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  Variable capacity rotary compressor and method of varying capacity thereofUSPTO Application #: 20070243079Title: Variable capacity rotary compressor and method of varying capacity thereof Abstract: A variable capacity rotary compressor includes a housing having a compressing chamber, a roller to rotate in the compressing chamber while coming into contact with an inner peripheral surface of the compressing chamber, a vane to move forward and rearward along a guiding groove in accordance with rotation of the roller, the guiding groove being formed in the housing in a radial direction of the compressing chamber, a vane control device to regulate restriction and release of the vane as to whether or not the vane comes into continuous contact with an outer peripheral surface of the roller, and a controller to output a control signal to the vane control device for the variation of a compression capacity, so as to regulate a proportion of restriction and release of the vane, and a capacity variation method using the variable capacity rotary compressor. (end of abstract)
Agent: Stanzione & Kim, LLP - Washington, DC, US Inventors: Jeong Bae Lee, Moon Joo Lee, In Ju Lee, Sung Hea Cho, Kyung Jun Han, Chun Mo Sung, Chang Joo Shin USPTO Applicaton #: 20070243079 - Class: 417279 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070243079. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(a) from Korean Patent Application No. 2006-0033306, filed on Apr. 12, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]1. Field of the Invention [0003]The present general inventive concept relates to a variable capacity rotary compressor and a method of varying a capacity thereof, and, more particularly, to a variable capacity rotary compressor in which a continuous capacity variation is possible without stopping operation of the compressor via a regulation in a proportion of a restriction time and/or a release time of a vane provided in the rotary compressor, and a method of varying a capacity of the compressor. [0004]2. Description of the Related Art [0005]In general, variable capacity compressors have a compression capacity that is variable according to a required load, and are generally classified into a constant-speed compressor and a variable-speed compressor. [0006]A constant-speed compressor is a compressor that is normally rotated at a constant speed, but can vary a capability thereof in two stages by changing a rotating direction of the compressor from forward to reverse or vice versa to achieve a variation in compression capacity. An example of a constant-speed compressor is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2004-0097746. [0007]Korean Patent Publication No. 2004-0097746 describes a rotary compressor including a cylinder having a predetermined size of an inner volume, a roller rotating in the cylinder while defining a fluid chamber with an inner peripheral surface of the cylinder, and a plurality of suction ports arranged in the fluid chamber to be spaced apart from one another by a predetermined angle. The plurality of suction ports are selectively opened according to a rotating direction of a drive shaft to allow a compression capacity of the rotary compressor to vary in two stages according to the rotating direction. [0008]A variable-speed compressor is a compressor that is variable in compression capacity via a regulation of revolutions per minute of the compressor. The regulation of revolutions per minute is achieved by an inverter, which is attached to a motor used to rotate the compressor and adapted to regulate revolutions per minute of the motor. An example of a variable-speed compressor is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-0018242. [0009]Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-0018242 describes a compressor having an inverter, which detects indoor and outdoor temperatures, calculates an entire load of the compressor and a rotating frequency of an electric motor device by using a temperature difference with a preset indoor temperature, a cooling capacity of an indoor unit being operated, etc., and controls the electric motor device based on the calculated rotating frequency, thereby achieving a variation in the compression capacity of the compressor. [0010]In the case of the conventional constant-speed compressor as stated above, to achieve a variation in capacity, the compressor has to be stopped for a predetermined time to convert a forward rotation into a reverse rotation or vice versa, and there is a limit in that the capacity variation of the compressor is possible only in two stages. To diversify a compression capacity, it is necessary to bypass a part of a refrigerant to be discharged, which has problems such as deterioration in operational efficiency and an increase in manufacturing costs. [0011]In the case of the conventional variable-speed compressor, although continuous variation of a compression capacity is possible, the variable-speed compressor requires a high-cost inverter to regulate revolutions per minute of the compressor for achieving the variation of a compression capacity, and therefore has a problem of an increase in manufacturing costs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012]The present general inventive concept provides a variable capacity rotary compressor which can achieve a continuous capacity variation using a low-cost control device having a simplified configuration, and a capacity variation method using the variable capacity rotary compressor. [0013]The present general inventive concept also provides a variable capacity rotary compressor to represent a highest efficiency within an entire range of a variable compression capacity, and a method of varying the capacity of the compressor. [0014]Additional aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept 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 general inventive concept. [0015]The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a variable capacity rotary compressor, including a housing having a compressing chamber, a roller to rotate in the compressing chamber while contacting an inner peripheral surface of the compressing chamber, a vane to move forward and rearward along a guiding groove in accordance with the rotation of the roller, the guiding groove being formed in the housing in a radial direction of the compressing chamber, a vane control device to control whether the vane comes into continuous contact with an outer peripheral surface of the roller by regulating a restriction and a release of the vane, and a controller to output a control signal to the vane control device to regulate proportions of a restriction time and a release time of the vane to vary a compression capacity of the compressor. [0016]The guiding groove may include a hermetic chamber to receive a rear end of the vane, and the vane control device may regulate the restriction and the release of the vane by regulating a pressure applied into the hermetic chamber based on the control signal. [0017]The vane control device may include a high-pressure flow path to connect the hermetic chamber to a discharge side of the compressor, a low-pressure flow path to connect the hermetic chamber to a suction side of the compressor, and a flow path selector to selectively connect the hermetic chamber to the high-pressure flow path or low-pressure flow path. [0018]The flow path selector may be a 3-way valve to be switched by the control signal, and the proportions of the restriction time and the release time of the vane may be regulated by modulating a pulse width of the control signal to be applied to the 3-way valve. [0019]The foregoing and/or other aspects and utilities of the present general inventive concept may also be achieved by providing a variable capacity rotary compressor, including a housing having a compressing chamber, a roller to rotate in the compressing chamber contacting an inner peripheral surface of the compressing chamber, a vane to move forward and rearward along a guiding groove in accordance with the rotation of the roller, the guiding groove being formed in the housing in a radial direction of the compressing chamber, a vane control device to control whether the vane comes into continuous contact with an outer peripheral surface of the roller by regulating a restriction and a release of the vane, and a controller to output a control signal to the vane control device to regulate a restriction time and a release time of the vane during a preset time period to vary a compression capacity of the compressor. [0020]Each of the restriction time and the release time of the vane may be an integral multiple of one-turn time of the compressor, and a sum of the restriction time and the release time may be a time corresponding to one preset time period. [0021]The guiding groove may include a hermetic chamber to receive a rear end of the vane, and the vane control device may regulate the restriction time and the release time of the vane by regulating a pressure to be applied into the hermetic chamber based on the control signal. Continue reading... Full patent description for Variable capacity rotary compressor and method of varying capacity thereof Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Variable capacity rotary compressor and method of varying capacity thereof patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. 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