KR20140106412A - Swash plate compressor - Google Patents

Abstract

The swash plate compressor includes a drive shaft, a swash plate, a piston, a cylinder block, a housing, a cylinder bore, a compression chamber, a suction and discharge chamber, and first and second thrust bearings. The cylinder bore is formed in the cylinder block, and accommodates therein a piston engaged with a swash plate mounted on the drive shaft. The compression chamber is partitioned by the piston in the cylinder bore and can be directed to a suction chamber and a discharge chamber formed in the housing. The first and second thrust bearings are disposed on opposite sides of the swash plate. The drive shaft extends through the cylinder block and is supported in the thrust direction by first and second thrust bearings, and either the first or second thrust bearings are disposed outside the cylinder block and between the housing and the drive shaft.

Description

[0001] SWASH PLATE COMPRESSOR [0002]

The present invention relates to a swash plate type compressor.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-197883 discloses a swash plate type compressor. The swash plate compressor includes first and second cylinder blocks, a front and rear housing, a drive shaft, a swash plate, and a plurality of pistons.

In the first cylinder block, a plurality of first cylinder bores are formed around the axis of the drive shaft at predetermined angular intervals. In the second cylinder block, the same number of second cylinder bores as the first cylinder bore are formed at positions corresponding to the respective cylinder bores in the first cylinder block, around the axis of the drive shaft. A crank chamber is formed between the first and second cylinder blocks. Each of the first cylinder bores communicates with the corresponding second cylinder bore through the crank chamber. Each pair of the first and second cylinder bores forms a cylinder bore. The cylinder bore includes a first cylinder bore formed on the front side of the cylinder block and a second cylinder bore formed on the rear side of the cylinder block.

Each piston includes a first piston head reciprocating in a first cylinder bore and a second piston head reciprocable in a second cylinder bore. A first piston head is inserted into the first cylinder bore, and the first piston head defines a first compression chamber in the first cylinder bore. The second piston head is inserted into the second cylinder bore, and the second compression chamber is partitioned by the second piston head in the second cylinder bore. Each piston is engaged with a swash plate through a pair of shoe so that it can reciprocate within the corresponding cylinder bore with rotation of the swash plate.

The front housing is connected to the front end of the first cylinder block. The first valve unit is held between the front housing and the first cylinder block. A first suction chamber and a first discharge chamber are formed between the front housing and the first valve unit. The first suction chamber and the first discharge chamber can communicate with the first compression chamber, respectively.

The rear housing is connected to the rear end of the second cylinder block. And the second valve unit is held between the rear housing and the second cylinder block. The second suction chamber and the second discharge chamber are formed between the rear housing and the second valve unit and can communicate with the second compression chamber, respectively.

The drive shaft is disposed extending through the front housing and the first and second cylinder blocks. The swash plate is mounted on the drive shaft for rotation with the drive shaft in the crank chamber.

In the swash plate type compressor, a first thrust bearing is disposed between the first cylinder block and the swash plate, and a second thrust bearing is disposed between the second cylinder block and the swash plate. The first and second thrust bearings are disposed on opposite sides of the swash plate in the crank chamber. The drive shaft extending through the front housing and the first and second cylinder blocks is supported in the thrust direction by the first and second thrust bearings. According to this compressor, a suction reaction force applied to the piston during a suction stroke and a thrust force induced from a compression reaction force applied to the piston during a compression stroke are accommodated by the first and second thrust bearings.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-197883

In order to improve the ease of mounting the above-mentioned compressor in a vehicle, it is required to improve the degree of freedom of design, such as lightening the weight while maintaining a predetermined compression capacity of the compressor in the compressor. On the other hand, the capacity-fixed swash plate compressor is required to secure a specific strength by adopting a bearing having a predetermined size such as the first and second thrust bearings.

In the conventional double-headed swash plate compressor described above, the first and second thrust bearings are located between the front head and the rear head of each piston in the crank chamber, i.e., inside the piston, so that the axial length . ≪ / RTI > In such a case, this swash plate compressor is difficult to reduce in weight and size. Thus, the increase in swash plate compressor size is inevitable due to the presence of bearings between the front and rear heads of each piston.

A swash plate type compressor having a drive shaft with a long axial length has a problem that the strength of the drive shaft against torsion may be reduced. In order to secure the strength of the drive shaft, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the compressor housing, which also increases the size and weight of the swash plate compressor. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the weight and size of the swash plate type compressor.

