Reciprocating compressor cylinder cover

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cylinder cover for a reciprocating compressor, and more particularly to a cylinder cover having an airtight housing with different internal volumes, which has at least one discharge chamber of compact structure and can be adapted to reciprocating compressors of different capacities.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cylinder cover for a reciprocating compressor, and more particularly to a cylinder cover having at least one discharge chamber (discharge chamber, exhaust chamber). [Background technology]

[0002] As known to those skilled in the art, a reciprocating compressor includes a compression mechanism that is basically composed of a compression cylinder and a movable piston that reciprocates within the compression cylinder. Typically, one end of the compression cylinder is provided with a set of valves that control the flow of refrigerant gas from the inside of the compression cylinder. The set of valves is attached to the end of the compression cylinder by a component commonly known as a cylinder cover.

[0003] In certain reciprocating compressors, the cylinder cover, in addition to the necessary fastening means, also has a chamber containing an exhaust valve, which influences thermodynamic performance and also acts to damp pressure transients from the compression process.

[0004] In the majority of reciprocating compressors, the cylinder cover contains the discharge chamber, and therefore it is necessary to provide another expansion chamber located along the discharge inside the reciprocating compressor.

[0005] On the other hand, the cylinder cover of a conventional reciprocating compressor further includes two or more discharge sound-deadening chambers.

[0006] For example, the patent document US5328338 (US Pat. No. 5,328,338 specification) describes a reciprocating compressor as follows. This reciprocating compressor comprises a cylinder cover constituted by three chambers fluidly connected to each other to define three expansion chambers at the discharge part arranged in series, and other components. From a structural point of view, the cylinder cover is made of a stamped metal plate and a combination of a smooth metal plate, the stamped metal plate includes a number of ribs that are closed by the smooth metal plate and form the expansion chambers at the discharge part and respective ducts that establish fluid communication between the chambers. Of course, sealing means (e.g., sealing gaskets) are provided between the metal plates. However, the metal plates extend in the vertical direction, and therefore this type of structure is not suitable for a compact reciprocating compressor, and after all, such a reciprocating compressor does not have a large vertical space inside its airtight housing.

[0007] For example, the patent US9587634 describes a reciprocating compressor as follows: This reciprocating compressor comprises a cylinder cover with a circular area suitable for the interface with the free end of the compression cylinder and two large radial protrusions. The circular area comprises two chambers, each of which is fluidly connected to one of the radial protrusions. Each of the radial protrusions also receives an additional closure body. Thus, the set formed by the cylinder cover and the additional closure body finally defines a suction expansion chamber integrated in the cylinder cover and a discharge expansion chamber integrated in the cylinder cover, both of which comprise two successively arranged volumes. It can be seen that the closing interface of the opening defined in the circular area of ​​the cylinder cover is defined by a vertical plane, and the closing interface of the radial protrusions is defined by a horizontal plane. This difference between the closing surfaces (which is related to the difference between the opening surfaces of the sound-absorbing chamber) is known to be a cause of increasing the complexity (difficulty) of manufacturing, and as a result, the cylinder cover described in patent document US9587634 can only be manufactured by an injection process using a complex injection mold (molding die) composed of moving parts.

[0008] Thus, in the prior art, cylinder covers with two or more expansion chambers either have dimensions that are not suitable for reciprocating compressors of different capacities (US5328338) or have a structure that requires an overly complicated manufacturing process that limits the use of metal alloys (US9587634), thereby generating compressor noise due to low stiffness of the assembly (final product) and incurring increased costs due to the need to use additional components to ensure the closure of the chambers. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Therefore, the basic object of the present invention is to disclose a reciprocating compressor cylinder cover having at least one discharge chamber fluidly connected to each other, made of metallic material, and capable of being produced by a simple and not excessively expensive manufacturing process.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a cylinder cover of the reciprocating compressor disclosed in the present specification that has a compact configuration, and the cylinder cover has a compact structure that can ensure that it can be applied to reciprocating compressors of different capacities, and has a sealed housing with different internal volumes.

[0011] It is another object of the present invention that the cylinder cover of the reciprocating compressor disclosed herein is sufficiently rigid to avoid resonance at the excitation frequencies of the reciprocating compressor and allows for fastening for closure via simple and inexpensive components such as screws and hydraulic joints.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is that the cylinder cover disclosed herein allows the second chamber to be subdivided into additional chambers while keeping the assembly compact. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] All the above mentioned objects are fully achieved by a cylinder cover of a reciprocating compressor comprising at least one first expansion chamber and at least one second expansion chamber fluidly connected to the first expansion chamber by at least one communicating duct, the first expansion chamber being at least partially defined within a closed area of ​​the compression cylinder and the second expansion chamber being at least partially defined within a vertical protrusion extending from the closed area facing the same surface as the compression cylinder area.

