CA1180666A - Lubricant distribution system for scroll machine - Google Patents

Lubricant distribution system for scroll machine

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Publication number
CA1180666A
CA1180666A CA000406936A CA406936A CA1180666A CA 1180666 A CA1180666 A CA 1180666A CA 000406936 A CA000406936 A CA 000406936A CA 406936 A CA406936 A CA 406936A CA 1180666 A CA1180666 A CA 1180666A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
oil
swing link
bearing
collector cup
bearings
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000406936A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Robert E. Utter
Arthur L. Butterworth
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Trane Co of Canada Ltd
Trane International Inc
Original Assignee
Trane Co of Canada Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Trane Co of Canada Ltd filed Critical Trane Co of Canada Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1180666A publication Critical patent/CA1180666A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F01MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
    • F01CROTARY-PISTON OR OSCILLATING-PISTON MACHINES OR ENGINES
    • F01C21/00Component parts, details or accessories not provided for in groups F01C1/00 - F01C20/00
    • F01C21/04Lubrication

Abstract

Title LUBRICANT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
FOR SCROLL MACHINE

Inventors Arthur L. Butterworth Robert E. Utter Abstract An oil distribution system for lubricating bearings in a scroll compressor. The system includes an oil collector cup attached to the lower surface of a swing link. Oil pumped through an internal passage in a rotating drive shaft is retained in the collector cup when the compressor stops, so that it is immediately available to lubricate adjacent bearings upon restart of the machine. Also disclosed in two embodiments are means for distributing and properly allocating the flow of oil between a thrust bearing and a swing link bearing.

Description

~666 :`

Description Title LUBRICAN~ DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
FOR SCROLL ~ACHI~E

s r~ Di~l~

~ his invention generally per-tains to a lubricant distribution system ~or a scroLl machine, alld in particu-lar to a syst~m ~or distxibuting oil to the thrust and swing link beaxin~s of a scrolL machine.

Back~round Art The generic term "scroll machine" encompasses a class of positive ~luid displacement apparatus which use orbiting involute spiral wraps formed on facing parallel plates to compress, expand, or pump a ~luid.
Although many designs for scroll machines exist in the prior art, very few have been successfully reduced to practice as commercially viahle products. So~e o the problems which have arisen in these development attempts are unique to the scroll machine, e.g., providin~ effec-tive seals between the involute wraps and the end plates~However, other more common proble~s involvins the ef-ficiency and operating life o~ scroll machines must also be solved. For example, as in any ~ec`lanical device having ~oving parts subject to friction and wear, it is necessary to provide proper lubrication. In a scroll machine, an ade~uate lubricant supply is ~articularly importan~. or the bearings associated with the rotating drive shaft and with the ele~ents ~or convèrting the ro-tational motion of thé shaft into the orbital motion of the scroll plates.

~80~

The lubrication system used in scroll machines and other rotating machinery having vertical drive shats generally ollow a similar pattern. Typically in such machines, oil ~lows Erom a reservolr located in either the lower or upper part o~ th~ machine l10USil1g~ through oil passa~es drilled in -the drive shaEt~or flistribution to the various componen~s re~uixill~ lubricatiotl. An e~-ampl~ oE SUCh a scroll machin~ is disclosed .in U.S~ Patent ~,065,27~, wherein a c~ntriEugal oil pump orces oil up through two eccentrically placed oil passages in a ver-tical drive shaft. One of these passages supplies oil to a series o grooves associated with a swing link journal bearing, thereby lubricating it and an adjacent thrust bearing. Oil flowing in the second internal passage o the drive shaft is distributed throu~h a right angle pass-age for lubrication of the top journal bearing o~ the drive shaft. This design illustrates a problem common to scroll machines--providing adequate lubrication to the thrust,swing link, and drive shaft bearings --difficult due to the spacial separation of these bearings and their relatively dissimilar ~otion.
Laboratory tests o the lubrication system dis-closed in the '279 patent have s~o~ that the upper drive shat journal bearin~ does not receive suficient lubri-cation. This is believed due partly to an inadequatevolumetric flow output ronn the centrifugal oil pump and partly to improper allocation o~ the oil 10w between the drive sha~t bearing and the other bearings. Alloca-tion o oil between the thrust and swing link bearings is not a problem in the design o~ the '2~9 patent since oil or lubricating the thrus~ ~earing first flows through the groove in the swing link bearing. Ho~ever, where separate oil passages are used to supply oil to these `
bearings, the oil 10w ~ust be properly allocated between them.

