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US 5,355,040 AGranted
Magnetic bearing back-up
AssigneeThe Glacier Metal Company Limited
InventorNigel H. New
Life of this patent
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AssigneeThe Glacier Metal Company Limited
InventorNigel H. New
Estimating the term…
A back-up bearing (50, FIG. 1) is provided for a magnetic journal or thrust bearing by a source of pressurized fluid 52 (such as gas), channels 51 supplying the fluid to the suspension gap 30 between moving bearing armature 25 and stationary armature pole faces 28.sub.1, 29.sub.1, and magnet control means 56 responsive to a decrease in gap width at any point below an acceptable minimum to supply the fluid by way of the channel(s) to the gap to form a hydrostatic bearing between stationary and movable armatures to aid or replace the magnetic bearing support. In a journal bearing, (FIG. 3) in which coil-containing spaces (62) exist between radially extending armature limbs the spaces may be closed by an apertured bridging piece (64) extending between pole faces and fluid supplied via that space to provide both increased hydrostatic bearing area and a way of cooling the coil by a low pressure fluid bleed at all times. The armatures faces may be provided with low friction bearing material to permit rubbing contact at very low speeds or rest.
A magnetic bearing arrangement for a rotatable shaft, including movable armature means movable with the shaft, stationary armature means forming with the movable armature means a magnetic circuit including a suspension gap between them, and back-up bearing means, the back-up bearing means including fluid channels communicating with the suspension gap, a source of pressurised fluid and back-up control means responsive to a detected inability of the magnetic bearing arrangement to suspend the shaft within a predetermined range of operational shaft positions to cause supply of said fluid to the suspension gap to form therein a film at such hydrostatic pressure as to support the shaft within said predetermined range of operational shaft positions.
An electromagnetic bearing arrangement for a rotatable shaft, including movable armature means movable with the shaft, stationary armature means forming with the movable armature means a magnetic circuit including a suspension gap between them, and back-up bearing means, the back-up bearing means including fluid channels communicating with the suspension gap, a source of pressurized fluid and back-up control means responsive to a detected inability of the magnetic bearing arrangement to suspend the shaft within a predetermined range of operational shaft positions to cause supply of said fluid to the suspension gap to form therein a film at such hydrostatic pressure as to support the shaft within said predetermined range of operational shaft positions,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.