Appeal No. 1997-0287
Application 08/263,034
a compressor rotor in said compressor housing;
a shaft mounting said turboexpander rotor and said
compressor rotor;
active magnetic thrust bearings positioned about
said shaft between said turboexpander rotor and said
compressor rotor;
a discontinuity on said shaft for measuring axial
displacement of the shaft;
a proximity sensor adjacent said discontinuity to
locate said discontinuity axially relative to said active
magnetic thrust bearings;
a control passage extending from a low-pressure zone
in said axial inlet to a high-pressure zone between said
compressor housing and the back of said compressor rotor;
a control valve in said control passage; and
a controller coupled with said proximity sensor and
said control valve and responsive to the axial position
of the turboexpander shaft as detected by said proximity
sensor to regulate said control valve.
The Examiner relies on the following prior art:
Swearingen (Swearingen '689) 3,895,689 July 22,
1975
Swearingen (Swearingen '768) 4,385,768 May 31,
1983
Andres et al. (Andres) 5,310,311 May 10, 1994
Miura et al. (Miura) 5,312,226 May 17, 1994
New 5,345,127 September 6, 1994
(filed July 14,
1993)
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