Electric compressor

Abstract

This electric compressor comprises a pressure vessel portion (10), a control box portion (50), and an airtight terminal (60), the pressure vessel portion and the control box portion being formed integrally. The pressure vessel portion accommodates a motor portion (30) that rotates by being supplied with electric power, and a compressing mechanism portion (20) that is driven by the motor portion to compress and discharge a combustible fluid. The control box portion accommodates an electrical board (51) which supplies electric power to the motor portion. In the airtight terminal, energization pin portions (61) for electrically connecting the motor portion and the electrical board are glass-sealed to a flat fixed plate portion (62) that holds the energization pin portions. In the electric compressor, a vessel-side sealing material (63) is disposed between the fixed plate portion and the pressure vessel portion to suppress leakage of the combustible fluid in the pressure vessel portion into the atmosphere.

Description

Electric compressor CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-40787 filed on March 15, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to an electric compressor.

[0003] A conventional electric compressor for use in a refrigeration cycle device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Recently, there has been a demand for natural refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP) as refrigerants for refrigeration cycle devices. Natural refrigerants include flammable fluids such as propane.

[0004] Patent No. 3976512

[0005] In the electric compressor disclosed in Patent Document 1, the motor, compression mechanism, and control box are integrally formed. In such an electric compressor, it is necessary to prevent a flammable refrigerant from entering the control box. For this reason, sufficient measures, such as welding the electrical connections between the electric motor and the electrical control unit, are required. This results in a decrease in the productivity of the electric compressor.

[0006] In view of the above, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an electric compressor that can be applied to a refrigeration cycle device without causing a decrease in productivity.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, an electric compressor according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a pressure vessel section that houses a motor section that rotates when supplied with electric power and a compression mechanism section that is driven by the motor section to compress and discharge a flammable fluid; a control box section that houses an electric circuit board that supplies electric power to the motor section; and an airtight terminal in which a conductive pin section for electrically connecting the motor section and the electric circuit board is glass-sealed in a flat fixing plate section that holds the conductive pin section, and in the electric compressor in which the pressure vessel section and the control box section are integrally formed, a vessel-side sealant is arranged between the fixing plate section and the pressure vessel section to prevent the flammable fluid in the pressure vessel section from leaking into the atmosphere.

[0008] According to this, since the container-side seal is disposed, it is possible to prevent the high-pressure flammable fluid inside the pressure vessel from leaking into the atmosphere. Moreover, even if a small amount of flammable fluid leaks through the container-side seal, it is possible to ensure that it all flows out into the atmosphere. This allows the electric compressor to be applied to a refrigeration cycle device without causing a decrease in productivity.

[0009] Fig. 1 is an axial cross-sectional view showing a compressor according to a first embodiment; Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a connection portion between a housing and a control box unit according to a first embodiment; Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a connection portion between a housing and a control box unit according to a second embodiment; Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a connection portion between a housing and a control box unit according to a third embodiment; and Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a connection portion between a housing and a control box unit according to a fourth embodiment.

[0010] Hereinafter, several embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, parts corresponding to matters described in the preceding embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations may be omitted. In each embodiment, when only a part of the configuration is described, other previously described embodiments may be applied to the other parts of the configuration. In addition to combinations of parts that are specifically specified as being combinable in each embodiment, it is also possible to partially combine embodiments even if not specified, as long as there is no particular problem with the combination.

[0011] 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. A scroll-type compressor 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as compressor 1) of this embodiment is applied to a vapor compression refrigeration cycle that adjusts the temperature of air blown into a vehicle cabin by a vehicle air conditioner. The compressor 1 compresses and discharges a refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle.

[0012] The refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, a compressor 1, etc. in a ring via refrigerant piping, etc. The condenser exchanges heat between the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 and outside air, causing the high-pressure refrigerant to dissipate heat. The expansion valve reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has dissipated heat in the condenser. The evaporator exchanges heat between the low-pressure refrigerant reduced in pressure by the expansion valve and blown air, causing the low-pressure refrigerant to evaporate.

[0013] The refrigeration cycle of this embodiment employs a flammable fluid (hereinafter also referred to as a flammable refrigerant) as the refrigerant. Specifically, propane (R290) is employed as the refrigerant. Propane is a natural refrigerant with a low global warming potential, but is flammable. Furthermore, the refrigerant is mixed with refrigeration oil (oil) to lubricate the sliding parts within the compressor 1, and a portion of the refrigeration oil circulates through the cycle together with the refrigerant.

[0014] Next, a detailed description will be given of the configuration of the compressor 1. The compressor 1 of this embodiment is arranged in an engine compartment of a vehicle and is configured as an electric compressor that is operated by being supplied with electric power.

[0015] More specifically, as shown in Fig. 1 , the compressor 1 is configured by accommodating a scroll-type compression mechanism 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as the compression mechanism 20), an electric motor 30, a shaft 25, and the like inside a housing 10. The housing 10 forms the outer shell of the compressor 1. The electric motor 30 drives the compression mechanism 20 to rotate. The shaft 25 is a rotating shaft that transmits rotational driving force from the electric motor 30 to the compression mechanism 20.

[0016] 1 indicate the up and down directions when the compressor 1 is applied to a vehicle air conditioning system (i.e., mounted on a vehicle). Therefore, the compressor 1 of this embodiment is configured as a so-called horizontally mounted type in which the rotation axis of the shaft 25 extends horizontally and the compression mechanism 20 and the electric motor 30 are arranged horizontally.

[0017] The housing 10 is a pressure vessel with a sealed structure constructed by combining multiple metal members. More specifically, the housing 10 of this embodiment is composed of a front housing 11, a middle housing 12, a rear housing 13, etc. The front housing 11 is formed in a cylindrical (cup-shaped) shape with a bottom. The middle housing 12 is disposed inside the front housing 11 and defines the interior space of the housing 10. The rear housing 13 closes the opening side of the front housing 11.

[0018] The front housing 11, middle housing 12, and rear housing 13 are integrated by means of press fitting, bolting, etc. Furthermore, seal members such as O-rings and gaskets are interposed at the contact points where the front housing 11, middle housing 12, and rear housing 13 come into contact with each other, thereby preventing refrigerant from leaking from these contact points.

[0019] A suction port 11b is formed in a bottom surface 11a that forms one axial end of the front housing 11. The suction port 11b draws low-pressure refrigerant (specifically, low-pressure refrigerant flowing out from the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle) from outside the housing 10. The suction port 11b communicates with a motor-side space 11c that houses the electric motor 30. The low-pressure refrigerant drawn through the suction port 11b flows into the motor-side space 11c.

[0020] Furthermore, a flat surface 11d extending in a substantially horizontal direction is formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the cylindrical portion of the front housing 11. A control box unit 50 formed integrally with the housing 10 is attached to the flat surface 11d. The control box unit 50 houses an electric circuit board 51. The electric circuit board 51 is mounted with a drive circuit (not shown) that supplies power to the electric motor 30. Therefore, in the compressor 1 of this embodiment, the electric motor 30 and the drive circuit can be cooled by the low-pressure refrigerant that flows from the suction port 11b into the motor-side space 11c.

[0021] The electric motor 30 is a motor that rotates when supplied with electric power. The electric motor 30 is disposed on the inner circumferential side of the cylindrical portion of the front housing 11. The electric motor 30 outputs a rotational driving force for driving the compression mechanism 20. More specifically, the electric motor 30 has a stator 31 that forms a fixed part and a rotor 32 that forms a rotor. In this embodiment, the electric motor 30 is configured as a three-phase motor.

[0022] The stator 31 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the front housing 11. The stator 31 is composed of a stator core 31a made of a magnetic material and a stator coil 31b wound around the stator core 31a. When power is supplied from the drive circuit to the stator coil 31b, a rotating magnetic field is generated that rotates the rotor 32.

