Patent Publication Number: US-11649811-B2

Title: Variable capacity swash plate type compressor

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2018/010843 filed Sep. 14, 2018, claiming priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0168265 filed Dec. 8, 2017. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a variable capacity swash plate type compressor used in an air conditioning apparatus of a vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A variable capacity swash plate type compressor used in an air conditioning apparatus of a vehicle includes a drive shaft, and a rotor and a swash plate mounted on the drive shaft to rotate therewith. 
     The rotor rotates with the drive shaft, and the swash plate is connected to the rotating body via a hinge mechanism. The hinge mechanism connects the swash plate to the rotor so that the swash plate rotates together with the rotor in a pivotable state. At this time, the swash plate allows a compressor capacity to be varied while an inclination angle thereof changes in accordance with a pressure difference between a pressure of a crankcase and a suction pressure. 
     The swash plate is connected to the piston via a hemispherical shoe, and thereby a rotational motion of the swash plate is converted to a reciprocating motion of a piston. The refrigerant is sucked, compressed and discharged by the reciprocating motion of the piston. 
     In such a variable capacity swash plate type compressor, various structures of the hinge mechanism for connecting the rotator and the swash plate are known. In particular, Korean patent registration No. 10-0282042 and No. 10-0318772 disclose a hinge mechanism using a cross pin connecting a rotator and a swash plate. However, in such a hinge mechanism, since a slot-shaped groove for guiding the movement of the cross pin must be fabricated, there are problems in that a precise forming is required and an overall structure is complicated. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hinge mechanism of a variable capacity swash plate type compressor having a simple structure and easy manufacturing. 
     Technical Solution 
     A variable capacity swash plate type compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a cylinder block forming a plurality of cylinder bores; a first housing connected to the cylinder block and forming a crank chamber; a second housing connected to the cylinder block and forming a suction chamber and a discharge chamber; a drive shaft rotatably supported by the first housing; a rotor mounted on the drive shaft to rotate with the drive shaft in a state of being disposed in the crank chamber; a swash plate connected to the rotor by a hinge mechanism to rotate together with the rotor in a state of being disposed in the crank chamber; and a plurality of pistons that are respectively disposed in the plurality of the cylinder bores and are connected the swash plate to undergo a linear reciprocating motion by a rotational motion of the swash plate. The hinge mechanism includes: a guide groove provided in the rotor; a connecting arm connected to the swash plate and having a cylindrical receiving space; and a cylindrical guide roller that is disposed in the receiving space in a state of being arranged in the guide groove. 
     The guide groove may be formed between a pair of supporting arms facing each other that are provided in the rotor. 
     The connecting arm may be provided with a supporting wall that supports one side of the cylindrical guide roller, and the cylindrical guide roller may be disposed between the supporting wall and one of the pair of the supporting arms. 
     A bottom surface forming the guide groove may be formed to be inclined at a predetermined angle relative to a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft. 
     A variable capacity swash plate type compressor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a cylinder block forming a plurality of cylinder bores; a first housing connected to the cylinder block and forming a crank chamber; a second housing connected to the cylinder block and forming a suction chamber and a discharge chamber; a drive shaft rotatably supported by the first housing; a rotor mounted on the drive shaft to rotate with the drive shaft in a state of being disposed in the crank chamber; a swash plate connected to the rotor by a hinge mechanism to rotate together with the rotor in a state of being disposed in the crank chamber; and a plurality of pistons that are respectively disposed in the plurality of the cylinder bores and are connected the swash plate to undergo a linear reciprocating motion by a rotational motion of the swash plate. The hinge mechanism is configured to allow a hinge motion of the swash plate by a combination of a guide groove provided in the rotor and a cylindrical guide roller provided in the swash plate. 
     The swash plate may include a connecting arm having a cylindrical receiving space, and the guide roller may be disposed in the receiving space. 
     Effects of the Invention 
     According to the present invention, a hinge structure for a behavior of a swash plate can be implemented through a simple structure by a combination of a guide groove provided on a rotator and a cylindrical guide roller provided on a swash plate. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a longitudinal sectional view of a variable capacity swash plate type compressor according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of a hinge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  3    is a perspective view seen from another direction of a hinge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  4    is an exploded perspective view of a hinge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  5    is a cross-sectional view of a hinge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  6    is a longitudinal sectional view of a hinge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , a cylinder block  10  forms a plurality of cylinder bores  11 . The cylinder bore  11  is extend in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis X of a variable capacity swash plate type compressor, and for example six cylinder bores  11  may be arranged along a circumferential direction at equal intervals. 
     A plurality of pistons  20  are linearly reciprocally movable in the respective cylinder bore  11 . Refrigerant is introduced, compressed and discharged by the linear reciprocating movement of the piston  20 . 
     A first housing  31  and a second housing  33  are respectively connected to both sides of the cylinder block  10 . For example, the first housing  31  may be connected to one side of the cylinder block  10  to form an airtight crank chamber  32 , and the second housing  33  may be connected to the other side of the cylinder block  10  to form a suction chamber  34  and a discharge chamber  35 . At this time, the first housing  31 , the cylinder block  10  and the second housing  33  may be fastened to each other by a through bolt. 
