Patent ID: 6921206

Claim:
A bearing assembly for holding a shaft, said bearing assembly comprising: a housing having a central opening for receiving a shaft, said housing having a length, an inner surface and a longitudinal axis; at least one bearing element adjacent the inner surface of said housing, said bearing element comprising a unitary bearing layer, said bearing layer having a plurality of transverse grooves providing therebetween a plurality of lugs protruding towards the longitudinal axis for contacting and supporting a rotating shaft, said bearing layer being comprised of a thermoplastic rubber polymer alloy, said alloy including a thermoplastic plastic having a toughness of at least 20 foot-pound/inch based on an Izod unnotched impact test (ASTM 256), a breakaway coefficient of static friction at 0 rpm of no greater than 0.25, a wear resistance for passing the sand slurry abrasion test, and a thermoset rubber compound for adding flexibility to said bearing layer.