Pumps – With muffler acting on pump fluid
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-23
2002-05-21
Freay, Charles G. (Department: 3746)
Pumps
With muffler acting on pump fluid
C181S403000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06390788
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates, in general, to hermetic compressors and, more particularly, to a working-fluid intaking structure for such hermetic compressors designed to directly feed sucked working-fluid to a suction muffler within a hermetic compressor.
BACKGROUND ART
FIG. 1
shows the internal construction of a conventional hermetic compressor. As shown in the drawing, the conventional hermetic compressor comprises a hermetic housing
1
consisting of upper and lower casings
1
t
and l
b
, with a frame
2
being set within the housing
1
. A stator
3
is fixedly mounted to the frame
2
. Such a frame
2
is held in the hermetic housing
1
by a spring
2
S.
A crankshaft
5
is installed within the housing
1
while passing through the central portion of the frame
2
, while a rotor
4
is integrated with the crankshaft
5
into a single structure. The above rotor
4
is electromagnetically rotated along with the crankshaft
5
in cooperation with the stator
3
. An eccentric pin
5
b
is provided on the upper end of the crankshaft
5
while being eccentric from the rotating axis of the crankshaft
5
. The construction of the eccentric pin
5
b
will be described in more detail later herein.
On the other hand, a cylinder
6
, having a compression chamber
6
′, is integrated with the frame
2
into a single structure, with a piston
7
being set in the compression chamber
6
′ of the cylinder
6
. The above piston
7
is connected to the eccentric pin
5
b
of the crankshaft
5
through a connecting rod
8
.
A suction muffler
9
is installed within the hermetic housing I while communicating with the compression chamber
6
′ of the cylinder
6
, with a suction pipe
10
being directly coupled to the suction muffler
9
through a coupling cap
11
. The object of the above suction muffler
9
is to reduce operational noises of the working-fluid, sucked from the outside of the compressor into the compressor housing
1
, prior to feeding the working-fluid to the compression chamber
6
′ of the cylinder
6
. The coupling structure between the coupling cap
11
and the suction muffler
9
is shown in detail in FIG.
2
. As shown in the drawing, the coupling cap
11
, having a predetermined shape, is inserted into the suction port
9
′ of the suction muffler
9
, while the suction pipe
10
is coupled to the coupling cap
11
using a spring
12
.
A stop projection
11
j
is formed on the upper end portion of the above coupling cap
11
, and so the coupling cap
11
is caught by the interior surface of the suction muffler
9
at the stop projection
11
j
when the coupling cap
11
is fully inserted into the suction port
9
′ of the suction muffler
9
. A limit projection
11
s
is formed at the lower end portion of the coupling cap
11
and limits the insertion of the cap
11
into the suction port
9
′ of the muffler
9
. The lower end portion of the coupling cap
11
is gradually and linearly enlarged in diameter in a direction from the limit projection
11
s
to the distal end.
On the other hand, the spring
12
is fully inserted into the coupling cap
11
at one end thereof and is fitted over the upper end of the suction pipe
10
at the other end thereof. Such a spring
12
normally biases the cap
11
toward the suction muffler
9
, thus elastically holding the cap
11
relative to the suction muffler
9
while absorbing and releasing operational vibration of the compressor.
In the drawings, the reference numeral
13
denotes an exhaust muffler that is used for reducing operational noises of compressed refrigerant exhausted from the compression chamber
6
′, and the reference character L denotes oil used for lubricating and cooling the parts of the compressor.
In an operation of the above conventional compressor, working-fluid is introduced into the compression chamber
6
′ of the cylinder
6
as follows. That is, the working-fluid orderly passes through the suction pipe
10
and the coupling cap
11
prior to being introduced into the suction muffler
9
. The working-fluid is reduced in operational noises while passing through the suction muffler
9
and flows into the compression chamber
6
′ of the cylinder
6
.
However, the above conventional hermetic compressor is problematic as follows.
That is, the coupling cap
11
is elastically inserted into and held in the suction port
9
′ of the suction muffler
9
due to its own elasticity, and so it is necessary for both the coupling cap
11
and the suction port
9
′ to have precise dimensions. However, the size of the coupling cap
11
may be larger than that of the suction port
9
′ in an effort to accomplish a desired machining allowance. In this case, it is very difficult to assemble the coupling cap
11
with the suction port
9
′ of the suction muffler
9
.
On the other hand, when the size of the coupling cap
11
is exceedingly smaller that of the suction port
9
′, the coupling cap
11
may be undesirably moved within the suction port
9
′ during an operation of the compressor. This finally undesirably induces vibration to the parts that are operated in conjunction with the coupling cap
11
, thus reducing the operational reliability of the compressor. Such an exceedingly small cap
11
also forms undesirable metal powder within the suction port
9
′, the metal powder being formed by a frictional movement of the cap
11
relative to the suction port
9
′.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a working-fluid intaking structure for hermetic compressors, which is designed to more firmly and stably connect the suction pipe to the suction muffler.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a working-fluid intaking structure for hermetic compressors, which allows the suction pipe to be more easily and simply connected to the suction muffler.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a working-fluid intaking structure for hermetic compressors, comprising a working-fluid suction means set in a hermetic compressor while extending through the hermetic housing of the compressor, a suction muffler set in the hermetic housing and used for reducing operational noises of sucked working-fluid fed from the working-fluid suction means prior to feeding the working-fluid to a working-fluid compression part of the compressor, a coupling cap inserted into the suction muffler while being elastically held at a desired position of the suction muffler by an elastic member allowing the working-fluid suction means to communicate with the suction muffler; and a plurality of pressure projections formed on the coupling cap and used for firmly setting the coupling cap on the suction muffler.
In the working-fluid intaking structure, the pressure projections may be formed on at least one of the external and internal surfaces of the coupling cap so as to be brought into close contact with the internal surface of a suction port of the suction muffler and with the external surface of the elastic member. It is also preferable to axially form the pressure projections on the coupling cap.
In accordance with the working-fluid intaking structure for hermetic compressors of this invention, it is possible to easily and firmly set the coupling cap at a desired position of the suction muffler, with the coupling cap be used for connecting a suction pipe to the suction muffler.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5888055 (1999-03-01), Lee
patent: 61-113982 (1986-07-01), None
patent: 2-56876 (1990-03-01), None
patent: 97-6889 (1997-02-01), None
Fleshner & Kim LLP
LG Electronics Inc.
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