Compressors

Abstract

Disclosed compressor embodiments can prevent or substantially reduce the inefficient upwardly spiraling heat buildup found in typical compressors by significantly increasing the surface area of mating piston and chamber walls, using the meshing and undulating geometry of the piston/chamber walls to create increased air turbulence in the chamber and generate more air flow against the cooling walls, promoting turbulence even more by varying the axial path of the piston head so that it is not simply linear, using fluid to cool the non-working side of the piston, and/or providing additional cooling features (such as fins) on the non-working side of the piston to provide still further cooling means for the piston head. Analogous principles can also be included in wobble-plate compressors, scroll compressors, blowers, and other compressor types.

1 . A fluid compressor, which comprises:
 a housing;   one or more compression chambers that comprise both stationary and non-stationary walls that define the compression chambers;   wherein the walls of the compression chambers are formed and structured to have at least twice the surface area that the compression chamber walls of a conventional compressor of the type has, and the stationary and non-stationary walls of the compression chambers partially or perfectly interleave or nest, or both, such that the volume of the compression chambers can be reduced sufficiently to effect a desired level of compression;   wherein the walls of the compression chambers are formed and structured such that a larger portion of the fluid, compared to a conventional compressor of the type, is close to one or more walls of the compression chambers for most of the time during which the fluid is being compressed, such that said portion of the fluid is in better thermal contact with one or more walls of the compression chamber than in a conventional compressor of the type;   wherein at least some of the stationary compression chamber walls are cooled by extraction of heat from said walls by, or to, one or more external heat sinks, such that said walls remain near or below the ambient temperature of the fluid to be compressed prior to entering the compressor;   wherein at least some of the non-stationary compression chamber walls are cooled by extraction of heat from said non-stationary walls by fluid cooling, the extracted heat being conveyed by the cooling fluid to one or more heat sinks, which heat sinks may be external to the compressor, such that at least some of the non-stationary walls of the compressor remain near or below the ambient temperature of the fluid prior to entering the compressor;   one or more compressing features that reduce the volume of the fluid that is to be compressed and thereby effect the compression of said fluid, which compressing features may be the non-stationary walls of the compression chambers, which non-stationary walls reduce the volume of the compression chambers through their motion and thereby effect the compression of the fluid   wherein the one or more compressing features are cooled by extraction of heat from said compressing features by, or to, one or more heat sinks, such that said compressing features, remain near or below the ambient temperature of the fluid to be compressed prior to entering the compressor.   
     
     
         2 . The compressor of  claim 1 , wherein the manner or path in which the non-stationary walls of the compression chambers move or are moved is different from the manner or path of non-stationary walls in a conventional compressor of the type;
 wherein said different manner or path of movement of the non-stationary walls of the compression chambers results directly or indirectly in increased intra-chamber flow of the fluid to be compressed or results in increased turbulence in the fluid to be compressed.   
     
     
         3 . The compressor of  claim 1 , wherein the manner and/or path in which the non-stationary walls of the compression chambers move or are moved is that manner and path that are typical of a wobble-piston compressor;
 wherein said wobble piston manner and path of movement of the non-stationary walls of the compression chambers results directly or indirectly in increased intra-chamber flow of the fluid to be compressed and/or results in increased turbulence in the fluid to be compressed.   
     
     
         4 . The compressor of  claim 2 , wherein the compressor is a reciprocating piston type compressor;
 wherein the stationary and non-stationary walls of the compression chamber or chambers have a geometry that is substantially rotationally symmetric, and the different manner or path of movement of the non-stationary walls of the compression chambers includes rotationally oscillatory motion, and results in increased intra-chamber flow of the fluid being compressed or results in increased turbulence in the fluid being compressed.   
     
     
         5 . The compressor of  claim 1 , wherein fluid cooling is not provided for the non-stationary walls of the compression chambers. 
     