A urther problem noted in the lubrication of scroll machines concerns the lack of initial lubrication when such machines are restarted after a period of disuse.
Typicallyl when a scroll machine stops op~ra-t.ing, almost all oE the lubrica-ting oil drains down rom ~he bearin-3s and back .into the reservoir. Whell the machine .is restart-e~, o.il is no~ ava:ilable to lubrica-te be~r.in~ ur~aces unt.il it .is distributed tllxou~llout the oil pass~s o the lubx.ica~ion system. The lon~e.r and mor~ tortuous the xou~e which ~he oil ~ust :Eollow to reach tllese sur-faces/ th~ more likley it is that undesil^able wear will occurl thereby shortenillg the operational liEe of the scroll machine.
In view ol the foregoing discussion, it is therefore an object of this invention to provide an oil distribution and lubrication system for a scroll machine which minimizes wear of its bearinss and prolongs its useful life.
It is a further object of this invention to properly distribute and allocate oil bet~een the various bearings of a scroll machine.
A still further object of this invention is to make oil immediately available to lubricate bearings of the scroll machine when it is restarted after having been de-energized or a period of ti~e.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from ~he description oE the pre:Eerred embodi3~ent which ~ollows, and by reerence to the attached drawings.

Di SCl osure of the Invention We have developed an improved oil distribution system or lubricating bearings of a scroll machine having a rotatably driven vertical shat. The shaft includes an oil pump mounted upon its lower end, immersed in a reservoir of oil, and is provided with an internal oil passage through which oil is conveyed Erom the pump to the upper end of the shaf t . ~ swing link, rotatably driven b~y the shaE-t, is mounted on its upper end.
An oil collector cup is disposed adjacent the swing link around the oil passage in the driven shat~ The collector cup rotat-es with the swing link and receives the oil 10wing out of the oil passage in the shat when the pump is operating. A small volume of oil is retained in the oil collector cup when the pump stops, and is immediately available to lubricate adjacent bearings of the scroll machine when the pump again starts.
The oil distribution system urther includes oil distribu-tion means for distributing oil from the oil collector cup to the adjacent bearings and allocating the flow of oil between the adja-cent bearings in proper proportion. The oil distribution means in-cludes one or more passages in fluid communication with the collect-or cup, which convey oil to bearings outside the swing link. Oil is thereby distributed to both a thrust bearing and a swing link bear-ing~
According to one aspect of the invention, the means Eor distributing oil ~urther comprise an arcuate baf~le disposed on the upper sur~ace o the oil collector cup below the swing link bearing and extending upward toward it. This baffle acts to direct a por-tion of the oil in the oil collector cup vertically upward into the swing link bearing before it flows radially outward to the lower end of the one or more passages. The length of the baf1e determines the relative proportion o oil -Elow distributed between the thrust bearing and the swing link bearing.
According to a Eurther asp~ct o-~ the present invent.ion tha swing link bearing is oE the journal t~pe, and the oil distribution means comprise a groove within the sliding sur~ace oE tha swing link journal bearing, disposed in fluid communication with the oil col-lector cup at a point which is radially further from the axis of ro-tation o the shaft than the point where the passage(s) in the swing link is/are in fluid communication wtih the oil collecor cup~ Oil therefore tends to flow preferentially into the groove of the swing link journal bearing from a pool of oil accumulated at the periphery of the oil collector cup, due to the centrifugal force developed by the rotating shaft, rather than into the passage(s).
According to yet another aspect of the present invention an oil distribution system for lubricating bearings of a scroll machine, comprising a rotatably driven vertical shat having an oil pump on its lower end extending into a reservoir nf oil, and includ-ing an internal oil passaga through which oil is conveyed from the pump to the upper end of the shat on which is mounted a swing link rotatably driven by the shaft; an oil collector cup disposed adja-cent the swing link, around the oil passage in said driven shaft androtatably driven by the shaft, in receipt of oil flowing out of the oil passage in the shaEt when the pump is operating, and operative to retain a small volume oE oil when the pump stops so that the oil retained is immediately available to lubricate adjacent bearings o~
the s~roll machine when the pump again starts; and oil distribution means Eor distributing oil Erom the oil collector cup to the adja-cent bearings including a thrust bear.ing and a swing link baaring and allocating the Elow o oil between the adjacent bearings in prope.r p.roportion to insure adequate lubrication thereof, said oil dist.ribution means including one or more passages in fluid communi~a-tion with the collector cup for conveying oil to bearings outside the swing link.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided in a scrolling machine having a thrust bearing, a swing link with an associated bearing, and a vertical rotating drive shaft for rotating the swing link and provided with an oil passage through which oil is conveyed from a reservoir by a pump, a lubricat-ing oil distribution system comprising an oil collector cup, depend-ing from the bottom of the swing link and disposed around the upper end of the drive shaft in fluid communication with .its oil passage, said oil collector cup being operative to retain oil collected there-in when the drive sha~t stops rotating so that when the drive shaft again begins to rotate, the retained oil is immediately available ,~

