Rolling thrust bearing for use in a scroll machine
US4415318A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 10, 1981 |
| Grant date | Nov 15, 1983 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 10, 2001 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16C2360/42
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A rolling thrust bearing for use in a scroll type positive fluid displacement apparatus is disclosed. In the invention, a plurality of ball bearings spaced apart in cavities formed in a bearing cage are operative to transmit an axial force between a supporting frame and an orbiting scroll member. The bearing cage rotates within a groove in which it is seated due to frictional forces between its flank surfaces and the sides of the groove. In a first embodiment, the diameter of the cavities is substantially larger than the diameter of the ball bearings, and the bearings are free to orbit within the cavities as the bearing cage rotates. In the second embodiment, the cavities are only slightly larger in diameter than the ball bearings, but the radial width of the bearing cage is substantially less than the width of the groove, and the bearing cage and the ball bearings together describe an epicycloidal path about the central axis of the bearing cage. In both embodiments, the ball bearings seated within the cavities contact adjacent bearing races over a constanty changing portion of their surface. This substantially extends the operational life of the thrust bearing.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.