IP Library Granted Patent US 12692866
Granted Patent B2
US 12692866 · App. 19/032,691 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Compressor

Inventors: SeSeok Seol (Seoul, KR); Yunhi Lee (Seoul, KR); Seoung-Min Kang (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
F04C18/3448F04C29/02F04C2240/30F04C2240/40F04C2240/50
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12692866
App. No.
19/032,691
Granted
Jul 28, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A compressor may include a casing, and an electric drive that is disposed inside of the casing and rotate a rotational shaft. A compression portion may be disposed inside of the casing. The compression portion may include a cylinder, a main bearing, and a sub-bearing, which together define a compression space. The compressor may include at least one first oil drain portion recessed radially inward on one of an outer peripheral surface of the main bearing or the cylinder, which has a relatively smaller diameter. The compressor may further include at least one second oil drain portion formed by penetrating, in an axial direction, a remaining one of the main bearing or the cylinder, which has a relatively larger diameter.

Claims (57)

1 . A compressor, comprising:

a casing;

an electric drive that is disposed inside of the casing and rotates a rotational shaft;

a compression portion disposed inside of the casing and comprises a cylinder, a main bearing, and a sub-bearing which together define a compression space;

a discharge muffler disposed above the compression portion;

at least one first oil drain portion recessed radially inward on an outer peripheral surface of the main bearing;

at least one second oil drain portion formed by axially penetrating the cylinder, wherein the at least one first oil drain portion and the at least one second oil drain portion communicate with each other in an axial direction to form an oil drain path; and

a rim formed on an upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing, the rim protruding radially toward an inner peripheral surface of the casing more than the at least one first oil drain portion, wherein an upper surface of the rim has the discharge muffler seated thereon, and wherein the at least one first oil drain portion, the rim, and the discharge muffler have an overlapping region in the axial direction.

2 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first oil drain portion forms a passage between the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing and the inner peripheral surface of the casing.

3 . The compressor of claim 2 , wherein the at least one first oil drain portion extends from a point axially downward from an upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing to a lower end of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing.

4 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a radial width of a passage formed between the inner peripheral surface of the casing and the at least one first oil drain portion is larger than a radial width of the at least one second oil drain portion.

5 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a surface of the at least one first oil drain portion and a surface of the at least one second oil drain portion form a continuous flat or curved surface.

6 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one second oil drain portion comprises:

a first drain inner surface forming an inner surface of the at least one second oil drain portion;

a second drain inner surface that faces the first drain inner surface, is spaced apart therefrom, and is formed at a position closer to the inner peripheral surface of the casing than the first drain inner surface; and

connecting inner surfaces that connect the first drain inner surface with the second drain inner surface, wherein the first drain inner surface and the at least one first oil drain portion form a continuous flat or curved surface.

7 . The compressor of claim 6 , wherein a relationship among a radial distance L 1 between the rim and the inner peripheral surface of the casing, a radial distance L 2 between a surface of the at least one first oil drain portion and the inner peripheral surface of the casing, a radial distance L 3 between the second drain inner surface and the inner peripheral surface of the casing, and a radial distance L 4 between the first drain inner surface and the inner peripheral surface of the casing is L 3 <L 1 <L 2 =L 4 .

8 . The compressor of claim 6 , wherein a relationship among a radial distance L 1 between the rim and the inner peripheral surface of the casing, a radial distance L 2 between a surface of the at least one first oil drain portion and the inner peripheral surface of the casing, and a radial distance L 3 between the second drain inner surface and the inner peripheral surface of the casing is L 3 <L 1 <L 2 .

9 . The compressor of claim 6 , wherein each of the connecting inner surfaces is formed to have a curved surface.

10 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a relative ratio OH/BH of an axial height OH of the at least one first oil drain portion to a total axial height BH of the rim and the at least one first oil drain portion is 0.2 to 0.35.

11 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the rim is spaced apart upward axially from an upper end of the at least one second oil drain portion, and wherein the at least one first oil drain portion is formed between the rim and the at least one second oil drain portion.

12 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first oil drain portion comprises a plurality of first oil drain portions and the at least one second oil drain portion comprises a plurality of second oil drain portions, and wherein each of the plurality of first oil drain portions and each of the plurality of second oil drain portions are disposed along a circumferential direction of the compression portion and communicate with each other in the axial direction.

13 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein main fastening holes and cylinder fastening holes through which fasteners pass are formed in the main bearing and the cylinder, respectively, and wherein the at least one first oil drain portion is formed between the main fastening holes along a circumferential direction, and the at least one second oil drain portion is formed between the cylinder fastening holes along the circumferential direction.

