SCROLL FLUID MACHINE

Abstract

One of a pair of a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll is the scroll including a step portion provided only at a predetermined position along a spiral direction on a blade bottom surface of a spiral wrap, and the other one of the scrolls is the scroll including a step portion provided only at a predetermined position along a spiral direction on a blade tip surface of a spiral wrap. A blade bottom surface of an end plate of the fixed scroll is set as a reference surface for setting a chip gap between both the scrolls. When a wrap height of the spiral wrap of the orbiting scroll is represented by (L) (Lo, Li) and a wrap height of the spiral wrap of the fixed scroll is represented by (lo, li), L (Lo, Li)>1 (lo, li) is satisfied.

Claims

1. A scroll fluid machine comprising: a pair of a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll having a structure in which spiral wraps are erected on end plates, respectively, and the spiral wraps engage with each other, wherein one of the fixed scroll and the orbiting scroll is a scroll including a step portion provided only at a predetermined position along a spiral direction on a blade bottom surface of the spiral wrap, and the other one of the fixed scroll and the orbiting scroll is a scroll including a step portion provided only at a predetermined position along a spiral direction on a blade tip surface of the spiral wrap, a blade bottom surface of the end plate of the scroll which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface is set as a reference surface for setting a chip gap between the scrolls, and when a wrap height of the spiral wrap of the scroll including the step portion on the blade bottom surface is represented by L and a wrap height of the spiral wrap of the scroll which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface is represented by 1, L>1 is satisfied.

2. The scroll fluid machine according to claim 1, wherein the entire blade bottom surface of the end plate of the scroll which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface is set as a reference surface for setting a chip gap between the blade bottom surface of the end plate of the scroll and the blade tip surface of the spiral wrap of a counterpart scroll to engage with the scroll.

3. The scroll fluid machine according to claim 1, wherein the fixed scroll is the scroll which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

[0021] FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a scroll fluid machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0022] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a scroll fluid machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] As an example of the scroll fluid machine, an example in which an open-type scroll compressor of a type that is driven by power externally supplied is applied will be described.

[0025] An open-type scroll compressor (scroll fluid machine) 1 includes a housing 2 that constitutes an outline of the compressor as illustrated in FIG. 1. The housing 2 has an opening at a front end thereof and has a cylindrical shape sealed at a rear end thereof. A front housing 3 is fastened and fixed to the opening at the front end side with a bolt 4, thereby forming an enclosed space in the housing and incorporating a scroll compression mechanism 5 and a drive shaft 6 into the enclosed space.

[0026] The drive shaft 6 is rotatably supported by the front housing 3 through a main bearing 7 and a sub bearing 8. A pulley 11 that is rotatably installed the outer peripheral portion of the front housing 3 through a bearing 10 is coupled to a front end, which projects to the outside from the front housing 3 through a mechanical seal 9, through an electromagnetic clutch 12, thereby enabling transmission of power from the outside. At a rear end of the drive shaft 6, a crank pin 13, which is decentered by a predetermined dimension, is integrally formed and is coupled to an orbiting scroll 16 of the scroll compression mechanism 5, which is described later, through a well-known driven crank mechanism 14 including a drive bushing and a drive bearing which allow the orbiting radius thereof to be variable.

[0027] In the scroll compression mechanism 5, a pair of a fixed scroll 15 and an orbiting scroll 16 engage with each other by shifting a phase by 108 degrees, thereby forming a pair of compression chambers 17 between both the scrolls 15 and 16. The compression chambers 17 are moved to a central position from an outer peripheral position while the volume thereof is gradually reduced, thereby compressing a fluid (refrigerant gas). The fixed scroll 15 includes a discharge port 18 that discharges a compressed gas at a central part thereof, and is fixed and installed at the bottom wall surface of the housing 2 through a bolt 19. The orbiting scroll 16 is coupled to the crank pin 13 of the drive shaft 6 through the driven crank mechanism 14, and is supported by a thrust bearing surface of the front housing 3 through a well-known rotation inhibiting mechanism 20 in such a manner that the orbiting scroll can be driven to revolve.

