Patent ID: 8662474

Claim:
A valve assembly, comprising: a flowbody having a flow passage therethrough; a drive shaft rotatably mounted within the flowbody; a valve element mounted to the drive shaft and positioned within the flow passage; and a combination bearing coupled between the flowbody and the drive shaft, the combination bearing comprising: an integral radial load/thrust ring coupled to the drive shaft; a thrust washer substantially adjacent the integral radial load/thrust ring, as taken along the longitudinal axis of the combination bearing; an outer radial ring circumscribing the integral thrust/radial load ring; a first plurality of rolling elements captured between the thrust washer and the integral radial load/thrust ring; and a second plurality of rolling elements captured between the outer radial ring and the integral radial load/thrust ring; wherein the integral radial load/thrust ring comprises: a tubular body through which the drive shaft extends; an annular thrust collar projecting radially outward from an end portion of the tubular body; and a circumferential abutment shoulder projecting radially outward from the tubular body and located between the second plurality of rolling elements and the annular thrust collar; wherein the second plurality of rolling elements and outer radial ring slide axially with respect to the integral radial load/thrust ring during operation of the combination bearing, and wherein the circumferential abutment shoulder comes into contact with the second plurality of rolling elements as the second plurality of rolling elements and the outer radial ring slide toward the annular thrust collar to prevent contact between the annular thrust collar and the outer radial ring.