Patent ID: 6264368
Filing Date: 2001-07-24
Classification: F16C,G11B

Abstract:
A fluid bearing motor comprising:a shaft member having a thrust collar which is projected in a radial direction of the shaft member;a mating member cooperating with said shaft member, said mating member and said thrust collar being relatively rotated;a lubricating fluid provided between said thrust collar and said mating member for forming a thrust fluid bearing therebetween;a reservoir for storing said lubricating fluid;an air chamber with air existing therein are formed between the outer peripheral surface of the thrust collar and the mating member along the circumferential direction; anda fluid channel communicating said air chamber with an atmosphere,wherein at least part of a circumferentially-extending contour of one of the outer peripheral surface of the thrust collar and the inner peripheral surface of the mating member forms a circumferentially extending gap between the outer peripheral surface of the thrust collar and the inner peripheral surface of the mating member which varies in the circumferential direction to make the contour in a rotatively symmetric shape about an axis of said shaft member, and wherein the shape of the contour has coplanar major and minor axes, the major axis having a greater length than the minor axis, andwherein a relatively small gap portion out of the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the thrust collar and the inner peripheral surface of the mating member is formed as the reservoir, whereas a relatively large gap portion out of the gap therebetween is formed as the air chamber.