ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,259,002, issued on March 25.
"Thrust air bearing" was invented by Koji Sakota (Tokyo).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A thrust air bearing includes a plurality of foil units arranged in a circle. Each foil unit includes a top foil portion, and a bump foil portion integrally provided with the top foil portion and disposed opposite the top foil portion in a circumferential direction forming the circle. The foil unit is disposed such that the top foil portion lies on top of the bump foil portion of another adjacent foil unit."
The patent was filed on April 28, 2023, under Application No. 18/308,677.
*For further information, including imag...