Acoustics – Sound-modifying means – Muffler – fluid conducting type
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-04
2003-04-15
Dang, Khanh (Department: 2837)
Acoustics
Sound-modifying means
Muffler, fluid conducting type
C181S403000, C181S207000, C417S312000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06547032
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suction muffler used in a reciprocating compressor, and more particularly to a suction muffler of a reciprocating compressor capable of attenuating pulsating flows generated due to refrigerant gas sucked into the suction muffler, thereby reducing noises.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a muffler applied to reciprocating compressors is installed at the fluid suction section or fluid discharge section of a reciprocating compressor to attenuate suction noises generated during a fluid sucking operation of the compressor or discharge noises generated during a fluid discharging operation of the compressor. The muffler installed at the fluid suction section of the compressor is called a “suction muffler”, and the muffler installed at the fluid discharge section of the compressor is called a “discharge muffler”.
Such suction and discharge mufflers serve to attenuate a pulsation phenomenon periodically generated during repeated fluid suction and discharge operations of a compressor, to which those mufflers are applied, thereby allowing the compressor to smoothly suck and discharge fluid. These mufflers also serve to shield impact noises generated in opening and closing operations of a valve and noises resulting from flowing of fluid so that those noise cannot be externally transmitted from the compressor, thereby reducing the level of noises outputted from the compressor.
FIG. 1
is a sectional view illustrating an example of a reciprocating compressor respectively provided with conventional mufflers at suction and discharge sections thereof.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the reciprocating compressor includes a casing
1
filled with a desired amount of oil, an electric motor mechanism installed in a lower portion of the casing
1
in the interior of the casing
1
and adapted to generate a drive force in response to electric power externally applied thereto, and a compression mechanism installed at an upper portion of the casing
1
in the interior of the casing
1
and adapted to receive the drive force from the electric motor mechanism so as to conduct gas sucking and compressing operations.
The compression mechanism includes a frame
2
fixedly mounted to the casing
1
in a lateral direction in the interior of the casing
1
, a cylinder
3
fixedly mounted to a portion of the frame
2
, and a drive shaft
5
extending vertically through a central portion of the frame
2
while being fitted in a rotor
4
B included in the electric motor mechanism so that it is coupled to the rotor
4
B. The drive shaft
5
is provided at an upper end thereof with an eccentric portion. The compression mechanism also includes a connecting rod
6
coupled to the eccentric portion of the drive shaft
5
and adapted to convert a rotating movement into a reciprocating movement, a piston
7
connected to the connecting rod
6
and slidably received in the cylinder
3
in such a fashion that it reciprocates in the cylinder
3
, a valve assembly
8
coupled to the cylinder
3
and adapted to control suction and discharge of refrigerant gas, and a head cover
9
coupled to the valve assembly
8
and defined with a desired discharge space DS. The compression mechanism further includes a suction muffler
10
coupled to a portion of the head cover
9
in such a fashion that it communicates with a suction section of the valve assembly
8
, and a discharge muffler DM mounted to the cylinder
3
in such a fashion that it communicates with a discharge section of the valve assembly
8
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the suction muffler
10
includes a muffler inlet
11
communicating directly with a refrigerant suction line SP extending through the casing
1
or arranged in the interior of the casing
1
, and a muffler outlet
12
communicating with the suction section of the valve assembly
8
to allow refrigerant gas introduced into the muffler inlet
11
to be guided to a compression chamber defined in the cylinder
3
. The suction muffler
10
also includes a pair of partition plates, that is, a first partition plate
13
and a second partition plate
14
, adapted to partition the inner volume of the suction muffler
10
into three reservoirs in the form of expansion chambers, that is, a first reservoir S
1
, a second reservoir S
2
, and a third reservoir S
3
, a first small-diameter tube
15
extending vertically through the first partition plate
13
and serving to allow the first and second reservoirs S
1
and S
2
to communicate with each other, a second small-diameter tube
16
extending through the first and second partition plates
13
and
14
and serving to allow the second reservoir S
2
to communicate directly with the muffler outlet
12
. The suction muffler
10
further includes a resonant aperture
17
formed at an intermediate wall portion of the second small-diameter tube
16
arranged in the third reservoir S
3
and adapted to allow the third reservoir S
3
to communicate with the muffler outlet
12
so that it constitutes a helmholtz resonator, together with the third reservoir S
3
.
The first and second small-diameter tubes
15
and
16
have a simple cylindrical shape.
In
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the reference numeral or character
4
A denotes a stator,
18
an oil discharge port, C a support spring, O an oil feeder, and SP a suction tube.
Now, an operation of the reciprocating compressor provided with the above mentioned conventional mufflers will be described.
When the rotor
4
B is rotated by a mutual electromagnetic force generated between the stator
4
A and the rotor
4
B in response to electric power applied to the electric motor mechanism, the drive shaft
5
rotates along with the rotor
4
B. The rotation of the drive shaft
5
is converted into straight reciprocating movements by the connecting rod
6
coupled to the eccentric portion of the drive shaft
5
. The reciprocating movements is transmitted to the piston
7
which, in turn, reciprocates in the interior of the cylinder
3
to suck and compress refrigerant gas and to discharge the compressed refrigerant gas. Pressure pulsations and noises, which may be generated during the above mentioned operations of the piston
7
, flow in a direction opposite to the flowing direction of the refrigerant gas so that they are attenuated by the suction muffler
10
.
The procedure for attenuating the pressure pulsations and flowing noise by the conventional mufflers will be described in more detail.
During a suction stroke of the piston
7
from an upper dead point to a lower dead point, refrigerant gas filled in the second reservoir S
2
is forced to be sucked into the compression chamber of the cylinder
3
via the muffler outlet
12
while opening a suction valve (not shown). Simultaneously, new refrigerant gas is introduced into the second reservoir S
2
via the muffler inlet
11
, first reservoir S
1
and first small-diameter tube
15
.
On the other hand, during a compression stroke of the piston
7
from the lower dead point to the upper dead point, the suction valve (not shown) is closed. In this state, a discharge valve (not shown) is simultaneously opened. As a result, compressed refrigerant gas is discharged into the discharge space DS defined in the head cover
9
.
In the procedure in which the suction and discharge of refrigerant gas are repeated, a repetitive pressure pulsation occurs continuously in the suction muffler
10
and head cover
9
. Such pressure pulsations, which exhibit phase differences, are propagated to each flow path defined in the suction muffler
10
. As these pressure pulsations pass the second small-diameter tube
16
, second reservoir S
2
, first small-diameter tube
15
, and first reservoir S
1
, they are gradually attenuated, and finally dissipated. As a result, there are little pressure pulsations at the muffler inlet
11
. Accordingly, the refrigerant gas can be smoothly introduced.
Meanwhile, noises generated during the suction of refrigerant gas are converted into heat energy in accordance with a diffusion and dissipation t
Lee In-Seop
Yoon Sang-Heon
Dang Khanh
LG Electronics Inc.
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