[0023] The rotor 32 includes a permanent magnet and is disposed on the inner periphery of the stator 31. The rotor 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the direction of the rotation axis. The columnar portion 25a of the metal shaft 25 is press-fitted into the central axial hole of the rotor 32.

[0024] The shaft 25 has a columnar portion 25a and an eccentric portion 25b. The columnar portion 25a is formed in a generally cylindrical shape extending coaxially with the central axis C0 (the central axis of rotation of the shaft 25). The eccentric portion 25b is disposed eccentrically with respect to the central axis C0. The eccentric portion 25b is formed in a generally cylindrical shape extending parallel to the central axis C0.

[0025] Furthermore, the columnar portion 25a of the shaft 25 is formed to have a longer axial length than the rotor 32. One axial end of the columnar portion 25a is rotatably supported by a motor-side bearing 26a. The motor-side bearing 26a is disposed approximately in the center of the bottom surface 11a of the front housing 11. Meanwhile, the other axial end of the columnar portion 25a (on the compression mechanism 20 side) is rotatably supported by a compression mechanism-side bearing 26b. The compression mechanism-side bearing 26b is disposed approximately in the center of the middle housing 12, which is formed in a substantially circular plate shape.

[0026] Therefore, when power is supplied to the stator coil 31b to generate a rotating magnetic field, the rotor 32 and shaft 25 rotate together. The outer peripheral side of the middle housing 12 is press-fitted into the inner peripheral side of the cylindrical portion of the front housing 11. The middle housing 12 divides the interior space of the housing 10 into a motor-side space 11c that houses the electric motor 30 and a compression mechanism-side space that houses the compression mechanism 20.

[0027] The compression mechanism 20 is driven by an electric motor 30 to compress and discharge the refrigerant. The compression mechanism 20 includes a pair of scrolls, a movable scroll 21 and a fixed scroll 22, which are made of metal (e.g., aluminum alloy). The movable scroll 21 and the fixed scroll 22 each have a flat plate-shaped base portion and spiral teeth that protrude from the base portion in the axial direction of the shaft 25.

[0028] The movable scroll 21 has a disk-shaped movable base plate 21a and a spiral-shaped movable tooth portion 21b protruding from the movable base plate 21a toward the fixed scroll 22. The fixed scroll 22 has a disk-shaped fixed base plate 22a and a spiral-shaped fixed tooth portion 22b protruding from the fixed base plate 22a toward the movable scroll 21.

[0029] Furthermore, the fixed scroll 22 is fixed to the front housing 11 by press-fitting the outer peripheral side surface of the fixed-side base plate portion 22 a into the inner peripheral side surface of the cylindrical portion of the front housing 11. The movable scroll 21 is disposed in a space formed between the middle housing 12 and the fixed scroll 22.

[0030] The movable scroll 21 and the fixed scroll 22 are arranged so that the plate surfaces of their respective base portions 21 a, 22 a face each other. The movable scroll 21 and the fixed scroll 22 are arranged so that their respective tooth portions 21 b, 22 b mesh with each other and the tip end of the tooth portion of one scroll abuts against the base portion of the other scroll.

[0031] As a result, the tooth portions 21 b, 22 b come into contact with each other at multiple locations, and a plurality of working chambers V, each of which is formed in a crescent shape when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis, are formed between the tooth portions 21 b, 22 b. Note that in Fig. 1, for clarity of illustration, only one of the plurality of working chambers V is labeled with a reference numeral, and the reference numerals of the other working chambers are omitted.

[0032] A cylindrical boss portion 21c is formed in the center of the movable base plate portion 21a of the movable scroll 21, into which the other axial end (compression mechanism portion 20 side) of the shaft 25 is inserted. As described above, the other axial end of the shaft 25 is formed with an eccentric portion 25b that is eccentric with respect to the center of rotation of the shaft 25. Therefore, the eccentric portion 25b of the shaft 25 is inserted into the movable scroll 21.

[0033] A rotation prevention mechanism 27 is provided between the movable scroll 21 and the middle housing 12. The rotation prevention mechanism 27 prevents the movable scroll 21 from rotating about its axis around the eccentric portion 25 b. Therefore, when the shaft 25 rotates, the movable scroll 21 orbits (i.e., revolves) relative to the fixed scroll 22 around the central axis C0 as the center of revolution without rotating about its axis around the eccentric portion 25 b.

[0034] This revolution causes the working chamber V to move from the outer periphery to the center around the rotation axis while reducing its volume. In this embodiment, a pin-hole type mechanism is used as the anti-rotation mechanism 27, but other types (for example, an Oldham ring type mechanism) may also be used.

[0035] In addition, the middle housing 12 of this embodiment is formed with a suction side communication passage 12a that communicates the working chamber V, which is displaced toward the outermost periphery and has the maximum volume, with the motor side space 11c.

[0036] A discharge hole 22c is formed in the center of the fixed-side base plate portion 22a of the fixed scroll 22, through which the refrigerant compressed in the working chamber V is discharged. The discharge hole 22c is connected to the discharge chamber 13a, into which the high-pressure refrigerant compressed in the working chamber V flows. A reed valve 28 is disposed in the discharge chamber 13a, which prevents the refrigerant from flowing back from the discharge chamber 13a side to the working chamber V side through the discharge hole 22c.

[0037] The discharge chamber 13a is defined by the space between the fixed scroll 22 and the rear housing 13. A refrigerant outlet of the discharge chamber 13a communicates with an oil separator 40 formed inside the rear housing 13.

[0038] The oil separator 40 separates refrigeration oil from the high-pressure refrigerant compressed by the compression mechanism 20. More specifically, the oil separator 40 is configured by arranging a pipe member 40b, the diameter of which is smaller than that of a cylindrical space 40a formed in the rear housing 13 and extending in the vertical direction (i.e., the up-down direction), inside the cylindrical space 40a.

[0039] The refrigeration oil separated in the oil separator 40 is guided to the sliding parts of the compression mechanism 20 and the electric motor 30 via oil passages (not shown) formed in the rear housing 13, the fixed scroll 22, the middle housing 12, etc. Meanwhile, the high-pressure refrigerant separated in the oil separator 40 is guided to a discharge port 13b formed in the rear housing 13 that discharges the high-pressure refrigerant to the outside of the housing 10.

[0040] Next, a connection between the housing 10 and the control box unit 50 in the compressor 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0041] 2, an airtight terminal 60 is provided at the connection between the housing 10 and the control box unit 50. Specifically, the airtight terminal 60 is provided at the connection between the front housing 11 of the housing 10 and the control box unit 50.

[0042] The airtight terminal 60 has a conductive pin portion 61 and a fixing plate portion 62. The conductive pin portion 61 is a conductive member for electrically connecting the electric motor 30 and the electric board 51. In this embodiment, since the electric motor 30 is a three-phase motor, three conductive pin portions 61 are provided.

[0043] The fixing plate 62 is a flat metal member that holds the conductive pins 61. The fixing plate 62 has through holes 62a formed therein, through which the conductive pins 61 are inserted. The conductive pins 61 are glass-sealed to the fixing plate 62 while inserted into the through holes 62a. In this embodiment, three conductive pins 61 are provided, and therefore three through holes 62a are provided in the fixing plate 62. One conductive pin 61 is inserted into each of the through holes 62a.

[0044] Both ends of the conductive pin portion 61 protrude from the fixed plate portion 62. The portion of the conductive pin portion 61 that protrudes from the fixed plate portion 62 toward the housing 10 is called the container-side end portion 61a. The portion of the conductive pin portion 61 that protrudes from the fixed plate portion 62 toward the control box portion 50 is called the box-side end portion 61b.

