Patent Publication Number: US-11031722-B2

Title: Sealing cover, upper cover assembly, and compressor

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application to PCT/CN2019/076669, with an international filling date of Mar. 1, 2019, which is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201810947865.7, having a filing date of Aug. 20, 2018, the entire contents both of which are incorporated herein by reference 
    
    
     FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY 
     The following relates to the field of compressors, in particular to a sealing cover, an upper cover assembly, and a compressor. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Compressors which are used to convert low-pressure gases into high-pressure gases have been widely applied to the field of air conditioners, or other fields, wherein one compressor includes a shell and an upper cover assembly mounted on the shell; a pump, a motor, and other assemblies are arranged in the shell; the upper cover assembly includes an upper cover body, a terminal post fixing base embedded in the upper cover body, terminal posts embedded in the upper cover body and penetrating through the terminal post fixing base, and the terminal posts are connected with the motor, wiring terminals connected with the terminal posts and an external power supply, and a terminal post protection cover connected with the upper surface of the terminal post fixing base and used to cover the terminal posts and the wiring terminals. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect relates to a sealing cover includes a cover body and a wire fixing part. The cover body includes a top cover and a side wall, and is of a half-surrounded structure. The wire fixing part includes a bottom plate and side plates, the bottom plate is arranged in the cover body; a wire accommodating space is formed by the bottom plate, the top cover and the side wall; and a fitting space is formed by the side wall and a side of the bottom plate which is opposite to the wire accommodating space; the side plates are arranged on the bottom plate inside the wire accommodating space, and each two side plates are parallel; the wire accommodating space includes wire guide slots, and each wire guide slot is formed by two adjacent side plates and the bottom plate; a guide hole is arranged on the bottom plate at each wire guide slot. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
       Some of the embodiments will be described in detail, with references to the following Figures, wherein like designations denote like members, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a structural diagram of a sealing cover in some embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a left view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a side sectional view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view along A-A shown in  FIG. 4  in some embodiments; 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the sectional structure shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view along A-A shown in  FIG. 4  in some embodiments; 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the sectional structure shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a structural view of a wiring terminal in some embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the wiring terminal shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a structural view of the sealing cover mounted on a terminal post fixing base in some embodiments; 
         FIG. 13  is a top view of the structure shown in  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a side view of the structure shown in  FIG. 12 ; and 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a compressor having a shell and an upper cover assembly mounted on the shell. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description of the embodiments is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the scope of embodiments of the invention, its application, or uses. 
     In the process of creating embodiments of the invention, the inventor realized that when the upper cover assembly is assembled, the wiring terminals and the terminal posts should be connected first and are then covered with the terminal post protection cover, and in order to seal the terminal post protection cover, a sealant has to be injected between the wiring terminals, the terminal posts, and the terminal post protection cover. Due to the fact that the terminal post fixing base is half surrounded by the terminal post protection cover when covered with the terminal post protection cover, it is extremely inconvenient to seal the wiring terminals, the terminal posts and the terminal post protection cover, and gaps may be formed; and the positions of the wiring terminals are not constant, so that gaps may be formed between the wiring terminals, and a good sealing effect cannot be realized. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 - FIG. 5 , wherein  FIG. 1  is a structural view of a sealing cover in one embodiment of the invention,  FIG. 2  is a bottom view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  is a left view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 4  is a side view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 5  is a side sectional view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, a sealing cover includes a cover body  1  and a wire fixing part  2 . The cover body  1  is formed by a top cover  11  and a side wall  12 , and the cover body  1  is of a half-surrounded structure. The wire fixing part  2  includes a bottom plate  21  and side plates  22 ; the bottom plate  21  is arranged in the cover body  1  and is parallel with the top cover  11 , and a wire accommodating space  13  used for accommodating wiring terminals is formed by the top cover  11  and the side wall  12  and the bottom plate  21 . A fitting space  14  is formed by the side wall  12  and a side of the bottom plate  21  which is opposite to the wire accommodating space. And the sealing cover is mounted on a terminal post fixing base by the fitting space  14 . The side plates  22  are arranged in the wire accommodating space  13 , and the side plates  22  are fixed vertically on the bottom plate  21 , each two adjacent side plates  22  are parallel with each other and each two adjacent side plates  22  forms a wire guide slot  23  with the bottom plate  21 . In some embodiments, each two adjacent side plates  22  are connected by a connecting plate. The wiring terminals can be inserted and can be fixed in the wire guide slots  23 . Guide holes  24  are arranged on the bottom plate  21  at each wire guide slot  23 , and the wire guide slots  23  are communicated with the fitting space  14  via the guide holes  24 . 
