Fluid machine

• US 20050214148A1
• Filed: 03/08/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc. (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc. (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Uno, Keiichi, Ogawa, Hiroshi, Iwanami, Shigeki, Hotta, Tadashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,314,356 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 418/55.600
• CPC Class Codes: F01C 1/0246 Details concerning the involute wraps or their base, e.g. geometry
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 1/04 with compressor of rotary type F25B1/005, F25B1/10 take precedence

Abstract

An outer end of a seal element for a fixed scroll is extended to a position close to an end of an inside spiral wall of the fixed scroll, and an outwardly extended portion is formed at an outer periphery of a disc-shaped base plate of a movable scroll, so that a bottom surface of the movable scroll is always kept in a sliding contact entirely with the seal element during the orbital movement of the movable scroll. A thickness of the outwardly extended portion formed at the outer periphery of the disc-shaped base plate is made smaller than that of the disc-shaped base plate, so that the weight of the fluid machine can be smaller.

Claims

1. A scroll type fluid machine comprising:

a housing;

a converting means for collecting heat energy from working fluid and converting the collected heat energy into mechanical rotational energy by expanding heated gas-phase working fluid in an isenthalpic manner;

a shaft rotationally supported by the housing and having an eccentric shaft portion;

a movable scroll having a disc-shaped base plate and a spiral wrap, the movable scroll being operatively connected with the eccentric shaft portion so that the movable scroll moves with an orbital movement;

a fixed scroll having a base plate and a spiral wrap to be coupled with the movable scroll to form working chambers, the volume of the working chambers being gradually increased when the movable scroll is rotated with its orbital movement and when the working chambers move from a center of the fixed scroll toward an outward direction;

a seal element provided on a front end of the scroll wrap of the fixed scroll, an outer end of the seal element is extended to a position close to an end of an inside spiral wall of the fixed scroll; and

an outwardly extended portion formed at an outer periphery of the disc-shaped base plate, so that a bottom surface of the movable scroll is always kept in a sliding contact entirely with the seal element during the orbital movement of the movable scroll.

2. A scroll type fluid machine according to claim 1, wherein

an outer shape of the movable scroll is formed with an envelope curve, which is relatively described on the bottom surface of the movable scroll by an outer edge of the seal element, when the movable scroll is rotated.

3. A scroll type fluid machine according to claim 1, wherein

a driving center of the movable scroll to be connected to the eccentric shaft is arranged at such a point, at which the rotational imbalance of the movable scroll is minimized.

4. A scroll type fluid machine according to claim 1, wherein

a thickness of the outwardly extended portion formed at the outer periphery of the disc-shaped base plate is made smaller than that of the disc-shaped base plate.

5. A scroll type fluid machine according to claim 1, wherein

a thickness of the outwardly extended portion formed at the outer periphery of the disc-shaped base plate (103a) is made smaller than that of the disc-shaped base plate, except for such portions, a front side of which is opposed to the scroll wrap of the fixed scroll.

6. A scroll type fluid machine comprising:

a housing;

a converting means for collecting heat energy from working fluid and converting the collected heat energy into mechanical rotational energy by expanding heated gas-phase working fluid in an isenthalpic manner;

a shaft rotationally supported by the housing and having an eccentric shaft portion;

a movable scroll having a disc-shaped base plate and a spiral wrap, the movable scroll being operatively connected with the eccentric shaft portion so that the movable scroll moves with an orbital movement;

a fixed scroll having a base plate and a spiral wrap to be coupled with the movable scroll to form working chambers, the volume of the working chambers being gradually increased when the movable scroll is rotated with its orbital movement and when the working chambers move from a center of the fixed scroll toward an outward direction; and

a seal element provided on a front end of the scroll wrap of the fixed scroll, an outer end of the seal element is extended to an outermost position of an inside spiral wall of the fixed scroll at which an outer surface of the scroll wrap of the movable scroll is brought into and out of contact with an inner surface of the scroll wrap of the fixed scroll in accordance with the orbital movement of the movable scroll,

wherein a portion of an outer periphery of the disc-shaped base plate is outwardly extended, so that a bottom surface of the movable scroll is always kept in a sliding contact entirely with the seal element during the orbital movement of the movable scroll.

7. A scroll type fluid machine comprising:

a housing;

a converting means for collecting heat energy from working fluid and converting the collected heat energy into mechanical rotational energy by expanding heated gas-phase working fluid in an isenthalpic manner;

a shaft rotationally supported by the housing and having an eccentric shaft portion;

a movable scroll having a disc-shaped base plate and a spiral wrap, the movable scroll being operatively connected with the eccentric shaft portion so that the movable scroll moves with an orbital movement;

a fixed scroll having a base plate and a spiral wrap to be coupled with the movable scroll to form working chambers, the volume of the working chambers being gradually increased when the movable scroll is rotated with its orbital movement and when the working chambers move from a center of the fixed scroll toward an outward direction;

a seal element provided on a front end of the scroll wrap of the fixed scroll; and

an outwardly extended portion formed at an outer periphery of the disc-shaped base plate, so that a bottom surface of the movable scroll is always kept in a sliding contact entirely with the seal element during the orbital movement of the movable scroll.

8. A scroll type fluid machine comprising:

a housing;

a converting means for collecting heat energy from working fluid and converting the collected heat energy into mechanical rotational energy by expanding heated gas-phase working fluid in an isenthalpic manner;

a shaft rotationally supported by the housing and having an eccentric shaft portion;

a movable scroll having a disc-shaped base plate and a spiral wrap, the movable scroll being operatively connected with the eccentric shaft portion so that the movable scroll moves with an orbital movement;

a fixed scroll having a base plate and a spiral wrap to be coupled with the movable scroll to form working chambers, the volume of the working chambers being gradually increased when the movable scroll is rotated with its orbital movement and when the working chambers move from a center of the fixed scroll toward an outward direction; and

a seal element provided on a front end of the scroll wrap of the fixed scroll,

wherein the disc-shaped base plate of the movable scroll has a diameter enough to always keep a bottom surface of the movable scroll in a sliding contact entirely with the seal element during the orbital movement of the movable scroll, and

such an outer portion of the disc-shaped base plate, which does not come in contact with any portion of the seal element during the orbital movement of the movable scroll, is cut out.