This paper addresses an oil supply enhancement device to resolve a shortage of oil supply or no oil supply at all encountered at low speed operation for a variable speed reciprocating compressor used for household refrigerators. The oil supply enhancement device comprises a moving cylinder attached to the lower end of crankshaft and two of fluid diodes, each one at the inlet and outlet of the cylinder. Up-and-down movement of the cylinder against the lower end of the crankshaft together with the functioning of the two fluid diodes produces net oil flow from oil reservoir to inside the crankshaft. The experiment on the test bench has shown that enough oil supply into the oil feeding hole cu be made by using this device even at low speed range. Some analytical study has also been carried out to under-stand its oil supply mechanism.
