Rotary Compressor Vane Support Protrusions for Axial Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Concentric rotary compressors face issues with axial support of vanes, leading to tilting, increased friction, and reduced efficiency, especially when using high-pressure refrigerants like R32, R410a, or CO2, due to insufficient axial support area and increased wear on bearing surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of vane support protrusions on the main and sub bearings, which extend into the back pressure pockets to stabilize the vanes axially, increasing the support area and preventing tilting, while maintaining the volume of the back pressure pockets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the number of vanes is increased to maintain cooling capability with high-pressure refrigerants, then cooling performance is improved, but friction area between vanes and cylinder increases, leading to increased mechanical friction loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new spatial dimension by forming vane support protrusions that extend in the axial direction from the bearing surfaces. This axial dimension provides additional support area for the vanes, allowing them to maintain stable positioning without requiring increased friction between the vanes and cylinder, thus resolving the contradiction between cooling capability and friction loss.
2Productivity
If the number of vanes is increased to maintain cooling capability with high-pressure refrigerants, then cooling performance is improved, but bearing surface area is reduced, making rotational shaft behavior unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the bearing functionality into the axial dimension by forming vane support protrusions. This creates additional support surfaces that stabilize the rotational shaft behavior without requiring an increase in the radial bearing surface area, thus allowing increased vane count for better cooling while maintaining shaft stability.
3Ease of operation
If back pressure pockets are formed to communicate with back pressure chambers, then vane support is provided, but axial support area of the vane is reduced, causing vane tilting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the bearing structure by forming protrusions that extend into the back pressure pockets. This segmentation creates dedicated support regions within the pockets, allowing the pockets to maintain their pressure communication function while simultaneously providing axial support to prevent vane tilting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds axial dimension support by forming protrusions that extend from the bearing surfaces into the back pressure pockets. This creates a new support dimension that prevents vane tilting while preserving the radial pressure communication function of the pockets.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively reduces friction loss, wear, and vibration noise, while enhancing the axial support force for the vanes, ensuring stable operation even with high-pressure refrigerants.
Implementation Method 1
a vane inserted in a roller rotates together with the roller, and is pulled out by centrifugal force and back pressure to come into contact with an inner circumferential surface of a cylinder
Implementation Method 2
a vane inserted in a cylinder is pulled out toward a roller by elastic force or back pressure to come into contact with an outer circumferential surface of the roller
Data Source
AI summary
A rotary compressor is disclosed. The rotary compressor may include a casing, a cylinder, main and sub bearings, a rotational shaft, a roller, at least one vane, and a vane support portion that axially supports the at least one vane formed on a bearing surface to extend along a reciprocating direction of the at least one vane from an inner circumferential surface of at least one back pressure pocket at an end of circumferential ends of the at least one back pressure pocket, adjacent to a contact point, and/or protrude axially from the inner circumferential surface of the at least one back pressure pocket and extend in a circumferential direction. This may secure a wide axial support area for a rear end of the at least one vane passing the contact point and/or near the contact point, to suppress or prevent axial tilting of the at least one vane, thereby reducing friction loss, wear, and vibration noise due to the axial tilting of the at least one vane during operation of the compressor.