Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to gas compressors, parti-
cularly to those which are suitable for use in air con-
ditioning applications, and even more specifically to
automotive air conditioners. With the trend toward
smaller cars and lower hood profiles, there is an
important requirement that the automotive compressor be
adapted to fit almost anywhere within the engine
compartment that space can be made available. The usual
accessories such as power steering, air conditioning etc.
combined with all the various emission control equipment
severley crowd the engine compartment. The manufacturers
of automotive air conditioning equipment also find it
desirable to manufacture a standard compressor which can
be used for several different types of automobiles in
a variety of configurations. For example, some
automobiles require that service lines, viz., the suction
and discharge lines leading respectively from the evaporator
and to the condenser, be installed so that they run
forward from the compressor. Still others require that
the service lines extend aft.
Harter et al (U.S. Patent 3,041,~47) shows a two
cylinder reciprocating compressor of a design similar to
the compressor of this invention. However, the suction
and discharge gas lines are connected to the head.
According to the present invention, there is
provided a compressor including a housing having means
defining a pair of spaced cylinders with a piston received
in each cylinder, the pistons being adapted to be driven
in a reciprocating fashion. A valve plate assembly
is provided which includes a suction port and a discharge
port associated with each cylinder, and suction and
discharge valves cooperating respectively with the suction
10~4Vlb~
and discharge ports. The valve plate assembly, the
cylinders and pistions cooperating to define gas working
spaces, the pistons being adapted to compress a fluid
introduced into the gas working spaces. The housing is
further provided with a first chamber for receiving
gas at low pressure for introduction into both the gas
working spaces, the chamber being defined, in part, by a
first outside wall of the housing, and a second chamber
adapted to receive compressed gas from both the gas
working spaces, the chamber being defined, in part, by a
second outside side wall of the housing opposite to the
first outside side wall. A head member is secured in
overlying relationship with respect to the valve plate
assembly, the head member having a means defining a high
pressure zone and a low pressure zone communicating
respectively with the discharge and the suction ports.
A pair of spaced, thin-walled sections is provided in
the first outside wall, one of the sections being punched
through to provide a suction gas passage communicating
directly with the first housing chamber. A pair of spaced,
thin walled sections is provided in the second outside
side wall, one of the sections being punched through to
provide a discharge gas passage communicating directly
with the second housing chamber. Means defines a first
passage in the valve plate assembly between the first
chamber and the low pressure zone. Means defines a second
passage in the valve plate assembly between the high
pressure zone and the second chamber so that the suction
gaS flows from the first chamber through the first
passage in the valve plate assembly, into the low pressure
zone, then through the suction ports to the gas working
space, and after compression through the discharge ports
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into the high pressure zone and then through the
second passage in the valve plate assembly into the
second chamber within the housing.
In the present invention, the compressor is
fabricated from a housing blank which is designed to
allow connections to be made at several different
locations including the head and crankcase. In the
latter case, the suction and discharge gas lines would
extend below the gasket surface between the valve plate
and the crankcase permitting a much lower profile and
permitting the compressor to be installed in several
different ways, even horizontally with respect to the
piston reciprocation axis.
The housing blank may be cast or otherwise formed
with thin walled areas in several locations. These areas
can then be selectively punched out to form the refrigerant
passages. The portion of the exterior housing wall around
the passages can be machined and drilled to receive the
hardware for attaching the lines. Considerable savings
in production costs are achieved by the expedient of
making several different compressor designs from a single
housing b~ank.
A specific arrangement is provided wherein the
suction gas is first admitted to a chamber in the crank-
case and is then delivered up through a passage in the
valve plate assembly into a low pressure chamber in the
head. From there it passes downwardly through suction
ports formed in the head, the suction valve and to the gas
working space defined by the face of the piston, the
cy1inders, and the valve plate. After the gas is
compressed it flows through discharge ports in the valve
plate, through the discharge valve into a high pressure
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chamber formed within the head. From there it flows
- downwardly through a passage in the valve plate.into a
cham~er formed in the crankcase, and then out through
the discharge gas line connected therewith.
Description of the Drawings
FIGURE 1 is a cross section view of the compressor
constructed in accordance with the principles of the
present invention;
FIGURE 2 is a plan view ta~en along the plane of
line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 showing the construction of the
crankcase;
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FIGURE 3 is a partial cross section view ta~en along
the plane of line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the underside of the head
assembly as viewed along the plane of line 4-4 of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the valve plate as viewed
along the plane of line 5-5 of EIGURE l;
FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the valve plate as vier.Jed
along the plane of line 6-~ of ~I~URE l;
FIGURE 7 is a front eleva~ion vieW of the com?ressor;
and
FI~URE 8 is a rear elevation view of the com~ essor.