14 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of main fastening holes through which fasteners pass is formed through the main bearing along a circumferential direction thereof, and wherein a center of each of the main fastening holes is formed between the compression space and the at least one first oil drain portion in a radial direction.

15 . The compressor of claim 14 , wherein the center of the main fastening hole and the at least one first oil drain portion are spaced apart from each other along the circumferential direction of the main bearing.

16 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein an outer peripheral surface of the cylinder is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the casing, and wherein each of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing and an outer peripheral surface of the sub-bearing is spaced apart from the inner peripheral surface of the casing.

17 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the cylinder is larger than a diameter of each of the main bearing and the sub-bearing, wherein the at least one first oil drain portion is formed in each of the main bearing and the sub-bearing, and wherein the at least one second oil drain portion is formed in the cylinder.

18 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first oil drain portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing, which faces the inner peripheral surface of the casing, by being recessed inward in a radial direction of the main bearing.

19 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first oil drain portion is axially continuous from an upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing to a lower end of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing.

20 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one first oil drain portion and the at least one second oil drain portion has an equal cross-sectional shape along the axial direction.

21 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein an axial height of the at least one first oil drain portion is lower than an axial height of the rim.

22 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the oil drain path comprises:

a first passage formed between an upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing and the inner peripheral surface of the casing;

a second passage formed by the at least one first oil drain portion; and

a third passage formed by the at least one second oil drain portion.

23 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first oil drain portion comprises:

a main oil drain portion formed in the main bearing; and

a sub-oil drain portion formed in the sub-bearing, wherein the main oil drain portion and the sub-oil drain portion form the oil drain path with the at least one second oil drain portion.

24 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a sub-oil drain portion extends from a point axially upward from a lower end of an outer peripheral surface of the sub-bearing to an upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the sub-bearing.

25 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a sub-oil drain portion extends along the axial direction from an upper end of an outer peripheral surface of the sub-bearing to a lower end thereof.

26 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein a circumferential width of the at least one first oil drain portion is equal to a circumferential width of the at least one second oil drain portion.

27 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing overlaps the at least one second oil drain portion in a radial direction.

28 . The compressor of claim 1 , wherein an upper surface edge of the main bearing or a lower surface edge of the sub-bearing has a circular shape, and wherein the discharge muffler is seated on an upper surface edge of the main bearing or the lower surface edge of the sub-bearing.

29 . A compressor, comprising:

a casing;

an electric drive that is disposed inside of the casing and rotates a rotational shaft;

a compression portion that is disposed inside of the casing and comprises a cylinder, a first bearing, and a second bearing which together define a compression space;

a discharge muffler disposed above the compression portion; and

an oil drain path formed between an outer peripheral surface of the compression portion and an inner peripheral surface of the casing, wherein the oil drain path comprises:

a first path formed between an outer peripheral surface of the first bearing and the inner peripheral surface of the casing, a second path formed by a first oil drain portion recessed radially inward on the outer peripheral surface of the first bearing, and a third path formed by a second oil drain portion penetrating axially through the cylinder, wherein a rim is formed on an upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the first bearing, the rim protruding radially toward the inner peripheral surface of the casing more than the first oil drain portion, wherein an upper surface of the rim has the discharge muffler seated thereon, and wherein the first oil drain portion, the rim, and the discharge muffler have an overlapping region in an axial direction.

30 . A compressor, comprising:

a casing;

an electric drive that is disposed inside of the casing and rotates a rotational shaft;

a compression portion that is disposed inside of the casing and comprises a cylinder, a main bearing, and a sub-bearing which together define a compression space;

a discharge muffler disposed above the compression portion; and

an oil drain path which is formed between an outer peripheral surface of the compression portion and an inner peripheral surface of the casing, wherein an outer diameter of the cylinder is greater than each of an outer diameter of the main bearing and an outer diameter of the sub-bearing, and wherein the oil drain path comprises:

a first passage formed between an upper end portion of an outer peripheral surface of the main bearing and the inner peripheral surface of the casing, a second passage formed by a first oil drain portion recessed radially inward on the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing, and a third passage formed by axially penetrating the cylinder, wherein a rim is formed on an upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the main bearing, the rim protruding radially toward the inner peripheral surface of the casing more than the first oil drain portion, wherein an upper surface of the rim has the discharge muffler seated thereon, and wherein the first oil drain portion, the rim, and the discharge muffler have an overlapping region in an axial direction.