Claims
- 1. A reciprocating piston compressor, comprising:a cylinder block having a cylinder bore; a piston reciprocatingly disposed in said cylinder bore; a cylinder head connected to said cylinder block and partially defining a suction chamber into which gas is received and from which the gas exits into said cylinder bore substantially at a suction pressure, said cylinder head partially defining a discharge chamber into which gas is received from said cylinder bore and from which the gas exits substantially at a discharge pressure; a valve plate having a suction port through which said cylinder bore and said suction chamber fluidly communicate, and a discharge port through which said cylinder bore and said discharge chamber fluidly communicate; a suction check valve disposed over said suction port and past which gas flows from said suction chamber to said cylinder bore, flow from said cylinder bore to said suction chamber being inhibited by said suction check valve; a discharge check valve disposed over said discharge port and past which gas flows from said cylinder bore to said discharge chamber, flow from said discharge chamber to said cylinder bore being inhibited by said discharge check valve; and a spacer disposed between said valve plate and said cylinder head, said spacer having generally opposite first and second end surfaces, each of said first and second spacer end surfaces respectively abutting an interfacing surface of said valve plate and said cylinder head, said spacer partially defining said discharge chamber, a substantial portion of the volume of said discharge chamber located between said spacer end surfaces; wherein said first and second spacer end surfaces are each provided with a plurality of substantially concentric ridges having tips, said ridge tips having one of a deformed state and an undeformed state, adjacent ones of said ridges separated by a valley, said ridge tips being placed in said deformed state in response to a compressive load exerted on said spacer between said valve plate and said cylinder head during assembly of said compressor, said deformed ridge tips providing a seal between said first spacer end surface and said valve plate, and between said second spacer end surface and said cylinder head.
- 2. The compressor assembly of claim 1, wherein said cylinder block and said spacer have substantially similar coefficients of thermal expansion.
- 3. The compressor assembly of claim 1, wherein said cylinder head and said spacer have substantially similar coefficients of thermal expansion.
- 4. The compressor assembly of claim 1, wherein said spacer-interfacing surfaces of said cylinder head and said valve plate respectively lie in first and second substantially parallel planes, said spacer extending between third and fourth substantially parallel planes which are substantially parallel to said first plane, said valley of said first and second spacer end surfaces located between said third and fourth planes, and, with said ridge tips in their said undeformed state, said ridge tips of said first and second spacer end surfaces are disposed on sides of said third and fourth planes opposite their respectively adjacent valleys.
- 5. The compressor assembly of claim 4, wherein said first and third planes, and said second and fourth planes, respectively coincide.
- 6. The compressor assembly of claim 5, wherein, with said ridge tips in their said deformed state, said ridge tips of said first and second spacer end surfaces lie on said third and fourth planes.
- 7. The compressor assembly of claim 4, wherein each said valley of one of said first and second spacer end surfaces extend a first distance from the respective one of said third and fourth planes, and said ridge tips of said one of said first and second spacer end surfaces extend a second distance from the said respective one of said third and fourth planes, said first distance greater than said second distance.
- 8. The compressor assembly of claim 7, wherein said first distance is approximately twice said second distance.
- 9. A method of assembling a reciprocating piston compressor having a cylinder block with a cylinder bore opening, a valve plate, and a cylinder head, comprising the steps of:providing a spacer having first and second end surfaces each provided with a plurality of substantially concentric ridges having tips, the ridge tips having one of a deformed state and an undeformed state, adjacent ones of the ridge tips separated by a valley; orienting the valve plate, the spacer, and the cylinder head in a stacked arrangement over the cylinder bore opening; and exerting a compressive load on the ridge tips to deform the ridge tips to the deformed state, the deformed ridge tips providing sealing contact between the first spacer end surface and the valve plate, and between the second spacer end surface and the cylinder head.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/994,236, filed Nov. 27, 2001, (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,137) which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/250,709, filed Dec. 1, 2000.
US Referenced Citations (62)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
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60/250709 |
Dec 2000 |
US |