Patent ID: 6386753
Filing Date: 2002-05-14
Classification: B01F,F16C

Abstract:
An assembly for supporting a bearing holder for holding a bearing in rotational contact with the surface of a shaft in a vessel and for allowing axial movement of the bearing along the shaft in response to changes in radial dimensions of the vessel and maintaining radial support of the shaft, the assembly being supported from a wall of the vessel, the assembly comprising:a plurality of strut assemblies disposed radially around the shaft for supporting the bearing holder within the vessel, each said strut assembly having a pair of struts extending from the wall of the vessel to the bearing holder, each of said struts having a first end thereof pivotally connected to the wall of the vessel with a first pivot axis substantially perpendicular to the shaft axis, and a second end thereof pivotally connected to the bearing holder with a second pivot axis substantially perpendicular to the shaft axis, each said first pivot axis being proximate the wall at a common first plane perpendicular to the shaft axis and each said second pivot axis being arranged on the bearing holder at a common second plane perpendicular to the shaft axis, so that each said strut is at an inclination angle to the shaft axis that varies with changes in radial dimensions of the vessel, and each said pair of struts arranged to have an included angle between each said struts of each said pair, and each said struts are disposed along a conical surface of rotation centered substantially about the shaft axis.