Variable capacity swash plate type compressor

A variable capacity swash plate type refrigerant compressor including:

• a compressor housing means defining therein a suction chamber for receiving a refrigerant gas to be compressed, a discharge chamber for receiving the refrigerant gas after compression, a crank chamber capable of functioning as a capacity control chamber, and a plurality of cylinder bores;
• a plurality of piston elements received in the cylinder bores of said compressor housing means to be reciprocated therein, said piston elements having one end acting as compressing head and the other end axially opposite to said compressing head, respectively;
• an axial drive shaft rotatably supported by said compressor housing means, and extended axially through said crank chamber of said compressor housing means;
• a rotary support means fixed to said axial drive shaft so as to be rotated together with said drive shaft within said crank chamber, said rotary support means being provided with a support arm thereof arranged in said crank chamber;
• a hinge-ball means axially slidably mounted on said axial drive shaft;
• a swash plate means in the form of a generally hollow cylindrical means mounted around said drive shaft and pivotally connected to said support arm of said rotary support means, said swash plate means being slidably engaged with said hinge-ball means so as to change an angle of inclination thereof with regard to a plane perpendicular to the axis of said axial drive shaft, and provided with a disk-like swash plate operatively connected to the plurality of piston elements so as to reciprocate said piston elements in said cylinder bores in response to the rotation of said drive shaft, and;
• a control means for controlling a pressure level prevailing in said crank chamber and capable of adjustably changing the angle of inclination of said swash plate means to thereby vary the compression and discharge capacity of the compressor;
• wherein said hinge-ball means is provided with single spherical outer face spherically engageable with a central bore of said swash plate means, a central bore in which said axial drive shaft is slidably fit, and a pair of axially opposite flat faces arranged symmetrically with regard to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the central bore of said hinge-ball means and extending through the middle position of said single spherical outer face, and
• wherein said swash plate means in the form of the hollow cylindrical means is provided with a central bore enclosed by an inner axially extending wall, said inner axial wall of said swash plate means being provided with at least a spherical wall region capable of being spherically engaged with said single spherical outer face of said hinge-ball means, and a pair of guide recesses for permitting said hinge-ball means to be inserted into said central bore of said swash plate means from an end thereof in such a manner that said flat faces of said hinge-ball means are slidably guided by said guide recesses when said hinge-ball means is assembled in said swash plate means.