Thermal and sound optimized lattice-cored additive manufactured compressor components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11448221-B2
Application number	US-202016819415-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 16, 2020
Priority date	Dec 23, 2015
Publication date	Sep 20, 2022
Grant date	Sep 20, 2022

Abstract

A light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component formed via additive manufacturing is provided. The component may have at least one interior region comprising a lattice structure that comprises a plurality of repeating cells. A solid surface is disposed over the lattice structure. The interior region comprising the lattice structure minimizes or reduces transmission of at least one of thermal energy, sound, or vibrational energy through the component. Methods of making such compressor components via additive manufacturing processes are also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A compressor for a heating or cooling system, the compressor comprising:
a compression mechanism configured to increase pressure of a refrigerant circulating in the heating or cooling system; and
at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component comprising a body portion having at least one interior region comprising a metallic lattice structure that comprises a plurality of cells each comprising a node and each formed via additive manufacturing and a surface layer disposed over the metallic lattice structure, wherein the at least one interior region comprising the metallic lattice structure minimizes transmission of at least one of sound or vibrational energy, so that the compressor component is a sound insulating compressor component, wherein the body portion defines at least one sound insulating region that reduces a transmission of sound or a vibrational energy by greater than or equal to about 30% as compared to transmission of the sound or the vibrational energy through a comparative solid body portion.

2. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component is selected from the group consisting of: a bearing housing, a main bearing housing, a lower bearing housing, an orbiting scroll component, a non-orbiting scroll component, a housing or a shell, a cap, a cover, a separator plate, a muffler plate, an Oldham coupling, a scroll compressor valve, a drive bushing, an interface region between a shell and stator, a roller element, a rotary vane element, a roller element housing, a screw component, a screw, a gate rotor, a centrifugal compressor component, a bearing, a reciprocating component, a piston, a connecting rod, a crankshaft, a cylinder head, a compressor body, a discus valve, a discus valve retainer, a valve plate, and combinations thereof.

3. The compressor of claim 1 selected from a scroll compressor, a rotary vane element compressor, a centrifugal compressor, a single screw compressor, a twin screw compressor, a reciprocating compressor, or a linear compressor.

4. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component is a component of the compression mechanism.

5. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the node has a shape selected from the group consisting of: a sphere, a modified sphere comprising one or more flat surface regions, a sphere comprising posts, a cone, a double-cone, a pyramid, a diamond, a star, a cube, a polyhedron, an irregular asymmetrical globular shape, and combinations thereof.

6. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the surface layer comprises a metal disposed over and entirely enclosing the metallic lattice structure.

7. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the node is selected from the group consisting of: a solid sphere, a porous sphere, a hollow sphere, a hollow sphere comprising a core filled with a plurality of loose particles, and combinations thereof.

8. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein each cell of the plurality of cells has a maximum average dimension of greater than or equal to about 0.1 mm to less than or equal to about 10 mm.

9. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cells comprises a first cell having a first maximum average dimension and a second cell having a second average maximum dimension, wherein the first maximum average dimension and the second maximum average dimension are distinct from one another to provide the metallic lattice structure with a varying cell density.

10. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein each cell of the plurality comprises a solid structure defining one or more void regions therebetween, wherein the one or more void regions comprises loose residual metal particles or an insulating material disposed therein.

11. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein each cell of the plurality comprises a solid structure defining one or more void regions therebetween, wherein the solid structure of a first cell of the plurality has a different thickness from a thickness of the solid structure in a second cell of the plurality.

12. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component has a tensile strength of greater than or equal to about 32,000 psi (about 220 MPa).

13. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cells in the metallic lattice structure comprises a first cell comprising a first node and a second cell comprising a second node, wherein the first node comprises a solid sphere and the second node comprises a hollow sphere, wherein the first cell and the second cell are disposed adjacent to one another in an alternating pattern.

14. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cells in the metallic lattice structure comprises a plurality of first cells comprising a first node and a plurality of second cells comprising a second node, wherein the first node comprises a solid sphere and the second node comprises a hollow sphere, wherein the plurality of first cells defines a first row having a first major longitudinal axis and the plurality of second cells defines a second row having a second major longitudinal axis, wherein the first major longitudinal axis and the second major longitudinal axis are parallel to one another and orthogonal to a primary direction of propagation of the sound or vibrational energy.

15. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component is configured to contact the refrigerant and a lubricating oil.

16. A scroll compressor for a heating or cooling system, the compressor comprising:
a compression mechanism configured to increase pressure of a refrigerant circulating in the heating or cooling system, the compression mechanism comprising an orbiting scroll component and a non-orbiting scroll component; and
at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating scroll compressor component comprising a body portion having at least one interior region that comprises a metallic lattice structure comprising a plurality of cells each comprising a node and formed via additive manufacturing and a surface layer comprising a metal disposed over the metallic lattice structure, wherein the at least one interior region comprising the metallic lattice structure minimizes transmission of at least one of sound or vibrational energy, so that the compressor component is a sound insulating scroll compressor component, wherein the body portion defines at least one sound insulating region that reduces a transmission of sound or a vibrational energy by greater than or equal to about 30% as compared to transmission of the sound or the vibrational energy through a comparative solid body portion.

17. The scroll compressor of claim 16 , wherein the at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating scroll compressor component is configured to contact the refrigerant and a lubricating oil.

18. The scroll compressor of claim 16 , wherein the at least one light-weight, high-strength insulating scroll compressor component is selected from the group consisting of: the orbiting scroll component, the non-orbiting scroll component, a bearing housing, a main bearing housing, a lower bearing housing, a housing or a shell, a cap, a cover, a separator plate, a muffler plate, an Oldham coupling, a scroll compressor valve, a drive bushing, and combinations thereof.

19. A scroll compressor for a heating or cooling system, the compressor comprising:
a compression mechanism configured to increas

Assignees

• Emerson Climate Technologies
• Emerson Electric Co

Inventors

• Scancarello Marc J
• Stover Robert C

Classifications

• B22F10/28

  Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] · CPC title

• F05C2201/021

  Aluminium · CPC title

• F05C2253/083

  Directionally-solidified crystalline structure · CPC title

• F05C2201/0412

  Titanium · CPC title

• F04C2230/20

  essentially without removing material · CPC title