Electric compressor

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an electric compressor in which versatility is improved by providing a casing and a fastening part separately such that the position of the fastening part with respect to the casing can be easily changed. [Solution] An electric compressor 1 in which a casing 2 that houses a compression mechanism is attached to an attachment part by a fastening part 13, wherein: the fastening part 13 is provided separately from the casing 2; a rail part 7 that extends in an axial direction is provided to an outer surface of the casing 2; and the fastening part 13 is capable of moving by sliding on the rail part 7 and is fixed at a prescribed position on the rail part 7.

Description

Electric compressor

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric compressor in which a compression mechanism is provided in a casing and the casing is attached to an attachment portion by a fastening portion.

[0002] A refrigerant compressor for a vehicle used in an air conditioning apparatus of an electric vehicle uses an electric compressor having a compression mechanism and a motor built therein because driving force from an engine cannot be obtained. In this case, the electric compressor is supplied with power from a vehicle battery to drive the motor and compress the refrigerant, and is attached to the vehicle by a fastening portion called a mount boss.

[0003] Specifically, bolt fastening holes are formed in the attachment portion of the vehicle, and the electric compressor is fastened and fixed to the vehicle by inserting bolts through the fastening portion of the casing and screwing them into the bolt fastening holes of the attachment portion (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0004] Japanese Patent No. 6020148, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-202379

[0005] Here, the positions of the bolt fastening holes formed in the attachment portion of the vehicle are determined in advance by design. And the positions often differ depending on the model (type of vehicle) and vehicle manufacturer. However, in the above conventional structure, the fastening portion of the electric compressor is integrally formed with the casing or provided at a predetermined position, so there is no versatility. When an electric compressor is attached to a vehicle with different bolt fastening hole positions, which is an unprecedented attachment requirement, a new mold has to be made each time to manufacture a casing with a different position of the fastening portion.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional technical problem, and an object thereof is to provide an electric compressor with improved versatility by making the casing and the fastening portion a separate structure and enabling the position of the fastening portion with respect to the casing to be easily changed.

[0007] The electric compressor of the present invention is characterized in that a casing containing a compression mechanism is attached to a mounting part by fastening parts, the fastening parts are provided separately from the casing, a rail portion extending in the axial direction is provided on the outer surface of the casing, the fastening parts are movable by sliding on the rail portion and are fixed at a predetermined location on the rail portion.

[0008] The electric compressor of the second invention is characterized in that the fastening portion in the above invention has an engaging portion that slides and engages with the rail portion so as to be movable.

[0009] The electric compressor of the third invention is characterized in that the fastening portion in the present invention has a fixing portion that is fixed to the rail portion.

[0010] The electric compressor of the fourth invention is characterized in that, in the present invention, a plurality of positioning fitting parts are formed on the rail part, and the fastening part is fixed to the rail part by fitting the fixing part into any of the fitting parts on the rail part.

[0011] The fifth invention, an electric compressor, is characterized in that, in each of the above inventions, at least one pair of rail sections are provided on the outer surface of the casing, at least one pair of fastening sections are fixed to each rail section, and each fastening section is fastened with bolts to a mounting section provided on the vehicle.

[0012] According to the present invention, in an electric compressor in which a casing containing a compression mechanism is attached to a mounting part by fastening parts, the fastening parts are provided separately from the casing, and a rail portion extending in the axial direction is provided on the outer surface of the casing, and the fastening parts are configured to slide and move along the rail portion and be fixed at a predetermined location on the rail portion, so that the fixing position of the fastening parts to the casing can be changed according to the position of the bolt fastening holes in the mounting part.

[0013] This makes it possible to accommodate situations where the position of the bolt fastening holes in the mounting part differs depending on the vehicle model or manufacturer, for example, in a vehicle like the fifth invention, by changing the fixing position of the fastening part without changing the shape of the casing, thereby realizing a highly versatile electric compressor.

[0014] In this case, if the fastening portion is configured to have an engaging portion that slides and engages with the rail portion in a movable manner, as in the second invention, the position of the fastening portion can be easily changed.

[0015] Furthermore, as in the third invention, the fastening portion has a fixing portion that is fixed to the rail portion. For example, as in the fourth invention, multiple positioning fitting portions are formed on the rail portion, and the fixing portion fits into one of the fitting portions on the rail portion, thereby fixing the fastening portion to the rail portion. This configuration makes it easy to position the fastening portion relative to the casing and also makes it easy to fix the fastening portion to the rail portion.

[0016] Furthermore, as in the fifth invention, by providing at least one pair of rail sections on the outer surface of the casing and fixing at least one pair of fastening sections to each rail section, the electric compressor can be stably attached to the vehicle.