- 7 ~ ~ 1 ~0 ~ ~ 6 for lubrication of the thrust and swing link bearings; one or more passages in Eluid communication with the oil collector cup, disposed within the swing link, the upper end of at least one o the passages disposed radially inward oE the thrust bearing, so that cantriEugal force developed by rotation of the drive shat Eorces oil upward Erom the colleckor cup t~lrough at least the one passage and slings it radia:Lly outward toward the thrust bearing; and means for distri-buting oil from the collector cup to the swing link bearing in proper proportion to the flow of oil to the thrust bearing to insure adequate lubrication oE the bearings.
Brief Description of the Dra ~
Figure 1 is a cutaway view of a scroll machine, showing a preerred embodiment in cross-sectional aspect.
Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the subject invention as shown in Figure 1, illustrating one embodiment wherein the swing link bearing is o the rolling element type.
Figure 3 illustrates a cutaway plan view of the embodi-ment shown in Figuire 2.
Figure 4 is a side view o the swing link, and shows the angle o the intarnal oil passage therein.
Figure 5 shows in plan viaw, a second embodiment oE the preerred invention, wherain the swing link contains a journal bear-ing.
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line 6-6 o Figur^e 5.

6~6 Description of the Preferred Embodiments With reference to Fi~ure 1, a scroll machine configured as a refrigerant compressor is illustrated, and is generally denoted by reference numeral 10. Scroll compressor 10 includes a hermetic sllell 11, h~vin~ suc-tion port 12 and discharge ~oxt 13 ext~nding therethxou~h~
An electxic ~otor 14 pxovidcs thc motive powe~ for scroll compressor 10, and is cooled by suction gas enterin~
through suction port ].2.
The rotor of electric motor 14 includes A drive shaft 15 which extends vertically ~hrough scroll compressor 10. A bearing support 1~ positions the upper end o~ drive shaft 15 in the hermetic shell 11, both a~ially and ra-dially, by ~eans of an upper rolling bearing 17 and a lower ball bearing 18.
The xotational motion of drive shaft 1~ is trans-formed by means of a swing link 19 to the or~iting motion of an orbital scroll plate 20. The configuration o~ the orbiting scroll plate 20 and its associated stationary scroll member are not shown herein, nor will their oper-ation ~e explained in any great detail. The principles by which scroll machines oerate are well known to those skilled in the art and have been explained in numero~s prior art patents, for example, ~o. 4,065,279~ Since the functional operation of the involute scrolls is not particularly relevant to the subject inv~ntion, it should su~fice to explain that a scroll ~nachine either compresses, expands, or pumps, by causing pocXets o$ fluid defined by the end plates and involute wraps of the orbiting and stationary scroll members to e~perienee either a change in pressure or volume as the o-biting scroll men~er`moves relative to the fixed scroll member. In the preferred embodiment, orbiting scroll plate 20 is constrained to orbit in a fi~ed angular relationship to the stat onary 806~