In the swash plate type compressor in which the piston is located radially outward of the first and second thrust bearings, the housing must be increased in the radial direction in order to reduce the axial length of the piston while maintaining the volume of the cylinder bore. In this case, the swash plate type compressor becomes difficult to reduce its weight and size. Reducing the volume of the cylinder bore prevents the swash plate compressor from maintaining its compression capacity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a swash plate type compressor capable of securing a high degree of design freedom to obtain a reduction in weight while maintaining the strength of a swash plate type compressor with respect to a predetermined compression capacity and its compression capacity.

According to the present invention, a swash plate compressor includes a drive shaft, a swash plate, a piston, a cylinder block, a housing, a cylinder bore, a compression chamber, a suction and discharge chamber, and first and second thrust bearings. The swash plate is mounted on the drive shaft for rotation with the drive shaft. The piston is locked with a swash plate. The cylinder block houses the swash plate. The housing is connected to the cylinder block. A cylinder bore is formed in the cylinder block and accommodates the piston in the cylinder bore. The compression chamber is partitioned by the piston in the cylinder bore. The suction chamber is formed in the housing so as to communicate with the compression chamber. The discharge chamber is formed in the housing so as to communicate with the compression chamber. The first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing are disposed on opposite sides of the swash plate. Wherein at least one of the first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing is disposed on the outside of the cylinder block and between the housing and the drive shaft, wherein the first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing extend in a thrust direction and are supported by a first thrust bearing and a second thrust bearing, .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a capacity-fixed double-headed piston type swash plate compressor according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

The invention and its objects and advantages will be best understood by referring to the following description of the preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to Fig. The fixed capacity double-headed piston type swash plate type compressor (hereinafter simply referred to as "compressor") shown in Fig. 1 is designed to be mounted on a vehicle and forms a part of a cooling circuit used in a vehicle air conditioner.

1, the compressor includes a housing 1, a first cylinder block 17, a second cylinder block 19, a drive shaft 3, a swash plate 5, a plurality of pistons 7, And a second thrust bearing (9, 11). The first and second cylinder blocks 17 and 19 correspond to the cylinder block of the present invention.

The first cylinder block 17 has therein a first shaft hole 17B into which a plurality of first cylinder bores 17A and a drive shaft 3 are inserted. The first cylinder bores 17A are formed at regular angular intervals in parallel with the first shaft holes 17B. The first slide bearing 31A is disposed in the first shaft hole 17B. The first suction path 33A is formed to extend through the first cylinder block 17 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 3. A first retainer (not shown) is formed in the first cylinder block 17 to limit the lift of the first suction reed valve, which will be described later.

And the second cylinder block 19 is disposed at the rear of the first cylinder block 17. The second cylinder block 19 is formed with a second cylinder bore 19A having the same number as the first cylinder bore 17A and a second shaft hole 19B through which the drive shaft 3 is inserted . The second cylinder bore 19A is formed parallel to the second shaft hole 19B at an equi-angular interval. And the second slide bearing 31B is mounted on the second shaft hole 19B. A second suction path 33B is formed to extend through the second cylinder block 19 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 3. A second retainer (not shown) is formed in the second cylinder block 19 to regulate the lift of the second suction reed valve 23A, which will be described later. The cylinder bore includes a first cylinder bore formed on the front side of the cylinder block and a second cylinder bore formed on the rear side of the cylinder block.

The housing (1) includes a front housing (13) and a rear housing (15).

The front housing 13 is formed with a boss 13A extending forward. The boss 13A forms a shaft hole 13B therein. The shaft sealing device 25 is installed in the shaft hole 13B to seal between the drive shaft 3 and the front housing 13. [

The first suction chamber 27A and the first discharge chamber 29A are annularly formed in the front housing 13. [ The first suction chamber 27A is formed on the inner side in the radial direction of the first discharge chamber 29A.

The front housing 13 has a first support portion 13C extending into the first suction chamber 27A. The first support portion 13C has an annular first pressure receiving seat 13D recessed at its distal end.

The second suction chamber (27B) and the second discharge chamber (29B) are annularly formed in the rear housing (15). And the second suction chamber 27B is formed on the inner side in the radial direction of the second discharge chamber 29B. The first and second suction chambers 27A and 27B cooperate to function as a suction chamber of the present invention.

