Compressor with oil bypass
AssigneesSumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., SHI-APD Cryogenics, Inc.
InventorStephen Dunn
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An oil lubricated compressor which includes a bypass oil line connecting respective oil paths upstream and downstream of the motor. The bypass oil path permits oil to be detoured around the motor in a tube that is external to the compressor shell and flows back into the shell near the scroll inlet. The oil bypass line returns “excess” oil directly to sump 28, rather than having it flow from sump 27 to sump 28 through an air-gap, thereby reducing both the drag on the motor and the input power.
Claims16
An oil lubricated compressor operating horizontally wherein oil flows into a compression chamber inlet by gravity, comprising:
- a first oil sump at the pressure of a return gas, wherein said return gas is Helium;
- a first return oil fraction impinging on a first end of a drive shaft and flowing to a compression chamber internal to the compressor;
- a motor which turns the drive shaft located between said first end of said drive shaft and a second end;
- said compression chamber, driven by the second end of said drive shaft;
- a second oil fraction flowing into said first oil sump located in a compressor shell between the motor and the compression chamber inlet, said second oil fraction flowing into the compression chamber with said return gas;
- and
- an oil bypass line external to the compressor shell, wherein
- the oil bypass line returns said second oil fraction to the first oil sump at the pressure of said return gas, and
- said second oil fraction is greater than said first return oil fraction.
A method for reducing the input power, vibration and drag on a horizontally oriented oil lubricated compressor wherein oil flows into a compression chamber inlet by gravity comprising the steps of:
- dividing the oil returning from an after-cooler into two oil return fractions, a first return oil fraction impinging on a first end of a drive shaft, and flowing to a compression chamber internal to the compressor;
- and a second return oil fraction flowing into said compression chamber with a return gas, wherein said second return oil fraction is greater than said first return oil fraction, and said return gas is Helium;
- and
- flowing the second return oil fraction through a line external to a compressor shell into the compressor shell between a motor and the compression chamber inlet at the pressure of said return gas bypassing said motor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.