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US4320929A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Sealed bearing system for hydraulically operated devices

Assignee: CLARK AND ALBERT S GOLDSTEIN (JOINT)
•
Filing: 1980-08-20
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Granted: 1982-03-23
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Expires: 2000-08-20
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Abstract

Abstract A sealed bearing system for rotatably journaling a shaft relative to a surrounding housing by means of bearing assemblies each comprising a pocket secured to the housing and a bearing support secured to the shaft, the bearing support extending into the pocket with bearings interposed between the bearing support and the walls of the pocket; a lubricant is sealed in the pocket by sealing rings extending between the bearing support and the walls of the pocket; the bearing assemblies are provided in opposing pairs with flow restrictor means lying between the bearing assemblies, thereby forming a system which permits fluid flow between the shaft and the housing but which seals the bearings from infiltration of the fluid irrespective of pressure variation in the flowing fluid.

Inventors

  • 👤 Wallace Clark
  • 👤 Albert S. Goldstein, Jr.

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-07 18:49
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16C; F16C19/00; F16C19/49; E; E21; E21B; E21B4/00; E21B4/003; F16C33/00; F16C33/72; F16C33/76; F16C2352/00

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim 109 words
A sealed bearing assembly for rotatably journaling a shaft relative to a concentric housing surrounding said shaft, comprising an annular pocket secured to said housing, said pocket having a bottom wall and opposing side walls, bearing means in said pocket, an annular bearing support in said pocket positioned to maintain said bearing means in contact with the walls of said pocket, attachment means securing said bearing support to said shaft, and sealing means interposed between said bearing support and the opposing side walls of said pocket, whereby said housing and said shaft are rotatably mounted relative to each other and a bearing lubricant may be sealed in said pocket.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 109 words
A sealed bearing assembly for rotatably journaling a shaft relative to a concentric housing surrounding said shaft, comprising an annular pocket secured to said housing, said pocket having a bottom wall and opposing side walls, bearing means in said pocket, an annular bearing support in said pocket positioned to maintain said bearing means in contact with the walls of said pocket, attachment means securing said bearing support to said shaft, and sealing means interposed between said bearing support and the opposing side walls of said pocket, whereby said housing and said shaft are rotatably mounted relative to each other and a bearing lubricant may be sealed in said pocket.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 27 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 1 wherein said sealing means comprises sets of spaced apart sealing rings contacting each of the opposing walls of said pocket.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 15 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 2 wherein said sealing means comprises Teflon sealing rings.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 26 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 1 wherein said attachment means comprises a key mounted on said bearing support engagable with a keyway on said shaft.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 28 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 4 wherein said key is spring biased into engagement with said keyway and is displaced to release said key from said keyway.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 37 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 5 wherein said key and said keyway are configured to provide cam surfaces acting to displace the key from the keyway as the shaft is displaced axially relative to the housing.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 22 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 1 wherein said bearing means comprises ball bearings seated on the bottom wall of said pocket.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 46 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 7 wherein the bottom wall of said pocket is configured to define an annular groove in which said ball bearings are seated, said bearing support having a coacting annular groove in contact with the opposite sides of said ball bearings.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 35 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 8 including roller bearings interposed between a side wall of said pocket and said bearing support, said bearing support having a cylindrical surface in contact with said roller bearings.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 25 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 1 including a grease fitting in said housing in communication with said pocket for introducing lubricant into the pocket.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 51 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 10 wherein a spaced apart pair of grease fittings communicate with the pocket, whereby a vacuum may be drawn on the pocket through one of said fittings and lubricant under pressure introduced under pressure through the other fitting to fully load the pocket with lubricant.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 41 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 1 in combination with a second bearing assembly of like construction, said bearing assemblies lying toward the opposite ends of said housing and shaft, and flow restrictor means surrounding said shaft between said bearing assemblies.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 50 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 12 wherein said housing and shaft each has a fixed seat at one end thereof and an adjustable seat at is opposite end, whereby the bearing assemblies and said flow restrictor means are stacked in said housing and on said shaft between said seats.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 26 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 13 wherein the bearing assemblies are positioned with the bottoms of the pockets toward the adjacent ends of the housing.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 21 words
The bearing assembly claimed in claim 14 including spacer means in association with said bearing assemblies and said flow restrictor means.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3449030A Cited
US3894818A Cited
US4079672A Cited
US4269460A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1985-03-22 1985-09-21 1986-03-23 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1989-03-22 1989-09-21 1990-03-23 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1993-03-22 1993-09-21 1994-03-23 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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