SELF-ADJUSTING TANGENCY-CLEARANCE COMPRESSOR WITH LIQUID PURGE CAPABILITY

摘要

A vane-type compressor especially adapted for compressing refrigerant in air-conditioning systems has a vane carrying rotor mounted on fixed center bearings and surrounded by an eccentrically positioned cylinder guiding the vane motion and confining and controlling the compression process which is free to swing toward the rotor and maintain a line of tangency contact therewith providing a direct barrier between the discharge and suction sides of the compression chamber. A spring loaded end plate pressed against one end of the cylinder serves as a relief valve to purge liquid such as lubricant which might collect in the compression cavities during a shut-down period and which could otherwise create a lock-up condition. A fixed front bearing plate or end head has a cup-shaped housing piloted thereon surrounding the cylinder and providing a rear bearing mounting for the rotor. The front plate has an inlet port supplying the compression cavities between the rotor and cylinder. The cylinder has an outlet adjacent the tangency seal line of contact between the rotor and cylinder which discharges to a chamber between the housing and cylinder that is surrounded by porous fibrous strips effective to separate lubricant entrained in the compressed refrigerant. The refrigerant is discharged to an outlet port in the front bearing plate and the separated lubricant collects in the bottom of the housing and is circulated back to the bearings and vane slots of the rotor.