Detailed Descripti~n of the Invention
: As ~est shown in FIGURE l, the com~ressor forming the
su~ject of the present inve~l~ion comprises a housing 10
including an annular boss 1~ ~hich accomodates one of the
bearings 14 supporting crankshaft 16. A seal plate assembly
18 is bolted to the boss and surrounds the axially ~rojecting
portion l9 of the crankshaft which is tyPically connected to
the driven portion o~ an electromagnetic clut~n assembly.
The seal assembly includes a rotating seal element 20 in
running contact with a stationary seal plate 22.
The other end of the c~nkshaft 16 is journalled in a
bearing 26 supported in a bearing housing 28. The latter is
bol~ed to the rear of ~he cra~l;case ~y means ~ machine
screws 2~ (see FIGU~E 8).
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The compressor shaft k; is provided with bearing surfaces
for the connecting rods 30 and 32 which are, in turn, secured
to pistons 34, 36 by piston wrist ~ins 38, 40. The pistons
are received within cylinder liners 42 and 44 ~hich are cast
in place in the upper section of the housing casting.
The bottom of the housing 10 is enclosed by means of a
lower plate 50 which is bol~ed or otherwise secured to the
base, as at 52. As best shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, which
are, respectively, plan vieWs of the top and bottom side of
the valve plate 54, (with the suction and discharge valves
in position), it will be noted that a nu.s~ber of bolts 56
extelld through the head 5~, the valve ?la.e 54, and the
upper and lower gaskets 60, 62. Each valve assembly 64, 66
is made u~ of a lower suction valve 68 which normally closes
a series of suction ports 70 which are circu~ferentially
s~aced around the center of the valve plate. At the top
side of the valve plate are the discharge valves 72 which
are positioned inwardly from the suction ~orts in circum-
ferentially spaced relation. Each of the discharge valves
normally covers a series of circumferentially spaced discharge
ports 74. Each valve assembly is hel.d to~ether by pins 76
which also anchor the discharge valve guards 78 above the
discharge valves to limit the travel thereof.
The head 58, which is best shown in FIGU~E 4, includes
an interior wall 80 which enci.rcles each of the va~ve assemblies
and, when in position, is fitted up against the valve plate
between the suction ports and the discharge ~orts, there~y
separating the head into a high ~ressure discharge gas zone
82 and a low pressure, suction gas zone 84.
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The top of the housing 10 has a machined u?per surface
86, illustrated in FIGURE 2, which cooperates ~ith the valve
plate 54 to define gas chambers 88, 90 on opposite sides
thereof between side wall 92, 93 and the cylinder walls 94,
95. These chambers, respectively, are the suction and
discharge gas cham~ers which communicate with the lines
carrying the refrigerant into and out of the com~ressor.
After the gas is compressed in gas wor~ing spaces 96, it
flows through the discharge ~orts 7~ and valve 72 into the
central chamber 82 in the head. From there it flows do~m~,7ardly
rough apertures 100 in the valve plate which communicate
~ith chamber 90 (FIGURE 2). At the same time, suction gas
which is received in chamber 88 ~asses upwardly through
~pertures 102 in the valve ~late into the 10~J pressure
region 84 in the head which sup~lies suction gas to the gas
working spaces 96 through the suction ports 70 in the head.
As will be seen in FIGURE 3, the connections to chambers
88, 90 may be punched through one of a ~air of thin walled
sections 110, 111 in each of the front wall 114 and rear
wall 115 of housing 10, Sections lln are adjacent to suction
chamber 88 and sections 111 are adjacent the discharge
chamber 90. Each such thin-walled section has a surrounding
surface 112 (see FIGURES 7 and 8) which is machined flat for
the appropriate hardware ~not shown) for mounting the suction
and discharge lines. The mounting flanges can be bolted to
the housing typically at 116.
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The thin walled sections are punched out in accordance
with the requirements of the compressor for either fore or
aft service line connections and then the mounting bracket
for the refrigerant lines is attached to the surfaces 112
surrounding the punched through section. The remaining
locations for mounting the service lines, are, of course,
unpunched and remain as sho~m in FIGUR~ 3.
The arrangement described above permits a great ver-
satility in being able to provide several d-ifferent tyves of
com?ressors from a single housing blank. Regardless of the
configuration and orientation of the service lines connections,
the appropriate thin walled sections can be ~unched through
to provide the correct fitting to the compressor. This
results in considerable savings in Production costs and the
related cost of maintaining an inventory of different types
of cast housing blanks.
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