[0017] This is a perspective view of an electric compressor according to one embodiment to which the present invention is applied. This is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the electric compressor in Figure 1. This is a front view of the electric compressor in Figure 1 to illustrate the change in the position of the fastening part.

[0018] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electric compressor 1 according to one embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and Figure 2 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the electric compressor 1.

[0019] (1) Configuration of the electric compressor 1 The electric compressor 1 in this embodiment is used, for example, in the refrigerant circuit of an air conditioning system for electric vehicles, and sucks in refrigerant as the working fluid of the air conditioning system, compresses it and discharges it, and is a so-called horizontal type inverter-integrated electric compressor that has an electric motor (not shown) and an inverter and a compression mechanism 3 (Figure 2) driven by the electric motor built into an aluminum cast casing 2.

[0020] The casing 2 of the electric compressor 1 in this embodiment is cylindrical, and an inverter housing 4 for housing the aforementioned inverter is integrally formed at one end of the cylindrical portion of the casing 2, protruding outwards. The electric motor and compression mechanism 3 are built into the cylindrical portion. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the electric compressor 1 from the bottom side, with the inverter housing 4 facing upwards and the unit placed vertically.

[0021] Rail sections 6 and 7 are attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the cylindrical portion of the casing 2 in the embodiment (the upper and lower surfaces when attached to the mounting section 14, which will be described later). That is, the casing 2 is equipped with a pair of rail sections 6 and 7. In the embodiment, each rail section 6 and 7 is constructed separately from the casing 2 and is attached to the outer surface of the casing 2 by bolts 8 in a manner that extends in the axial direction of the casing 2. Alternatively, each rail section 6 and 7 may be molded integrally with the casing 2.

[0022] The rail sections 6 and 7 of the embodiment have a substantially T-shaped cross-section. The mounting sides 9, which protrude axially from both ends of the vertical side of the T-shape in the axial direction, are attached to the outer surface of the casing 2 with bolts 8, so that the horizontal side of the T-shape is spaced apart from the casing 2. On both edges of the horizontal side of the T-shape of each rail section 6 and 7 of the embodiment, a plurality of fitting parts 11 are formed at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction, recessed inward from the edge, and each fitting part 11 is used to position the fastening part 13, which will be described later, relative to the casing 2.

[0023] In each figure, 13 is the fastening part described above, and in this embodiment, four of them are provided separately from the casing 2 and are fixed to each rail section 6 and 7. That is, one pair (two) of fastening parts 13 are fixed to each rail section 6 and 7. The fastening part 13 is a component for attaching the casing 2 of the electric compressor 1 to the mounting part 14 (Figure 2) of the vehicle, and has a substantially cylindrical shape.

[0024] A bolt insertion hole 16 is formed through the axial center of the fastening portion 13. In addition, an engaging portion 17 is integrally formed on the outer surface of the central part in the longitudinal direction of the fastening portion 13. As shown in Figure 2, the engaging portion 17 of this embodiment consists of a pair of protruding edges 18 that protrude radially from the fastening portion 13, and engaging edges 19 that extend inward from the tips of each protruding edge 18. A spring-like fixing portion 21 is integrally formed protruding from the inner surface of each protruding edge 18.

[0025] The protruding edge 18 and engaging edge 19 of the engaging portion 17 are formed to surround the T-shaped lateral edges of the rail portions 6 and 7 described above, and to engage with them almost tightly and slidably. The fixing portion 21 is shaped to be removable and re-fittable to the fitting portion 11 formed on the rail portions 6 and 7 due to its spring properties.

[0026] Furthermore, the fitting portions 11 of each rail section 6 and 7 are formed to correspond to the positions of the bolt fastening holes 23, which will be described later, formed in the mounting portion 14 of the vehicle to which the electric compressor 1 is attached. That is, as mentioned above, the positions of the bolt fastening holes 23 will differ depending on the vehicle model and manufacturer, but each fitting portion 11 is formed in a position that can correspond to the expected position where the bolt fastening holes 23 will be formed.

[0027] With the above configuration, the procedure for attaching the electric compressor 1 to the mounting part 14 of the vehicle will now be explained. Note that the rail sections 6 and 7 should be attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the casing 2 in advance, as described above. Also, the positions of the bolt fastening holes 23 (four in this embodiment) of the mounting part 14 should be confirmed, and four fitting sections 11 should be identified that correspond to the positions of each bolt fastening hole 23.

[0028] First, the engaging portion 17 of the fastening portion 13 is positioned against the axial ends of each rail portion 6 and 7, and the fastening portion 13 is installed on each rail portion 6 and 7 so that it can slide by inserting the rail portions 6 and 7 inside the protruding edge 18 and the engaging edge 19. At this time, since the fixing portion 21 has spring properties, the rail portions 6 and 7 can enter the engaging portion 17 without obstruction and can slide and move as shown by the arrow in Figure 3.

[0029] Next, the four fastening parts 13 are slid to the predetermined fitting parts 11, the fixing parts 21 are fitted to each fitting part 11, and the four fastening parts 13 are fixed to the rail parts 6 and 7. In this state, the electric compressor 1 is attached to the vehicle's mounting part 14 by aligning it with each bolt fastening hole 23, inserting the bolts 24 into the bolt insertion holes 16 of each fastening part 13 as shown in Figure 2, and screwing the ends of the bolts into the bolt fastening parts 23 to fasten them.

[0030] In this embodiment, the fastening portion 13 is fixed to the rail portions 6 and 7 by fitting the fixing portion 21 into the fitting portion 11. However, the fitting portion 11 may be merely a marker, and the fastening portion 11 may be fixed to the rail portions 6 and 7 with bolts.

[0031] As described in detail above, in the present invention, the fastening portion 13 for attaching the electric compressor 1 to the mounting portion 14 is provided separately from the casing 2, and rail portions 6 and 7 extending in the axial direction are provided on the outer surface of the casing 2, and the fastening portion 13 is configured to slide and move along the rail portions 6 and 7 and to be fixed at predetermined locations on the rail portions 6 and 7. Therefore, the fixing position of the fastening portion 13 to the casing 2 can be changed according to the position of the bolt fastening holes 23 of the mounting portion 14.

[0032] As a result, in electric vehicles such as the one in the embodiment, even if the position of the bolt fastening holes 23 of the mounting portion 14 differs depending on the model and manufacturer, it becomes possible to accommodate this by changing the fixing position of the fastening portion 13 without changing the shape of the casing 2, thereby realizing a highly versatile electric compressor 1.

[0033] In this embodiment, the fastening portion 13 is configured to have an engaging portion 17 that slides and movably engages with the rail portions 6 and 7, making it easy to change the position of the fastening portion 13. In addition, in this embodiment, the fastening portion 13 is configured to have a fixing portion 21 that is fixed to the rail portions 6 and 7, and multiple positioning fitting portions 11 are formed on the rail portions 6 and 7, so that the fastening portion 13 is fixed to the rail portions 6 and 7 by fitting the fixing portion 21 into any of the fitting portions 11 on the rail portions 6 and 7, making it easy to position the fastening portion 13 with respect to the casing 2, and also easy to fix the fastening portion 13 with respect to the rail portions 6 and 7.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a pair of rail sections 6 and 7 are provided on the outer surface of the casing 2, and a pair of fastening sections 13 are also fixed to each rail section 6 and 7, so that the electric compressor 1 can be stably attached to the vehicle.

[0035] In some cases, the rail section may be provided on the casing 2 as a single unit or in three or more units, and the fastening section 13 may also be fixed to the rail section as a single unit or in three or more units.

[0036] Furthermore, the specific shapes of the components shown in the examples are not limited to those shown and can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In particular, although the examples described the case in which the device is attached to a vehicle, the electric compressor of the present invention is applicable to various devices, and is not limited to that.

[0037] 1 Electric compressor 2 Casing 3 Compression mechanism 6, 7 Rail section 11 Fitting section 13 Fastening section 14 Mounted section 17 Engaging section 21 Fixing section 23 Bolt fastening hole 24 Bolt

Claims

1. An electric compressor in which a casing containing a compression mechanism is attached to a mounting part by a fastening part, wherein the fastening part is provided separately from the casing, a rail portion extending in the axial direction is provided on the outer surface of the casing, and the fastening part is made movable by sliding along the rail portion and fixed at a predetermined location on the rail portion.

2. The electric compressor according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening portion has an engaging portion that engages with the rail portion so as to be slidable.

3. The electric compressor according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening portion has a fixing portion that is fixed to the rail portion.

4. The electric compressor according to claim 3, characterized in that the rail portion has a plurality of positioning fitting portions formed thereon, and the fastening portion is fixed to the rail portion by fitting the fixing portion into any of the fitting portions of the rail portion.

5. The electric compressor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one pair of rail sections are provided on the outer surface of the casing, at least one pair of fastening sections are fixed to each rail section, and each fastening section is fastened with bolts to the mounting section provided on the vehicle.

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