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:
Dec. 02, 1997
Filed:
Aug. 16, 1996
Mitutoyo Corporation, Kanagawa, JP;
Abstract
An aerostatic bearing comprises a bearing base having a plurality of first through-holes for air intake, a bearing clearance being formed between the bearing surface and the thrust shaft, and a self-controlled restrictor disposed so as to form a restricting spacing with the reverse surface of the bearing base, the self-controlled restrictor being adapted for automatically adjusting the flow rate of air supplied to the bearing surface corresponding to the variation of the pressure on the bearing surface. The self-controlled restrictor has a restricting disc and a circular leaf spring. The restricting disc has a second through-hole at the center. The restricting disc is held by an O ring that also functions as a fluid sealing. The second through-hole is adapted for supplying air to the restricting spacing. The circular leaf spring is integrally formed with the restricting disc of a bottomed cylindrical member. Air supplied from the second through-hole to the restricting spacing flows as a diverging flow. Thus, a restoring force is applied corresponding to the deviation of the angle of the restricting disc.