     Wire guide ports  121  are arranged on the side wall  12  and are communicated with the wire guide slots  23 , so that the wiring terminals can penetrate through the wire guide ports  121  to be inserted into the wire guide slots  23 . 
     In some embodiments, a chamfer  131  is disposed on the outer side of the wire accommodating space  13 , so that the sealing cover can be held to be assembled over the terminal post fixing base conveniently, the size of the sealing cover is reduced, transportation and carrying of the sealing cover are facilitated, and the sealing cover is more attractive. 
     The side plates  22  of the wire fixing part  2  are fixed to the top cover  11 . In some embodiments, the number of the wire guide slots  23  is three, matching with the number of terminal posts arranged on the terminal post fixing base. 
     The wiring terminals  3  can be conveniently inserted into the cover body  1  via the wire guide slots  23 , and a sealant can be conveniently injected into the wire guide slots  23  to effectively seal the wiring terminals; and the sealing cover can be conveniently mounted on the terminal post fixing base via the fitting space  14 , and the terminal posts on the terminal post fixing base penetrate through the guide holes  24  to be in close contact with the wiring terminals  3  in the wire guide slots  23 , so that the wiring terminals  3  and the terminal posts are electrically connected. The sealing cover is conveniently and effectively assembled on the terminal post fixing base in a sealing manner, and the wiring terminals  3  and the terminal posts are conveniently connected and sealed. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , wherein  FIG. 6  is a sectional view along A-A shown in  FIG. 4 , and  FIG. 7  is a side view of the sectional structure shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     In some embodiments, the sealing cover is produced by integrated injection molding. Aiming to facilitate machining and manufacturing, the space between the side plate  22  and the side wall  12  is filled to be solid. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , wherein  FIG. 8  is a sectional view along A-A shown in  FIG. 4  in some embodiments, and  FIG. 9  is a side view of the sectional structure shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     Since the sealing cover is integrally formed by injection molding, the outer side of the sealing cover is thin and cools down rapidly, while the inner side of the sealing cover is solid and thick and thus cools down slowly, deformation of the sealing cover or cracks of the inner side of the sealing cover may be caused by thermal expansion and cold shrinkage, which in turn decreases the injection-molding yield. Therefore, in some embodiments, two of the side plates  22 , which are nearest to the side wall  12 , are fixed to the side wall  12 , and the space between the side plate  22  of the wire fixing part  2  and the side wall  12  of the cover body  1  is set to be hollow to prevent deformation or cracks of the sealing cover and to increase the yield. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 10 , and  FIG. 11 , wherein  FIG. 3  is a left view of the sealing cover shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 10  is a structural view of one wiring terminal in some embodiments of the invention, and  FIG. 11  is a side view of the wiring terminal shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     In some embodiments, the sealing cover further includes wiring terminals  3 . Each wiring terminal  3  includes an electrical connector  31  and a lead wire fixing base  32 , wherein the electrical connector  31  is fixedly connected to one end of the lead wire fixing base  32  and is inserted into the wire guide slot  23 , and the lead wire fixing base  32  is exposed out of the wire guide slot  23  to be connected with an external power line, so that the power line and the electrical connector  31  are electrically connected. 
