Compressor

Abstract

The present invention relates to a compressor used in an air conditioner of a vehicle. In the present invention, an oil separation chamber and a discharge chamber are formed in one side of a discharge chamber of a compressor, a cylindrical oil separation conduit is formed between the oil separation chamber and the discharge chamber. At the same time, one discharge passage is formed such that refrigerant supplied from the front and rear discharge chambers is collected and oil is separated from the refrigerant, so that the oil is separated from the compressed refrigerant and returns to a swash plate chamber, thereby improving lubricity in the swash plate chamber.

1 . A compressor, comprising:
 cylinder blocks positioned between front and rear housing and having a swash plate chamber provided therein, the front and rear housing defining external appearances of both ends of the compressor;   a driving shaft having a swash plate rotatably installed in the swash plate chamber, the swash plate chamber having a refrigerant suction passage formed at one side thereof, the refrigerant suction passage allowing refrigerant to be inhaled therethrough;   pistons respectively received in a plurality of cylinder bores arranged annularly around the driving shaft and reciprocated in cooperation with the rotation of the swash plate to compress refrigerant supplied to the cylinder bores, whereby the refrigerant flows out through front and rear discharge chambers of the cylinder blocks;   a communication passage formed to communicate with both the front and rear discharge chambers;   an oil separation chamber provided therein with a cylindrical oil separation conduit for centrifugally separating oil and refrigerant introduced therein from each other;   one discharge passage allowing the communication passage to communicate with the oil separation chamber so that refrigerant supplied from the front and rear discharge chambers is collected through the communication passage and then discharged to the oil separation chamber;   a discharge chamber positioned at one side of the oil separation chamber to receive the refrigerant separated from the oil by the oil separation conduit and then discharge the refrigerant to the outside; and   an oil return unit formed to communicate with the oil separation chamber and returning the oil separated from the refrigerant by the oil separation conduit to the swash plate chamber.   
   
   
       2 . The compressor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the discharge passage is formed slantingly at a predetermined angle with respectively to a flow direction of the refrigerant flowing in the communication passage so that the refrigerant introduced through the discharge passage rotates along an outer peripheral surface of the oil separation conduit. 
   
   
       3 . The compressor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the oil return unit includes:
 an oil storage chamber formed at one side of the oil separation chamber and storing the oil separated in the oil separation chamber;   an oil decompression portion having one end formed in communication with the oil storage chamber to decompress the oil supplied from the oil storage chamber; and   an oil retrieve passage formed in communication with the oil decompression portion and the swash plate chamber to cause the oil passing through the oil decompression portion to be supplied to the swash plate chamber again,   wherein the oil decompression portion is an orifice tube having one side communicating with the oil storage chamber and the other end communicating with the oil retrieve passage.   
   
   
       4 . The compressor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant suction passage is formed in the driving shaft, a plurality of suction passages are formed in the cylinder blocks so that the refrigerant inhaled from the swash plate chamber into a refrigerant suction channel formed in the driving shaft is inhaled into each cylinder bore by allowing the refrigerant suction channel and the cylinder bores to subsequently communicate with each other according to the rotation of the driving shaft, and an inlet of the refrigerant suction channel is formed to pass through a hub of the swash plate and one side of the driving shaft.