     
         6 . A reciprocating piston-type compressor, comprising:
 a housing;   a piston that reciprocates within the housing along an axial dimension of the compressor, the housing and the piston having respective wall surfaces which together form a compression chamber that varies in volume based on the axial position of the piston relative to the housing;   wherein the housing includes a fluid inlet for receiving into the compression chamber a fluid to be compressed and a fluid outlet for expelling out of the compression chamber the fluid in a compressed state;   wherein the housing comprises first projections that project into the compression chamber;   wherein the piston comprises a piston head having a working side facing the compression chamber and a non-working side facing away from the compression chamber, wherein the working side of the piston head includes second projections that project into the compression chamber;   wherein the second projections are oriented such that they interleave between the first projections as the piston reciprocates, and the first and second projections increase the surface area of the wall surfaces and increase heat conduction away from the fluid in the compression chamber when compared to a cylindrical compression chamber; and   wherein the compressor further comprises a cooling fluid that is conducted into contact with the non-working side of the piston head to conduct heat away from the piston head via the cooling fluid.   
     
     
         7 . The compressor of  claim 6 , wherein the cooling fluid is sprayed against the non-working side of piston head. 
     
     
         8 . The compressor of  claim 6 , wherein the non-working side of piston head includes cooling fins that increase the surface area of the non-working side of the piston and the cooling fluid is conducted into contact with the cooling fins to conduct heat away from the piston. 
     
     
         9 . The compressor of  claim 6 , further comprising a cooling fluid jacket positioned around the housing to conduct heat away from the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The compressor of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second projections are arrayed circumferentially around a common central axis and the first and second projections increase in circumferential thickness as a function of increasing radial distance from the central axis. 
     
     
         11 . The compressor of  claim 6 , wherein the second projections oscillate in a non-axial direction relative to the first projections while the piston reciprocates axially within the housing, thereby increasing turbulence within the fluid and further increasing heat conduction away from the fluid. 
     
     
         12 . The compressor of  claim 6 , wherein the first projections are integral with side walls of the housing. 
     
     
         13 . The compressor of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid enters and exits the compression chamber via a common central port opposite from the piston. 
     
     
         14 . A reciprocating piston-type compressor, comprising:
 a housing;   a piston that reciprocates within the housing along an axial dimension of the compressor, the housing and the piston having respective wall surfaces which together form a compression chamber that varies in volume based on the axial position of the piston relative to the housing;   wherein the housing includes a fluid inlet for receiving into the compression chamber a fluid to be compressed and a fluid outlet for expelling out of the compression chamber the fluid in a compressed state;   wherein the housing comprises first projections that project into the compression chamber;   wherein the piston comprises a piston head having a working side facing the compression chamber and a non-working side facing away from the compression chamber, and the working side of the piston head includes second projections that project into the compression chamber opposite the first projections;   wherein the second projections are oriented such that they interleave between the first projections as the piston reciprocates, and the first and second projections increase the surface area of the wall surfaces and increase heat conduction away from the fluid in the compression chamber when compared to a cylindrical compression chamber; and   wherein the piston and the second projections oscillate in a non-axial direction relative to the housing and the first projections while the piston reciprocates axially within the housing, thereby increasing turbulence within the fluid and further increasing heat conduction away from the fluid.   
     
     
         15 . The compressor of  claim 14 , wherein the piston moves through at least one full oscillation during each axial compression stroke of the piston. 
     
     
         16 . The compressor of  claim 14 , wherein the oscillation of the piston is caused by a mechanical interface between the piston and the housing. 
     
     
         17 . The compressor of  claim 14 , wherein the oscillation of the piston and second projections comprises rotational motion of the piston about a central axis of the compressor. 
     
     
         18 . The compressor of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second projections are arrayed circumferentially around a common central axis and the first and second projections increase in circumferential thickness as a function of increasing radial distance from the central axis. 
     
     
         19 . The compressor of  claim 14 , wherein each of the second projections oscillates in a corresponding valley between two of the first projections during the axial reciprocation of the piston. 
     
     
         20 . The compressor of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second projections have a generally trapezoidal cross-sectional shape when viewed in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction.