Abstract A hydrostatic bearing is provided with a number of pockets in its bearing surface, said pockets being supplied with a pressure fluid which actually carries the load and lubricates the bearing surface. Each pocket may be supplied with fluid from its own pump, but a simplified piping arrangement will be obtained if a common supply pump is used. In that case, however, there is a risk that a possible occasional displacement between the bearing parts will bring about an unexpectedly large outflow at one or some of the pockets, which will endanger the function of the bearing. The invention proposes the use of a distributor acting as a metering unit and consisting of a number of interconnected displacement pumps driven by the fluid. A tendency to increased leakage at one pocket, thus, will not mean a correspondingly increased flow through the distributor at the pertaining metering unit as the other units will brake the units tending to run more freely.
A hydrostatic bearing comprising two bearing parts defining therebetween a bearing surface, a portion of said bearing surface forming part of a sphere, means defining a plurality of pockets in one of said parts opening into said bearing surface, said pockets consisting of one which is centrally disposed in the bearing surface and at least two which are kidney shaped and arranged along an annulus concentrically enclosing said centrally located pocket in the spherical portion of the bearing surface, means for supplying a pressure fluid to said pockets including a supply pump and distributor means for maintaining a predetermined relationship between the fluid quantities supplied to the individual pockets, said distributing device comprising one displacement pump for each of said kidney-shaped pockets, said displacement pumps being interconnected by means of a common shaft and disposed in a supply conduit from the supply pump.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
143 words
A hydrostatic bearing comprising two bearing parts defining therebetween a bearing surface, a portion of said bearing surface forming part of a sphere, means defining a plurality of pockets in one of said parts opening into said bearing surface, said pockets consisting of one which is centrally disposed in the bearing surface and at least two which are kidney shaped and arranged along an annulus concentrically enclosing said centrally located pocket in the spherical portion of the bearing surface, means for supplying a pressure fluid to said pockets including a supply pump and distributor means for maintaining a predetermined relationship between the fluid quantities supplied to the individual pockets, said distributing device comprising one displacement pump for each of said kidney-shaped pockets, said displacement pumps being interconnected by means of a common shaft and disposed in a supply conduit from the supply pump.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A hydrostatic bearing as claimed in claim 1 wherein the central pocket is connected to a conduit leading from one of the metering pumps to one of the kidney-shaped pockets.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
A hydrostatic bearing as claimed in claim 1 including a separate metering pump connected to the centrally located pocket which has a greater capacity than the metering pumps connected to the kidney-shaped outer pockets.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The hydrostatic bearing according to claim 1, in which the metering units are designed as gear pumps.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The hydrostatic bearing according to claim 1, in which a throttling member is fitted into the conduit leading to the centrally located pocket.