Fluid bearing

Claim 1

A FLUID BEARING SUPPLIED WITH PRESSURIZED FLUID COMPRISING A ROTOR AND A STATOR ADAPTED TO ROTATE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER ABOUT AN AXIS, SAID ROTOR AND STATOR EACH HAVING A PAIR OF CONICAL SURFACES CONCENTRIC WITH SAID AXIS, SAID CONICAL SURFACES GENERALLY COINCIDING WITH A PAIR OF CONES HAVING THEIR APEXES MEETING AT A POINT ON SAID AXIS, EACH SAID CONICAL SURFACE OF SAID ROTOR CLOSELY SPACED FROM A CONICAL SURFACE OF SAID STATOR FOR FORMING TWO PAIRS OF MATING CONCIAL SURFACES WHEREBY FLUID BETWEEN THE MATING SURFACES SUPPORTS THE ROTOR ON THE STATOR, EACH PAIR OF MATING SURFACES HAVING LONGITUDINAL EXTERMITIES OF UNEQUAL DIAMETERS, MEANS FOR FEEDING THE PRESSURIZED FLUID TO A LOCATION BETWEEN SAID ROTOR AND STATOR BEYOND ONE OF EXTREMITY FOR FLOWING BETWEEN SAID SURFACES, A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERNTIALLY SPACED DEPRESSIONS IN AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SURFACES OF EACH PAIR OF MATING SURFACES LOCATED BETWEEN SAID LOGITUDINAL EXTREMITIES FORMING INDIVIDUAL PRESSURE PAD AREAS WITH A LARGER SPACE BETWEEN THE SURFACES AT THE DEPRESSIONS THAN AT THE SAID EXTREMITIES AND BETWEEN SAID DEPRESSIONS, THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID SURFACES AT SAID EXTERMITIES FORMING ORIFICES, AND SAID ORIFICES BEING RELATED IN CROSS-SECTONAL AREAS FOR PRODUCING RELATIVELY EQUAL FLUID PRESSURE DROPS ACROSS EACH ORIFICE.