Werner Ann G Soedel, 89901 Allen St, West Lafayette, IN 47906

2004004, Mar 11, 2004

Jun 19, 2003

10/464515

Douglas Adams - West Lafayette IN, US
Yoshinobu Ichikawa - Gunma ken, JP
Werner Soedel - West Lafayette IN, US

F04B001/12

417/053000, 417/269000

A multi-cylinder compressor includes a valve plate having a plurality of cylinder suction ports formed therethrough, and a plurality of cylinder bores centered on an arc having a radius (R). The cylinder bores are substantially equally spaced from each other, and have a diameter (D). The compressor also includes a suction chamber having a substantially annular shape and adapted to be in fluid communication with each of the cylinder bores via the suction ports. Moreover, a center of a first of the suction ports is radially offset in a predetermined direction from a center of a predetermined suction port by a first angle, in which the predetermined suction port has a diameter (d), and the first angle equals {[(360/N)([N-1]-n)]+X}. In this formula, N is a number of the suction ports formed through the valve plate, n is a number of the suction ports positioned between the first suction port and the predetermined suction port in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction, and X is a predetermined angle which is less than or equal to {(sin[(D-d)/2R])57.3/Radian} and greater than or equal to -{(sin[(D-d)/2R]57.3/Radian}, and which is not equal to 0.