Aerostatic Bearing Restrictor Layout for Oblique Gas Ejection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aerostatic bearings face challenges in miniaturization and precision manufacturing of restrictors due to limitations in tool diameter, and difficulty in forming oblique restrictors for non-contact movement of supported objects.
Innovation Solution
A gas restriction structure that ejects gas obliquely from a pocket hole part, with overlapping and axis-displaced gas flow and pocket hole parts, reducing the restrictor area and allowing non-contact support and movement of objects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the restrictor area is reduced to improve rigidity and reduce flow rate, then manufacturing precision deteriorates due to limits in tool diameter for hole drilling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional hole drilling method with laser processing to form the restrictor. This substitution allows for the formation of extremely small restrictors with precise dimensions that cannot be achieved through mechanical drilling, thereby enabling reduced restrictor area for improved rigidity without compromising manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the manufacturing method from mechanical drilling to laser processing, which enables precise control of restrictor dimensions at microscopic scales. This parameter change in the manufacturing process allows for the formation of restrictors with areas that are too small to be manufactured by conventional tools
2Adaptability or versatility
If the restrictor is formed obliquely to enable object movement along the bearing surface, then manufacturing precision deteriorates due to difficulty in maintaining micron-scale precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses laser processing instead of mechanical drilling to form oblique restrictors. The laser method enables precise control of the restrictor angle and position without the complexity and precision limitations of oblique mechanical drilling, thereby achieving both oblique configuration for movement capability and high manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetric restrictor configurations with specific tilt angles relative to the bearing surface. This asymmetry enables the gas jet to have both vertical support component and horizontal movement component, allowing the supported object to move along the bearing surface while maintaining precise control through laser fabrication
3Quantity of substance
If the restrictor area is reduced to decrease flow rate, then the required flow rate decreases but the manufacturing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical drilling with laser processing, which simplifies the manufacturing of extremely small restrictors. The laser method can directly form tiny restrictors with precise dimensions in a single process without the need for specialized small-diameter tools, thereby making the manufacturing of reduced-area restrictors easier despite their small size
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The structure enables reduced restrictor area, decreased air flow rate, and enhanced rigidity, supporting objects in a non-contact state while allowing movement along the bearing surface.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure of a gas (gas membrane) filling the entirety of the bearing gap to increase when the bearing gap reduces and allows a pressure of the gas membrane in the bearing gap to decrease when the bearing gap widens
Implementation Method 2
an orifice-type restrictor using an orifice is conventionally known... configured such that a gas entering from an inlet passage is once restricted at an orifice
Implementation Method 3
an aerostatic bearing for supporting an object to be supported by means of a pressure of a pressurized fluid introduced from the outside into the inside of the bearing
Implementation Method 4
a pressure of the gas (gas membrane) filling the entirety of the bearing gap
Data Source
AI summary
Proposed are a gas restriction structure constituting an aerostatic bearing configured to eject a gas obliquely from an ejection port end of a pocket hole part, while reducing an area of the restrictor, and an aerostatic bearing. A gas restriction structure used for an aerostatic bearing made of a single base material and configured to eject a compressed air for supporting a collar in a non-contact state may include a gas flow passage part communicating with a gas supply source for supplying the compressed air. The structure may also include a pocket hole part in which an ejection port end configured to communicate with an outlet end of the gas flow passage part faces the collar. A part of the pocket hole part and a part of the gas flow passage part overlap with each other as seen from an ejection port end side of the pocket hole part.