The rear housing 15 includes a second support portion 15A extending into the second suction chamber 27B. The second support portion 15A has an annular second pressure receiving sheet 15B recessed at its distal end.

The front housing 13 and the rear housing 15 are fixedly coupled together by a plurality of bolts (not shown) so that first and second cylinder blocks 17 and 19 are held therebetween. The front housing (13) is fixed to the front end of the first cylinder block (17). The front housing 13 and the first cylinder block 17 are connected to each other while holding the first valve unit 21 therebetween. The rear housing 15 is connected to the rear end of the second cylinder block 19. The rear housing 15 and the second cylinder block 19 are connected to each other while holding the second valve unit 23 therebetween.

In the state where the front housing 13, the first and second cylinder blocks 17 and 19 and the rear housing 15 are coupled to each other, the crank chamber 35 is connected to the first and second cylinder blocks 17 and 19, . The first and second cylinder blocks (17, 19) receive the swash plate (5) therein. The crank chamber 35 communicates with the first suction chamber 27A through the first suction path 33A and with the second suction chamber 27B through the second suction path 33B.

The first valve unit 21 includes a first valve plate 37A, a first suction valve plate 21E, a first discharge valve plate 21F and a first retainer plate 39A.

A first suction port 21C and a second discharge port 21D of the same number as the first cylinder bore 17A are formed in the first valve plate 37A. The first suction valve plate 21E is formed with a plurality of first suction reed valves 21A. The first suction reed valve 21A is configured to open and close the first suction port 21C. A plurality of first discharge reed valves 21B are formed through the first discharge valve plate 21F. The first discharge reed valve 21B is configured to open and close the first discharge port 21D. The first retainer plate 39A regulates the lift of the first discharge reed valve 21B.

The second valve unit 23 includes a second valve plate 37B, a second suction valve plate 23E, a second discharge valve plate 23F and a second retainer plate 39B.

A second suction port 23C and a second discharge port 23D of the same number as the second cylinder bore 19A are formed through the second valve plate 37B. The second suction valve plate 23E is formed with a plurality of second suction reed valves 23A. And the second suction reed valve 23A is configured to open and close the second suction port 23C. The second discharge valve plate 23F is formed with a plurality of second discharge reed valves 23B. And the second discharge reed valve 23B is configured to open and close the second discharge port 23D. The second retainer plate 39B regulates the lift of the second discharge reed valve 23B.

The drive shaft 3 includes a first shaft portion 3A forming a front part of the drive shaft 3, a second shaft portion 3B forming a rear part of the drive shaft 3, And a third shaft portion 3C between the first and second shaft portions 3A and 3B. A threaded portion 3D is formed at the tip of the first shaft portion 3A. A threaded portion 3D is connected to a pulley (not shown) and an electromagnetic clutch (not shown).

The first shaft portion 3A has the same diameter as the second shaft portion 3B. The third shaft portion 3C has a larger diameter than the first and second shaft portions 3A and 3B. An annular third pressure receiving seat 3E is formed between the first shaft portion 3A and the third shaft portion 3C or at the tip of the third shaft portion 3C. An annular fourth pressure receiving seat 3F is formed between the second shaft portion 3B and the third shaft portion 3C or at the rear end of the third shaft portion 3C.

The drive shaft 3 extends to the rear housing 15 through the front housing 13 and the first and second cylinder blocks 17, The drive shaft 3 is inserted through the first and second shaft holes 17B and 19B formed in the first and second cylinder blocks 17 and 19, respectively. The front end of the first shaft portion 3A is positioned in the shaft hole 13B and the rear end of the first shaft portion 3A and the third pressure receiving seat 3E are positioned in the first suction chamber 27A. The second shaft portion 3B and the fourth pressure receiving seat 3F are located in the second suction chamber 27B. The third shaft portion 3C is rotatably supported by the first and second slide bearings 31A and 31B. The drive shaft 3 is driven to rotate about the rotation axis O by electric power transmitted through the pulley and the electromagnetic clutch.

The swash plate 5 has an annular shape. The swash plate 5 includes a boss 5A formed at the center thereof. And a hole 5B is formed through the boss 5A. The third shaft portion 3C of the drive shaft 3 is press-fit through the hole 5B and thus the swash plate 5 is connected to the drive shaft 3. Accordingly, the swash plate 5 becomes rotatable together with the rotation of the drive shaft 3 in the crank chamber 35.

