Swash plate type compressor shoe

Abstract

There are disclosed a shoe which is interposed between a swash plate and a piston of a swash plate type compressor and which converts rotary movement of the swash plate into reciprocal movement of the piston, and a method for manufacturing the same. The shoe has a hemispherical part which is in slidable contact with the surface of a piston defining a hemispherical recess, and a flat end face which is in slidable contact with a bottom end face of the swash plate. According to the method of the invention, a columnar element is compressed in the axial direction for plastic deformation in such a manner that one end of the columnar element is deformed along the inner surface of a hemispherical recess of a die while the other end is urged against the flat end surface of another die. A shoe can be easily manufactured with this method, which has a flank between the hemispherical part which is in slidable contact with the surface of the piston defining the hemispherical recess and the bottom end face of the swash plate which is in slidable contact with the swash plate. According to this method, a hole of a predetermined size may alternatively be formed at the end face of a columnar part of the element, and the end face of the columnar part is cut into a conical shape while reducing the diameter of the hole toward the opening side thereof. Still alternatively, the periphery of the end face of the columnar part may be cut into a conical shape and then pressed to form a hemispherical part. A great flow of the material and local exertion of a high load on the element are prevented.