Lubrication – Systems – Rotary compressor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-16
2004-02-10
Fenstermacher, David (Department: 3682)
Lubrication
Systems
Rotary compressor
C417S571000, C417S562000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06688431
ABSTRACT:
This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/KR01/00240 which has an International filing date of Feb. 17, 2001, which designated the United States of America and was published in English.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a lubricant supply apparatus for a reciprocating compressor, and in particular to a lubricant supply apparatus for a reciprocating compressor that is capable of reducing the number of parts and facilitating assembling.
BACKGROUND ART
In general, a reciprocating compressor compresses refrigerant gas by a linear reciprocating motion of a piston combined with a magnet and coil assembly in place of a crankshaft.
As depicted in
FIG. 1
, a reciprocating compressor in accordance with the prior art includes a compressing unit C horizontally installed inside a casing V containing lubricant at a lower portion. The compressing unit C draws in, compresses and discharges a refrigerant. A lubricant supply apparatus O is fixed to the exterior of the compressing unit C for supplying lubricant thereto.
As depicted in
FIGS. 2A-2B
, the lubricant supply apparatus O includes a lubricant cylinder
21
installed at the bottom surface of the compressing unit C. A lubricant piston
22
is inserted inside the lubricant cylinder
21
and divides the interior of the lubricant cylinder
21
into a suction area S
1
and a discharge area S
2
. A first lubricant spring
23
A and a second lubricant spring
23
B elastically support both ends of the lubricant piston
22
at the end of the lubricant cylinder
22
. A lubricant suction valve
24
is installed at an outlet end of the lubricant piston
22
and is supported by the second lubricant spring
23
B. A lubricant discharge valve
25
is installed at an outlet side of the lubricant cylinder
21
.
The lubricant piston
22
is inserted into and slidable with respect to the lubricant cylinder
21
, e.g, an outer circumference of the lubricant piston
22
is in contact with the inner circumference of the lubricant cylinder
21
. A lubricant passage
22
a
is formed inward of the lubricant cylinder
21
by penetrating the lubricant cylinder
21
from an inlet to an outlet.
The lubricant suction valve
24
is compressed and supported by the second lubricant spring
23
B at a section of the outlet of the lubricant piston
22
so as to open and shut the lubricant passage
22
a
formed inward of the lubricant piston
22
.
In
FIGS. 1-2B
, unexplained reference numeral
1
is a frame,
1
a
is a lubricant suction channel,
3
is a cylinder,
4
is an inner stator and an outer stator,
5
is a magnetic assembly,
6
is a piston,
7
is a suction valve,
8
is a discharge valve assembly,
9
is a suction pipe,
26
is a suction cover,
27
is a discharge cover, S
1
is a suction area, and a S
2
is a discharge area.
The operation of the lubricant supply apparatus of the reciprocating compressor in accordance with the prior art will be described hereinafter. In a linear reciprocating motion of the magnetic assembly
5
of a reciprocating motor, the compressing unit C oscillates horizontally along with the magnetic assembly
5
, etc., the linear reciprocating movement is transmitted to the lubricant cylinder
21
fixed to the compressing unit C, e.g., the lubricant cylinder
21
also performs a linear reciprocating motion. The lubricant piston
22
is slidably inserted into the lubricant cylinder
21
and draws in and discharges lubricant by performing a reciprocating motion inside the lubricant cylinder
21
due to an inertia force opposed to the reciprocating motion of the lubricant cylinder
21
.
First, as depicted in
FIG. 2A
, when the lubricant cylinder
21
moves to a “P” direction, the lubricant piston
22
moves in a direction opposite to a motion of the lubricant cylinder
21
by overcoming the first lubricant spring
23
A. Since a pressure of the discharge area S
2
is lower than a pressure of the suction area S
1
, lubricant of the suction area S
1
flows to the discharge area S
2
through the lubricant passage
22
a
. The lubricant suction valve
24
is opened and the lubricant discharge valve
25
returns and shuts the discharge side of the lubricant cylinder
21
, e.g., thereby preventing a back flow of lubricant.
As depicted in
FIG. 2B
, when the lubricant cylinder
21
moves to a “Q” direction, the lubricant piston
22
moves in a direction opposite to a motion of the lubricant cylinder
21
by overcoming the second lubricant spring
23
B. This action pushes lubricant filled inside the discharge area S
2
, and at the same time lubricant is filled in the suction area S
1
by flowing through a gap between the lubricant cylinder
21
and a lubricant suction cover
26
. The lubricant passage
22
a
of the lubricant piston
22
is shut by shutting the lubricant suction valve
24
. In contrast, if the lubricant discharge valve
25
is opened, the discharge side of the lubricant cylinder
21
is opened.
However, the inventor of the present application has determined that the lubricant supply apparatus of the reciprocating compressor of the background art suffers from the following problems.
First, in the above-identified lubricant supply apparatus for a reciprocating compressor, a lubricant suction channel and a lubricant discharge channel are separately placed at both sides of a lubricant piston. In addition, lubricant is guided from a suction area to a discharge area through a lubricant passage formed inside the lubricant piston.
However, since the lubricant passage has to be formed inside the lubricant piston as small as possible, it is difficult to fabricate the lubricant passage. When a diameter of the lubricant passage increases in order to facilitate the fabrication of the lubricant passage, the required size of the lubricant piston increases. Accordingly a compact lubricant supply apparatus cannot be provided in the above-identified lubricant supply apparatus of the prior art.
In addition, since the size of a lubricant suction valve controlling suction and discharge of lubricant is small, manual assembly and operation is more difficult, and as a result, productivity is lowered. Since an opening and shutting portion (not shown) of the lubricant suction valve is bridged by the compression coil springs supporting the lubricant piston, suction and discharge of lubricant cannot be controlled appropriately. Further, smooth operation cannot be performed when impurities stick to the lubricant suction valve. Accordingly reliability of parts and operation is significantly lowered. In addition, since an increased number of parts are required in order to construct the lubricant supply apparatus, the complexity of the assembly process is increased, and productivity is decreased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, in order to solve above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lubricant supply apparatus of for a reciprocating compressor that is capable of supplying lubricant smoothly, without forming a lubricant passage in a lubricant piston, and while maintaining a compact structure.
In addition, it is another object of the present invention to provide a lubricant supply apparatus for a reciprocating compressor that is capable of supplying lubricant while also simplifying the assembly of the lubricant supply apparatus.
It is another object to prevent parts of the lubricant supply apparatus from interfering with other parts.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lubricant supply apparatus of a reciprocating compressor that is capable of improving productivity by simplifying assembly, e.g., by decreasing the number of parts.
These and other objects are accomplished by a reciprocating compressor comprising a reciprocating motor having a reciprocating magnetic assembly positioned between an inner stator and an outer stator;
a compression unit having a cylinder and a lubricant guide passage guiding lubricant inside the cylinder; and a piston operatively connected to the magnetic assembly for compressing a refrigeran
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Fenstermacher David
LG Electronics Inc.
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