COMPRESSOR HOUSING AND METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A COMPRESSOR HOUSING

Abstract

A compressor housing has a housing body that is embodied so as to be open at two opposing end faces of the housing body, and a base element which closes one of the two open end faces of the housing body in an assembled state of the compressor housing, the base element being frictionally secured in the assembled state with its outer peripheral surface against an inner peripheral surface of the housing body by means of an interference fit.

Claims

1. A compressor housing comprising: a housing body that is embodied so as to be open at two opposing end faces of the housing body, and a base element that closes one of the two open end faces of the housing body in an assembled state of the compressor housing, wherein, in the assembled state, the base element is frictionally secured by means of an interference fit with its outer peripheral surface against an inner peripheral surface of the housing body.

2. The compressor housing as set forth in claim 1, wherein the interference fit is formed by shrinking the housing body onto the base element.

3. The compressor housing as set forth in claim 1, wherein the interference fit is formed through cold stretching of the base element.

4. The compressor housing as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a weld seam applied at a junction between the housing body and the base element.

5. The compressor housing as set forth in claim 4, wherein the weld seam is applied by means of a laser welding process.

6. A method for assembling a compressor housing, comprising: Introducing a base element into a housing body having two opposing open end faces, and frictionally securing the base element into the housing body with an outer peripheral surface of the base element against an inner peripheral surface of the housing body by means of an interference fit so that, in an assembled state of the compressor housing, the base element closes one of the two end faces of the housing body.

7. The method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising forming the interference fit by heating and shrinking the housing body onto the outer peripheral surface of the base element.

8. The method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising forming the interference fit by cooling the base element to a temperature below room temperature and, after the introduction of the cooled base element into the housing body, allowing the base element to expand during heating to room temperature until the base element abuts with its outer peripheral surface against the inner peripheral surface of the housing body.

9. The method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising applying a weld seam at a junction between the housing body and the base element.

10. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein applying the weld seam is by means of a laser welding process.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Additional measures improving the invention are elucidated below through the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the sole FIG. 1.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view along a longitudinal axis of a compressor housing according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The compressor housing 100 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a housing body 10, which is preferably made from a metal material. The housing body 10 is embodied in the form of a hollow cylinder. The housing body 10 is open at its two end faces 11, 12.

[0016] In addition to the housing body 10, the compressor housing 100 has a base element 13 and a cover element 14. In a assembled state as shown in FIG. 1, the base element 13 is arranged on the end face 11, and the cover element 14 is arranged on the opposing end face 12.

[0017] The cover element 14 is attached to the housing body 10 in the assembled state by means of a plurality of screws 15.

[0018] In contrast, the base element 13which, like the cover element 14, is embodied as a separate part from the housing body 10is frictionally secured by means of an interference fit against the housing body 10 in the assembled state due to the fact that the base element 13 abuts with its outer peripheral surface 16 in a planar and sealing manner against an inner peripheral surface 17 of the housing body 10 in an interference fit. The base element 13 abuts with its entire outer peripheral surface 16 against the inner peripheral surface 17 of the housing body 10, so that a gap-free junction 18 is formed between the base element 13 and the housing body 10.

[0019] The base element 13 is embodied as a circular plate element. It is preferably made from the same material, particularly metal material, as the housing body 10.

[0020] In the assembled state, the base element 13 is arranged in the housing body 10 in such a way that the base element 13 is flush with the end face 19 of the housing body 10 that points outward on the end face 11, as can be seen in FIG. 1.

[0021] In order to form the interference fit between the housing body 10 and the base element 13, the base element 13 has an outer diameter DA in the assembled state that is greater than the inner diameter Di of the housing body 10. In the assembled state, the outer diameter DA of the base element 13 is equal to the inner diameter Di of the housing body 10.

[0022] The interference fit for the frictional joining of the housing body 10 to the base element 13 can be formed by shrinking the housing body 10 onto the base element 13. In this case, the housing body 10 is thermally heated, so that the housing body 10 expands and the inner diameter Di of the housing body 10 is thus enlarged. On the other hand, the base element 13 is not heated, but is at a temperature approximately equal to room temperature. As a result of the enlargement of the inner diameter D.sub.I of the housing body 10, it becomes larger than the outer diameter DA of the base element 13. In the heated state of the housing body 10, the base element 13 is introduced into the housing body 10 by positioning the base element 13 on the inner peripheral surface 17 in the vicinity of the end face 11 of the housing body 10. Upon renewed cooling of the housing body 10, the material of the housing body 10 contracts again, so that the inner diameter D.sub.I of the housing body 10 decreases again and the housing body 10 thus shrinks with its inner peripheral surface 17 onto the outer peripheral surface 16 of the base element 13. Due to the shrinking, an interference fit is formed between the base element 13 and the housing body 10, enabling a sealed attachment of the base element 13 to the housing body 10 to be achieved.

[0023] Alternatively, it is also possible for the interference fit to be formed through cold stretching of the base element 13. In that case, the base element 13 is cooled to a temperature below room temperature, as a result of which the material of the base element 13 contracts and the outer diameter D.sub.A of the base element 13 is thus reduced. In the cooled state of the base element 13, the base element 13 has an outer diameter D.sub.A that is smaller than the inner diameter D.sub.I of the housing body 10. In this cooled state, the base element 13 is introduced into the housing body 10 and positioned at the end face 11 to be closed. Once the base element 13 warms up again to room temperature, the outer diameter D.sub.A of the base element 13 increases again, whereby the base element 13 again increases in its outer peripheral surface 16 until the base element 13 abuts in a sealing manner with its outer peripheral surface 16 against the inner peripheral surface 17 of the housing body 10, thus forming a force fit or an interference fit between the base element 13 and the housing body 10.

[0024] In order to seal the junction 18 between the outer peripheral surface 16 of the base element 13 and the inner peripheral surface 17 of the housing body 10 even better, particularly in a gas-tight manner, a weld seam 20 is applied to the junction 18 from outside the compressor housing 100. The weld seam 20 preferably extends over the entire length of the junction 18. However, the weld seam 20 can also be applied to the junction 18 at points along the length of the junction 18.

[0025] The weld seam 20 can be applied to the junction 18 by means of a laser welding process.

[0026] The invention is not limited in its execution to the abovementioned preferred embodiment. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable that make use of the illustrated solution even in the form of fundamentally different embodiments. All of the features and/or advantages that follow from the claims of the description or the drawings, including structural details of spatial arrangements and method steps, can be essential to the invention, both individually and in the most diverse combinations.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0027] 100 compressor housing

[0028] 10 housing body

[0029] 11 end face

[0030] 12 end face

[0031] 13 base element

[0032] 14 cover element

[0033] 15 screw

[0034] 16 outer peripheral surface

[0035] 17 inner peripheral surface

[0036] 18 junction

[0037] 19 end face

[0038] 20 weld seam

[0039] D.sub.A outer diameter of the base element

[0040] D.sub.I inner diameter of the housing body