Axial piston compressor with discharge valving system in cast housing head

Claim 1

In an air conditioning compressor having two cast housing heads that form parts of a cylinder housing, said housing enclosing cylinder blocks with axial cylinders formed therein; said air conditioning compressor comprising two cast generally cylindrical parts that form a bipartite compressor housing, each housing part having an end wall forming a housing head and a generally cylindrical portion, the generally cylindrical portions of said housing parts being joined in end-to-end juxtaposed relationship at a location intermediate the housing heads for said housing parts; means for clamping said housing parts together with a force that is axially directed with respect to the housing axis; a cylinder block in each housing part defining axially disposed cylinders, the cylinder block for one housing part abutting the cylinder block for the other housing part in axially aligned, juxtaposed relationship whereby the cylinders of one block form continuations of the cylinders for the other block, thus defining common cylinder openings; a double-acting piston in each cylinder opening; a swashplate and driveshaft assembly having a swashplate drivably engageable with each piston and a driveshaft mounted in each cylinder block coaxially therewith; a valve assembly having a valve plate with refrigerant delivery and supply ports therein located between each housing head and an adjacent surface of a cylinder block; each cylinder block having formed therein high pressure and low pressure flow passages that communicate with each cylinder of the adjacent cylinder block; flat radial surfaces on each housing head; an inlet valve disc between each valve plate and the adjacent surface of a cylinder block including valve reeds that provide controlled flow from said low pressure passages to said cylinders; a discharge valve disc located between said radial surfaces and said valve plate including discharge valve reeds that provide controlled flow from said cylinders to said high pressure passages; and a seal plate between said valve plate and said radial surfaces including porting for accommodating axial flow of high pressure fluid and low pressure fluid; said clamping means applying a sealing and retaining force on said cylinder blocks, said valve disc, said valve plate and said seal plate.