| Linear compressor -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Linear compressorRelated Patent Categories: Pumps, Motor Driven, Electric Or Magnetic Motor, Reciprocating Rigid Pumping Member, Reciprocating Motor, Unitary Pump And Motor Working MemberLinear compressor description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070110600, Linear compressor. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a linear compressor, and more particularly, to a linear compressor in which a suction valve performs opening/closing operations as it moves relative to a piston by an inertial force when the piston reciprocally moves. [0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a linear compressor is an apparatus configured in such a fashion that a piston reciprocally moves in a cylinder upon receiving a reciprocating drive force of a linear motor, to compress working-fluid received in the cylinder, for example, refrigerant. The linear compressor is mainly used in refrigerators, etc. [0003] FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a conventional linear compressor. FIG. 2 is a view of important parts of the conventional linear compressor, illustrating the advance movement of a piston. FIG. 3 is a view of important parts of the conventional linear compressor, illustrating the retraction movement of the piston. [0004] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the conventional linear compressor comprises a shell 2 forming the outer appearance of the compressor, a cylinder block 4 and a back cover 6 which are arranged in the shell 2, and a compression unit provided between the cylinder block 4 and the back cover 6. The compression unit serves to compress working-fluid by a desired compression ratio. [0005] The shell 2 is provided with a fluid suction pipe 8 and a fluid discharge pipe 9, such that the working-fluid to be compressed is sucked into the compression unit from the outside of the shell 2, and then, is again discharged out of the shell 2 after being compressed in the compression unit. [0006] The compression unit includes a cylinder 10 having a compression chamber 11 in which the working-fluid, having passed through the fluid suction pipe 8, is compressed, a piston 20 to compress the working-fluid received in the compression chamber 11 of the cylinder 10 while performing reciprocating movements in the cylinder 10, and a linear motor 30 to reciprocally move the piston 20. [0007] The cylinder 10 is provided with a discharge valve assembly 12, such that the working-fluid, compressed in the compression chamber 11 of the cylinder 10, is discharged into the fluid discharge pipe 9 in accordance with the operation of the discharge valve assembly 12. [0008] The piston 20 is internally formed with a suction path 21 for allowing the working-fluid, having passed through the fluid suction pipe 8, to be sucked into the cylinder 10. Also, the piston 20 has a suction valve 22 to open or close the suction path 21. [0009] The suction valve 22 is an elastic member fastened to the piston 20 by means of a bolt B. The suction valve 22 is designed to be opened or closed as it is elastically deformed in accordance with a pressure difference between the suction path 21 of the piston 20 and the interior of the cylinder 10. [0010] The linear motor 30 basically includes a stator 32, and a mover 34. The mover 34 is adapted to reciprocally move while electromagnetically interacting with the stator 32. The mover 34 is connected to the piston 20. [0011] The compression unit further includes a main spring assembly 40 for providing the piston 20 with an elastic force in a reciprocating movement direction of the piston 20. Thus, the main spring assembly 40 allows vibrations of the piston 20 to some extent when the piston 20 reciprocally moves. [0012] The main spring assembly 40 consists of a first main spring 42 located between the back cover 6 and the piston 20, and a second main spring 44 located between the cylinder 10 and the linear motor 30 to be supported by the cylinder block 4 and the piston 20. [0013] The operation of the conventional linear compressor having the above-described configuration will now be explained. [0014] If the linear motor 30 is driven, the piston 20 reciprocally moves in the cylinder 10 upon receiving the drive force of the linear motor 30. Then, the first and second main springs 42 and 44 are repeatedly compressed and tensioned in accordance with the reciprocating movements of the piston 20, thereby serving to allow vibrations of the piston 20 to some extent while causing the discharge valve assembly 12 and the suction valve 22 to be repeatedly opened or closed. [0015] Thereby, the working-fluid is sucked into the compression chamber 11 of the cylinder 10 through the fluid suction pipe 8, such that it is compressed to a high-pressure state by the piston 20 in the compression chamber 11 of the cylinder 10. Subsequently, the compressed working-fluid is discharged from the cylinder 10 through the discharge valve assembly 12, to be discharged out of the shell 2 through the fluid discharge pipe 9. [0016] The suction, compression, and discharge operations of the working fluid as stated above are continuously repeated in this sequence so long as the linear motor 30 is driven. [0017] A problem of the above-described conventional linear compressor is that the suction valve 22 of the linear compressor is adapted to use an elastic force thereof, and therefore, may exhibit different elastic strains in accordance with a pressure difference between the suction path 21 of the piston 20 and the interior of the cylinder 10. This makes it impossible for the linear compressor to achieve improved constant compression efficiency, and results in deterioration of reliability. [0018] In particular, the suction valve 22 using an elastic force may exhibit excessive elastic deformation as shown in FIG. 3 when a pressure difference between the suction path 21 of the piston 20 and the interior of the cylinder 10 is large or liquid phase working-fluid is introduced into the cylinder 10. Accordingly, there is a high risk in that the suction valve 22 may be plastically deformed or damaged due to an increased stress. Furthermore, the suction valve 22 suffers from deterioration of durability with the lapse of time, and consequently has a poor response property. [0019] Excessive elastic deformation of the suction valve 22 also exposes the piston 20 to severe shock. This is due to an increase of stress as well as inordinate vibration and noise. [0020] Another problem of the conventional linear compressor is that, when the bolt B is used to fasten the suction valve 22 to the piston 20, a bolt head inevitably protrudes into the compression chamber 11 of the cylinder 10, increasing the dead volume of the compression chamber 11 of the cylinder 10. This results in deterioration of compression efficiency. Also, if the bolt head directly collides with the discharge valve assembly 12, the bolt head may be severely damaged, and excessive vibration and noise may be generated. [0021] Recently, high-density nitrogen dioxide is widely used as working fluid. However, the use of the nitrogen dioxide working fluid requires a relatively reduced diameter of the piston 20. Thus, in this case, it is very difficult to fasten the suction valve 22 to the piston 20 by use of the bolt B, and the piston 20 suffers from an increased flow resistance. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0022] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a linear compressor in which a suction valve performs opening/closing operations as it moves relative to a piston by an inertial force, rather than an elastic force, when the piston reciprocally moves, whereby the suction valve can always exhibit an even opening/closing stroke, achieving several advantageous effects, for example, improved constant compression efficiency, little risk of deformation or damage, high response and durability, and minimized vibration and noise. Continue reading about Linear compressor... Full patent description for Linear compressor Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Linear compressor patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Linear compressor or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Plunger piston compressor for refrigerants Next Patent Application: Compressor unit comprising a centrifugal compressor and an electric motor Industry Class: Pumps ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Linear compressor patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 1.0625 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Accenture , Agouron Pharmaceuticals , Amgen , AT&T , Bausch & Lomb , Callaway Golf 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
