Patent ID: 7384247

Claim:
A high-speed, belt-driven centrifugal blower incorporating a spindle assembly having a rigid bearing arrangement, the blower comprising: a drive motor; a drive pulley rotatably connected to the drive motor; and a spindle assembly having a pulley at one end thereof connected to the drive pulley via a belt, and an impeller of a centrifugal compressor at the other end thereof; the spindle assembly comprising: a housing having a pulley end portion and an impeller end portion; a rotatable shaft extending through the housing and interconnecting the pulley and the impeller; a bearing element disposed between the shaft and the housing at the pulley end portion; a bearing element disposed between the shaft and the housing at the impeller end portion; a spacer disposed between the bearing elements; and a lock for axially securing the bearing elements and spacer rigidly in place, the lock comprising a pre-loading ring in the form of a sleeve which is in contact with at least a portion of one of the bearings.