JP2024144782A - Scroll Compressor - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a scroll compressor that can reduce slide loss by reducing contact surface between an Oldham ring and a bearing member or revolving scroll coming into contact with the Oldham ring and can reduce viscous resistance by increasing fluidity of refrigeration oil present around the Oldham ring, thereby exerting high efficiency.SOLUTION: A scroll compressor includes an Oldham ring 17 that prevents a revolving scroll from rotating. The Oldham ring 17 includes an upper annular part communication passage 17d for communicating an inner periphery to an outer periphery of an annular part 17a in an axial top face of the annular part 17a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

This disclosure relates to scroll compressors, particularly for use in air conditioners, water heaters, or freezers such as refrigerators.

Patent Document 1 discloses a scroll compressor used in air conditioners and the like. This scroll compressor is configured so that the refrigerant is compressed by the orbiting scroll orbiting relative to the fixed scroll. An Oldham ring is used as a mechanism to prevent the orbiting scroll from rotating. The Oldham ring slides against the bearing member and the orbiting scroll. For this reason, methods are being considered to achieve high efficiency by reducing sliding losses, or to suppress noise caused by sliding.

JP 2013-130101 A

This disclosure provides a scroll compressor that uses an Oldham ring and achieves even greater efficiency.

The scroll compressor of the present disclosure is equipped with an Oldham ring that prevents the orbiting scroll from rotating on its axis, and the Oldham ring is configured such that an annular portion communication passage that connects the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the annular portion is provided on at least one of the axial upper surface or the axial lower surface of the annular portion.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a scroll compressor according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a top view showing a fixed scroll of the scroll compressor. FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the orbiting scroll of the scroll compressor; FIG. 2 is a top view showing the Oldham ring of the scroll compressor; FIG. 2 is a side view showing an Oldham ring of the scroll compressor;

(Knowledge and other information that forms the basis of this disclosure)
At the time when the inventors came up with the present disclosure, a scroll compressor uses an Oldham ring to prevent the orbiting scroll from rotating, as described in Patent Document 1, but sliding loss occurs between this Oldham ring and a bearing member or the orbiting scroll. In addition, refrigeration oil is present near the Oldham ring, and resistance due to the viscosity of the refrigeration oil is an obstacle to increasing the efficiency of the compressor. For this reason, the inventors found that in order to increase the efficiency of the compressor, it is necessary to reduce the sliding loss between the Oldham ring and the bearing member or the orbiting scroll, and at the same time, to reduce the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil. In order to solve this problem, the subject of the present disclosure was formed.

This disclosure provides a scroll compressor that reduces the sliding loss between the Oldham ring and the bearing member or the orbiting scroll, while at the same time reducing the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil to improve efficiency.

Below, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters or duplicate explanation of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation being unnecessarily redundant and to make it easier for those skilled in the art to understand.

The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

[1-1. Configuration]
As shown in FIG. 1, a scroll compressor 100 is configured by disposing a compression mechanism 10 for compressing a refrigerant and an electric mechanism 20 for driving the compression mechanism 10 in a sealed container 1 .

The sealed container 1 is composed of a body 1a formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction, a lower lid 1b that closes the lower opening of the body 1a, and an upper lid 1c that closes the upper opening of the body 1a.

The sealed container 1 is provided with a refrigerant suction pipe 2 that introduces refrigerant into the compression mechanism 10, and a refrigerant discharge pipe 3 that discharges the refrigerant compressed by the compression mechanism 10 out of the sealed container 1.

The compression mechanism 10 has a fixed scroll 11, a rotating scroll 12, and a rotating shaft 13 that drives the rotating scroll 12 to rotate.

The electric mechanism 20 includes a stator 21 fixed to the sealed container 1 and a rotor 22 arranged inside the stator 21. The rotor 22 is fixed to the rotating shaft 13. An eccentric shaft 13a that is eccentric with respect to the rotating shaft 13 is formed at the upper end of the rotating shaft 13.

Below the fixed scroll 11 and the orbiting scroll 12, a main bearing 30 is provided to support the fixed scroll 11 and the orbiting scroll 12.

The main bearing 30 is composed of a bearing portion 31 that supports the rotating shaft 13, and a boss accommodating portion 32. The main bearing 30 is fixed to the sealed container 1 by welding, shrink fitting, or the like. The lower end portion 13b of the rotating shaft 13 is supported by a secondary bearing 18 arranged at the bottom of the sealed container 1.