     The electrical connector  31  includes two clamping pieces, wherein one end of each clamping piece is fixed to the lead wire fixing base  32 , the two clamping pieces are symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the lead wire fixing base  32 , and a clamping gap  311  is formed between the two clamping pieces. In some embodiments, the wire fixing part  2  further includes positioning bars  25  for positioning the wiring terminals inserted into the wire guide slots  23 , and the positioning bars  25  are disposed on the bottom plate  21  of each wire guide slot  23 , paralleling with the axial direction of the wire guide slot  2 . The guide holes  24  are disposed on the positioning bars  25 . When the electrical connector  31  is inserted into the wire guide slot  23 , the positioning bar  25  in the wire guide slot  23  is clamped by the two clamping pieces, so that the lower side of the clamping gap  311  is propped open by the positioning bar  25  to fix the electrical connector  31 . Wherein, the width of the clamping gap  311  is smaller than the diameter of the terminal post, so that after the fitting space  14  of the sealing cover is mounted on the terminal post fixing base, the terminal post further props the clamping gap  311  open to be in close contact with the two clamping pieces, and thus, the wiring terminal and the terminal post are firmly connected delivering electrical energy. In some embodiments, the two clamping pieces are arc sheets. 
     In some embodiments, the top cover  11  of the cover body  1  is provided with positioning parts to prevent the electrical connectors  31  from disengaging from the wire guide slots  23  and to further fix the electrical connectors  31 , and each positioning part is arranged towards one wire guide slot  23  and extend into one wire guide slot  23 . Particularly, each positioning part includes at least two limiting ribs  26  and a limiting plate  27 , wherein the limiting ribs  26  are arranged towards one wire guide slot  23  and extend into the wire guide slots  23 , the limiting plate  27  is connected between the two limiting ribs  26  in the wire guide slot  23  and is not parallel to the axial direction of the wire guide slot  23 . And a limiting groove  261  is defined by the two limiting ribs  26 , the limiting plate  27  and the top cover  11  of the cover body. And the positioning grooves  261  are shorter than the wire guide slots  23  and are close to the wire guide ports  121 . In some embodiments, the limiting plates  27  incline towards the bottom plate  21  from the wire guide ports  121 . Each wiring terminal  3  further includes a connector and a resilient latch  33 , wherein the connector is fixed at the other end of the two clamping pieces, away from the lead wire fixing base  32 ; and the resilient latch  33  is disposed upon the clamping gap  311 , one end of the resilient latch  33  is fixed to the connector, and the other end of the resilient latch  33  extends towards the lead wire fixing base  32 , so that the resilient latch  33  forms a flare angle with the upper plane of the clamping gap  311 . When the electrical connector  31  is being inserted into the wire guide slot  23 , the resilient latch  33  is pressed by the limiting plate  27  of the positioning part and the flare angle is compressed; after the electrical connector  31  has been inserted into the wire guide slot  23 , the resilient latch  33  rebounds, and the flare angle is restored; and when the electrical connector  31  is being pulled along the wire guide slot  23  away from the cover body  1 , the opening end of the resilient latch  33  is stuck in the positioning groove  261  making the electrical connector  31  fixed in the wire guide slot  23 , so that the situation in which the electrical connector  31  gets loose and disengages from the wire guide slot  231  due to transportation, movement, or the like is avoided. In some embodiments, the limiting plates  27  incline towards the bottom plate  21  from the wire guide ports  121 , and a plate is connected between the opening end of each limiting plate  27  and the top cover  11  and the plate is perpendicular to the top cover  11 . 
     In some embodiments, in order to prevent the electrical connectors  31  in the wire guide slots  23  from being separated from the exposed lead wire fixing bases  32  due to the pulling force in the transportation or movement process, to reserve more space keeping the terminal posts away from the wire guide port  121  to prevent water and dust from entering the terminal posts, and to further effectively seal the electrical connectors  31  and the terminal posts, the wire fixing part  2  and the top cover  11  of the cover body stretch out of the side wall  12  at the wire guide ports  121 . So after the electrical connectors  31  have been inserted into the wire guide slots  231  and have been in contact with the terminal posts, the remaining length of the wire guide slots  23  is sufficient to accommodate the lead wire fixing bases  32 . In some embodiments, the connection of the electrical connectors  31  and the lead wire fixing bases  32  are more stable, and the sealing between the electrical connectors  31  and the terminal posts is enhanced. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 12 - FIG. 14 , wherein  FIG. 12  is a structural view of the sealing cover arranged over the terminal post fixing base,  FIG. 13  is a top view of the structure shown in FIG.  12 , and  FIG. 14  is a side view of the structure shown in  FIG. 12 . Wherein, the terminal post fixing base is embedded in an upper cover body  7  of an upper cover assembly. 