The piston 7 includes an intermediate portion 7C connecting the first piston head 7A, the second piston head 7B and the first and second piston heads 7A, 7B. The first piston head 7A and the second piston head 7B are formed on the front and rear sides of the piston 7, respectively. The first cylinder bore 17A accommodates therein a first piston head 7A of the piston 7 for reciprocation therein and a first piston head 7A is disposed within the first cylinder bore 17A The first compression chamber 41A is partitioned. The first compression chamber 41A is formed between the first cylinder bore 17A and the first piston head 7A. The first compression chamber 41A can communicate with the first suction chamber 27A through the first suction port 21C and can communicate with the first discharge chamber 29A through the first discharge port 21D .

And the second piston head 7B is formed behind the intermediate portion 7C. The second cylinder bore 19A accommodates therein a second piston head 7B for reciprocating motion therein. The second piston head 7B defines the second compression chamber 41B in the second cylinder bore 19A. The second compression chamber 41B is formed between the second cylinder bore 19A and the second piston head 7B. The second compression chamber 41B communicates with the second suction chamber 27B through the second suction port 23C and the second discharge chamber 29B through the second discharge port 23D.

A concave portion 7D is formed at the center in the middle portion 7C of the piston 7. [ A pair of hemispherical shoes 43A and 43B are disposed in the concave portion 7D. The piston (7) is engaged with the swash plate (5) through shoe (43A, 43B).

In this compressor, the piston 7 reciprocates in the first and second cylinder bores 17A, 19A in accordance with the inclination angle of the swash plate 5 with respect to the virtual vertical plane perpendicular to the rotation axis O. The rotation of the swash plate 5 is converted into reciprocating motion of the piston 7 within the associated first and second cylinder bores 17A, 19A in a manner well known in the art. The top dead center of the first piston head 7A in the first compression chamber 41A is denoted by T1 in Fig. 1 and is referred to as a first top dead center. The top dead center of the second piston head 7B in the second compression chamber 41B is denoted by T2 and is referred to as the second top dead center.

The first thrust bearing 9 includes first and second races 9A and 9B and a roller 9C and a first cage 9C held between the first and second races 9A and 9B. (Not shown). A hole 9D is formed through the center of the first race 9A. A hole 9E is formed through the center of the second race 9B.

A first thrust bearing 9 is disposed in the front housing 13 at a position adjacent to the drive shaft 3. More specifically, the first thrust bearing 9 is supported by the first pressure receiving seat 13D of the front housing 13 and the third shaft portion 3C of the drive shaft 3 in the first suction chamber 27A And the third pressure receiving sheet 3E. Thus, the first thrust bearing 9 is located in front of the top dead center T1 of the first piston head 7A and outside the first cylinder block 17. More specifically, the first thrust bearing 9 has its first race 9A abutting against the third pressure receiving seat 3E at its inner peripheral side, its second race 9B abutting against its outer perimeter And abuts against the first pressure receiving sheet 13D at the peripheral side and in contact with the shaft sealing device 25. [ The first race 9A comes into contact with the third pressure receiving seat 3E in the region on the inner circumferential side thereof and the thrust force applied to the first race 9A causes the inner peripheral portion of the first race 9A 2 race 9B. The first race 9A of the first thrust bearing 9 functions as a cushion of the present invention.

The second thrust bearing 11 includes first and second races 11A and 11B, a roller 11C and a second cage (not shown) held between the first and second races 11A and 11B Includes roller thrust bearings. A hole 11D is formed through the center of the first race 11A. A hole 11E is formed through the center of the second race 11B.

The second thrust bearing (11) is disposed in the rear housing (15) adjacent to the drive shaft (3). More specifically, the second thrust bearing 11 is supported by the second pressure receiving seat 15B of the rear housing 15 and the third shaft portion 3C of the drive shaft 3 in the second suction chamber 27B And is disposed between the fourth pressure receiving sheet 3F. Thus, the second thrust bearing 11 is located behind the top dead center T2 of the second piston red 7B and outside the second cylinder block 19. [ More specifically, the second thrust bearing 11 is such that its first race 11A abuts against the fourth pressure receiving seat 3F at its inner peripheral side and its second race 11B abuts against the second And is disposed in contact with the pressure receiving sheet 15B. The first race 11A comes into contact with the fourth pressure receiving sheet 3F in the region on the inner peripheral side thereof so that the inner peripheral side of the first race 11A is in contact with the thrust force applied to the first race 11A And can be elastically deformed toward the second race 11B. The first race 11A of the second thrust bearing 11 also functions as a cushion of the present invention. Therefore, at least one of the first and second thrust bearings, together with the housing 1 and the drive shaft 3, functions as a cushion for receiving the thrust force by deforming itself.

