Linear Compressor

Abstract

The present invention discloses a linear compressor in which a piston is driven by a linear motor and linearly reciprocated inside a cylinder to suck, compress and discharge refrigerants. The linear compressor synchronizes an operation frequency of the linear motor with a natural frequency of the piston, considering that an elastic force of a mechanical spring and a gas spring which elastically support the piston in the motion direction is varied by load. Even if the load is varied, the linear motor is operated in the resonance state, to maximize efficiency. The linear compressor varies a stroke of the piston according to the load, thereby actively handling and rapidly overcoming the load and reducing power consumption.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a linear compressor which can actively handle load and efficiently perform an operation, by synchronizing an operation frequency with a natural frequency of a movable member varied by the load.BACKGROUND ART[0002]In general, a compressor that is a mechanical apparatus for increasing a pressure, by receiving power from a power unit system such as an electric motor or turbine and compressing air, refrigerants or other various operation gases has been widely used for home appliances such as a refrigerator and an air conditioner or in the whole industrial fields.[0003]The compressors are roughly divided into a reciprocating compressor having a compression space through which operation gases are sucked or discharged between a piston and a cylinder, so that the piston can be linearly reciprocated inside the cylinder to compress refrigerants, a rotary compressor having a compression space through which operation gases are sucked or disc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0028]Another object of the present invention is to provide a linear compressor which can efficiently vary a compression capacity, by enabling a linear motor to simultaneously or individually vary an operation frequency by load and control a stroke of a piston.

[0035]Preferably, an initial position of the movable member is closer to the top dead center according to decrease of the mechanical spring constant, so that the movable member can be stably elastically supported by the mechanical spring and the gas spring.

[0039]Preferably, an initial position of the movable member is closer to the top dead center according to decrease of the mechanical spring constant, so that the movable member can be stably elastically supported by the mechanical spring and the gas spring.

Problems solved by technology

However, the more the actual load increases, the more the pressure and temperature of the refrigerants in the restricted space increase.

However, the natural frequency fn of the piston gets smaller than the operation frequency fc of the linear motor in a low load area, and thus the piston is transferred over the TDC, to apply an excessive compression force.

The linear motor is not operated in the resonance state, thereby decreasing efficiency of the linear compressor.

Therefore, the linear motor is not operated in the resonance state, which results in low efficiency.

Furthermore, the linear compressor cannot actively handle and rapidly overcome the load.

Thus, compression is not performed in the resonance state, which seriously reduces efficiency of the linear compressor.

However, in the linear compressor having the large mechanical spring constant Km, it is difficult to control the operation frequency fc of the linear motor to the low frequency by adjusting the input current.

Furthermore, the linear compressor cannot efficiently vary the compression capacity.

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