The fixed scroll 11 comprises a disk-shaped fixed scroll end plate 11a, a spiral-shaped fixed spiral wrap 11b standing upright from the fixed scroll end plate 11a, and an outer peripheral wall portion 11c standing upright so as to surround the periphery of the fixed spiral wrap 11b. A discharge port 14 is formed in approximately the center of the fixed scroll end plate 11a.

The orbiting scroll 12 comprises a disk-shaped orbiting scroll end plate 12a, an orbiting spiral wrap 12b standing from the wrap side end face of the orbiting scroll end plate 12a, and a cylindrical boss portion 12c formed on the non-wrap side end face of the orbiting scroll end plate 12a (the surface opposite to the wrap side end face of the orbiting scroll end plate 12a). An Oldham ring 17 is arranged on the back surface of the orbiting scroll end plate 12a to prevent the orbiting scroll 12 from rotating on its axis.

The fixed spiral wrap 11b of the fixed scroll 11 and the orbiting spiral wrap 12b of the orbiting scroll 12 are meshed with each other, and multiple compression chambers 15 are formed between the fixed spiral wrap 11b and the orbiting spiral wrap 12b.

The boss portion 12c is formed approximately at the center of the orbiting scroll end plate 12a. The eccentric shaft 13a is inserted into the boss portion 12c, and the boss portion 12c is accommodated in the boss accommodation portion 32.

The fixed scroll 11 is fixed to the main bearing 30 by using a number of bolts (not shown) at the outer peripheral wall portion 11c. On the other hand, the orbiting scroll 12 is supported by the fixed scroll 11 via an Oldham ring 17 that prevents the orbiting scroll 12 from rotating on its axis. The Oldham ring 17 that prevents the orbiting scroll 12 from rotating on its axis is provided between the fixed scroll 11 and the main bearing 30. This allows the orbiting scroll 12 to orbit without rotating on its axis relative to the fixed scroll 11.

At the bottom of the sealed container 1, an oil storage section 4 is formed to store lubricating oil. A volumetric refrigeration oil pump 5 is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft 13. The refrigeration oil pump 5 is positioned so that its suction port is located within the oil storage section 4. The refrigeration oil pump 5 is driven by the rotating shaft 13, and reliably draws up the lubricating oil in the oil storage section 4 provided at the bottom of the sealed container 1 regardless of pressure conditions or operating speed, eliminating the worry of running out of refrigeration oil.

The rotating shaft 13 has a rotating shaft refrigeration oil supply hole 13c that runs from the lower end 13b of the rotating shaft 13 to the eccentric shaft 13a.

The lubricating oil pumped up by the refrigeration oil pump 5 is supplied to the bearing of the auxiliary bearing 18, the bearing portion 31, and the boss portion 12c through the rotating shaft refrigeration oil supply hole 13c formed in the rotating shaft 13.

The refrigerant sucked into the refrigerant suction pipe 2 is guided from the suction port 15a to the compression chamber 15. The compression chamber 15 moves from the outer periphery toward the center while reducing its volume. When the refrigerant reaches a predetermined pressure in the compression chamber 15, it is discharged from the discharge port 14 provided in the center of the fixed scroll 11 to the discharge chamber 6. The discharge port 14 is provided with a discharge reed valve (not shown). When the refrigerant reaches a predetermined pressure in the compression chamber 15, it pushes open the discharge reed valve, and the refrigerant is discharged into the discharge chamber 6. The refrigerant discharged into the discharge chamber 6 is led to the upper part of the sealed container 1 and discharged from the refrigerant discharge pipe 3.

Figures 2 to 5 show the rotation prevention mechanism that prevents the rotation of the orbiting scroll 12. The rotation prevention mechanism is composed of the fixed scroll key groove 11e (see Figure 2) provided on the fixed scroll top surface 11d of the fixed scroll 11, the orbiting scroll key groove 12e (see Figure 3) provided on the orbiting scroll back surface 12d of the orbiting scroll 12, and the Oldham ring 17 shown in Figures 4 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 4, the Oldham ring 17 includes an annular portion 17a, a first key portion 17b, and a second key portion 17c. In this embodiment, the first key portion 17b is a pair of keys arranged on the axial upper surface of the annular portion 17a and protruding in the axial direction of the annular portion 17a. The second key portion 17c is another pair of keys arranged on the axial upper surface of the annular portion 17a and protruding in the axial direction of the annular portion 17a. The first key portion 17b fits into the fixed scroll key groove 11e and slides with the fixed scroll key groove 11e. The second key portion 17c fits into the orbiting scroll key groove 12e and slides with the orbiting scroll key groove 12e. The axial upper surface of the annular portion 17a slides with the orbiting scroll back surface 12d, and the axial lower surface of the annular portion 17a slides with the bearing portion 31.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, an upper annular portion communication passage 17d that connects the inner circumference and outer circumference of the annular portion 17a is formed on the axial upper surface of the annular portion 17a of the Oldham ring 17. A lower annular portion communication passage 17e (shown by a broken line in Figure 4) that connects the inner circumference and outer circumference of the annular portion 17a is formed on the axial lower surface of the annular portion 17a of the Oldham ring 17. A key portion communication passage 17f (see Figure 5) that connects the inner circumference and outer circumference of the key portion is formed in the first key portion 17b or the second key portion 17c of the annular portion 17a of the Oldham ring 17, or in both the first key portion 17b and the second key portion 17c.