[0014] According to the invention, the first expansion chamber has a closing interface with a valve plate arranged at the end of the compression cylinder, and the second expansion chamber has a closing interface with an opposing part of the discharge system, and the mounting interface of the first expansion chamber and the mounting interface of the second expansion chamber face the same side of the components. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] The invention will now be explained in more detail on the basis of the following drawings.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cylinder cover of a reciprocating compressor according to the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the cylinder cover of the reciprocating compressor according to the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a rear view of the cylinder cover of the reciprocating compressor according to the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a front view of the cylinder cover of the reciprocating compressor according to the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

[0021] FIG. 6 shows a discharge (exhaust) chamber subdivided into two chambers interconnected by at least one communicating duct.

[0022] FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the discharge chamber and the cylinder cover subdivided into two chambers interconnected by at least one communicating duct. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] According to a main object of the present invention, a cylinder cover for a reciprocating compressor is disclosed, which has at least a first expansion chamber 1 and at least a second expansion chamber 2 fluidly connected to each other by at least one communication duct 3.

[0024] According to the invention, preferably, a single primary expansion chamber 1 and a single expansion chamber 2 are provided, both of which are fluidly connected to each other via a communication duct 3. Also according to the invention, the expansion chambers 1 and 2 and the communication duct 3 are made from a single metal body with a tightness between the parts that allows the stiffness of the parts to be adjusted.

[0025] Preferably (but not limited to), expansion chambers 1 and 2 comprise exhaust (discharge) expansion chambers, the shape and geometric arrangement of which are determined according to a specific project (design) and are not necessarily related to the objectives and configuration (core) of the present invention.

[0026] 1, 2, 3 and 4, a first expansion chamber 1 is defined in a region 4 of a compression cylinder (not shown) and a second expansion chamber 2 is defined, at least in part, in a region 5 extending from region 4. As shown, region 4 defines a closed region and region 5 defines a vertical convexity.

[0027] Similar to the compressor cylinder cover described in patent US9587634, the first expansion chamber 1 is open and has a closing interface 11 with a valve plate (not shown) placed at the end of the compression cylinder (not shown). To be considered an expansion chamber itself, the first expansion chamber 1 must therefore be attached to a valve (not shown) placed at the end of the compression cylinder (not shown).

[0028] Similar to the compressor cylinder cover described in patent US9587634, the second expansion chamber 2 comprises a closing interface 21 with a closing structure (not shown) and therefore needs to be attached to a closing structure (not shown) in order to take into account (configure) the expansion chamber itself.

[0029] In both cases, unlike the cylinder cover of the compressor described in patent document US9587634, the mounting interface 11 of the first expansion chamber 1 and the closing interface 21 of the second expansion chamber 2 face the same surface.

[0030] The feature that the closing interface 11 of the first expansion chamber 1 and the closing interface 21 of the second expansion chamber 2 face on the same surface is extremely innovative and ultimately a) allows the production of reciprocating cylinder covers through injection manufacturing process using simple and low-cost tools (tools, tools, moulds, machines), b) allows the design of a compact compressor, c) allows the adjustment of flexibility between the chambers and reduces resonances at the excitation frequency of the compressor, d) allows the fixing of opposing parts (components) of the discharge system using traditional fixing methods and means in reciprocating compressors (screws and hydraulic joints), and e) allows the subdivision of the second chamber into additional chambers to keep the set compact.

[0031] Finally, in a preferred embodiment, the cylinder cover of the invention may comprise a discharge (exhaust) chamber which is preferably subdivided into two or more chambers interconnected by at least one communicating duct (communicating passage).

[0032] It is important to note that the above description is only for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, it is clear that modifications, variations, and structural combinations of elements that perform the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results and effects are within the scope of protection defined by the claims.

Claims

[Claim 1] A cylinder cover for a reciprocating compressor, at least a first expansion chamber (1) and at least a second expansion chamber (2) fluidly connected to each other by at least one communication duct (3); the first expansion chamber (1) is at least partially defined by an area (4) of the cover and an opposing portion of a compression cylinder; the second expansion chamber (2) is at least partially defined by an area (5) of the cover and an opposing part of the exhaust system; In the cylinder cover of the reciprocating compressor, the first expansion chamber (1) has a closing interface (11) with a valve plate arranged at the end of the compression cylinder, and the second expansion chamber (2) has a closing interface (21) with an opposite part of the exhaust system; The closure interface (11) of the first expansion chamber (1) and the closure interface (21) of the second expansion chamber (2) face the same surface; The cylinder cover for a reciprocating compressor, characterized in that the regions (4) and (5) of the cylinder cover have at least one restriction therebetween, the restriction being configured to reduce resonance at an excitation frequency of the reciprocating compressor, and the second expansion chamber (2) is subdivided into two or more chambers interconnected by at least one second communicating duct.

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