Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Yukihiro Fujiwara

Masahiko Makino

Nobuaki Ogawa

Yoshifumi Abe

Yasuhiro Asaida

Minoru Kajitani

Makoto Yoshida

Osamu Aiba

Tatsuhisa Taguchi

A lead wire of a motor is prevented from being damaged, and the reliability of an electric compressor is enhanced. The electric compressoris provided with a division wallwhich divides a discharge chamberand a connection spacewhich connects a sealed terminaland a lead wireof a motor. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent discharge gas from directly flowing into the connection space, and to prevent the discharge gas from flowing into a wire passagethrough which the lead wireis passed. Therefore, vibration of lead wirecaused by gas pulse can be suppressed, the lead wire can be prevented from being damaged, and the reliability of the electric compressor can be enhanced.

Electric compressor

Impulsive sound of an Oldham ring is reduced and a driving noise of a scroll compressor is prevented from increasing. When a width of the key of the Oldham ring made of iron-based material is defined as t and a width of the orbiting-side key groove in the back surface of the surface plate of the orbiting scroll made of aluminum-based material and a width of the fixed-side key groove of the main bearing member made of aluminum-based material on the side of a thrust surface are defines as s, a gap d generated at s&#x2212;t with respect to a key pitch L of the Oldham ring I set in a range of (6&#xd7;10)&#x2266;d/L&#x2266;(3.5&#xd7;10). With this, even if the key of the Oldham ring vibrates in the key groove, a collision force against the key groove is weakened, impulsive sound of the Oldham ring becomes small, and a driving noise of the scroll compressor is can be reduced.

Scroll compressor with reduced oldham ring noise

A refrigerant go-around passage is provided in a housing of a compressor. The passage takes in refrigerant discharged from a compression mechanism into the housing, makes the refrigerant go around an axial line of the compressor and finally returns the refrigerant to the discharge-port side of the housing while separating liquid contained in the refrigerant from the refrigerant by centrifugation or by centrifugation and collision. In the mid portion of the refrigerant go-around passage, a liquid returning port is provided for returning the separated liquid to the housing in such a manner that the liquid returning port has an orientation that has a component in a direction of gravity and that is deviated from a traveling direction of the refrigerant.

Compressor and mechanism for separating lubricating liquid

In an electric compressor, an inverter case of an inverter is externally attached to an end wall of a housing in an axial direction on the side of a suction port to a compression mechanism. An intake passage for leading fluid returned from the outside into the suction port is provided in the inverter case. The intake passage has a thermal binding portion for thermally binding the intake passage to the inverter. According to the above structure, an exclusive part in the housing is eliminated even though the inverter is installed in the electric compressor, and the inverter is cooled efficiently.

Electric compressor with inverter

A cooling space in an inverter case is disposed at a position opposed to a stationary scroll of a scroll compressor. A refrigerant having low temperature is allowed to flow in and out between the cooling space and the stationary scroll through a seal, thereby cooling an inverter.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric compressor capable of enhancing the mountability with respect to a vehicle without increasing the compressor in size when the electric compressor and a motor-driving circuit which drives a motor of the electric compressor are integrally formed together. A suction chamberwhich is in communication with a fixed panel suction portprovided in a fixed scrollfrom a suction portprovided in a sub-casing, and a discharge chamberwhich is in communication with a communication passagefrom a fixed panel discharge portprovided in the fixed scrollare disposed on the same plane in a radial direction of a compressor, and the motor-driving circuitis disposed in an axial direction of the compressor so that an IPMwhich is a heat generating part of the circuit substratecan be brought into tight contact with the suction chamber

Lubricating liquid fed from a reservoir to a compression mechanism is collected by a circumferential wall that surrounds the drive shaft of the compression mechanism and rotates synchronously with it immediately after liquid is discharged into the space inside the housing with or without compressed fluid. Liquid is then urged outward under centrifugal force from an outlet formed at a preset axial location of the circumferential wall. Exiting liquid is received by a fixed liquid return cover that surrounds the circumferential wall near its outlet and led back to the reservoir.

Growing community of inventors

Shiga, Japan

Yukihiro Fujiwara