The upper annular portion communication passage 17d of the Oldham ring 17 is formed approximately parallel to the direction of a straight line connecting the pair of second key portions 17c. The lower annular portion communication passage 17e is formed approximately parallel to the direction of a straight line connecting the pair of first key portions 17b. In other words, the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the lower annular portion communication passage 17e are formed approximately parallel to the direction of travel of the Oldham ring 17.

In this embodiment, the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the lower annular portion communication passage 17e provided in the annular portion 17a of the Oldham ring 17 are formed so that the relationship between the depth Du of the deepest part of the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communication passage 17e is Du<Dd. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lower annular portion communication passage 17e is formed so that the depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communication passage 17e is Dt/10≦Dd≦Dt/2, where Dt is the thickness of the thinnest part of the annular portion 17a excluding the part where the communication passages (in this embodiment, the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the lower annular portion communication passage 17e) are present.

[1-2. Operation]
The operation and function of the scroll compressor 100 configured as above will now be described.

In the scroll compressor 100 having the above-mentioned configuration, an upper annular portion communication passage 17d is provided on the upper surface of the annular portion 17a of the Oldham ring 17. In addition, a lower annular portion communication passage 17e is provided on the lower surface of the annular portion 17a of the Oldham ring 17. Therefore, the contact surface between the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the orbiting scroll back surface 12d and the contact surface between the lower annular portion communication passage 17e and the bearing portion 31 can be reduced, thereby reducing sliding loss. In addition, by providing the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the lower annular portion communication passage 17e, the flow of refrigeration oil present on the contact surface between the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the orbiting scroll back surface 12d and the contact surface between the lower annular portion communication passage 17e and the bearing portion 31 is smoothed, and the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil is reduced. A key portion communication passage 17f is formed on the side of the key portion of the Oldham ring 17, which is approximately parallel to the direction of travel of the Oldham ring 17 and connects the inner and outer circumferences of the Oldham ring 17, making the flow of refrigeration oil even smoother and reducing the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil.

In addition, in this embodiment, the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the lower annular portion communication passage 17e are formed along approximately the same direction as the orbital motion of the Oldham ring 17. This allows the flow of refrigeration oil to be smoothed, and the effect of reducing the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil to be enhanced. For example, the refrigeration oil flowing through the upper annular portion communication passage 17d flows in the same direction as the orbital motion of the orbiting scroll 12 when viewed relatively from the orbiting scroll 12. Furthermore, the refrigeration oil flowing through the lower annular portion communication passage 17e flows in the same direction as the orbital motion of the orbiting scroll 12 when viewed relatively from the bearing portion 31. In this way, since the refrigeration oil flows in the same direction as the orbital motion, the flow of the refrigeration oil becomes smooth, and the effect of reducing the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil can be expected.

The annular portion 17a may have only one of the upper annular portion 17d and the lower annular portion 17e. Even in this case, although the effect is halved, it is possible to obtain the effect of reducing sliding resistance and the effect of reducing the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil, thereby realizing high efficiency of the scroll compressor.

In this embodiment in which both the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the lower annular portion communication passage 17e are provided, the upper annular portion communication passage 17d and the lower annular portion communication passage 17e are configured so that the depth Du of the deepest part of the upper annular portion communication passage 17d provided in the annular portion 17a of the Oldham ring 17 and the depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communication passage 17e are Du < Dd. This can further improve the fluidity of the refrigeration oil. That is, during the operation of the compressor, the refrigeration oil flows vertically downward due to its own weight, so that the refrigeration oil is likely to be present at the bottom of the Oldham ring 17. Therefore, by making Du < Dd, that is, by making the lower annular portion communication passage 17e deeper, the fluidity of the refrigeration oil at the bottom of the Oldham ring 17 can be increased and the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil can be reduced. This can efficiently improve the effect of reducing viscous loss.

