Description A COMPRESSOR
[001] The present invention relates to a compressor, utilized preferably in cooling devices, which reduces the heating of the fluid in the refrigerant cycle to a minimum level.
[002] In indirect suction system employed in the hermetic compressors utilized preferably in cooling devices, a suction muffler made of plastic material is utilized for attenuating the pressure waves and the refrigerant vapor coming from the evaporator with low pressure and temperature is sucked by the muffler and sent to the cylinder after being mixed with the high temperature gas inside the casing. In this type of systems, the density of the refrigerant decreases due to the gas mixture inside the casing and consequently the compressor capacity and performance decrease. The temperature of refrigerant continues to rise due to the heat transfer inside the suction muffler and there is loss of yield as a result of the heating in the conduit from the compressor inlet to the cylinder. In the direct suction applications developed for solving this problem, either the suction inlet is connected to the compressor inlet with a flexible duct or a duct connection is used between the cylinder head and the compressor inlet. In the first one of these applications, since the muffler can not be taken out, although the temperature of the gas at the muffler inlet decreases, heat transfer and consequently the temperature of the refrigerant inside the muffler increases as a result of the fact that the temperature difference between the muffler and its immediate surroundings goes up, reducing the performance of the direct suction system. And in the case of taking out the muffler and connecting the cylinder head directly to the compressor inlet, since there is no volume for storing the refrigerant, the gas is tried to be sucked in directly from the duct during the suction phase and the power needed for the start up of the compressor is increased since pressure losses increase, effecting the performance adversely.
[003] In the United States Patent no. US 4784583, in a compressor comprising a suction muffler, the suction muffler is made of a thermally insulated material and is directly fixed to the valve plate in such a way that a thermal exchange between the refrigerant gas and the cylinder head is avoided.
[004] In the United States Patent no. US 6155800, a direct suction system is described in which the suction muffler is taken out of the compressor chamber and the gas flowing out from the muffler is conducted to the suction chamber by way of a flexible connection duct that can contract and expand like a bellows. The connection duct, being of flexible structure, provides the attenuation of the vibrations. When this duct is connected to the suction chamber and the compressor inlet hermetically, since the inner pressure of the shell will increase due to the leak between the cylinder and the
piston, a balancing portion exists that extends from the suction chamber into the shell in the shape of a capillary tube or an orifice for balancing the pressure.
[005] In the Japanese Patent no. JP 59218223 the outer layer of a suction muffler is made of a metallic material and serves as a sound insulator, while the inner layer is made of a heat insulating synthetic material and serves as a thermal insulator.
[006] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a compressor comprising a refrigerant chamber which prevents the temperature of the refrigerant fluid from rising until it reaches the cylinder, and thus minimizes the heat transfer.
[007] The compressor realized in order to attain above mentioned aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where :
[008] Figure 1 - is the cross-sectional view of a compressor.
[009] Figure 2 - is the front view of a refrigerant chamber.
[010] Figure 3 - is the schematic view of a refrigerant chamber.
[011] Figure 4 - is the schematic view of a refrigerant chamber in another embodiment of the present invention.
[012] Figure 5 - is the A-A sectional view of a refrigerant chamber.
[013] Figure 6 - is the B-B sectional view of a refrigerant chamber.
[014] Figure 7 - is the exploded perspective view of a refrigerant chamber.
[015] Figure 8 - is the perspective view of a refrigerant chamber.
[016] Elements shown in the figures are numbered as follows:
1. Compressor
2. Casing
3. Cylinder
4. Cylinder head
5. Refrigerant chamber
6. Compressor inlet
7. Connection duct
8. First component
9. Second component
10. Inner volume
11. Insulation volume
12. Inner pressure balancing opening
13. Outer pressure balancing opening
14. Rib
15. Inlet duct
16. Inlet orifice
17. Outlet orifice
18. Inner insulation wall
19. Outer insulation wall
[017] The circulation of the refrigerant fluid in the cooling devices is performed by a compressor (1).
[018] The compressor (1) comprises a casing (2) that protects the operating components within, a cylinder (3) that provides the pumping of the refrigerant fluid, a cylinder head (4) situated on the cylinder, directing the sucked and pumped refrigerant fluid, a refrigerant chamber (5) which stores the refrigerant fluid arriving from the evaporator in the refrigerant cycle, keeping the density and the pressure at the desired level and avoiding the heating up of the refrigerant fluid until it reaches the cylinder head (4) by providing thermal insulation, a compressor inlet (6) situated on the casing (2) which allows the entry of the refrigerant fluid flowing from the evaporator in the refrigerant cycle, and a connection duct (7) with leak-proof and elastic features, connecting the compressor inlet (6) with the refrigerant chamber (5) , ensuring the arrival of the refrigerant fluid to the refrigerant chamber (5) without being dispersed into the volume in the casing (2).