scroll member by an Oldham couplin~, generally denoted by re~erence numeral 21, as is well known in the art.
(See Figures 2, 3, and 5.) A drive pin 22 extends down-ward from the lower surface of orbiting scroll plate ~0, and it is about dxive pin 22 that the swin~ link 19 ro-tates~ being driven by a p.ivot ~pin ~3 ~shown in Fi~ures 3, 5, and 6) on drive shaft 15. Pivo~ pin ~3 ~tends up-ward ~rom the tol~ end o~ drive sha~t 15, beiny eccentrically located~o~ its longitudinal axis. Sinc~ drive ~in ~ of the orbiting scxoll plate 20 i5 also eccentrically located relative to the longitudinal axis of drive shaft 15, it should be apparent that rotation o drive shat 15 results in a rotating radial force being applied to drive pin 22, causing its center to describe a circular orbit around the longitudinal axis of drive shat 15.
Axial force is applied to the orbiting scroll 20 by means o thrust bearing 24. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, thrust bearing 24 includes a radial grooving pattern on its upper ace to insure proper lubricant distribution across its sliding surfaces. ~n adequate flow o~ lubri-cating oil to these surfaces is essential to avoid ex-cessive wear and fric~onal losses. Likewise, proper 10w of lubricant to the swing link bearing 25a (in the first embodiment) and 25b ~in the second embodiment) avoids ex-cessive wear and rotational friction about drive pin 22,as the swing link 19 translates the rotational motion o drive shat 15 into the orbitin~ ~otion o scroll plate 20. Lubricating oil is distributed and properly appor-tioned to these key bearin~s by ~eans which will herein-30 after be discussed.

~ ` ` `` `

.

" ~8~i66 ,` ,~

The void in the lower portion of hermetic shell 11 comprises an oil reservoir 30 in which an oil pu~p 31 is immersed. Oil pump 31 is attached to the lower ex-tending end of drive shaft 15 for rotation tllereby. The centri~ugal orce developed by rotatian of o.il pump 31 causes oil to move up an oil passa~e 32 bored throu~h the int~rior oE sha~t 15 and out of a standpipe 33, which is ~itted in the up~er end. It will be apparent that the end oE sha:Et 15 might be e~tended to ~or~ an int~gral stand pipe e~uivalent to the separa~e standpipe 33. The relatively large diameter of oil passa~e 3~ and the overall high efficiency of centrifugal pump 31 com-bine to crea~e a high volumetric flow of oil at the upper end o standpipe 33.
Oil exiting standpipe 33 is collected in an oil collector cup 3~ which is attached to the lower sur-face o~ swing link 19 by bolts 35~ or by other suitable attachment means. The dimensions of oil collector cup 34 are such that it slightly clears the u per end of drive shaft 15, as it rotates with s~ing lin~ 19. A baffl~ 36 extends upward from the upper surface of oil collector cup 3~ toward the bottom part of the swing lin~ bearing 25a. Oil collector cup 3~ is circular in shape, haviny an opening with an upward extending flange 37 dis~osed around standpipe 33~in a position which is eccentric to the center o ~.he cup 3~. The internal diameter of flange 37 is slightly lax~er than th~ e~terior o~ standpipe 33, allowiny cup 3~ to freely rotat~ about standp~pe 33-~ith reference to Figures ~ and 3, it can be seen that oil e~iting standpipe 33 is thrown by centriEu-~al force away fron~ the longi~udinal a~is of dri~e shaft 15. Accordingly, baf~le 36 is disposed in the lobular portion of collector cup 34 immedia~ely belo~ the bearing 25a, as far from the axis of drive shaft 15 as possible, so that it intercepts a portion of the oil flowing from ~1~0~66 " 1~
,~, standpipe 33. Oil striking baffle 35 is thereby deflected upward and into`the open end of the rollin~ element swing link bearings 25a. The upper end of ba~fle 36 is actually in contact with the extending li~ o the outer race com-prisi~g roller beaxings 25a to .insure ~hat th~ d~1~c~edoil stream is dis~ u~d in~o the rolling elemen~s ~ler~-o~. Oil which is not intercepted b~ baffle 3~ ~lows be-hi~d it, accu~ulatln~ in the lob~llar par~ o~ oil collector cup 3~ ~uxthest away from the longitudinal axis of drive sha~t lS. From this point, in the first pre~erred embodi-ment, the oil flows throu~h a swing link oil passa~e 38a bored at an angle through swing link 19. The lower open end of passage 38a is i~mediately above the oil collector cup where the ~ool of oil is collected, as shown in Figure
2, and the upper end opens in~ediately adjacent thrust bearing 24.
It shouid be apparent that the lenyth of ar-cuate baffle 36 determines the relative prooortion of oil that is deflected thereby into the swing link rolling ele-ment bearing 25a, as compared to the oil which collectsbehind the ba~1e 36 and is available to flow through passase 38a for lubrication othe thrust bearing ~4, i.e., as baffle 36 is made lon~er in len~th, more oil will be deflected into bearing~ ~5a, with less being available for lubrication of the thrust bearin~ 24. How-ever, if excessive oil is caused to flo~ into swin~ link roller bearing 25a, the resultin~ viscous losses in this bearing will reduce the overall efficiency of tlle scroll compressor 10. It is there~ore essential that baffle 36 be made only lon~ enough to provide adequate lubrication of swing link roller bearing 25a, but not so lon~ as to introduce excessive oil, which would caùse viscous losses.

