Abstract: A rotary motion driving apparatus includes a gas bearing assembly for supporting a rotatable shaft and is usable in any ambience such as a vacuum ambience. The rotatable shaft has two flange-like collar portions formed on the opposite ends of the rotatable shaft. The collars are used as the members to be supported by the gas bearing assembly with respect to the thrust direction. A driving motor has a rotor and a stator, the rotor being fixed to one of the collars of the rotatable shaft and the stator being fixed to the gas bearing assembly. The other collar of the rotatable shaft functions as an output end of the rotary drive produced by the motor. Around such drive outputting collar of the rotatable shaft, a sealing plate having a plurality of grooves or recesses is provided. The sealing plate is maintained out of contact with the collar, and suitable vacuum is supplied to the grooves of the sealing plate.

Abstract: An automatic lubricant metering device consists essentially of a housing (4), from inside of which a piston (5) is conveying a lubricant (15) through a feeder line (12) to the lubricating location (2) of a revolving shaft (1). The automatic feature consists of that the spring-loaded piston (5) is connected with a pin (6) made of an abradable material. The advance of the piston (5) is a function of the abrasion of the pin (6) on the appropriately roughened surface of the shaft. The lubricant is contained in a compressible bellows (11) equipped with a feeder line (12) to the lubricating location (2). The feed to the lubricating location is conducted in the area of the shaft through a pipe (13) located preferably without contact in a center bore (14) of the shaft. The outlet of this pipe opens into a radial bore (16) connected with the lubricating location (16).

Abstract: A static pressure bearing device for relatively supporting, in an ambience, an object for relative movement, comprising a fluid supplying portion for supplying a fluid to at least a portion of a surface of the object, and a suction pump for drawing the fluid supplied to the portion of the surface of the object by the fluid supplying portion, so as to substantially prevent leakage of the fluid into the ambience.

Abstract: A self-cleaning and self-lubricating fluid flowmeter comprising a tubular body forming an internal flow passage with a bearing support hub immovably positioned therein and forming a bearing receptacle. A rotor shaft extends into the bearing receptacle and supports a turbine rotor, the rotor shaft being supported by bearings located within the bearing receptacle. An increased pressure region is defined between the upstream and downstream ends of the bearing support hub, a slightly decreased pressure region is developed within the flow passage immediately downstream of the bearing support hub and is communicated into a cleaning and lubricating flow path extending from the slightly decreased pressure region upstream through the bearings, reversing and extending downstream to its terminal position at a greatly decreased pressure region further downstream of the bearing support hub.

Abstract: A bearing assembly for sealing the relatively rotatable adjoining portions of a pressurized environmental control suit for human use utilizes a pair of rotatable bearing members with an annular sealing member having a body portion and a lip portion extending from the body portion at an angle thereto. The lip portion includes an outer end portion of relatively thin cross section and a thicker portion disposed adjacent the body portion. The relatively thin outer end portion deflects in contact with the opposed surface and extends therealong to provide a seal therewith with relatively little friction. Upon conditions for extreme pressure differential, the thicker portion of the lip will be deflected to increase the amount of lip length bearing upon the surface of the opposed member to increase the sealing action.

Abstract: The thrust bearing for the shaft of a boiler feed pump in a nuclear reactor plant is cooled by a first stream of lubricant which is drawn from a sump by an impeller receiving motion from the shaft. The first stream constitutes one branch of a larger second stream which flows from the discharge end of the impeller. A third stream constituting another branch of the second stream is sprayed against and is cooled by the housing of the feed pump. The first and third streams are caused to reenter the sump by gravity flow. The exterior of the housing is provided with heat dissipating ribs.

Abstract: A tapered roller bearing has a rib ring against which the large ends of the tapered rollers for the bearing bear to prevent those rollers from being expelled from the annular space between the tapered raceways. The rib ring includes a porous, yet rigid, core and a jacket which covers the exposed surfaces of the core, except along an abutment face at which the large end faces of the rollers contact the rib ring. Here the pores of the core are exposed. The core at one of its other faces has a groove and the jacket has a port that opens into the groove. Pressurized oil is directed through the port and into the groove, from which it flows through the pores of the core and emerges at the abutment surface where it reduces friction between the abutment surface and the roller end faces.

Abstract: An oil transfer tube for a gas turbine engine lubrication system is fabricated with radial and axial passageways so that it permits oil to feed the bearing's fluid damper and distributes oil to the bearing itself. The transfer tube is easily removable without disrupting the adjacent assemblies.

Abstract: This invention relates to a self-priming screw pump lubrication system. The system 10 includes a central feed tube which communicates at one end with lubricant in a reservoir or sump and at the other end to the central region of an assembly that includes a horizontally disposed rotating shaft. The shaft having thereon threaded portions of opposite pitch mounted within a pair of mating sleeves which sleeves are biased away from each other at the central region of the assembly. The other ends of the sleeves are in abutting relationship with the outer races of a pair of angular contact bearings to be lubricated. Each of the inner races of the bearings are mounted on the rotary shaft. Lubricant slingers are mounted on the rotating shaft at a point remote from the bearings and cooperate with the lubricant that has been drawn upward through the central feed tube and delivered to and past the bearings, whereupon the slingers propel the lubricant back to the reservoir for reuse.