Patent ID: 7913613

Claim:
A piston/cylinder unit for a compressor for producing a pressure fluid comprising: a cylinder; a piston being reciprocable in an axial direction of the cylinder between a first piston position, in which a cylinder volume enclosed by the piston and the cylinder is a maximum, and a second piston position, in which this cylinder volume is a minimum; a fluid bearing provided between the piston and the cylinder which supports the piston such that the piston is displaceable axially in the cylinder and which defines a piston-side bearing surface, enclosing a circumference of the piston at least over a part of an axial extension of the piston; wherein the fluid bearing comprises a plurality of outlet nozzles for a fluid provided in an inner circumferential wall of the cylinder, and wherein the plurality of outlet nozzles are arranged such that when the piston is in the second position thereof, first outlet nozzles of the plurality of outlet nozzles provide a front region of the piston-side bearing surface relative to a longitudinal extension of the piston, the first outlet nozzles provided in a region of the inner circumferential wall of the cylinder to which the piston lies opposite in the second piston position but to which the piston does not lie opposite in the first piston position, and second outlet nozzles of the plurality of outlet nozzles provide a middle region of the piston-side bearing surface relative to the longitudinal extension of the piston with pressure fluid such that a centre of force gravity of the bearing extends forwards towards a piston base whereby a higher pressure in the fluid bearing between the piston and cylinder is established in an area of a front end of a ring gap between the piston and the cylinder.