Bearing assembly

Claim 2

An automatically repositionable bearing assembly for use with a frame and a shaft comprising: bearing means with which the shaft can move relative to the frame; and means for repositionably mounting said bearing means relative to the frame; said mounting means comprising a spring means and a friction surface means, said spring means urging said friction surface means to frictionally hold said bearing means in a first position relative to the frame, allowing said bearing means to move radially to a second position relative to the frame in response to a pre-determined force and frictionally holding said bearing means in said second position when repositioned thereto.

Claim 3

An assembly as in claim 1 wherein said bearing means comprises a plurality of rollers.

Claim 4

An assembly as in claim 1 wherein said spring means is coaxially mounted relative to the shaft.

Claim 5

An assembly as in claim 1 wherein said friction surface means comprises a first surface in a relatively fixed position relative to said frame means.

Claim 6

An assembly as in claim 4 wherein said first surface is relatively perpendicular to the center axis of the shaft.

Claim 7

An assembly as in claim 4 wherein said friction surface means comprises a thrust plate having said bearing means, at least partially, positioned between said first surface and said thrust plate.

Claim 8

An assembly as in claim 6 wherein said spring means compresses said thrust plate against said bearing means such that said bearing means is frictionally and compressably held between said first surface and said thrust plate.

Claim 9

An assembly as in claim 7 wherein said spring means is compressed between said thrust plate and a cover means connected to the frame.

Claim 10

An assembly as in claim 7 further comprising a second spring means located between the frame and said bearing means.

Claim 11

An assembly as in claim 7 wherein said spring means supplies a force of about 1000 pounds.

Claim 12

An assembly as in claim 1 wherein the bearing assembly is for use with a shaft in a gas turbine engine.

Claim 13

A self-aligning bearing assembly for use with a frame and a movable member comprising: bearing means connected to the frame and the movable member; and means for automatically adjusting the position of said bearing means relative to the frame in response to a predetermined force, said adjusting means comprising means for frictionally holding said bearing means, said holding means having a spring means and a friction surface means, said spring means urging at least a portion of said friction surface means to contact said bearing means and frictionally, but adjustably hold said bearing means whereby said bearing means can radially move relative to the frame in response to the predetermined force from a first position to a second position and said holding means can hold said bearing means at said second position until adjusted again by said adjusting means and the predetermined force.

Claim 14

A self-aligning bearing assembly for use with a frame and a movable member comprising: bearing means connected to the frame and the movable member; and means for automatically adjusting the position of said bearing means relative to the frame in response to a predetermined force, said adjusting means comprising means for frictionally holding said bearing means, said holding means having a spring means and a friction surface means, said spring means urging at least a portion of said friction surface means to contact said bearing means and frictionally, but adjustably hold said bearing means whereby said bearing means can radially move relative to the frame in response to the predetermined force from a first position to a second position and said holding means can hold said bearing means at said second position until adjusted again by said adjusting means and the predetermined force.

Claim 15

An assembly as in claim 12 wherein said adjusting means allows said movable member to self-align without affecting the critical speed of the movable member.

Claim 16

An assembly as in claim 12 wherein said adjusting means allows said movable member to self-align and allows the critical speed of the movable member to increase.

Claim 19

A method as in claim 15 wherein said friction means comprises a first surface member being relatively fixed to said frame means and a second surface member with said bearing means therebetween.

Claim 20

A method as in claim 16 wherein said spring means compressably forces said second surface member to frictionally hold said bearing means between said first and second surface members.