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AssigneeMitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsMasayuki Kakuda, Etsuo Morishita, Hiromu Narumiya, Masahiro Sugihara, Tsutomu Inaba, Tadashi Kimura
Estimating the term…
A scroll-type apparatus having a main journal bearing which journals the drive shaft of the apparatus and is capable of pivoting by small angles with two degrees of freedom. The main journal bearing comprises three or more arcuate pads whose inner surfaces journal the drive shaft and which are pivotably supported by a stationary main bearing housing. In a preferred embodiment, each of the pads has a spherical protrusion and two rotation-preventing pins secured to its back surface. The protrusions contact the inner surface of the main bearing housing and pivotably support the pads, while the rotation-preventing pins are inserted into grooves formed on the inner surface of the main bearing housing. When a load is applied to the drive shaft causing it to tilt, the pads of the main journal bearing can tilt along with the drive shaft by pivoting about the points of contact between the spherical protrusions and the inner surface of the main bearing housing, thereby preventing edge loading of the main journal bearing.
An improved scroll-type apparatus of the type having a stationary scroll, a drive shaft, a movable scroll intermeshed with said stationary scroll, a stationary main bearing housing having a hole formed in its center, a main journal bearing disposed in the hole in said main bearing housing for journalling said drive shaft and having an outer surface parallel to the surface of said drive shaft and spaced from to provide clearance with an inner surface of the hole in said housing, and means for drivingly connecting said drive shaft to said moving scroll so that said moving scroll revolves about a center of said stationary scroll without rotating about its own axis when said drive shaft is rotated, and means interposed in the clearance for pivotably supporting said main journal bearing so that its bearing surface remains parallel to the surface of said drive shaft when said drive shaft is caused to tilt within the clearance in response to variations in load applied to said drive shaft by said moving scroll.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.