Bearing arrangement

• US 20100098359A1
• Filed: 08/11/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Gibbons, John L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,021,050 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 384/103
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 27/02 Sliding-contact bearings

Abstract

A bearing arrangement comprising first and second components (2, 3) located for relative operational movement by a respective bearing (4), the bearing having a bearing element (5) comprising a pack of resiliently flexible bristles or leaves for transmitting force between the components thereby locally to provide a relative kinematic constraint on at least one degree of freedom of the components during said relative operational movement.

Claims

1. A bearing arrangement comprising first and second components located for relative operational movement by a respective bearing, the bearing having a bearing element comprising a pack of resiliently flexible bristles or leaves which extend from and are bonded to a support ring fixedly mounted to one of the components, and angled such that substantially only the tips of the bristles or leaves are in direct contact with the other of the components, the bristles or leaves configured for transmitting force between the components thereby locally to provide a relative kinematic constraint on at least one degree of freedom of the components during said relative operational movement.

2. A bearing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the bristles or leaves are pre-flexed against the components thereby to provide a positive kinematic constraint.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the bristles or leaves are formed from polymer, metal or ceramic.

4. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the bearing element is a segmented bearing element comprising a plurality of said packs of resiliently flexible bristles or leaves.

5. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first component is a rotatable shaft, the second component is a support structure for the shaft and the bearing element is in the form of an annular collar formed from said one or more packs of resiliently flexible bristles or leaves for transmitting a shaft load to the support structure.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of said flexible bristles or leaves extend radially for transmitting a radial shaft bearing load to the support structure.

7. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of said flexible bristles or leaves extend axially for transmitting an axial shaft bearing load to the support structure.

8. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the bristles or leaves are inclined at an acute lay-angle to the radius of the shaft.

9. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the bristles or leaves are inclined at an acute lay angle to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

10. An arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the bristles or leaves are fixedly attached at one end to the shaft.

11. An arrangement according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of bearings locating the components, one or more of the bearings being in accordance with claim 1.

12. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first and second components form a ball joint.

13. A method of operating a bearing arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the shaft is rotated at low-speed.