[0045] A container-side through-hole 10a is provided at the connection portion of the housing 10 with the control box portion 50, through which the container-side end 61a of the current-carrying pin portion 61 is inserted. A box-side through-hole 50a is provided at the connection portion of the control box portion 50 with the housing 10, through which the box-side end 61b of the current-carrying pin portion 61 is inserted. The diameter of the fixing plate portion 62 is larger than the diameter of the container-side through-hole 10a and is also larger than the diameter of the box-side through-hole 50a.

[0046] In this embodiment, the housing 10 is provided with one container-side through-hole 10a. The container-side ends 61a of the three conductive pin portions 61 are inserted into the one container-side through-hole 10a. The control box portion 50 is provided with one box-side through-hole 50a. The box-side ends 61b of the three conductive pin portions 61 are inserted into the one box-side through-hole 50a.

[0047] A gasket 63 is provided between the fixed plate portion 62 and the housing 10. The gasket 63 is a container-side sealant that prevents the flammable refrigerant in the housing 10 from leaking into the atmosphere. The gasket 63 is preferably made of a material that allows slight refrigerant permeation. Therefore, in this embodiment, the gasket 63 is made of a rubber material.

[0048] An O-ring 64 is provided between the fixed plate portion 62 and the control box portion 50. The O-ring 64 is a box-side sealant that prevents atmospheric air from entering the inside of the control box portion 50. In this embodiment, the O-ring 64 is made of a rubber material.

[0049] As described above, in the compressor 1 according to the first embodiment, the hermetic terminal 60 is provided at the connection between the housing 10 and the control box unit 50. Furthermore, a gasket 63 is disposed between the fixing plate portion 62 of the hermetic terminal 60 and the housing 10 to prevent the flammable refrigerant in the housing 10 from leaking into the atmosphere.

[0050] According to this, the provision of the gasket 63 prevents high-pressure flammable refrigerant inside the housing 10 from leaking into the atmosphere. Moreover, even if a small amount of flammable refrigerant leaks through the gasket 63, as shown by the arrow in Figure 2, it can all be discharged into the atmosphere. On the other hand, in the airtight terminal 60, the conductive pin portion 61 and the fixing plate portion 62 are sealed with glass, so that the flammable refrigerant does not permeate through the seal portion between the conductive pin portion 61 and the fixing plate portion 62 and leak out in small amounts. This prevents the flammable refrigerant from flowing into the control box portion 50.

[0051] Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inflow of flammable refrigerant into the control box unit 50 without taking measures such as welding the electrical connection between the electric motor 30 and the control box unit 50. As a result, the compressor 1 can be applied to a refrigeration cycle device without reducing productivity.

[0052] Furthermore, in the compressor 1 according to the first embodiment, a box-side seal 64 is disposed between the fixing plate 62 of the airtight terminal 60 and the control box 50, to prevent the air from flowing into the control box 50. This prevents the leaked flammable refrigerant from flowing into the control box 50 from between the fixing plate 62 and the control box 50, even if a small amount of flammable refrigerant leaks into the air through the gasket 63.

[0053] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 3. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the connection portion between the control box unit 50 and the airtight terminal 60. Fig. 3 corresponds to Fig. 2 described in the first embodiment.

[0054] 3, in this embodiment, the fixing plate portion 62 of the airtight terminal 60 has a protruding portion 621 that is disposed within the box-side through-hole 50a of the control box portion 50. In other words, the fixing plate portion 62 has a flat plate portion 622 formed in a flat plate shape, and the protruding portion 621 that is formed so as to protrude from the flat plate portion 622 toward the control box portion 50. In this embodiment, the protruding portion 621 and the flat plate portion 622 are integrally formed.

[0055] The protrusion 621 is formed in a shape corresponding to the box-side through-hole 50a. The outer diameter of the protrusion 621 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the box-side through-hole 50a.