In particular, if the depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communication passage 17e of the Oldham ring 17 is set to be at least twice the depth Du of the deepest part of the upper annular portion communication passage 17d, the effect of the weight of the refrigeration oil can be absorbed and the fluidity of the refrigeration oil can be sufficiently increased, resulting in a greater reduction in viscosity loss.

In the scroll compressor 100 of this embodiment, the sealed container of the compressor is filled with high-pressure working fluid. In the case of an internal high-pressure type compressor, the Oldham ring 17 is disposed in the space between the bearing portion 31 and the fixed scroll 11. In a high-pressure type scroll compressor, the Oldham ring 17 is present in the space between the bearing portion 31 and the fixed scroll 11, so refrigeration oil is more likely to accumulate near the Oldham ring 17 than in a low-pressure type scroll compressor. For this reason, in a high-pressure type scroll compressor, the effect of reducing viscous loss is greater than in a low-pressure type scroll compressor.

In the scroll compressor 100 of this embodiment, the orbiting scroll back surface 12d is a pressure (intermediate pressure) region between the discharge pressure and the suction pressure, and the orbiting scroll 12 is pressed against the fixed scroll 11 by the intermediate pressure. By providing an intermediate pressure region, the periphery of the Oldham ring 17 also becomes an intermediate pressure region, and the amount of refrigeration oil around the Oldham ring 17 increases compared to when the periphery of the Oldham ring 17 is a low pressure space. Therefore, the effect of reducing viscous loss is higher than in the case of the low pressure type. The scroll compressor 100 may be configured so that the above-mentioned intermediate pressure and at least one of a low pressure lower than the intermediate pressure and a high pressure higher than the intermediate pressure act on the orbiting scroll back surface 12d. In other words, the scroll compressor 100 may be configured so that at least an intermediate pressure acts on the orbiting scroll back surface 12d.

[1-3. Effects, etc.]
As described above, in the scroll compressor of this embodiment, an annular portion communication passage that communicates the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the annular portion is formed on at least one of the axial upper surface and the axial lower surface of the annular portion of the Oldham ring. Therefore, the contact surface (contact surface) between the Oldham ring and the bearing member and/or the orbiting scroll that contacts the Oldham ring is reduced, and sliding loss can be reduced. In addition, the fluidity of the refrigeration oil present around the Oldham ring can be increased via the communication passage to reduce viscous resistance, thereby realizing a highly efficient scroll compressor.

In a scroll compressor, annular portion communication passages may be provided on both the upper and lower sides of the Oldham ring, and the relationship between the depth Du of the deepest part of the upper annular portion communication passage and the depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communication passage may be configured so that Du < Dd. This increases the fluidity of the refrigeration oil in the lower part of the Oldham ring, enhancing the effect of reducing the viscous loss of the refrigeration oil.

In a scroll compressor, a key portion communication passage may be formed on the side surface of the key portion of the Oldham ring, which is approximately parallel to the direction of movement of the Oldham ring and connects the inner and outer circumferences of the Oldham ring. This makes it possible to smooth the flow of refrigeration oil through the key portion communication passage, thereby reducing the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil.

In a scroll compressor, both the upper annular portion communication passage and the lower annular portion communication passage may be formed approximately parallel to the direction of travel of the Oldham ring. This allows the refrigeration oil to flow in the same direction as the swirling motion, making the flow of the refrigeration oil smoother and enhancing the effect of reducing the viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil.

In a scroll compressor, the depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communication passage may be configured so that Dt/10≦Dd≦Dt/2 is satisfied, where Dt is the thickness of the thinnest part of the annular portion of the Oldham ring excluding the part where the communication passage exists. This increases the fluidity of the refrigeration oil, and a greater viscosity loss reduction effect can be expected.

In a scroll compressor, the depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communication passage may be set to be at least twice the depth Du of the deepest part of the upper annular portion communication passage. This allows the fluidity of the refrigeration oil to be sufficiently increased, resulting in a greater reduction in viscosity loss.

The present disclosure has been described above using the above-mentioned embodiment, but since the above-mentioned embodiment is intended to illustrate the technology in the present disclosure, various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. can be made within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

The refrigerant for the scroll compressor of this disclosure can be R32, carbon dioxide, or a refrigerant having a double bond between carbon atoms.

