Hydrodynamic compliant thrust bearing
AssigneeMechanical Technology Incorporated
InventorStanley Gray
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Abstract
A resilient compliant hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing includes a top bearing sheet of thin metalic foil material, and a lower supporting sheet of the same or slightly heavier gauge material. The top bearing sheet is stamped to produce an annular array of truncated sector-shaped flaps attached to the array along one radially extending edge. The second section is stamped to produce an annular pattern of raised projections formed by bending the material along slits to form radially extending bumps which resiliently support the first section. The two sheets are superimposed and aligned, and are welded together along the edge by which the sector-shaped flaps are attached to the first section. The welded assemblies are then sheared from the superimposed foils and deburred.
Claims8
A compliant hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing for positioning within a gap defined between the opposed surfaces of a thrust plate and a relatively rotating thrust runner, and fastening to said thrust plate, comprising:
- (a) a first annular section having a plurality of angularly adjacent, truncated, sector-shaped pads of thin, flexible sheet metal, each attached to the bearing along one radial edge portion, said radial edge portion being the leading edge with respect to the direction of rotation of the thrust runner, and
- (b) a second annular section underlying and supporting said first annular section, and having a plurality of slits, each slit forming at least one edge of a resilient projection elevated above the plane of said second annular section, said slits being distributed around said second section in a plurality of angularly spaced clusters which are angularly aligned with said sector-shaped pads to provide resilient support for said pads.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.