Patent ID: 8616831

Claim:
A compressor comprising: a shaft assembly including a thrust disk disposed on a main shaft; and a housing having a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions adapted to receive the shaft assembly and enclose the shaft assembly therebetween, wherein the shaft assembly is rotatably disposed within the housing, and wherein each of the first portion and the second portion includes a shaft assembly retention feature for receiving the thrust disk to regulate a motion of the shaft assembly, and wherein the shaft assembly retention feature is a channel formed in each of the first portion and the second portion of the housing, the channel having a front side wall defined by a first interior surface of the housing and a rear side wall defined by a second interior surface of the housing, the first interior surface spaced apart from the second interior surface and connected by a bottom surface of the channel, a gas bearing disposed within the shaft assembly retention features of the first portion and the second portion of the housing, the gas bearing including a pair of spaced apart first components and a pair of spaced apart second components, one of the first components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the front side wall of the first portion of the housing and another of the first components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the rear sidewall of the first portion of the housing, and one of the second components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the front side wall of the second portion of the housing and another of the second components spaced apart from the bottom surface and secured to the rear sidewall of the second portion of the housing.