The scroll compressor disclosed herein is highly efficient due to reduced friction loss and reduced viscous resistance of the refrigeration oil, and is therefore useful in refrigeration cycle devices such as hot water heating systems, air conditioning systems, water heaters, or freezers.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 sealed container 1a body 1b bottom cover 1c top cover 2 refrigerant suction pipe 3 refrigerant discharge pipe 4 oil storage section 5 refrigeration oil pump 6 discharge chamber 10 compression mechanism section 11 fixed scroll 11a fixed scroll end plate 11b fixed spiral wrap 11c outer circumferential wall section 11d fixed scroll upper surface 11e fixed scroll keyway 12 orbiting scroll 12a orbiting scroll end plate 12b orbiting spiral wrap 12c boss section 12d orbiting scroll back surface 12e orbiting scroll keyway 13 rotating shaft 13a eccentric shaft 13b lower end section 13c rotating shaft refrigeration oil supply hole 14 discharge port 15 compression chamber 15a suction port 17 Oldham ring 17a annular section 17b first key section (key section)
17c second key part (key part)
17d Upper annular portion communicating passage 17e Lower annular portion communicating passage 17f Key portion communicating passage 18 Sub-bearing 20 Electric mechanism portion 21 Stator 22 Rotor 30 Main bearing 31 Bearing portion 32 Boss accommodating portion 100 Scroll compressor

Claims (8)

A sealed container;
A compressor rear section is disposed in the sealed container and compresses the refrigerant, the compressor rear section having a fixed scroll, an orbiting scroll, and a rotating shaft that orbits the orbiting scroll;
an electric mechanism portion disposed in the sealed container and configured to drive the compression mechanism portion;
A scroll compressor comprising:
The fixed scroll has a disk-shaped fixed scroll end plate and a fixed spiral wrap disposed on a front surface of the fixed scroll end plate,
The orbiting scroll has a disk-shaped orbiting scroll end plate and an orbiting spiral wrap disposed on a front surface of the orbiting scroll end plate,
The scroll compressor has an Oldham ring disposed on a back surface of the orbiting scroll end plate to prevent the orbiting scroll from rotating on its axis,
the Oldham ring has an annular portion, and a pair of first key portions and a pair of second key portions disposed on one of an axial upper surface and an axial lower surface of the annular portion and protruding in an axial direction of the annular portion,
an annular portion communication passage that communicates an inner periphery and an outer periphery of the annular portion is disposed on at least one of the axial upper surface and the axial lower surface of the annular portion of the Oldham ring;
Scroll compressor. a key portion communication passage is disposed on a side surface of the first key portion or the second key portion of the Oldham ring, the key portion communication passage being substantially parallel to a moving direction of the Oldham ring and communicating between an inner periphery and an outer periphery of the Oldham ring;
2. The scroll compressor according to claim 1. an upper annular portion communication passage is disposed on an axial upper surface of the annular portion of the Oldham ring, the upper annular portion communication passage communicating an inner periphery and an outer periphery of the annular portion;
a lower annular portion communication passage is disposed on an axial lower surface of the annular portion of the Oldham ring, the lower annular portion communication passage communicating an inner periphery and an outer periphery of the annular portion,
the upper annular portion communication passage and the lower annular portion communication passage are configured such that a depth Du of the deepest portion of the upper annular portion communication passage and a depth Dd of the deepest portion of the lower annular portion communication passage satisfy the relationship Du<Dd.
The scroll compressor according to claim 1 or 2. The first key portion is engaged with the fixed scroll, and the second key portion is engaged with the orbiting scroll,
the upper annular portion communication passage is formed substantially parallel to a direction that connects the second key portions with a straight line,
The lower annular portion communication passage is formed substantially parallel to a direction that connects the first key portions with a straight line.
The scroll compressor according to claim 3. a depth Dd of the deepest part of the lower annular portion communicating passage and a thickness Dt of the thinnest part of the annular portion of the Oldham ring excluding a part where the communicating passage exists are configured to satisfy Dt/10≦Dd≦Dt/2.
The scroll compressor according to claim 3 or 4. The depth Dd of the deepest portion of the lower annular portion communication passage is configured to be at least twice the depth Du of the deepest portion of the upper annular portion communication passage.
The scroll compressor according to claim 3 or 4. The sealed container is configured so that the inside is filled with a high-pressure working fluid.
The scroll compressor according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The scroll compressor has an intermediate pressure region on the back surface of the orbiting scroll, and is configured such that the orbiting scroll is pressed against the fixed scroll by the pressure of the intermediate pressure region.
The scroll compressor according to any one of claims 1 to 7.