Rheem Manufacturing Company

Ronald J Rasmussen

Punan Tang

Kenneth R Swift, Jr

Diane M Jakobs

An elastomeric compressor mount has a hollow convex cylindrical head portion which must be passed upwardly through a substantially smaller diameter circular opening in a support foot portion of the compressor. To facilitate the passage of the mount head portion through the support foot opening a specially designed clamping tool is provided which has an arcuate support portion and a clamping portion that may be pivoted toward and away from a concave side surface of the support portion. With these two tool portions pivoted toward each other they are inserted downwardly through the compressor foot opening, opened, and then clamped exteriorly onto the mount head portion in a manner deforming it to a generally U-shaped configuration as viewed along the axis of the mount. The deformed mount head portion, and the still clamped together tool portions are then pulled upwardly through the compressor foot opening, the free ends of the deformed, generally U-shaped mount head portion being pushed toward one another by side edge portions of the foot opening as the head portion passes upwardly through the opening. After the deformed mount head portion is positioned above the top side of the compressor foot, the tool is released to permit the mount head portion to spring back to its original annular configuration and overlie an annular top side surface portion of the compressor foot.

Prestressed compressor mount installation apparatus

Prestressed compressor mount installation methods

An elastomeric compressor mount has a hollow convex cylindrical head portion which is passed upwardly through a corresponding opening in a support foot portion of the compressor to place an annular portion of the foot in an annular mount groove which is disposed between its head portion and a larger cylindrical base portion of the mount. When a securement bolt is passed axially through a fastening opening in the mount and tightened into an underlying base pan opening, the convex mount head portion is downwardly and radially outwardly deformed to cause the annular foot portion to be resiliently squeezed between the head portion and the underlying base portion of the mount. In a second embodiment of the mount its convex cylindrical head portion is of a solid configuration, and is joined to the mount base portion by an annular flange section coaxially disposed therein. When the securement bolt is tightened the head portion is pushed downwardly relative to the mount body portion in a manner axially flexing the flange section and squeezing the annular compressor foot portion between the head and base sections of the mount. In a third embodiment of the mount its head section is cylindrical and has a depending, reduced diameter stem section which is telescoped within the underlying mount base section to permit relative axial movement between the head and base sections of the mount when the securement bolt is tightened.

Growing community of inventors

Greenwood, AR, United States of America

Ronald J Rasmussen