[0028] An O-ring 21 is provided on the outer periphery of an end plate 15A of the fixed scroll 15. The O-ring 21 is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the housing 2, and the inside space of the housing 2 is partitioned into a discharge chamber 22 and an intake chamber 23. The discharge chamber 22 has the discharge port 18 through which a compressed gas supplied from the compression chamber 17 is discharged, and the compressed gas is discharged to a refrigeration cycle side. In the intake chamber 23, an intake port 24 which is provided on the housing 2 is opened. A low-pressure gas that is circulated in a refrigeration cycle is sucked in and a refrigerant gas is sucked in the compression chamber 17 through the intake chamber 23.

[0029] The pair of the fixed scroll 15 and the orbiting scroll 16 have a structure in which spiral wraps 15B and 16B are erected on end plates 15A and 16A, respectively. In this embodiment, one of the fixed scroll 15 and the orbiting scroll 16, i.e., the fixed scroll 15 in this case, is a scroll that includes a step portion 15E which is provided only at a predetermined position along the spiral direction on a blade tip surface 15C of a spiral wrap 15B. The other scroll, i.e., the orbiting scroll 16, is a scroll that includes a step portion 16E which is provided at a predetermined position (a position corresponding to the step portion 15E provided on the blade tip surface 15C of the spiral wrap 15B in the fixed scroll 15) along the spiral direction on a blade bottom surface 16D of a spiral wrap 16B.

[0030] On a blade bottom surface 15D of the fixed scroll 15 which does not include a step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D, the entire surface of the end plate 15A is a flat surface. Between the blade bottom surface 15D and a blade tip surface 16C of the orbiting scroll 16 which does not include a step portion on the blade tip surface 16C, a reference surface 25 for setting a chip gap between both the scrolls 15 and 16 is formed. With this structure, the entire surface (entire diameter) of the end plate 15A of the fixed scroll 15 can be set as the reference surface 25.

[0031] Wrap heights Lo and Li of the spiral wrap 16B of the orbiting scroll 16 which does not include a step portion on the blade tip surface 16C are equal to or greater than wrap heights lo and li of the spiral wrap 15B of the fixed scroll 15 which includes the step portion 15E on the blade tip surface 15C (Lo, Li≧lo, li), and are desirably set to be greater than the wrap heights lo and li of the spiral wrap 15B by a predetermined dimension (for example, several tens of microns) (Lo, Li>lo, li). Thus, at the setting of the chip gap between both the scrolls 15 and 16, the blade tip surface 16C of the spiral wrap 16B in the orbiting scroll 16 can reliably be brought into contact with the reference surface, thereby preventing only the blade tip surface 15C in the fixed scroll 15 from being brought into contact with the blade bottom surface 16D in the orbiting scroll 16.

[0032] With the structure described above, according to this embodiment, the following operation and effects are obtained.

[0033] When the scroll compressor 1 described above is energized by the electromagnetic clutch 12, power is input to the drive shaft 6 from a drive source through a pulley 11 and the electromagnetic clutch 12 and the drive shaft 6 is rotationally driven, thereby allowing the orbiting scroll 16, which is coupled to the crank pin 13 of the drive shaft 6 through the driven crank mechanism 14 including the drive bushing, from being driven so as to revolve around the fixed scroll 15.

[0034] With this structure, a low-pressure refrigerant gas sucked into the intake chamber 23 from the refrigeration cycle side through the intake port 24 is sucked into the pair of compression chambers 17. This refrigerant gas is compressed when the volume of the compression chambers 17 is reduced along with an orbiting movement toward the central position, and the refrigerant gas is discharged into the discharge chamber 13 through the discharge port 10 which is provided at the central portion of the fixed scroll 15 and is further discharged to the refrigeration cycle.

