Turbine meter bearing
AssigneeBadger Meter, Inc.
InventorsThomas E. Pelt, Edward A. Seruga
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A turbine meter having a center support bearing structure including components with mating coaxial cylindrical bearing surfaces formed of fired ceramic materials, in which one of the bearing surfaces is formed of a high strength ceramic consisting of at least 99.9% alumina having a crystal size of less than about 6 microns, and has a surface finish of about 7 microinches or less.
Claims12
A turbine meter including a conduit housing, an impeller, means including a bearing assembly disposed in said conduit housing and rotatably supporting said impeller in said housing for rotary response of said impeller to flow of fluid in said housing, and means responsive to the rotation of said impeller for indicating the flow of such fluid through said housing, said bearing assembly including first and second members having mating coaxial cylindrical bearing surfaces, each of said members having at least a surface portion having a crystalline structure of a unified alumina ceramic material providing the respective cylindrical bearing surface, said surface portion of one of said members being at least 99.9% alumina and said bearing surface thereof having a surface finish of about 7 microinches or less, and said surface portion of the other of said members being formed of a lesser percentage of alumina and having a larger crystal size than said surface portion of said one of said members.
In a turbine meter having an impeller rotatably journaled on a bearing assembly in a conduit housing for rotary response of said impeller to the flow of fluid through said housing, the improvement wherein said bearing assembly includes first and second members having coaxial cylindrical bearing surfaces, each of said members having at least a surface portion having a crystalline structure of a unified ceramic material providing the respective cylindrical bearing surface, said surface portion of one of said members being at least 99.9% alumina and said bearing surface thereof having a surface finish of about 7 microinches or less, and said surface portion of the other of said members being formed of a lesser percentage of alumina and having a larger crystal size than said surface portion of said one of said members.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.