The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 15, 1983
Filed:
Dec. 10, 1981
Arthur L Butterworth, La Crosse, WI (US);
David H Eber, La Crosse, WI (US);
The Trane Company, La Crosse, WI (US);
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.