Patent ID: 8186886

Claim:
A shaft bearing system for use in a turbomachine having a turbine wheel and a compressor impeller carried on a common shaft extending through a turbomachine center housing, said shaft bearing system comprising: an axially split bearing carrier including a pair of generally cylindrical bearing sleeves mounted within the center housing, wherein the first bearing sleeve includes a non-overlapping inwardly stepped shoulder and the second bearing sleeve includes an inboard segment overlapping a diametrically larger portion of the first sleeve; a pair of angular contact ball bearing units each having a complement of bearing balls carried between an inner race ring and an outer race ring, said bearing units being mounted on the shaft and mounted respectively within said bearing sleeves whereby said bearing units rotatably support the shaft relative to said bearing sleeves; said each bearing unit being configured to carry an operating thrust load relative to the center housing; and thrust means for applying a constant axial thrust load of predetermined force to the inwardly stepped shoulder of the first bearing sleeve and the inboard segment of the second bearing sleeve in an opposite axial direction of the operating thrust load, said axial thrust load being transmitted by said bearing sleeves to the associated bearing units mounted therein.