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Refrigerant compressor

Refrigerant compressor description/claims

The present invention relates to a hermetically encapsulated refrigerant compressor, comprising a hermetically sealed compressor housing, in the interior of which a piston-cylinder unit works which compresses a refrigerant, whose cylinder housing is sealed by means of a valve plate comprising a pressure bore and an intake bore, and an intake duct and a pressure duct is provided through which refrigerant is drawn into the intake bore via a suction valve and is compressed via a pressure valve from the pressure bore into the pressure duct, with a muffler preferably being arranged in the intake duct.

Such refrigerant compressors have long been known and are predominantly used in refrigerators and cooling shelves. The annually produced number is accordingly very high.

In known refrigerant compressors, the valve plate sealing the cylinder housing is always screwed together with the cylinder housing in order to achieve the sealing of the cylinder space against the interior of the compressor housing. In order to achieve such sealing, a defined pressing pressure is required. In order to facilitate the sealing, sealing of the cylinder clearance is often provided which is arranged between the valve plate and the cylinder housing and assumes a sealing function.

The fastening of the valve plate to the cylinder housing is usually made through four screws which are each arranged in the four corner regions of the valve plate in order to achieve the most even pressing pressure.

The use of screws leads to a high amount of mounting work because on the one hand it is necessary to drill the threaded bores into the valve plate and the cylinder housing, and on the other hand it is necessary to screw in each screw individually into the provided bores. In the case of high piece numbers in which such refrigerant compressors are produced, this leads in summary to a high amount of time in production, which again entails high costs.

A compressor valve with a valve plate arranged on guide pillars is known from DE 32 21 554 A1, which is held in position by means of a spring steel leaf and is fastened to the end of the cylinder block by means of cap screws.

DE 38 13 539 A1 discloses an outlet valve arrangement of a hermetic refrigerant compressor, with a leaf valve of the intake duct resting on a lid-shaped retaining part which on its part is pretensioned by a clamping element. This clamping element projects with its end parts in recesses of the valve plate. This apparatus arrangement which is merely suitable for preliminary mounting of the valve components requires an even stronger pre-tensioning for fixing the retaining part, such that the cylinder head presses on the clamping element in the axial direction and the valve plate still requires a separate screw joint at its end sections in order to be fastened to the cylinder housing.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to avoid this disadvantage and to provide a refrigerant compressor of the kind mentioned above which can be mounted in a short period of time.

A further problem in known, screwed refrigerant compressors is the anharmonic, punctiform introduction of the sealing force into the valve plate.

It is also the goal of the present invention to provide a refrigerant compressor which has a substantially more harmonic introduction of force into the valve plate, while simultaneously offering an at least evenly remaining sealing effect between valve plate and cylinder housing.

This is achieved in accordance with the invention by the characterizing features of claim 1.

By providing a clamping element which clamps the valve plate to the cylinder housing at least along a section of its circumference, complex mounting by means of screws is no longer required on the one hand and there is a harmonic introduction of force into the valve plate on the other hand, thus providing secure sealing of the cylinder cavity against the interior of the compressor housing.

According to a preferred embodiment, the clamping element is substantially arranged in a J-shaped manner and in the form of an annulus, and is latched with an end section on an undercut provided on the cylinder housing, with the other end section of the clamping element forming a first clamping leg which presses the cylinder housing against the valve plate.

According to the characterizing features of claims 6 and 7, a carrier element forming the pressure valve in the form of a pressure leaf spring and/or a sealing element, which both rest in a planar manner on the valve plate, can be arranged between the clamping legs clamping the valve plate and the valve plate.

According to the characterizing features of claim 8, the cylinder housing comprises a shoulder in which the valve plate is sunk at least partly. According to one of the preferred embodiments as described in the characterizing features of claim 9, the surface of the valve plate averted from the piston is flush with the cylinder housing.

According to a further alternative embodiment as described in claim 10, the cylinder head is formed by the components forming the pressure duct or intake duct, and the clamping element comprises a further clamping leg, which pressure duct and intake duct press against the valve plate or into the suction or pressure bore.

According to the characterizing features of claim 11, a further clamping element is provided in another alternative embodiment which can be latched with the clamping element and clamps the cylinder head consisting of components forming the pressure duct or intake duct against the valve plate or into the intake bore and/or pressure bore.

The characterizing features of claims 12 and 13 describe alternative embodiments of the clamping element in connection with a conventional cylinder head in the form of a cylinder cover.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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