Patent GB-994688-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to bearings
Inventor: ROYLE JOSEPH KENNETH
IPC: F16C32/06
Filed: 1960-06-13
Abstract: 994,688. Bearings. NATIONAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. June 9, 1961 [June 13, 1960], No. 20676/60. Heading F2A. A fluid bearing has a number of fluid supply systems, each of which comprises a main fluid supply orifice and a pilot fluid supply orifice and the systems are situated so that when a member supported by the bearing moves away from one orifice of one system it moves towards the corresponding orifice in another system. Means are provided to allow the fluid supplied to the main and pilot orifices to escape from the clearance space between the movable member and the supporting member; the clearance between individual pilot orifices and the movable member is sensed by measuring the resistance offered by the clearance to the escape of fluid from the individual pilot orifices; and the clearance at a pilot orifice is related to the pressure of the fluid within the corresponding main orifice so that the variation of said clearance causes said pressure to vary in the opposite sense, the fluid in one of the main orifices being maintained at a fixed pressure. In an embodiment, a shaft 2 is supported within a housing 3 which has drain grooves 4, 5, therein communicating with a sump 8 and fluid is pumped from the orifices into a clearance 7 between said shaft and housing. The grooves 4, 5 also prevent overflow of fluid from sections A, B and C of the bearing. Section A contains equi-spaced pilot orifices 9, 10, 11 of equal size, each of which is connected through an equal resistance to a common fluid source 13. The orifices are also connected by conduits 14 to a mean pressure valve 15 having a stepped piston 16 with forward faces 17, 18, 19 the total areas of which equal the area of a rear face 20 of the piston. The piston is formed as a valve and permits communication between a pipe 21 connected to the source 13, to the sump 8, and to pipes 24, 22. The pipe 24 supplies fluid to the face 20 of the piston at a pressure equal to the average of the pressures applied at pilot orifices 9, 10 and 11. The pipe 22 connects to ends 25 of cylinders 26 of control slide-valves 27, 28; the other ends 32 of the cylinders are connected to pilot orifices 9, 10. Movement of valve pistons 29 in the cylinders 26 connects the line 21 either to the sump 8 or to main orifices 91, 101 which are in section B of the bearing. A third main orifice 11<SP>1</SP> is axially aligned with the pilot orifice 11 and is connected to the source 13 through a damping resistance 30. The drain grooves 4, 5 are connected by axial grooves 31 so that escape of fluid from the main orifices is facilitated. Balancing orifices 911, 10<SP>11</SP> and 11<SP>11</SP> are in section C of the bearing and are connected to the source 13 through equal resistances 12. In operation, when the fluid is first supplied it freely enters the pilot orifices 9, 10 but is restricted at orifice 11 by the shaft 2. This creates a high pressure in the orifice 11 and low pressures in the orifices 9, 10 which are communicated to the ends 32 of the cylinders 26, while the greater average pressure from valve 15 communicates to the ends 32 of the cylinders 26 via the pipe 22. The pistons 29 are thus caused to rise, fluid by-passes to the sump 8 and pressure in the main orifices 9<SP>1</SP>, 10<SP>1</SP> fall to that in orifice 11<SP>1</SP> so that the shaft 2 is supported in the required position in the housing 3.