[0056] The through-hole 62a is formed continuously from the flat plate portion 622 to the protruding portion 621. That is, the through-hole 62a is formed so as to penetrate both the flat plate portion 622 and the protruding portion 621. The O-ring 64 is provided between the side surface of the protruding portion 621 and the inner wall surface of the box-side through-hole 50a.

[0057] The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the compressor 1 according to the second embodiment can also achieve the same effects as those of the first embodiment.

[0058] Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 4. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the connection structure between the housing 10 and the control box unit 50. Fig. 4 corresponds to Fig. 2 described in the first embodiment.

[0059] 4, in this embodiment, the airtight terminal 60 is housed in a waterproof box 70 having a waterproof structure that prevents moisture from entering the interior. The waterproof box 70 is disposed outside the control box 50 on the flat surface 11d of the front housing 11. The conductive pin 61 of the airtight terminal 60 in the waterproof box 70 is electrically connected to the electric board 51 in the control box 50 via a harness 71.

[0060] More specifically, the fixing plate 62, the box-side end 61b of the conductive pin 61, and the internal connector 72 are arranged inside the waterproof box 70. The internal connector 72 is an electrical connection part that electrically connects the box-side end 61b of the conductive pin 61 to the harness 71. The harness 71 is taken out to the outside through a harness through-hole 70a provided in the side surface of the waterproof box 70.

[0061] A waterproof connector 73 that prevents moisture from entering the harness 71 is provided at the connection portion between the harness 71 and the control box 50. Therefore, in this embodiment, the conductive pin portion 61 and the electric board 51 are connected via the waterproof connector 73.

[0062] As described above, in the compressor 1 according to the third embodiment, the airtight terminal 60 is housed in the waterproof box 70 provided outside the control box 50, and the conductive pin 61 and the electrical board 51 are connected via the harness 71 and the waterproof connector 73. This allows the connection between the housing 10 and the airtight terminal 60 to be located away from the control box 50. As a result, even if a small amount of flammable refrigerant leaks into the atmosphere through the gasket 63, the leaked flammable refrigerant can be more reliably prevented from flowing into the control box 50.

[0063] Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 5. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the connection structure between the housing 10 and the control box unit 50. Fig. 5 corresponds to Fig. 2 described in the first embodiment.

[0064] 5 , in this embodiment, a waterproof external connector 80 that prevents moisture from entering the housing 10 is provided at the connection between the front housing 11 and the control box unit 50. That is, the housing 10 and the control box unit 50 are connected via the external connector 80.

[0065] The conductive pin portion 61 of the airtight terminal 60 is inserted into the external connector 80. More specifically, the box side end portion 61b of the conductive pin portion 61 is inserted into the external connector 80.

[0066] The external connector 80 has a container-side connection portion 81 to which the housing 10 is connected, and a box-side connection portion 82 to which the control box portion 50 is connected. An airtight terminal 60 is provided at the connection portion between the container-side connection portion 81 and the housing 10. A gasket 63 is provided between a fixing plate portion 62 of the airtight terminal 60 and the housing 10.

[0067] A first O-ring 65 is provided between the container-side connection portion 81 and the fixing plate portion 62. The first O-ring 65 is a sealing material that prevents air from flowing into the external connector 80. In this embodiment, the first O-ring 65 is made of a rubber material.

[0068] A box-side through-hole 50a is provided in a portion of the control box unit 50 corresponding to the box-side connection portion 82. In this embodiment, a plurality of box-side through-holes 50a are provided corresponding to a plurality of conductive pin portions 61. In other words, the same number of box-side through-holes 50a as the number of conductive pin portions 61 are provided.

[0069] One conductive pin portion 61 is inserted into one box-side through-hole 50a. The inner diameter of the box-side through-hole 50a is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the conductive pin portion 61. The tip of the box-side end portion 61b of the conductive pin portion 61 is electrically connected to an electric board (not shown) inside the control box portion 50.

