The present invention relates to a thrust bearing assembly for rotary applications and, in particular, in applications in which space is limited.
In some rotary applications, the space available for thrust bearings is limited. An example of such a space limited application relates to electric submersible pumps positioned down oil wells to pump liquid to surface. With such pumps, the thrust bearings must be positioned in the annular space between the shaft and the housing.
What is required is a thrust bearing assembly for rotary applications which can fit in a relatively confined space.
According to the present invention there is provided a thrust bearing configuration for rotary applications includes a shaft having an external surface and a housing having an internal surface. The housing and the shaft are adapted for relative rotational movement. At least two inner bearing support members are fixedly secured to and extend radially outwardly from the external surface of the shaft in axially spaced relation. At least two outer bearing support members are fixedly secured to and extend radially inwardly from the internal surface of the housing. At least one bearing pad is disposed between each one of the inner bearing support members and an adjacent one of the outer bearing support members. With the described configuration an axial force exerted upon the shaft is transmitted from the shaft through each of the inner bearing support members and bearing pads to the outer bearing support members and the housing.
The thrust bearing, as described above, acts like a bearing stack. It is possible to stack any number of these bearing pads in order to withstand anticipated axial loads.
The bearing pads may be secured to either one of the inner bearing support members or to one of the outer bearing support members. It is preferred, however, that there be provided an inner bearing pad secured to each of the inner bearing support members and an outer bearing pad secured to each of the outer bearing support members. With this configuration the inner bearing pad bearing and the outer bearing pad bear against each other.
These end other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
The preferred embodiment, a thrust bearing assembly for rotary applications generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring to
Operation:
The use and operation of thrust bearing assembly 10 will now be described with reference to
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2417038 | Jan 2003 | CA | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CA2004/000081 | 1/22/2004 | WO | 00 | 7/22/2005 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2004/065805 | 8/5/2004 | WO | A |
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1121083 | De Ferranti | Dec 1914 | A |
3656823 | Tiraspolsky et al. | Apr 1972 | A |
3858668 | Bell | Jan 1975 | A |
4856914 | Sigg | Aug 1989 | A |
4889195 | Kruger et al. | Dec 1989 | A |
5480233 | Cunningham | Jan 1996 | A |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060104557 A1 | May 2006 | US |