Air bearing system with an air cylinder web dancer system or idler rolls

Abstract

A movable shaft with fluid bearing low friction support for the movable shaft comprises a housing, where the housing contains a shaft, at least one fluid bearing adjacent a surface of the shaft, a source of fluid at a pressure of at least 16.7 psi into the at least one fluid bearing, at least one vent for carrying fluid from the shaft to a reduced pressure area, and at least one fluid pressure chamber at one end of the shaft. The fluid pressure chamber providing fluid pressure that provides a force along an axial direction of the shaft to move the shaft axially. The shaft may be used, for example, in a roller comprising a shaft secured to a roller shell (the shaft extending out from both ends of the roller shell), hubs at each end of the shaft (each hub with air bearings within each hub adjacent to said shaft to support radial force loads on the shaft), and at least one hub having an axial movement restraint system selected from the group consisting of a flat surface bearing contact with a shaft end and a flat surface air bearing contact with an end of the roller. The shaft may also be used in a web dancer or any other device where low friction linear mechanical movement is desired.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.