Energy storing flywheel and bearing assembly

摘要

An energy-storing flywheel assembly is provided with a flywheel having a vertically-oriented axis of rotation, a shaft connected to the flywheel, and a cageless ball thrust bearing rotatably supporting a lower end of the shaft. The flywheel may be formed from a stack of flywheel discs and is preferably relatively large-radiused and massive. The ball thrust bearing includes a stator having a set of three free-floating bearing balls contained within a cylindrical stator recess; a rotor rotatably mounted over the stator which likewise contains a set of three free-floating bearing balls within a cylindrical stator recess, and a single, middle bearing ball centrally disposed between and in mutual engagement with the three bearing balls of the stator and the three bearing balls of the rotor. In operation, the relatively massive flywheel is rotated at a peripheral speed that approaches but does not exceed the speed of sound to avoid fluid drag and the danger of explosive shattering.

主权项

1. An energy-storing flywheel assembly, comprising:
a flywheel having a vertically-oriented axis of rotation, the flywheel being continuously solid at every point along its radius; a shaft assembly connected to the flywheel and having an axis of rotation that is collinear with the axis of rotation of the flywheel, a cageless ball thrust bearing rotatably supporting a lower end of the shaft, including
a stator having a cylindrical recess, and a set of three free-floating bearing balls contained within the stator recess;a rotor rotatably mounted over the stator, the rotor having a cylindrical recess that is coaxial with the stator cylindrical recess and which likewise contains a set of three free-floating bearing balls, anda single, middle bearing ball centrally disposed between and in mutual engagement with the three bearing balls of the stator and the three bearing balls of the rotor, wherein the diameter of the free-floating bearing balls is sufficiently smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical stator and rotor recesses that contain them such that the three bearing balls contained in both the stator and rotor cylindrical recesses do not contact one another when uniformly spaced 120° around their respective recesses, anda supply of lubricant in communication with one of the stator and rotor.