[0070] A second O-ring 66 is provided between the box-side connection portion 82 and the control box portion 50. The second O-ring 66 is a box-side sealant that prevents atmospheric air from entering the control box portion 50. In this embodiment, the second O-ring 66 is made of a rubber material.

[0071] As described above, in the compressor 1 according to the fourth embodiment, the housing 10 and the control box unit 50 are connected via the external connector 80. This allows the connection between the housing 10 and the airtight terminal 60 to be located at a position away from the control box unit 50. As a result, even if a small amount of flammable refrigerant leaks into the atmosphere through the gasket 63, the leaked flammable refrigerant can be more reliably prevented from flowing into the control box unit 50.

[0072] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as follows within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0073] (1) For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which three conductive pin portions 61 are provided in the hermetic terminal 60 is described, but the number of conductive pin portions 61 is not limited to this. One, two, or four or more conductive pin portions 61 may be provided.

[0074] (2) In the above embodiment, the gasket 63 is made of a rubber material, but the material of the gasket 63 is not limited to this. The gasket 63 may be made of a material that allows slight permeation of flammable refrigerant, such as elastomer.

[0075] (Other) Features of the electric compressor disclosed in this specification are as follows. (Item 1) An electric compressor comprising: a pressure vessel (10) accommodating a motor (30) that rotates when supplied with electric power and a compression mechanism (20) that is driven by the motor to compress and discharge a flammable fluid; a control box (50) accommodating an electric board (51) that supplies electric power to the motor; and an airtight terminal (60) in which a current-carrying pin (61) for electrically connecting the motor and the electric board is glass-sealed to a flat fixing plate (62) that holds the current-carrying pin, wherein the pressure vessel and control box are integrally formed, and a vessel-side seal (63) is disposed between the fixing plate and the pressure vessel to prevent the flammable fluid from leaking into the atmosphere. (Item 2) The electric compressor according to item 1, in which a box-side seal (64) is disposed to prevent the atmosphere from flowing into the control box. (Item 3) The electric compressor according to item 1 or 2, wherein the container-side seal is made of a rubber material. (Item 4) The electric compressor according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the conductive pin portion and the electric board are connected via a waterproof connector (73) that prevents moisture from entering the inside.

[0076] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and equivalent modifications. In addition, various combinations and forms, including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. a pressure vessel (10) that houses a motor (30) that rotates when supplied with electric power and a compression mechanism (20) that is driven by the motor and compresses and discharges a flammable fluid; a control box section (50) that houses an electric board (51) that supplies power to the motor section; The motor includes a current-carrying pin portion (61) for electrically connecting the motor portion and the electric board, and a hermetic terminal (60) sealed in glass on a flat fixing plate portion (62) for holding the current-carrying pin portion. An electric compressor in which the pressure vessel section and the control box section are integrally formed, The control box unit is configured to suppress the inflow of air from the outside to the inside, The pressure vessel portion has a vessel-side through-hole (10a) formed therein, which connects the internal space with the atmosphere and allows the conductive pin portion to be inserted therethrough, An electric compressor, wherein a container-side seal (63) is disposed between the fixed plate portion and the pressure vessel portion to prevent the flammable fluid in the pressure vessel portion from leaking into the atmosphere through the container-side through-hole.

2. 2. The electric compressor according to claim 1, further comprising a box-side seal member (64) for preventing air from entering the control box.

3. 3. The electric compressor according to claim 1, wherein the container-side seal member is made of a rubber material.

4. 3. The electric compressor according to claim 1, wherein the conductive pin portion and the electric board are connected via a waterproof connector (73) that prevents moisture from entering the inside.

5. An electric compressor as described in Claim 1, wherein the portion of the airtight terminal located outside the pressure vessel portion is housed in a waterproof box portion (70) having a waterproof structure that prevents moisture from entering the interior.