[0035] During this compression process, the spiral wrap 15B of the fixed scroll 15 and the spiral wrap 16B of the orbiting scroll 16 are sealed when the wrap surfaces are brought into contact with each other by the action of the driven crank mechanism 14. On the other hand, the chip gap between the blade tip surfaces 15C and 16C of the spiral wraps 15B and 16B and the blade bottom surfaces 15D and 16D thereof is sealed via a chip seal (not illustrate) which is interposed between the blade tip surfaces 15C and 16C, thereby reducing leakage of gas from the compression chamber 17 as much as possible. However, the leakage of gas from the chip gap depends on whether or not the chip gap can be set within an allowable range without causing any variation during assembling.

[0036] In this embodiment, the so-called stepped scroll compressor 1 capable of three-dimensional compression is used. One of the pair of the fixed scroll 15 and the orbiting scroll 16, i.e., the orbiting scroll 16, is a scroll including the step portion 16E which is provided only at the predetermined position along the spiral direction on the blade bottom surface 16D of the spiral wrap 16B, and the other one of the scrolls, i.e., the fixed scroll 15, is a scroll including the step portion 15E which is provided only at the predetermined position along the spiral direction on the blade tip surface 15C of the spiral wrap 15B. The blade bottom surface 15D of the end plate 15A of the fixed scroll 15 which does not include a step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D is set as the reference surface 25 for setting the chip gap between both the scrolls 15 and 16. The relationship between the wrap heights Lo and Li of the spiral wrap 16B of the orbiting scroll 16 which includes the step portion 16E on the blade bottom surface 16D and the wrap heights lo and li of the spiral wrap 15B of the fixed scroll 15 which does not include a step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D satisfy “Lo, LI≧lo, Li”, and preferably, “Lo, LI>lo, Li”.

[0037] Accordingly, the blade bottom surface 15D of the end plate 15A of the fixed scroll 15 which does not include a step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D is set as the reference surface 25. The blade tip surface 16C of the spiral wrap 16B of the orbiting scroll 16 which does not include the step portion on the blade tip surface 16C and in which the wrap height Lo and Li of the spiral wrap 16B with respect to the reference surface 25 are set to be higher than the wrap heights lo and li of the spiral wrap 15B of the fixed scroll 15 is reliably brought into contact with the reference surface, thereby making it possible to set the chip gap between both the scrolls 15 and 16. Therefore, the reference surface 25 can be increased (widened) when the chip gap is set, as compared with a structure in which step portions are provided on the blade tip surfaces 15C and 16C and the blade bottom surfaces 15D and 16D of the spiral wraps 15B and 16B of both the scrolls 15 and 16.

[0038] With this structure, the parallelism of the chip gap is increased and a variation in the chip gap is reduced, thereby reducing leakage of a fluid from the chip gap and achieving a further improvement in the efficiency and performance of the scroll compressor (scroll fluid machine) 1. Further, the reference surface 25 is increased to reduce the number of locations where the blade tip surfaces 15C and 16C and the blade bottom surfaces 15D and 16D need to be prevented from being brought into contact in a portion other than the reference surface 25 (in this embodiment, five locations on the blade tip surface 15C of the fixed scroll 15 and the blade bottom surface 16D of the orbiting scroll 16), and the size of the average chip gap is reduced, thereby making it possible to improve the volumetric efficiency and the overall adiabatic efficiency.

[0039] Further, in this embodiment, the entire blade bottom surface 15D of the end plate 15A of the fixed scroll 15 which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D is set as the reference surface 25 for setting the chip gap between the blade bottom surface of the end plate of the scroll and the blade tip surface 16C of the spiral wrap 16B of the counterpart orbiting scroll 16 that engage with the fixed scroll 15. Accordingly, the entire surface (entire diameter) of the end plate 15A of the fixed scroll 15 which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D of the spiral wrap 15B is set as the reference surface 25, and is brought into contact with the blade tip surface 16C of the orbiting scroll 16 which does not include the step portion on the blade tip surface 16C of the spiral wrap 16B, thereby making it possible to set the chip gap. Therefore, the reference surface 25 for setting the chip gap is maximized and the average chip gap is minimized, thereby achieving a further improvement in the efficiency and performance of the scroll fluid machine.