[019] The refrigerant chamber (5) comprises an inner volume (10) where the refrigerant fluid circulating in the refrigerant cycle is stored, and a body formed by, a first component (8) having an inner insulation wall (18) forming a thermal insulation barrier via surrounding the inner volume (10) and a second component (9) having an outer insulation wall (19), surrounding the inner insulation wall (18) from the outside, forming a second thermal insulation barrier, being fitted one above the other, their walls surrounding each other.
[020] The first component (8) and the second component (9) have the shape of a box, with one of their surfaces open, and are fitted inside one another so that their open surfaces face each other. The inner insulation wall (18) and the outer insulation wall (19) that is fitted over, form a double layered wall surrounding the inner volume (10) laterally.
[021] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant chamber (5) comprises, an insulation volume (11) between the inner insulation wall (18) and the outer insulation wall (19) avoiding the heating of the refrigerant fluid via being effected by the hot gases inside the casing (2), one or more inner pressure balancing openings (12) for balancing the pressure between the insulation volume (11) and the inner volume (10), one or more outer pressure balancing openings (13) for balancing the pressure between the insulation volume (11) and the inner volume of the casing (2), and one or more ribs (14) situated on the first component (8) and/or the second component (9) and providing for the formation of an insulation volume (11) and/or an inner pressure balancing opening (12), and/or an outer pressure balancing opening (13), between the first component (8) and the second component (9), when the first
component (8) and the second component (9) are fitted over each other, by resting on the surface facing them, an inlet duct (15) that allows the entry of the refrigerant fluid received from the evaporator, an inlet orifice (16) providing for the delivery of the refrigerant fluid received from the inlet duct (15) to the inner volume (10), and an outlet orifice (19) for delivering the stored refrigerant fluid to the cylinder head (4).
[022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the inlet duct (15) extends into the insulation volume (11) so that it faces the inlet orifice (16). In this embodiment of the present invention, some of the refrigerant fluid entering from the inlet duct (15) goes to the insulation volume (11) and some of it is directed to the inner volume (10) by passing through the inlet orifice (16) facing it (Figure 3).
[023] In another embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant fluid passes through the inlet duct (15) and the inlet orifice (16) directly into the inner volume (10). In this embodiment of the present invention, all of the refrigerant fluid entering from the inlet duct (15) fills up the inner volume (10) and some of it passes to the insulation volume (11) through the inner pressure balancing openings (12) (Figure 4).
[024] As the compressor (1) operates with consecutive suction and pumping phases in the refrigerant cycle, the refrigerant fluid arriving from the evaporator passes through the compressor inlet (6) situated on the casing (2) and the flexible connection duct (7) into the inlet duct (15) and from here reaches the inner volume (10) of the refrigerant chamber (5). The effect of the hot gases inside the casing (2) interacting on the refrigerant fluid stays at a minimum level with the help of the insulation walls (18, 28) surrounding the inner volume (10) and the insulation volume (11) between the insulation walls (18, 28). The pressure that tends to rise inside the casing (2) due to the leak between the cylinder (3) and the piston is balanced by the help of the inner pressure balancing opening (12) and the outer pressure balancing opening (13) and the defects like damaging the flexible components, and resolution of the refrigerant fluid in the oil present in the casing (2) are overcome. The temperature of the refrigerant fluid which stays at the desired level during the suction phase of the compressor (1), reaches the cylinder head (4) passing through the outlet orifice (16).
[025] The inner volume (10) of the refrigerant chamber (5) of the present invention, is about 2 to 3 times of the stroke volume of the cylinder (3). The lowering of the pressure is prevented by sucking the refrigerant fluid which is in the gaseous form, from the inner volume (11) during the suction phase of the compressor (1).
[026] The size of the refrigerant chamber (5) is about 1/3 the size of the conventional suction mufflers. Since the total surface area of the refrigerant chamber (5) is decreased due to the reduction in size, the heat transfer from the hot gases inside the inner volume of the casing (2) to the refrigerant fluid also decreases, with the construction formed by the insulation walls (18, 28) connected to the first component (8)
and the second component (9) and the insulation volume (11) between the insulation walls (18, 28) reduce the heat transfer to a minimum level, preventing the heating up of the refrigerant fluid while it stays in the refrigerant chamber (5).
[027] The refrigerant chamber (5) provides the desired thermal insulation with its double wall construction by using an inexpensive material instead of an expensive material with a high thermal insulation feature in the composition of its body.
[028] The double wall assembly of the refrigerant chamber (5) is formed by fitting the simple constructions of the first component (8) and the second component (9) over the other, which provides ease of production.