Abstract: A separator or cage for a row of ball bearings designed to reduce friction on the balls. The pocket surfaces in the separator have recesses in the region of the axial "poles" of the balls which prevents contact between the balls and the separator pocket walls. Over the rest of the separator, the pocket walls are near enough to the balls to define a hydrodynamic lubricating film. Also over the rest of the separator pockets, the interior surfaces of the pockets are shaped to face the respective balls and to define a wedge-shaped slot with the ball for development of a hydrodynamic lubricating film as the balls rotate in either direction around their axes. The separator is comprised of two strips fastened together. Each strip has a complementary C-shaped pocket half depression, and the two strips joined together define the complete pockets that enclose the balls between the axial poles of the balls.

Abstract: A spindle assembly for use with a magnetic disk or the like including a pair of bearings axially spaced by an outer ring and a shaft is posed through the outer ring. A receiving part is placed over one end of the shaft. The receiving part has a bore for receiving the outer ring. A drive motor is attached to the other end of the shaft. A housing is positioned on and directly adjacent the outer ring and extends between the drive motor and the receiving part which each have a step-down or reduced cross-section area. The housing has a bore to receive the first end of the shaft and also receives the magnetic disk. A drive motor is provided at the other end.

Abstract: A separator for accurate positioning and easy replacement of magnets in an annular array around a spindle comprises an annularly shaped, elastic separator constructed of plastic materials. The plastic separator includes either cross machine struts that define open bottom recesses or it includes closed bottom recesses for receiving and accurately positioning and retaining the magnets circumferentially around its annular body. The separator applies an initial stress to the magnets to assure precise positioning. Radially directed projections on the body of the separator are shaped to fit into a groove defined in the interior of a motor housing, whereby the magnets carried by the separator are precisely located relative to the motor housing. The Separator-based magnet fixing means are particularly suitable for disk storage spindle applications.

Abstract: In a bearing assembly supporting the free end of a drive shaft, a carrier for enabling axial motion of the assembly to accommodate thermal expansion of the shaft during extended power-transmission operations has a meandering cross-section with a thin U-shaped central or middle section and a pair of thick-walled Z-shaped peripheral sections. The sections are annular and together define a central wide groove and a pair of flanking narrow grooves. The inner Z-shaped section is attached to the outer race of a bearing whose other race is rigid with the shaft, while the outer Z-shaped section is fastened to a housing. The thin walls of the central carrier section permits a limited axial movability of the bearing assembly, while the annular shapes of the carrier sections, in particular the thick sections, inhibit axial or transverse motion of the shaft.

Abstract: A mounting for a shaft of a tool rotating at high speed comprises a rotatably journaled tube with an axial bore of a diameter exceeding that of the tool shaft. The latter is held in that bore by resilient inserts, such as soft springs or O-rings, whose elasticity coefficient is so chosen that the shaft has a critical speed well below the operating speed of the tool. A locking device, preferably actuated automatically by a speed sensor, consolidates the shaft with the tube until the system surpasses the critical speed.

Abstract: A boring spindle unit with automatic tool liftoff, especially for the finish boring of a workpiece with an oxide-ceramic boring tool carried by the spindle shaft. The spindle shaft is journaled in at least two main bearings and at least a further bearing is disposed proximal to the main bearing at the tool end of the shaft. During the spindle retraction movement, the additional bearing takes up the journaling of the shaft and has an axis which is offset by a distance from the axis of the main bearings and in a direction opposite that from which the tool projects from the shaft so that the tool does not groove the workpiece during the retraction operation. While the main bearings are effected, the auxiliary bearing receives the shaft with radial play and, while the auxiliary bearing is effective, at least the main bearing proximal to the tool end receives the shaft with radial play.

Abstract: A hydrostatic journal bearing for a shaft of a heavy load, such as a metallurgical vessel, comprises an inner ring of spherical outer surface rigid with the shaft, a stationary base forming part of a housing, and a segmental shell resting on the base as a cradle for the ring. The upper shell surface has pockets for high-pressure oil, supporting the ring in operation, while the lower shell surface has similar pockets near its axially extending edges designed to maintain the shell curvature close to that of the ring. The shell may be split into two relatively axially shiftable coaxial subshells with further oil pockets at their interface.

Abstract: The combination of an axially loaded rolling bearing with an hydrostatic thrust bearing in a tandem arrangement. The hydrostatic thrust bearing bears against a housing by means of a piston action, and externally produced hydrostatic fluid is conducted from a piston chamber over a controlled flow-off channel.