Linear compressor

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a linear compressor wherein a vibration absorbing unit is mounted at the outside of a compressor shell, whereby the number of elements inside the shell is reduced, resulting in a reduced compressor size. Also, the vibration absorbing unit is enclosed by a protective cover to be protected from exterior shock or impurities, whereby damage or malfunction of elements is prevented, achieving improved durability and reliability of the compressor.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a linear compressor and, more particularly, to a linear compressor wherein a vibration absorbing unit is mounted at the outside of a compressor shell and is enclosed by a protective cover, whereby the size of the shell can be reduced while achieving effective protection of the vibration absorbing unit from exterior force, resulting in improved durability and reliability of the compressor. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] Generally, a linear compressor is an apparatus to introduce, compress, and discharge fluid while linearly reciprocating a piston inside a cylinder using a linear driving force of a linear motor. [0005] A conventional linear compressor comprises a compression unit having a piston and a cylinder mounted in a shell to compress fluid, and a linear motor having a stator and a mover to linearly reciprocate the piston in the cylinder. [0006] The cylinder has ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] 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 wherein a vibration absorbing unit is mounted at the outside of a compressor shell to be enclosed by a protective cover, whereby the size of the shell can be reduced while improved durability and reliability of the compressor.

[0026] With the linear compressor according to the present invention configured as stated above, a vibration absorbing unit is mounted at the outside of a compressor shell. This has the effect of reducing the number of elements mounted in the shell as well as the size of the shell, resulting in a reduced compressor size.

[0027] Further, by enclosing the vibration absorbing unit with a protective cover to protect the vibration absorbing unit from exterior shock or impurities, there is no risk of damage or malfunction of elements, resulting in improved durability and reliability of the compressor.

[0028] Furthermore, by virtue of the plurality of heat-discharge openings formed at the protective cover, internal heat of the protective cover can be effectively discharged to the outside, preventing overheating of the compressor during operation.

Problems solved by technology

However, the conventional linear compressor has a problem in that all elements thereof, including fluid compression elements, supporting elements, and vibration attenuating elements, are mounted in the shell, making it impossible to reduce the size of the linear compressor.

Meanwhile, when the vibration attenuating elements are mounted at the outside of the shell, they are subjected to damage and malfunction under the influence of exterior impurities or shock, resulting in deterioration of durability and reliability of the compressor.

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