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US 9,151,326 B1Granted
Bearing assemblies, bearing apparatuses, and methods of use
AssigneeUS Synthetic Corporation
InventorsS. Barrett Peterson, Jair J. Gonzalez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of the invention relate to bearing assemblies, bearing apparatuses, and methods of assembling and operating such bearing assemblies and apparatuses. For instance, first bearing assembly and/or the second bearing assembly may include one or more tapered sections, which may facilitate entry of the first bearing assembly into the second bearing assembly.
Claims21
A bearing assembly, comprising:
- a support structure including:
- a bearing section;
- and
- a tapered section connected to the bearing section;
- a plurality of first superhard bearing elements secured to the bearing section of the support structure, the plurality of first superhard bearing elements being distributed about an axis to form a radial bearing surface, and each of the plurality of first superhard bearing elements having a superhard material including a first superhard bearing surface;
- and
- a plurality of second superhard bearing elements secured to one or more of the bearing section or the tapered section of the support structure.
4 more elements
A bearing apparatus, comprising:
- a first bearing assembly including:
- a support structure;
- a plurality of first superhard bearing elements secured to the support structure and each having a first superhard bearing surface;
- and
- a plurality of second superhard bearing elements secured to the support structure, the plurality of second superhard bearing elements including a beveled surface, the plurality of first superhard bearing elements and the plurality of second superhard bearing elements at least partially defining an opening in the first bearing assembly, and the plurality of second superhard bearing elements at least partially forming a first tapered section of the first bearing assembly;
- and
- a second bearing assembly insertable into the first bearing assembly, the second bearing assembly including a plurality of third superhard bearing elements each having a third superhard bearing surface sized and configured to rotatably engage the first superhard bearing surfaces.
4 more elements
An agitator system comprising:
- a container sized and configured to contain a medium;
- a first bearing assembly secured to a bottom of the container, the first bearing assembly including a plurality of first superhard bearing elements each having a first superhard bearing surface, and the first bearing surfaces defining an opening in the first bearing assembly;
- a shaft including one or more blades attached thereto;
- and
- a second bearing assembly secured to the shaft and insertable into the first bearing assembly, the second bearing assembly including:
- a support structure including a tapered section sized and configured to substantially align a generally center axis of the second bearing assembly with a generally center of the first bearing assembly;
- and
- a plurality of second superhard bearing elements secured to the support structure and each having a second superhard bearing surface configured to rotatably engage the first superhard bearing surfaces.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.