| 摘要 |
A bearing system (20) has a bearing axis initially coincident with a shaft axis (502) and an outer member axis (500). An inner bearing element (28) is associated with and coupled to the shaft (22). An outer bearing element (26) is associated with and coupled to the outer member (24). A first of the inner and outer bearing elements is coupled to its associated member via a coupling having a trunnion stiffness which, upon experiencing a trunnion moment above a threshold moment, releases from an initial stiffness to a reduced stiffness, less than the initial stiffness, entering a released condition and allowing the shaft axis (502) to locally rotate out of parallel with the outer member axis (500). This is achieved in one embodiment by shearing of a projection (36) received in a recess (46) allowing spherical surfaces (34, 42) to move over one another. <IMAGE> |