The first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 disposed in the first suction chamber 27A and the second suction chamber 27B are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the swash plate 5 in the front and rear housings 13, 15). The sizes of the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 may be appropriately determined in accordance with the thrust force applied to the piston 7.

The first and second discharge chambers 29A and 29B form a single discharge chamber (not shown) connected to the condenser. The condenser is connected to the evaporator through an expansion valve. The evaporator is connected to the crank chamber (35). The crank chamber 35 communicates with the first and second suction chambers 27A and 27B through the first and second suction paths 33A and 33B, respectively. The compressor, the condenser, the expansion valve and the evaporator cooperate to form a cooling circuit. The condenser, the expansion valve and the evaporator are not shown in the figure.

The piston 7 is driven to rotate about the stroke length determined by the inclination angle of the swash plate 5 so as to rotate the drive shaft 3 of the compressor by the vehicle engine or the motor through the pulley and the electromagnetic clutch, And the second cylinder bores 17A and 19A. Therefore, the refrigerant in the first and second suction chambers 27A and 27B is flowed into the first and second compression chambers 41A and 41B for compression, and the refrigerant in the first and second compression chambers 41A and 41B, The refrigerant compressed in the first and second discharge chambers 29A and 29B is discharged to the first and second discharge chambers 29A and 29B. The thrust force derived from the suction reaction force of the piston 7 in the suction stroke and also from the compression reaction force of the piston 7 during the compression stroke is received by the first and second thrust bearings 9,

The first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 are arranged in the front and rear housings 13 and 15 in such a manner that the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 are located at opposite outer sides of the first and second cylinder blocks 17 and 19, (27A, 27B). The first thrust bearing 9 is located outside the first cylinder block 17 and on the front side of the compressor. The second thrust bearing (11) is located outside the second cylinder block (19) and on the rear side of the compressor. Therefore, the first and second thrust bearings 9, 11 are located on the outside of the cylinder block and between the housing 1 and the drive shaft 3. Therefore, the first and second thrust bearings 9, 11 are located on opposite sides outside the crank chamber 35. The first and second thrust bearings (9, 11) are respectively located outside the crank chamber (35). That is, the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 are located outside the piston 7.

The use of the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 having an arbitrary size large enough to secure the strength prevents the increase in the axial length of the piston 7 due to the increase in the axial length of the intermediate portion 7C . Accordingly, the axial lengths of the first and second cylinder blocks 17 and 19 will be reduced.

The compressor of the present embodiment can alleviate restrictions on the shapes of the piston 7 and the drive shaft 3. [ Since the thrust bearing is formed so as not to be in contact with the boss 5A of the swash plate 5, the boss 5A can be downsized.

Since the piston 7 can reduce the shaft length, the crank chamber 35 can be downsized and thus the size of the compressor can be made even smaller. Therefore, the compressor can secure a high strength against twisting.

In designing the compressor to reduce the size, it is not necessary to reduce the volume of the first and second cylinder bores 17A, 19A. In the double-head swash plate type compressor in which the refrigerant gas is compressed by both the first and second compression chambers 41A and 41B, the compression capacity of the compressor will not be affected much by the miniaturization of the compressor.

The compressor according to the present embodiment can secure a high degree of freedom in design that allows reduction in weight while maintaining the strength of the compressor required for a predetermined capacity and capacity of the compressor.

The first races 9A and 11A of the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 can be elastically deformed so that the thrust force generated in the compressor is transmitted to the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 So that the durability of the first and second thrust bearings 9, 11 is increased. Therefore, the durability of the compressor can be increased, and the occurrence of vibration and noise of the compressor during operation can be prevented.

The first suction chamber 27A is formed on the inner peripheral side of the front housing 13 and the first discharge chamber 29A is formed on the outer peripheral side of the front housing 13. [ Similarly, a second suction chamber 27B is formed on the inner peripheral side of the rear housing 15 and a second discharge chamber 29B is formed on the outer peripheral side of the rear housing 15. The first thrust bearing 9 is disposed in the first suction chamber 27A and the second thrust bearing 11 is disposed in the second suction chamber 27B.

