Lubricated hub and bearing assembly for a rotary wing aircraft

Claim 1

A TEETERING ROTOR HUB ASSEMBLY FOR A ROTARY WING AIRCRAFT, COMPRISING A SPINDLE ADAPTED TO BE ROTATED ABOUT A SPIN AXIS AND BEING EQUIPPED WITH A HOLLOW JOURNAL PROVIDED WITH AN OUTER END PORTION HAVING BEARING STRUCTURE MOUNTED THEREALONG AND DEFINING A TEETERING AXIS EXTENDING GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY OF SUCH SPIN AXIS, A PIVOT ELEMENT CIRCUMJACENT AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID JOURNAL AND DEFINING THEREWITH A CHAMBER ABOUT SAID BEARING STRUCTURE FOR RECEIVING A BODY OF LUBRICANT THEREIN, A SEAL STRUCTURE SEALINGLY ENGAGING SAID JOURNAL AND PIVOT ELEMENTS AND ACCOMMODATING RELATIVE ANGULAR MOVEMENTS THEREBETWEEN ABOUT SUCH TEETERING AXIS AND DEFINING AN INNER END CLOSURE FOR SAID CHAMBER, CLOSURE STRUCTURE SEALINGLY CLOSING THE OUTER END PORTION OF SAID CHAMBER AND BEING LOCATED AND POSITIONED SO THAT SUBSTANTIALLY NO RELATIVE ANGULAR MOVEMENT OCCURS BETWEEN THE CHAMBER-SEALING SURFACES THEREOF AND CONTINGUOUS SURFACES OF EITHER SAID JOURNAL OR PIVOT ELEMENT, SAID CLOSURE STRUCTURE INCLUDING A PAIR OF RELATIVELY RIGID COMPONENTS ONE OF WHICH IS PROVIDED BY SAID PIVOT ELEMENT ADJACENT THE OUTER END OF SAID