG. 2, a muffler chamber 49 for attenuating the discharge pulsation of the compressor 1 is formed in the outer peripheral wall of the cylinder block 3, and the muffler chamber 49 is formed in the axial direction of the cylinder block 3. And it is provided to extend in the radial direction.

  The muffler chamber 49 communicates with the discharge chamber 30 via the first communication path 50 and communicates with the discharge port portion 40 via the second communication path 51. In this embodiment, the end portions on the muffler chamber side of the first communication path 50 and the second communication path 51 are close to the substantially center in the circumferential direction on the discharge port side of the muffler chamber 49 and the muffler chamber 49. Arranged to connect. The valve plate 26 is also formed with a through hole 53 for communicating the first communication path 50 and the muffler chamber 49 and a through hole 54 for communicating the second communication path 51 and the muffler chamber 49. Yes.

  The air supply passage 44 for sending the working fluid to the pressure control valve 34 is provided, and the air supply inlet 45 of the air supply passage 44 is connected to the second communication passage 51 on the downstream side of the muffler chamber 49. Open in the middle. Further, in order to send the working fluid to the crank chamber 8, an air supply passage 46 extending from the mounting hole 33 to the crank chamber 8 is provided. The air supply inlet 45 of the air supply passage 44 may be opened in the discharge port 40 on the downstream side of the muffler chamber 49. Further, an extraction passage 47 for allowing the working fluid flowing into the crank chamber 8 to escape to the suction chamber 29 is provided in the valve plate 26. In this embodiment, a so-called inlet control system in which only the amount of working fluid supplied to the crank chamber 8 is controlled by the pressure control valve 34 provided in the middle of the supply passages 44 and 46 is shown. You may apply what is called an entrance-and-exit control system which controls both opening degree by a pressure control valve.

  Further, in the muffler chamber 49, for example, the central side surface of the compressor is deeper than the opening of the second communication passage 51 so that the oil separated in the muffler chamber 39 does not flow out from the second communication passage 51. In addition, in order to supply the separated oil to the shaft seal device 14 and the radial bearings 15, 17, the end of the lubricating oil passage 42 is opened on the central side surface of the compressor. Thus, the muffler chamber 49 also has a function as an oil separation mechanism that separates and removes oil from the working fluid.

  According to the above configuration, after the working fluid from which oil has been separated and removed by passing through the muffler chamber 49 is sent from the air supply inlet 45 to the pressure control valve 34 through the air supply passage 44, Since it is returned to the crank chamber 8 via the passage 46, it is possible to reduce the possibility that oil mixed in the working fluid adheres to the pressure control valve 34. Thereby, the valve opening / closing operation of the pressure control valve 34 can be controlled as desired, and the controllability of the compressor 1 can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an overall configuration of an example of a compressor in which the present invention is used. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of another example of a compressor in which the present invention is used. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the muffler chamber of the compressor.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 2 Housing 6 Drive shaft 8 Crank chamber 19 Single-head piston 20 Thrust flange 23 Swash plate 29 Suction chamber 30 Discharge chamber 34 Pressure control valve 36 Oil separator 38 Oil separation chamber 39 Oil separation cylinder 40 Discharge port 49 Muffler chamber 50 First communication path 51 Second communication path

Claims (3)

A housing, a crank chamber defined in the housing, a drive shaft rotatably supported by the housing and rotated by an external driving force, and the rotational movement of the drive shaft for compressing the working fluid; A compression mechanism for conversion, a pressure control valve for controlling the pressure in the crank chamber by supplying a working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism and having a relatively high pressure, and an operation compressed by the compression mechanism In a compressor having an oil separation mechanism for separating oil from a fluid,
An air supply inlet of an air supply passage for supplying the working fluid to the pressure control valve is opened on a flow path capable of taking in the working fluid from which oil has been separated and removed by the oil separation mechanism. Compressor. The oil separation mechanism includes an oil separation chamber that communicates with a discharge chamber in which the working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism is temporarily stored, and the working fluid that protrudes from the oil separation chamber and is introduced from the discharge chamber. The oil separation cylinder is configured to rotate and communicate the discharge port portion for discharging the working fluid to the outside of the compressor and the oil separation chamber, and the air supply inlet is provided downstream of the oil separation cylinder. The compressor according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is open. The oil separation mechanism defines a muffler chamber in the housing, and communicates the muffler chamber and a discharge chamber into which the working fluid compressed by the compression mechanism is discharged through a first communication path, and The muffler chamber and a discharge port for discharging the working fluid to the outside of the compressor are communicated with each other via a second communication path, and the air supply inlet is opened downstream of the muffler chamber. The compressor according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is provided.

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