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Hermetic type compressor with suction pressure adjusting device

Hermetic type compressor with suction pressure adjusting device description/claims

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2006-114792, filed on Nov. 20, 2006, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a hermetic type compressor. In particular, the present invention relates to a hermetic type compressor with an improved suction muffler to restrict liquid refrigerant from being suctioned into a compression chamber. By restricting liquid refrigerant, a compression unit that compresses the refrigerant and a driving unit that provides a driving force to the compression unit are not overloaded.

Generally, a hermetic type compressor is employed in a refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator, an air conditioner, and other similar devices. The refrigeration cycle includes a refrigerant, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator. The compressor compresses the refrigerant into a high temperature and high pressure gaseous state. The condenser condenses the gaseous refrigerant transmitted from the compressor into a liquid state. The liquid refrigerant then undergoes a throttling expansion in the expansion device and thereby becomes a low temperature and low pressure liquid refrigerant. The evaporator evaporates the low-temperature-low-pressure liquid refrigerant into a low pressure and low temperature gaseous refrigerant. The gaseous refrigerant is then provided to the compressor. As the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle, it provides cooling by absorbing heat when it evaporates and emits heat when it condenses.

The compressor can be a hermetic type compressor which compresses the low-temperature-low-pressure gaseous refrigerant transmitted from the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle and provides high-temperature-high-pressure gaseous refrigerant to the condenser. Typically, before the hermetic type compressor is started or restarted after being stopped for a predetermined time, a high-pressure side and a low-pressure side of the refrigeration cycle are in equilibrium. When the high-pressure side and the low-pressure side are in equilibrium, an increased amount of the liquid refrigerant enters the hermetic type compressor. When an excessive quantity of the liquid refrigerant is suctioned into and compressed in the compression chamber together with the gaseous refrigerant, compression efficiency of the hermetic type compressor drops, and the refrigerating efficiency of the refrigeration cycle deteriorates.

Moreover, when a larger amount of the liquid refrigerant is transmitted into the suction muffler, the load applied to the compression unit to suction the refrigerant liquid increases, thereby increasing the load on the driving unit to drive the compression unit. The increased load on the compression unit and the driving unit increases the noise of the hermetic type compressor and increases power loss. Thus, in the conventional hermetic type compressor, because the suction muffler guides a great deal of the liquid refrigerant to the refrigerant suction chamber together with the gaseous refrigerant, when the compressor is initially started or restarted, the compression efficiency of the refrigerant deteriorates, noise increases, and excess power is consumed.

Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is to provide a hermetic type compressor in which a suction muffler substantially prevents liquid refrigerant from being suctioned into a compression chamber and prevents overloading of a compression unit to compress the refrigerant and a driving unit to provide a driving force to the compression unit.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a hermetic type compressor. The hermetic type compressor includes a sealed casing, a suction pipe, a suction muffler, a compression unit, a driving unit, and a pressure adjusting unit. The suction pipe penetrates a side of the sealed casing. The suction muffler, the compression unit, and the driving unit are within the sealed casing. The suction muffler is coupled to the suction pipe, and the compression unit is coupled to suction muffler. The driving unit is coupled to the compression unit. The pressure adjusting device is provided on the suction muffler and configured to discharge liquid refrigerant into the sealed casing. The pressure adjusting device maintains the internal pressure of the suction muffler substantially constant.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a pressure adjusting device for a suction muffler of a compression unit. The pressure adjusting device includes an opening formed at a side of the suction muffler, an opening and closing member, and an elastic member. The opening and closing member is coupled to the side of the suction muffler substantially adjacent to the opening to open and close the opening. The elastic member has one end to the side of the suction muffler and another end coupled to the opening and closing member biasing the opening and closing member towards the opening. The opening and closing member opens when an internal pressure of the suction muffler increases above a predetermined value.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a pressure adjusting device for a suction muffler of a compression unit. The pressure adjusting device includes an opening formed at a side of the suction muffler, an opening and closing member, a penetrating hole, a corresponding penetration, a hinge shaft, and a torsion spring. The opening and closing member is pivotably coupled to the side of the suction muffler substantially adjacent to the opening to open and close the opening. The opening and closing member is formed with a cut-out part. The penetrating hole is disposed on the opening and closing member. The corresponding penetration is disposed substantially adjacent to the opening. The hinge shaft is disposed in the penetrating hole and the corresponding penetration. The torsion spring is disposed on the hinge shaft with an end coupled to the side of the suction muffler and another end coupled to the opening and closing member biasing the opening and closing member towards the opening. The opening and closing member opens when an internal pressure of the suction muffler increases above a predetermined value.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a hermetic type compressor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a suction muffler of the hermetic type compressor illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective of a pressure adjusting device of the suction muffler illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the suction muffler illustrating the operation of the pressure adjusting device when an opening and closing member of the pressure adjusting device is open; and

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