Fail safe dynamoelectric machine bearing

A bearing fail-safe rotary machine comprising, in combination:

• a frame;
• a rotor in said frame and having a vertical shaft;
• a first bearing acting between said frame and said shaft and journaling said shaft for transmission of the force of gravity and applied external forces on said rotor through said shaft to said frame;
• a second bearing surrounding said shaft and vertically spaced from said first bearing;
• said second bearing adapted to act between said shaft and said frame to journal said shaft relative to said frame except for normally operative idling means;
• said idling means including a part of said second bearing being physically spaced from the respective shaft and frame hence establishing said second bearing idling and nonload-bearing under normal machine operating conditions;
• whereby upon a failure of said first bearing the rotor and shaft may move vertically downwardly by gravity to nullify said idling means and establish said second bearing rotatably journaling said shaft to transmit the force of gravity on said rotor through said second bearing to said frame;
• and
• said second bearing being disposed vertically above said first bearing to have any particles from the disintegration of said first bearing migrate downwardly by gravity away from said second bearing.

A bearing fail-safe rotary machine comprising, in combination:

• a frame;
• a rotor in said frame and having a shaft;
• a first bearing engaging said frame and said shaft and journaling said shaft for transmission of the force of gravity and applied external forces on said rotor through said shaft to said frame;
• a second bearing surrounding said shaft and physically spaced from said first bearing;
• said second bearing having rollable elements engaging first and second opposed bearing races;
• said second bearing adapted to journal said shaft relative to said frame except for normally operative idling means;
• said idling means including one of said bearing races being physically spaced from the respective shaft and frame so that there is no relative rotation between said races upon rotation of said shaft and hence establishing said second bearing idling and nonload-bearing under normal machine operating conditions;
• whereby upon a failure of said first bearing the rotor and shaft may move downwardly by gravity to have said bearing races of said second bearing contact both said shaft and frame to nullify said idling means and establish said second bearing rotatably journaling said shaft to transmit the force of gravity on said rotor through said second bearing to said frame.