     The embodiments further provide an upper cover assembly. The upper cover assembly includes an upper cover body  7 , a terminal post fixing base embedded in the upper cover body, terminal posts embedded in the upper cover body  7  and penetrating through the terminal post fixing base to be connected with a motor, and the sealing cover mentioned in any embodiments above, wherein the sealing cover is mounted on the terminal post fixing base. 
     In order to further improve the sealing effect, the upper cover assembly further includes a sealing ring  4 , wherein the sealing ring  4  is disposed at the joint of the sealing cover and the terminal post fixing base and is firmly pressed by the sealing cover disposed around the terminal post fixing base, so that a gap between the sealing cover and the terminal post fixing base is reduced, and sealing between the sealing cover and the terminal post fixing base is enhanced. 
     In some embodiments, to further enhance the sealing between the sealing cover and the terminal post fixing base, the upper cover assembly further includes a rack  5  and a tightening strip  6 , wherein the rack  5  is welded to the top surface of the terminal post fixing base and two symmetrical positions on the rack  5  stretch out forming two protuberances, and symmetrical hanging holes  51  are disposed at the protuberances of the rack  5 . Hooks  61  to be hooked in the hanging holes  51  are symmetrically arranged on two ends of the tightening strip  6 , and a tightening groove  111  used for accommodating the tightening strip  6  is disposed at the outer side of the top surface of the top cover  11 ; and the tightening strip  6  is a linear elastic structure. In order to enhance the sealing between the sealing cover and the terminal post fixing base, firstly weld the rack  5  to the top surface of the terminal post fixing base, and dispose the hanging holes  51  protruding out of the terminal post fixing base; then, hook the hooks  61  of the tightening strip  6  in the hanging holes  51  to fix the tightening strip  6  and the rack  5  together; and afterwards, press the tightening strip  6  towards the top cover  11  until the tightening strip  6  is clamped in the tightening groove  111  and the sealing ring  4  is firmly pressed by the sealing cover. 
     In order to assemble the upper cover assembly, first, insert the two clamping pieces  31  of the wiring terminal  3  into the wire guide slot  23  via the wire guide port  121 , and the clamping gap  311  between the clamping pieces  31  would be propped open by the positioning bar  25 , meanwhile, the wiring terminal  3  would be fixed in the wire guide slot  23 . Afterwards, hold the sealing cover to cover the terminal post fixing base with the fitting space  14 , then press the sealing cover to fix the fitting space  14  to the terminal post fixing base, meanwhile, the terminal post on the terminal post fixing base would penetrate through the guide hole  24  in the wire guide slot  23  to enter the clamping gap  311  between the two clamping pieces to be in close contact with the two clamping pieces, so that the sealing cover is assembled on the terminal post fixing base, and the terminal post and the wiring terminal  3  are connected. Then hook the hanging holes  51  of the rack  5  with the hooks  61  of the tightening strip  6 . Last, press the tightening strip  6  towards the top cover  1  to make the tightening strip  6  be clamped in the tightening groove  111  in the top cover  11 , then the sealing cover firmly would press against the sealing ring  4 , sealing the gap between the sealing cover and the terminal post fixing base. 
     Some embodiments further provide a compressor, as shown in  FIG. 15 . The compressor includes a shell and an upper cover assembly mounted on the shell, wherein the shell includes a pump and a motor, and the upper cover assembly is the assembly structure mentioned in any of the embodiments above. 
     Although the present invention has been disclosed in the form of preferred embodiments and variations thereon, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     For the sake of clarity, it is to be understood that the use of ‘a’ or ‘an’ throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and ‘including’ does not exclude other steps or elements.