US1944198A - Oscillating fluid compressor - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 23, 1934. sMlTH 1,944,198

OSCILLATING FLUID COMPRESSOR Filed April 18,1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEIYTOR, 2 747? m ffi4- TORNEY Jan. 23, 1934.

Patented Jan. 23, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Frank A. Smith, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Smith Manufacturing'Oompany, a corporation of Washington Application April 18, 1932. Serial No. 605,880

3 Claims.

This invention relates to gaseous fluid compressors and more especially to a fluid compressor particularly adaptable for the compression of a gaseous refrigerant of the various kinds .,used in refrigerating apparatus through which "the refrigerant is continuously circulated in a compressing and expanding cycle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an extremely simple, practical, substantial and reliable fluid compressor, and further -to provide a fluid compressor incorporating substantially only three operative elements, and a casing in which they are mounted and which provides a basin for retaining a lubricant for the operating parts as well as providing space above the basin for the induction of the gaseous refrigerant from an expansion device in its cycle or circuit.

More particularly, it is an object to provide 20.,a gaseous fluid compressor in which there is in- --cluded a simple rotary driver operating a simple plunger by direct interconnection and which operates in a simple oscillating cylinder; the plunger and the cylinder operating on the two .cycle induction and compression strokes.

A further object is to provide an automatic safety action which includes the principal operating parts and is adapted to automatically act to bypass compressed fluid when a predeter- .,mined pressure has been reached in the circulat- 'ing cycle of the compressed fluid.

The invention consists in certain advancements in this art as set forth in the ensuing disclosure and having, with the above, additional objects and advantages as hereinafter developed, and

' *whose construction, combination and details of means, and the manner of operation will be made manifest in the description of the herewith illustrative embodiment; it being understood that modifications, variations and adaptations may 'be resorted to within the scope, principle and spirit of the invention as it is more directly claimed hereinafter.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a two unit com- 45, pressor on the plane of the axis of the driver.

Figure 2 is a cross section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and being transverse to the plane of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view showing a single unit compressor.

Figure 4 is a face view of a floating packing ring member.

Figure 5 is a detail of an intermediate guide and pressure device between the compression cylinders of the multi-unit compressor.

65;; In its illustrated form, the compressor of Fig.

1 embodies a sealed casing 2 with a removable side plate 3 forming therebetween a deep basin 4 for a lubricant 5 above which is a gaseous refrigerant trap 6.

Extending through the upper portion of the casing is a drive shaft 7 provided within the casing with a pair of diametrically opposite eccentrics 8 and 9, though it is understood that any suitable number of such eccentrics may be provided on the shaft 7.

The back wall of the casing has a bearing 10 receiving and covering the near end of the shaft so that it does not extend through the casing 2 while the opposite end of the shaft is supported in a bearing 11 at the outer side of which is a floating washer 12 on which seats one end of a spring 13 whose opposite endv thrusts outwardly against a running ring 14 with an end bearing annulus 15 thrust against an outside cap 16 suitably secured, as by screws 17, to the wall 3. The running ring 14 has internal packing rings 18 snugly fitting the shaft '7.

A feature of this device is to insure thorough lubrication of the packing ring element 15 against the inside face of the cap 16 through which the shaft '7 extends. To such object, the packing ring is so combined with the shaft '7 as to travel in an orbital or sweeping zone of contact against the'cap wall 16. In order to effect such sweeping movement, the ring has an eccentric bore 14 in which the shaft is fitted for relative movement. Thus the lubricant 5, passing the bearing 11 and entering the cap chamber in which the ring 14 rotates, will have access to the zone of bearing of the annulus 15 and effectively lubricates the zone of bearing in a manner not possible where the relatively moving parts bear with an invarying zone of contact to which the lubricant is not accessible. 1

On each eccentric 89 is an eccentric strap 20 having a radial plunger 21 provided with suitable packing rings and operating in respective cylinders 22 adjacent to the remote ends of which are discharge ports 23 leading to a common discharge conduit 24 for conveying the compressed refrigerant which is inducted into the compression cylinders 22 by an intake pipe 25 whose upper end opens near the top of the gaseous fluid trap 6, and which connects with inlet ports 26 to the cylinders.

As shown, the cylinders have coaxial trunnions 27 in the casing 2 and wall 3 on which they oscillate, due to the eccentric action on the eccentric straps and plungers 21.

Means are provided for yieldingly thrusting the compression cylinders 22 firmly against contiguous walls of the casing at bearing zones 28; this means providing a safety bypass from the discharge ports 23 back to the casing in the event that pressure in the circulating system 2 l24' becomes higher than a predetermined desired maximum. Such means is shown as including a spring 30, in this case interposed between the adjacent sides of the cylinders 22 and expanding against them and thereby forcing them to their bearing zones 28 with the desired pressure.

In Fig. 5 the spring 30 is shown as surrounding a bearing sleeve 31 mounted on coaxial trunnions 32. In Fig. 3 only one of the compressing units is shown in its sealed casing, this being a modification of the structure.

From the above it Will be seen that each come pressor unit consists essentially of but three principal operating elements, namely the eccentric device having a simple rotary movement, the eccentric driven plunger 21 having a combined orbital and reciprocating movement, and the pivoted compression chamber having a simple oscillating movement on its transverse trunnion axls.

As above stated, the desired factor of safety is accomplished by the yielding pressure acting on each compression cylinder and allowing it to move to bypass compressed fluid back into the compression chamber. This, together with the effective leak-proof sealing device, provides, on the whole, a highly effective, extremely simple, very low power consuming gaseous fluid compress-or, which while especially useful in refrigcrating systems, is also adaptable to various other arts in which a gas is compressed with or without continuous circulation.

What is claimed is: V

l. A gaseous fluid compressor comprising a plurality of oscillatory compression cylinders, compression plungers operative therein, said cylinders having lateral bearings operating on respective supports and having discharge ports opening to said bearings, and means interposed between and for yieldingly thrusting the cylinders against the bearings and providing for automatic relief of pressure from the ports.

2. In a gaseous fluid compressor, a casing, a shaft passing through the casing and having therewithin a plurality of eccentrics, eccentric straps mounted thereon and having radial plungers, oscillating compression cylinders, with coaxial transverse bearings, and in which cylinders said plungers reciprocate, said cylinders having adjacent sides provided with trunnions and a bearing device, and means for thrusting the cylinders yieldingly against bearing portions'in said casing; the cylinders having ports adapted to discharge back into the casing when discharge pressure exceeds the seating effort of said thrust means. 7

3. A gaseous fluid compressor including a sealed 10 chamber and an oscillatory compression, cylinder therein, a rotatively driven eccentric in the chamher, and means connecting the said eccentric having a shaft passing through the casing, a casing closure through which the shaft passes and a sealing ring having projecting from an end face an annular bearing bead yieldingly pressed against said closure and being eccentric to the axis of the shaft.

FRANK A. SMITH.

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