A discharge valve assembly of a reciprocating compressor comprises: a
discharge valve for opening or closing a compression space for
compressing a refrigerant in a cylinder; a valve spring for elastically
supporting the discharge valve as its one end is connected to the
discharge valve; a discharge cover provided with a support surface
connected to the valve spring, and covering an end of the cylinder,
receiving the discharge valve and the valve spring and simultaneously
forming a discharge space of a refrigerant; and a buffer member attached
to an outer mounting surface of the cylinder, for lessening an impact by
contacting with the discharge valve before the discharge valve comes in
contact with the cylinder to close the compression space of the cylinder.
The buffer member absorbs the amount of an impact before the discharge
valve contacts with the cylinder, thereby minimizing noise generation.