Flexible bearing for self-aligning journal
AssigneeEaton Intelligent Power Limited
InventorsMatthew Reinhardt, Cody Mackey, Simon Martin-Dye, Douglas A. Scott
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotary system includes a bearing arrangement disposed within a housing (e.g., a pressure plate housing of a variable displacement pump). The bearing arrangement supports a shaft that rotates within the housing. The bearing arrangement includes a bearing sealed to the housing and a journal insert that supports the shaft at a single location along a length of the journal insert. Part of the outer circumference of the bearing is removed at a particular axial and circumferential location to conform to the deflection of the journal insert during rotating of the shaft.
Claims20
A rotary system comprising:
- a housing;
- a shaft extending through the housing, the shaft being rotatable relative to the housing;
- a bearing arrangement interposed between the shaft and the housing, the bearing arrangement including:
- a journal insert disposed about the shaft and configured to rotate in unison with the shaft, the journal insert including a self-aligning protrusion at which the journal insert contacts the shaft, the self-aligning protrusion being disposed at an intermediate location along a length of the journal insert;
- and
- a bearing sealed to the housing, the bearing being interposed between the journal insert and the housing, the bearing having an inner surface facing radially inwardly towards the journal sleeve and an outer surface facing radially outwardly towards the housing, the bearing defining a recess in the outer surface that radially aligns with the self-aligning protrusion of the journal insert.
A rotary system comprising:
- a housing;
- a bearing disposed within an interior of the housing, the bearing including an annular wall extending along a length between first and second axial ends to define an interior cavity, the annular wall defining an outwardly facing recess at a first intermediate location along the length of the bearing, the recess extending along a portion of a circumference of the annular wall;
- and
- a journal insert disposed within the bearing and being configured to rotate relative to the bearing, the journal insert being thicker at a second intermediate location along a length of the journal insert than at axial ends of the journal insert.
A method of operating a variable displacement pump, the method comprising:
- rotating a shaft arrangement relative to a bearing, the shaft arrangement including a shaft and a journal insert that rotate together in unison;
- allowing axial ends of the journal insert to deflect radially inwardly while an intermediate location of the journal insert is supported against inward radial deflection through contact with the shaft;
- and
- bowing out a thinned surface of a bearing at the intermediate location of the journal insert so that a radial gap between the axial ends of the journal insert and the bearing is about the same as a radial gap between the journal insert and the bear at the intermediate location of the journal insert.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.