Patent ID: 11859660
Assignee: US SYNTHETIC CORPORATION
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  E | IPC E  F

Claim 19:
20. A method of forming a combination thrust-bearing and radial bearing apparatus, the method comprising:
mounting at least one first superhard thrust-bearing element to a first thrust-bearing support ring to be spaced from a center of the first thrust-bearing support ring by a first distance and to form a first thrust-bearing assembly, the at least one first superhard thrust-bearing element including a first superhard thrust-bearing surface;
mounting at least one first superhard radial bearing element to a first radial bearing support ring to be spaced from the center of the first radial bearing support ring by a second distance and to form a first radial bearing assembly, the at least one first superhard radial bearing element including a first superhard radial bearing surface, wherein the second distance is less than the first distance;
mounting at least one second superhard thrust-bearing element to a second thrust-bearing support ring to be spaced from a center of the second thrust-bearing support ring and to form a second thrust-bearing assembly, the at least one second superhard thrust-bearing element including a second superhard thrust-bearing surface;
mounting at least one second superhard radial bearing element to a second radial bearing support ring to be spaced from the center of the second radial bearing support ring and to form a second radial bearing assembly, the at least one second superhard radial bearing element including a second superhard radial bearing surface;
positioning the first thrust-bearing assembly adjacent to the second thrust-bearing assembly such that the first superhard thrust-bearing surface faces the second superhard thrust-bearing surface; and
positioning the first radial bearing assembly adjacent to the second radial bearing assembly such that the first superhard radial bearing surface faces the second superhard radial bearing surface.