[0040] Further, in this embodiment, since the fixed scroll 15 is the scroll which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D, the fixed scroll 15D which is fixed and installed on the side where the fixing member is located is the scroll which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D, and the blade bottom surface 15D of the end plate 15A thereof is set as the reference surface 25 and is brought into contact with the blade tip surface 16C of the spiral wrap 16B of the orbiting scroll 16 in which the wrap height is represented by Lo and Li and which does not include the step portion on the blade tip surface 16C, thereby making it possible to set the chip gap between both the scrolls 15 and 16. Accordingly, the chip gap can be stably set in the state where the fixed scroll 15 is fixed and installed, thereby reducing a variation when the chip gap is set and further reducing the average chip gap.

[0041] Further, when the fixed scroll 15 is the scroll which does not include the step portion on the blade bottom surface 15D, the driven crank mechanism 14 including the drive bushing and the drive bearing can be installed in the step portion 16E on the end plate 16A in the orbiting scroll 16 which includes the step portion 16E on the blade bottom surface 16D.

[0042] Therefore, the length of the scroll compressor 1 in the axial direction thereof can be reduced by the amount corresponding to the step portion, and the scroll compressor 1 can be downsized.

[0043] Further, in the scroll compressor 1 (for example, see the Publication of Japanese Patent No. 4681322) having a structure in which an oil which is contained in the low-pressure refrigerant gas sucked in the compression chamber 17 and which is separated in the compression chamber 17 is returned to the intake chamber 23, and an oil return passage provided for lubrication of a sliding portion, such as a bearing, which is installed in the intake chamber is provided at the end plate 16A of the orbiting scroll 16, the step portion 16E is provided on the end plate 16A of the orbiting scroll 16 to allow the oil accumulated on the blade bottom surface 16D of the end plate 16A of the orbiting scroll 16 within the compression chamber 17 at the outer peripheral side of the step portion 16E to be immediately returned to the intake chamber 23 through the oil return passage, thereby easily implementing an oil separator function of a so-called direct return system, which can be provided for lubrication of a sliding portion such as a bearing.

[0044] Note that the present invention is not limited to the invention according to the embodiment described above, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, while the embodiment described above illustrates an example in which the present invention is applied to a scroll compressor, the present invention can also be applied to a scroll expander and a scroll pump. While the embodiment described above illustrates an example in which the present invention is applied to an open-type scroll compressor, the present invention can also be applied to a scroll compressor incorporating a compression mechanism and a motor.

[0045] While the embodiment illustrates an example in which the fixed scroll 15 is a scroll including the step portion 15E which is provided only on the blade tip surface 15C, and the orbiting scroll 16 is a scroll including the step portion 16E which is provided only on the blade bottom surface 16D, the fixed scroll 15 may be a scroll including the step portion only on the blade bottom surface 15D and the orbiting scroll 16 may be a scroll including the step portion only on the blade tip surface 16C. The position and height of each of the step portions 15E and 16E in the spiral direction, or the heights Lo and Li of the spiral wrap 15B and the heights lo and li of the spiral wrap 16B may be set as appropriate.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0046] 1 Scroll compressor (scroll fluid machine) [0047] 15 Fixed scroll [0048] 16 Orbiting scroll [0049] 15A, 16A End plate [0050] 15B, 16B Spiral wrap [0051] 15C, 16C Blade tip surface [0052] 15D, 16D Blade bottom surface [0053] 15E, 16E Step portion [0054] 25 Reference surface [0055] Lo, Li Wrap height of orbiting-scroll-side spiral wrap [0056] lo, Li Wrap height of fixed-scroll-side spiral wrap