Aerostatic Thrust Bearing for Scroll Compressor Load Support

The patent applies aerostatic bearing technology by introducing pressurized gas between the orbiting scroll member and the fixed supporting member. This creates a gas film that separates the moving and stationary surfaces, eliminating direct contact and thus reducing frictional losses while maintaining precise positioning through controlled gas pressure distribution.

The patent replaces the traditional mechanical contact bearing system with a non-contact aerostatic bearing system. Instead of relying on physical contact between bearing surfaces, the invention uses a layer of pressurized gas to provide support, thereby substituting mechanical friction with pneumatic support that achieves both low energy loss and high positioning reliability.

The gas distributing structure serves multiple functions: it distributes pressurized gas uniformly across the bearing surface, dampens thrust load variations, and maintains the gas film pressure necessary for non-contact support. By integrating these functions into a single component, the patent reduces overall device complexity while achieving reliable thrust load support.

The aerostatic thrust bearing system is self-regulating in that the pressurized gas automatically adjusts to thrust load variations. When thrust load increases, the gas film pressure increases accordingly, and when thrust load decreases, the gas film pressure reduces, providing automatic adaptation without external control mechanisms.