Swash plate type compressor improved with elongated and tortuous input and output passage systems

Claim 1

In a swash plate type compressor having: (a) a rotatable drive shaft; (b) a cylinder block assembly in which said drive shaft is rotatably mounted, said cylinder block assembly having a plurality of pairs of cylinder bores, the two cylinder bores of each said pair being coaxial and axially opposed to one another, said pairs fo cylinder bores extending parallel to said drive shaft and being disposed around said drive shaft; (c) a plurality of double headed pistons, one for each of said pairs of said cylinder bores, each of said pistons having one of its heads slidably received in one of the corresponding pair of said cylinder bores and the other of its heads slidably received in the other cylinder bore of said pair; (d) a swash plate fixedly mounted on said drive shaft in an oblique orientation and slidably engaged with each of said pistons, so that said pistons are reciprocated as said drive shaft and said swash plate are rotated in said cylinder block assembly; (e) a first valve plate on a first end of said cylinder block assembly which closes the end of one cylinder bore of each of said pairs thereof to define a first set of cylinder chambers; (f) a second valve plate on a second end of said cylinder block assembly which closes the end of the other cylinder bore of each of said pairs thereof to define a second set of cylinder chambers; (g) a first end block secured to said first end of said cylinder block assembly and holding said first valve plate thereagainst, and having a shape which in cooperating with said first valve plate defines a first input plenum and an output plenum; (h) first input valve means which communicates said first input plenum with each one of said first set of cylinder chambers when and only when said one of said first set of cylinder chambers is expanding; (i) first output valve means which communicates said output plenum with each one of said first set of cylinder chambers when and only when said one of said first set of cylinder chambers is contracting; and (j) a second end block at said second end of said cylinder block assembly, and having therein an inlet and an outlet; the improvement comprising: (k) a partition plate secured to said second end of said cylinder block assembly between said second end and said second end block and holding said second valve plate against said second end of said cylinder block assembly, and having a shape which in cooperation with said second valve plate defines a second input plenum and at least one output chamber; (l) second input valve means which communicates said second input plenum with each one of said second set of cylinder chambers when and only when said one of said second set of cylinder chambers is expanding; (m) second output valve means which communicates said output chamber with a corresponding one of said second set of cylinder chambers when and only when said corresponding one of said second set of cylinder chambers is contracting; (n) said second end block being having a shape which in cooperation with said partition plate defines an inlet buffering chamber into which said inlet opens and an outlet buffering chamber into which said outlet opens; (o) said cylinder block assembly having an input transfer passage extending between its two ends and communicated at its one end with said first input plenum and at its other end with said second input plenum; (p) said partition plate having at least one output transfer aperture which communicates said output chamber to said outlet buffering chamber; and (q) a means for communicating said inlet buffering chamber to said input transfer passage constituted by a boss integral with said partition plate and having a through hole therethrough, said boss projecting into said input transfer passage and one end of said through hole opening into said inlet buffering chamber and the other end of said through hole opening into said input transfer passage.