In this compressor, the first thrust bearing 9 is in the first suction chamber 27A and the first thrust bearing 9 in the first suction chamber 27A drives the drive shaft 3 in its first And is supported at the rear end of the shaft portion 3A. The second thrust bearing 11 is engaged in the second suction chamber 27B and the second thrust bearing 11 in the second suction chamber 27B drives the drive shaft 3 in its second shaft portion 3B .

In the compressor of the present embodiment, the lubricant contained in the refrigerant flowing in the first and second suction chambers 27A and 27B lubricates the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 as well as the drive shaft 3 Thereby causing the drive shaft 3 to rotate smoothly. The drive shaft 3 is protected from wear and the durability of the compressor is improved. The refrigerant in the suction chamber has a relatively low temperature. Therefore, any frictional heat generated in the first and second thrust bearings (9, 11) is cooled by the refrigerant.

The present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the present invention is not limited to the details described above and may be modified in various ways as exemplified below.

In the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11, not only the first races 9A and 11A but also the second races 9B and 11B may be elastically deformed.

Only one of the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 may be elastically deformed. In addition, both of the first and second thrust bearings 9, 11 may be formed such that they can not be elastically deformed.

The compressor may be configured to change the inclination angle of the swash plate 5 so that the capacity of the compressor per revolution of the drive shaft 3 can be changed. In this case, since the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 are located outside the crank chamber 35, when the crank chamber 35 is formed smaller, the inclination angle of the swash plate 5 is changed It is easy to secure a space necessary for the mechanism for making the light emitting diode.

The first thrust bearing 9 may be disposed inside the crank chamber 35 or inside the first cylinder block 17. In this case, it is preferable that the first thrust bearing 9 is disposed in front of the top dead center Tl of the first piston head 7A in the first cylinder block 17.

Further, the second thrust bearing 11 may be disposed inside the crank chamber 35, or inside the second cylinder block 19. In this case, the second thrust bearing 11 is preferably disposed behind the top dead center T2 of the second piston head 7B in the second cylinder block 19.

The first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 are respectively disposed in the first and second suction chambers 27A and 27B. Also, the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 may be disposed so as to communicate with the first and second suction chambers 27A and 27B, respectively. Therefore, the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 are respectively in the second suction chambers 27A and 27B. In this case, the first and second thrust bearings 9 and 11 are connected to the first and second suction chambers 27A and 27B through a clearance or external communication path formed between the housing 1 and the drive shaft 3, 27B, respectively.

A radial rolling bearing may be used instead of the first and second slide bearings 31A and 31B.

The present invention is also applicable to a single-headed piston type swash plate type compressor. Further, in this case, the compressor may be either a capacity-fixed type or a capacity-variable type.

Claims (4)

A drive shaft,
A swash plate mounted on the drive shaft and rotating together with the drive shaft;
A piston engaged with the swash plate,
A cylinder block for receiving the swash plate,
A housing connected to the cylinder block,
A cylinder bore formed in the cylinder block to receive the piston therein,
A compression chamber partitioned by the piston in the cylinder bore,
A suction chamber formed in the housing and communicating with the compression chamber,
A discharge chamber formed in the housing and communicating with the compression chamber,
A first thrust bearing and a second thrust bearing disposed on opposite sides of the swash plate,
And,
Wherein the drive shaft extends through the cylinder block and is supported in the thrust direction by the first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing, and at least one of the first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing is supported by the cylinder block And is disposed between the housing and the drive shaft. The method according to claim 1,
The housing includes a front housing connected to a front end of the cylinder block and a rear housing connected to a rear end of the cylinder block,
Wherein the cylinder bore includes a first cylinder bore formed on a front side of the cylinder block and a second cylinder bore formed on a rear side of the cylinder block,
Wherein the piston includes a first piston head reciprocating within the first cylinder bore and a second piston head reciprocable within the second cylinder bore,
Wherein the first thrust bearing is disposed between the front housing and the drive shaft and the second thrust bearing is disposed between the rear housing and the drive shaft. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least one of the first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing together with the housing and the drive shaft includes a cushion for receiving a thrust force by deforming the at least one of the first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing cushion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least one of the first thrust bearing and the second thrust bearing faces the suction chamber.

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