Turbo compressor and refrigeration cycle device having turbo compressor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12590740-B2
Application number	US-202118013230-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 1, 2021
Priority date	Jun 9, 2021
Publication date	Mar 31, 2026
Grant date	Mar 31, 2026

Abstract

A turbo compressor and a refrigeration cycle device having a turbo compressor are provided. The turbo compressor includes a housing having a motor chamber; a drive motor having a stator and a rotor in the motor chamber of the housing; a first compression portion and a second compression portion, respectively, provided on opposite ends of a rotary shaft; a connecting passage that connects an exit of the first compression portion and an entrance of the second compression portion; an inlet passage that penetrates a first side of the housing to communicate with an inside of the motor chamber and guide a refrigeration fluid to the motor chamber; and an outlet passage that penetrates a second side of the housing to communicate with the inside of the motor chamber and guide the refrigeration fluid in the motor chamber out of the housing. Thus, a gas foil bearing provided in the motor chamber may be quickly actuated by supplying the refrigeration fluid to the motor chamber, and at a same time, heat generated from the motor chamber may be quickly dissipated even in a high-speed operation, thereby improving efficiency of the turbo compressor and a refrigeration cycle device having a turbo compressor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A turbo compressor, comprising:
a housing having a motor chamber; a drive motor having a stator and a rotor in the motor chamber of the housing; a first compression portion and a second compression portion, respectively, provided on opposite ends of a rotary shaft; a connecting passage that connects an exit of the first compression portion and an entrance of the second compression portion; an inlet passage that penetrates a first side of the housing to communicate with an inside of the motor chamber and guide a refrigeration fluid to the motor chamber; and an outlet passage that penetrates a second side of the housing to communicate with the inside of the motor chamber and guide the refrigeration fluid in the motor chamber out of the housing, wherein an axial support portion is provided in the motor chamber to provide support with respect to an axial direction for the rotary shaft, the axial support portion including:
a thrust runner that radially extends from the rotary shaft;
a first partition wall fixed to the housing and positioned between the thrust runner and the first compression portion; and
a second partition wall axially spaced apart from the first partition wall and fixed to the housing, that axially overlaps the thrust runner and is positioned between the thrust runner and the drive motor, wherein a refrigerant intake passage forming the inlet passage is provided in the first partition wall, and an end of the refrigerant intake passage is open to a side of the first partition wall facing the thrust runner, wherein an axial bearing is provided between a first side of the thrust runner and the first partition wall and between a second side of the thrust runner and the second partition wall, and wherein the end of the refrigerant intake passage is positioned radially farther away from the rotary shaft than the axial bearing.

2 . The turbo compressor of claim 1 , wherein the motor chamber includes a first chamber provided on a first axial side with respect to the drive motor and a second chamber provided on a second axial side, wherein the axial bearing is provided in the first chamber to provide support with respect to the axial direction for the rotary shaft, and wherein the inlet passage communicates with the first chamber.

3 . The turbo compressor of claim 1 , wherein the motor chamber includes a first chamber provided on a first axial side with respect to the drive motor and facing the first compression portion and a second chamber provided on a second axial side and facing the second compression portion, wherein the first chamber and the second chamber communicate with each other, and the outlet passage communicates with the second chamber, and wherein the inlet passage includes:
a first inlet passage that communicates with the first chamber; and a second inlet passage that communicates with the second chamber.

4 . The turbo compressor of claim 1 ,
wherein a refrigerant passage is formed to radially penetrate the rotary shaft, wherein a cross-sectional area of the refrigerant passage is larger than or equal to a distance between either side of the thrust runner and a partition wall facing the same, wherein the refrigerant passage includes a first refrigerant passage that radially penetrates a first axial side and a second refrigerant passage that radially penetrates a second axial side, with the thrust runner interposed therebetween, and wherein the first refrigerant passage and the second refrigerant passage communicate with each other by a third refrigerant passage which extends axially therebetween.

5 . The turbo compressor of claim 1 ,
wherein a first refrigerant passage or a second refrigerant passage radially penetrates the rotary shaft at least one of opposite axial sides, with the thrust runner interposed therebetween, wherein a fourth refrigerant passage is formed to radially penetrate the thrust runner, and wherein the fourth refrigerant passage communicates with the first refrigerant passage or/and the second refrigerant passage by a third refrigerant passage which axially extends.

6 . The turbo compressor of claim 1 , wherein the motor chamber is divided into a first chamber and a second chamber on opposite axial sides, with the drive motor interposed therebetween, and the inlet passage portion includes:
a first inlet passage that communicates with the first chamber; and a second inlet passage that communicates with the second chamber, wherein the first inlet passage and the second inlet passage communicate with the motor chamber on a same axial line, and wherein the outlet passage is positioned farthest away from the first inlet passage or the second inlet passage in a circumferential direction.

7 . The turbo compressor of claim 1 , wherein the motor chamber is divided into a first chamber and a second chamber on opposite axial sides, with the drive motor interposed therebetween, and the inlet passage includes:
a first inlet passage that communicates with the first chamber; and a second inlet passage that communicates with the second chamber, wherein the first inlet passage and the second inlet passage communicate with the motor chamber on a same axial line, and wherein an inner diameter of the first inlet passage is larger than or equal to an inner diameter of the second inlet passage.

8 . The turbo compressor of claim 1 , wherein the motor chamber is divided into a first chamber and a second chamber on opposite axial sides, with the drive motor interposed therebetween, wherein the axial support portion is provided in the first chamber to provide support with respect to the axial direction for the rotary shaft, and the outlet passage communicates with the second chamber, wherein the outlet passage includes:
a first connecting passage having a first end that communicates with the second chamber, and a second end that communicates with the connecting passage; a second connecting passage having a first end that communicates with the connecting passage, and a second end that communicates with an entrance of the first compression portion; and a refrigerant control valve configured to control a flow of refrigerant passed through the motor chamber to be directed toward the first connecting passage or the second connecting passage.

9 . The turbo compressor of claim 8 , wherein the refrigerant control valve includes a valve control portion that controls opening/closing directions according to predetermined conditions, and wherein the valve control portion allows the second chamber to communicate with the entrance of the second compression portion under a high-load condition, and allows the second chamber to communicate with an entrance of the first compression portion under a low-load condition.

10 . A turbo compressor, comprising:
a housing having a motor chamber; a drive motor having a stator and a rotor in the motor chamber of the housing; a first compression portion and a second compression portion, respectively, provided on opposite ends of a rotary shaft; a connecting passage that connects an exit of the first compression portion and an entrance of the second compression portion; an inlet passage that penetrates a first side of the housing to communicate with an inside of the motor chamber and guide a refrigeration fluid to the motor chamber; and an outlet passage that penetrates a second side of the housing to communicate with the inside of the motor chamber and guide the refrigeration fluid in the motor chamber out of the housing, wherein an axial support portion is provided in the motor chamber to provide support with respect to an axial direction for the rotary shaft, the axial support portion including:
a thrust

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Moon Changgook
• Oh Junchul
• Bae Hyojo
• Choi Seheon
• Kim Kyungmin
• Mun Jinhyeok
• Lee Byeongchul

Classifications

• F04D29/057

  hydrostatic; hydrodynamic · CPC title

• F04D17/125

  the casing being vertically split · CPC title

• F25B31/026

  with compressor of rotary type · CPC title

• F04D29/4206

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D25/06

  the pump being electrically driven (F04D25/08 takes precedence) · CPC title