Pumps – Motor driven – Electric or magnetic motor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-08
2001-06-12
Walberg, Teresa (Department: 3742)
Pumps
Motor driven
Electric or magnetic motor
C417S410100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244837
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to placing components such as power terminal connections or a heater in a sealed compressor preferably to reduce the length of the compressor unit.
Modern compressors often include a compressor pump unit mounted within a sealed housing structure. The sealed housing structure receives the compressor pump unit and an electric motor for driving the compressor pump unit. A crankcase supports the pump unit.
Refrigerant and oil are allowed to flow within the compressor housing to perform various functions such as cooling the motor, etc. Various structure assists in moving the oil throughout the compressor housing.
The electric motor includes a stator mounted in a lower portion of the housing below the crankcase. There is typically a “dead” space between the stator and the crankcase. This space is used for allowing connection of an electrical connection through the sealed housing and to the motor. The overall height of the scroll compressor is defined by the necessary components, such as the motor, crankcase, and other components, as well as the “dead” space between the stator and the crankcase.
Another area of a sealed compressor which may sometimes not be used as efficiently as desired is near the lower end of the compressor shell. There are stator windings at both ends, and typically there is space left beneath the stator windings for the inclusion of components such as an oil heater. Again, this dead space undesirably increases the overall length of the sealed compressor.
Prior art motors have had a small deformed portion at the winding area where a motor protector has been packaged. However, the protector is essentially a part of the motor. Other components of the compressor have typically not been packaged in the length of the motor.
It is, thus, desirable to eliminate “dead” space and reduce the overall height of the scroll compressor. In some applications, there may be other areas that would be useful for packaging the electrical connection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention reduces the height of a sealed compressor. Preferably, the invention provides components other than a motor component at the stator winding level and a method for carrying out same so as to eliminate unnecessary space within the compressor housing. Within this application the term “component” extends to associated electrical elements such as the electrical connection, a crankcase heater, or other components that are not part of the motor itself.
In one embodiment, a terminal connection is made within the stator winding height of a compressor. The compressor includes a compressor pump unit, a motor for driving the compressor pump unit, and a housing surrounding the compressor pump unit and the motor. The motor includes a stator having stator windings and a rotor wherein the stator extends along an axis for a fixed axial length and the rotor rotates about the axis. A set of terminal pins extends through the housing for providing electrical connection of the motor. The terminal pins are mounted on the inside of the housing within an axial length of the stator to reduce the height of the scroll compressor.
To aid in packaging the connection within the stator winding level, the stator winding itself may be deformed inwardly toward the axis of rotation to allow connection of the connector and terminal pins.
For purposes of this application, the electrical connection is defined as a “component”. The stator may be blanked by any manufacturing technique, and the method for deforming the stator inwardly, or alternatively, originally forming it with the desired shape, forms no portion of this invention, and is within the skill of the worker in this art.
In a second embodiment, the component may be an element such as an oil heater positioned near a lower end of the sealed housing. The lower windings are deformed or manufactured to have a non-cylindrical shape at one circumferential location to provide space to accommodate this component. As with the other embodiment, this decreases the required overall height of the compressor.
In a most preferred embodiment, the compressor pump unit is a scroll compressor.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3853429 (1974-12-01), Wiedenmann
patent: 4623304 (1986-11-01), Chikada et al.
patent: 4815947 (1989-03-01), Okoma et al.
patent: 5104297 (1992-04-01), Sekiguchi et al.
Loprete Joseph F.
Milliff Tracy L.
Williams John R.
Campbell Thor
Carlson & Gaskey & Olds
Scroll Technologies
Walberg Teresa
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