llB0666 )~

Turning now to Figures 5 and 6, a second pre-ferxed embodiment of the subject invention is shown, wherein means are disclosed for distributiny oil to a swing link journal bearing 25b. In the second embodimellt, S a passag~ 38b is provided in ~he wall o~ swin~ l.ink 19, immediately adjacent tlle extexnal surface o~ s~in~ k jou~rnal bearillg 25b, at a pOillt wh.i~h .is ~n@rally a~-jacent to the p.in ~3. Oil pass~e 38b is substan~ially vertical, beinc3 al.i~ned with the longitudinal a~is of drive shaft 15. A suhstantially vertical ~roo~re ~O is ~ormed in the internal wall of joùxnal bearing 25b at a point which is radiall~ closer to the longitudinal a~is o rotation of the dxive shaft 15 than is the point where the oil passage 38b through the s~in~ link 19 communicates with the oil collector cup 34~ As previously explained oil exiting the stand tube 33 ~lows radially out~Yard due to the centrifugal force developed by the rotation of drive shaft 15~ Due to the eccentric location o~ th~ ¦
center point o the oil collector cup 34 relative to ~o its axis of rotation, oil tends to accumulate in the lobular portion, flowing preferentially into groove 40 as compared to the swing lin~ oil passage 38b~ In this manner, the swing link journal bearing 2~b is assured adequate lubxication, and yet a proportionate flow of the oil is further distributed throu~}l oil passa~e 38b, exiting from the ~Qp of the s~in~ lin~ 19, and ` thrown outward there~rom toward thrust bea~rin~
In both the ~irst alld second prefel~red embodi-ments herein disclosed, the oil passa~e 38 opens at the top of the swing lin~ 19 near pivot pin 23~ Laboratory test~ have sho~n that oil leavin~ oil pasa~e 38 .from this position sprays onto the sliding surface on the bottom of the orbiting scroll plate 20 when that surface has moved radially inwald of the thrust bearing 24 in its orbital path so that a ilm o~ oil is thereby deposited onto the sliding surfaces for lubrication of these ele-~ 0~6 .~ .
~3 ments. If the oil spray reaches the orbiting scroll plate20 at a point in time when its sliding surface has moved radially outward of the thrust bearing 24 the sliding surfaces are not e~posed to the oil spray and are insuf-~iciently lubricated, resultin~ in e~cessive riction andwear. The phase relatiollship betweell the impactin~ oil spray and the relative position of the orbi-till~ soroll plate 20 remains fixed -throu~hout the complete revolution of the swin~ link 19, since oil passage 38 rotates at the same ~requency with which the scroll plate 20 ol~bits.
In addition to properly allocating and p~opor-tionin~ the flow o~ oil to ~he thrust bearing 2~ and the swing link bearing 25, the subject in~rention provides im-mediate lubrica~ion to these bearings when the scroll lS compressor 10 is re-ener~ized after a period of disuse.
Oil is retained in the collector cup 34 when the drive shaft lS stops rotating, and does not drain back down into the oil reservoir 30. Typically, after prior art scroll machines are de-energi~ed for a short time rela-tively warm oil in the machine tends to drain back intothe oil reservoirt leaving the bearing surfaces with only a thin film of oil for lubrication when the machine is restarted~ However in the present invention, oil re-tained in the collector cup 3~ is irmlediatel~ available to lubricate the adjacent bearings as soon as drive shaft lS again begins to rotate. This eliminates the delay of up to several seconds l~equired or oil to xise rom the oil resexvoir 30 to the bearings at the top of the scroll compressor 10. Although a single instance o running without adequate lubrication fol several seeonds of time may not result in si~nificant damage to these bearings wear accumulates as the machine is cycled on and of during its normal mode o opexation~ In~ediate lubrica-tion of these wearing parts u~on startup of the scroll compressor 10 therefore substantially e~tends its oper-ating life.