     A valve plate  37  forming a refrigerant movement passage for the movement of the refrigerant may be interposed between the second housing  33  and the cylinder block  10 . 
     A drive shaft  40  is rotatably supported onto the first housing  31 . The drive shaft  40  may be disposed to extend through the first housing  31  to the cylinder block  10 . The drive shaft  40  may be connected to a drive pulley  44  to rotate together with the drive pulley  44 . 
     A rotor  50  is mounted to the drive shaft  40  to rotate with the drive shaft  40  in a state of being disposed in the crank chamber  32 . For example, as shown in  FIG.  1   , a rotor  50  and the drive shaft  40  may be fastened to each other in a state in which the drive shaft  40  passes through a through hole  51  formed in the center of the rotor  50 . 
     A swash plate  60  is connected to the rotor  50  via a hinge mechanism  70  to rotate together with the rotor  50 . At this time, as shown in  FIG.  1   , the rotor  50  may be disposed at an end portion of the crank chamber  32  of the first housing  31 , and the swash plate  60  may be disposed in the crank chamber  32  to be located between the rotor  50  and the cylinder block  10 . In this case, the drive shaft  40  may be supported by radial bearings  41   a  and  41   b  in a radial direction, and the rotor  50  mounted onto the drive shaft  40  may be supported in the longitudinal direction by thrust bearings  43   a  and  43   b . Specifically, one end of the drive shaft  40  may be supported by a radial bearing  41  supported by a coil spring  46  supported by a snap ring  45  that is installed in a fixed portion in the cylinder block  10 . 
     The swash plate  60  has a through hole  61  in the central portion thereof, and the drive shaft  40  is inserted into the through hole  61 . At this time, the through hole  61  is formed to have a convex surface, the inclination angle of the swash plate  60  with respect to the drive shaft  40  may be changed. As shown in  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  4   , a variable control spring  76  for variable control of the inclination angle of the swash plate  60  may be provided, and the variable control spring  76  operates so that a change from a maximum angle variation to a minimum angle variation can be easily made. The inclination angle of the swash plate  60  is changed by the rotation of the swash plate with respect to the drive shaft  40 , and the capacity of the compressor is varied depending on the change of the inclination angle that is caused by a pressure difference between the pressure in the crank chamber  32  and the pressure of the sucked refrigerant and the action of the variable control spring  76 . 
     The swash plate  60  is connected to the piston  20  so as to cause the piston  20  to undergo a reciprocating linear motion by its rotational motion, and for example, as shown in  FIG.  1   , the swash plate  60  may be connected to the piston  20  via a hemisphere-shaped shoe  61 . Specifically, as shown in  FIG.  1   , an end portion of the swash plate  60  may be disposed between a pair of hemispherical shoes  61  disposed in a shoe pocket of a spherical shape that is formed on the piston  20 . At this time, the shoe pocket  21  may have a spherical shape so as to allow slipping between the shoe  61  and the shoe pocket  21 . With this structure, the swash plate  60  can be rotated relative to the piston  20 , and thereby the rotational motion of the swash plate  60  can be converted into a linear reciprocating motion of the piston  20 . 
     The hinge mechanism  70  functions to connect the swash plate  60  and the drive shaft  40  such that the swash plate  60  can be hinged with respect to the drive shaft  40 , that is, can be pivoted, and the swash plate  60  rotates together with the drive shaft  40 . Hereinafter, a hinge mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The hinge mechanism  70  is configured to allow the hinge motion of the swash plate  60  relative to the rotor  50  by a combination of a guide groove  71  provided in the rotor  50  and a cylindrical guide roller  72  provided in the swash plate  60 . 
     Specifically, referring to  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  4   , the guide groove  71  may be formed on a surface of the rotor  50  facing the swash plate  60 . A bottom surface  711  forming the guide groove  71  may be formed as an inclined surface inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X of the drive shaft  40 . At this time, a pair of guide arms  73  facing each other that are formed by protruding from the surface of the rotor  50  facing the swash plate  60  are provided, and the guide groove  71  may be formed between a pair of the guide arms  73 . 
     The guide roller  72  may be disposed in a cylindrical receiving space  75  provided in a connecting arm  74  that is formed integrally with the swash plate  60 . At this time, the guide roller  72  may be assembled in a cylindrical receiving space  75  in a press-fit or slide-fit manner. Referring to  FIG.  4   , the connecting arm  74  has a supporting wall  741  that is configured to support one side of the guide roller  72 . At this time, referring to  FIG.  5    and  FIG.  6   , both sides of the guide roller  72  are disposed between the supporting wall  741  and one of the pair of guide arms  73 . At this time, the other surface of the supporting wall  741  is in close contact with the other of the pair of guide arms  73 . Further, a cylindrical outer surface of the guide roller  72  having a cylindrical shape is disposed in contact with the surface forming the receiving space  75  and the bottom surface  711  forming the guide groove  71 , respectively. In this state, when the inclination angle of the swash plate  60  is changed, the guide roller  72  moves on the bottom surface  711 . 
     While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The present invention relates to a swash plate type compressor and can be applied to an air conditioner of a vehicle so as to have an industrial applicability.