~at6~;6 Bearing support 16 serves to channel excess oil thrown outward toward thrust bearing 24 from passage 38 back into reservoir 30, through upper drive shaft roller bearing 17 and lower drive shaft ball bearing 18~ Since drlve shaft bearings 17 and 18 are o.f tlle rollin~ element type, they do not re~ulre as much lubricatioll as would journal bearings. Part o;~ the excess oil ;~lows througl ports (not shown) in b~aring support 16 and back into reservoir 30 along the exteriol- sur~ace o support 16.
Oil which has lubxicated thrust bearin~s 24 and passed radially outward therethrough also returns to reser~oir 30 alon~ the exterior surface of beàring su port 16.
As disclosed in the first embodin~ent of the sub-ject invention, oil passa~e 38a in the swing link 19 e~-tends from a point above the oil collector cu~ 3~ to apoint adjacent pivot pin 23. It is also conte~plated that a radially extending passage 38a could be provided comprising an external tube for directing the flow of oil to the thrust bearing 24 at a point where it would properly lubricate this bearing as it rubs against the lower portion of the orbiting scroll plate ~0. Further-more, thrust bearing 24 might be replaced with a rotating ball bearing assembly such that it would not be necessary to direct the oil flow toward a particular part o~ the orbiting scroll plate ~0 in order to insura its ade~uate lubrication~ Such a ball bearing replacennent ~or thrust bearing~ 2~ would have a relati~ely open cage and would not be affected by the phasal position inherent in the sliding action o~ thrust bearing 2~ a~aillst the underside of or-~0 biting scroll plate ~0~ It will be understood that modi-fications such as these will be a~parent to those skilled in the art within the scope of the invention~ as defined in the clai~s which follow~

Claims (9)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. An oil distribution system for lubricating bearings of a scroll machine, comprising a rotatably driven vertical shaft having an oil pump on its lower end extending into a reservoir of oil, and including an internal oil passage through which oil is conveyed from the pump to the upper end of the shaft on which is mounted a swing link rotat-ably driven by the shaft;
an oil collector cup disposed adjacent the swing link, around the oil passage in said driven shaft and rotatably driven by the shaft, in receipt of oil flowing out of the oil passage in the shaft when the pump is operating, and operative to retain a small volume of oil when the pump stops so that the oil retained is imme-diately available to lubricate adjacent bearings of the scroll machine when the pump again starts; and oil distribution means for distributing oil from the oil collector cup to the adjacent bearings including a thrust bearing and a swing link bearing and allocating the flow of oil between the adjacent bearings in proper proportion to insure adequate lubrica-tion thereof, said oil distribution means including one or more pas-sages in fluid communication with the collector cup for conveying oil to bearings outside the swing link.
2. In a scroll machine having a thrust bearing, a swing link with an associated bearing, and a vertical rotating drive shaft for rotating the swing link and provided with an oil passage through which oil is conveyed from a reservoir by a pump, a lubricating oil distribution system comprising:
an oil collector cup, depending from the bottom of the swing link and disposed around the upper end of the drive shaft in fluid communication with its oil passage, said oil collector cup being operative to retain oil collected therein when the drive shaft stops rotating so that when the drive shaft again begins to rotate, the retained oil is immediately available for lubrication of the thrust and swing link bearings;
one or more passages in fluid communication with the oil collector cup, disposed within the swing link, the upper end of at least one of the passages disposed radially inward of the thrust bearing, so that centrifugal force developed by rotation of the drive shaft forces oil upward from the collector cup through at least the one passage and slings it radially outward toward the thrust bearing; and means for distributing oil from the collector cup to the swing link bearing in proper proportion to the flow of oil to the thrust bearing to insure adequate lubrication of the bearings.
3. In a scroll machine having a vertical rotating drive shaft provided with an oil passage through which oil is conveyed from a reservoir by a centrifugal pump drivingly rotated by the shaft, a lubricating oil distribution system for properly allocating the flow of oil between a thrust bearing and a bearing associated with a swing link rotatably driven by the drive shaft, said oil distribution system comprising:

an oil collector cup, depending from the bottom of the swing link in circumscribing relationship to the upper end of the oil passage in the drive shaft, said oil collector cup being opera-tive to retain oil collected therein when the drive shaft stops rotating the centrifugal pump, so that when the drive shaft again begins to rotate the pump, the retained oil is immediately available for lubricating the thrust and swing link bearings;
one or more passages in fluid communication with the oil collector cup, disposed within the swing link and adjacent its bear-ings, the upper end of at least one of the passages disposed radial-ly inward of the thrust bearing, so that oil pumped into the collect-or cup is conveyed upward through the one or more passages and radially outward toward the thrust bearing; and means for distributing the oil and apportioning the flow thereof to the swing link bearing in proper proportion to the flow of oil to the thrust bearing through at least one said passage so that each of said bearings is properly lubricated.
4. The oil distribution system of claims 1, 2 or 3 where-in the means for distributing oil comprise an arcuate baffle dispos-ed on the upper surface of the oil collector cup below the swing link bearing and extending upward theretoward, said baffle acting to direct a portion of the oil in the oil collector cup vertically up-ward into the swing link bearing before it flows radially outward to the lower end of the one or more passages, the length of the baffle thereby determining the relative proportion of oil flow between the thrust bearing and the swing link bearing, said swing link bearing being of the rolling element type and said baffle being sufficiently short in length to provide just enough oil flow to adequately lubri-cate the rolling elements without causing excessive viscous losses.
5. The oil distribution system of claims 1, 2 or 3 where-in the swing link bearing is of the journal type.
6. The oil distribution system of claim 5 wherein the means for distributing oil further comprise a groove within the slid-ing surface of the swing link journal bearing and disposed in fluid communication with the oil collector cup at a point which is radial-ly further from the axis of rotation of the shaft than the point where at least said one passage in the swing link is in fluid commun-ication with the oil collector cup, whereby oil tends to flow prefer-entially into the groove of the swing link journal bearing from a pool of oil accumulated at the periphery of the oil collection cup due to the centrifugal force developed by the rotating shaft, rather than into at least said one passage.
7. The oil distribution system of claim 6 wherein excess ail provided to the swing link journal bearing by means of the groove exits the top of the journal bearing and is thrown radially outward toward the thrust bearing.
8. The oil distribution system of claims 1, 2 or 3 where-in the oil collector cup is generally circular shaped about a center point which is offset from the longitudinal axis of the rotating shaft, an off-center circular opening being provided in the oil collector cup of slightly larger diameter than that of the rotating shaft, the circumferential edge of said circular opening including a flange which loosely abuts the outer surface of the rotating shaft.
9. The oil distribution system of claims 1, 2 or 3 where-in the oil collector cup is bolted to the swing link.
CA000406936A 1981-09-08 1982-07-08 Lubricant distribution system for scroll machine Expired CA1180666A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US300,075 1981-09-08
US06/300,075 US4403927A (en) 1981-09-08 1981-09-08 Lubricant distribution system for scroll machine

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1180666A true CA1180666A (en) 1985-01-08

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US (1) US4403927A (en)
JP (1) JPS5854299A (en)
CA (1) CA1180666A (en)
DE (1) DE3233680A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2512506B1 (en)
GB (1) GB2105794B (en)

Families Citing this family (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
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JPH026399B2 (en) 1990-02-08
FR2512506A1 (en) 1983-03-11
GB2105794B (en) 1985-10-09
US4403927A (en) 1983-09-13
JPS5854299A (en) 1983-03-31
DE3233680C2 (en) 1991-02-21
GB2105794A (en) 1983-03-30
DE3233680A1 (en) 1983-03-17
FR2512506B1 (en) 1986-03-07

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