US PATENT CLASS 384
Class Notes
Current as of: June, 1999
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DEFINITION
Classification: 384/
GENERAL STATEMENT OF CLASS SUBJECT MATTER
This class is the generic class for devices, known as bearings, designed for general use, where one element continuously bears the weight of another, either suspended therefrom, or imposed thereon, and wherein there is either linear motion (e.g., a cross head) rotary motion (e.g., of a shaft or axle), or oscillating movement, (e.g., a lever) between the two elements. The bearings may have either sliding, or rolling contact with the supported member.
The class includes (a) supports for bearings where such supports are specially formed to receive, and are placed in combination with, bearings, and when not limited to any classified art; (b) antifriction means, as balls, or rollers, designed to receive a rotating shaft, or to be used in connection with a pivoted, sliding, or rotary element; and (c) lubricating devices wherein any of the above bearings are modified for receiving and supplying lubricant.
This class including methods pertaining to bearings, when not otherwise provided for.
(1) Note. Patents issued prior to 1950 have not in all instances been classified by their claimed disclosure so that placement of these older patents does not necessarily indicate lines of classification.
(2) Note. Necessary but not particularly sufficient criteria for inclusion in this class are that the "bearing" (1) have at least two moving parts that slide or roll against one another and (2) should be intended to reduce friction between significantly more massive elements than the bearing itself.
LINES WITH OTHER CLASSES
Where the bearing forms but an element of a structure, and the claims are not limited to the bearing, or bearing support structure, see the appropriate art class. Claimed compositions of matter even though particularly adapted for use as bearings, or composition, per se, claimed either alone, or with other claims to a bearing element, are classified in the appropriate composition class and cross-referenced here. Also where a product is claimed as a stock material, that is, without sufficient structure in the claims to limit the product to bearing use, it is classified elsewhere.
Many objects, such as, auto wheels, conveyor rollers or etc., theoretically meet the criteria in set forth in the Class Definition, General Statement of the Class Subject Matter, in the (2) Note, under (1), but are nonetheless not bearings as commonly understood and as such are not classified in this class, see search class for placement.
REFERENCES TO OTHER CLASSES
SEE OR SEARCH CLASS
16, Miscellaneous Hardware,
18+, for casters, 45+ for wheels and wheel attaching devices, 86.1+ for door, or gate hangers and 128+ for hinges.
29, Metal Working,
898+, for processes of making bearings.
75, Specialized Metallurgical Processes, Compositions for Use Therein, Consolidated Metal Powder Compositions, and Loose Metal Particulate Mixtures,
122+, for alloys.
82, Turning,
30, for bearing used in connection with lathe head stocks. 84, Music,
228, for pedal bearings.
104, Railways,
46, for turntable bearings.
105, Railway Rolling Stock,
79, for inside drive boses for locomotives.
114, Ships,
169, for post bearings.
152, Resilient Tires and Wheels, appropriate subclasses for wheels and bearings.
175, Boring or Penetrating the Earth, appropriate subclasses for apparatus which includes bearings, or guides.
184, Lubrication, for lubrication devices separable from, or not a part of, the bearing, or not including any modified structure of the bearing. 267, Spring Devices,
260+, for an end connection for a vehicle leaf spring in the form of a rotary bearing.
295, Railway Wheels and Axle, appropriate subclasses for wheels and bearings.
301, Land Vehicles: Wheels and Axles, appropriate subclasses for wheels and bearings.
324, Electricity: Measuring and Testing,
155, and electric meter bearings.
368, Horology: Time Measuring Systems, or Devices,
324, for bearings for clocks and watches.
400, Typewriting Machines,
354+, for guideway, or bearings for carriage and subclasses 441+ for bearings for type bar pivot support.
403, Joints and Connections,
52+, for articulated joints. 428, Stock Material or Miscellaneous Articles, for a product claimed as a stock material, that is, without sufficient structure in the claims to limit the product to bearing use.
464, Rotary Shaft, Gudgeons, Housing, and Flexible Couplings for Rotary Shafts, appropriate subclasses for shafting, or shaft casings.
508, Solid Antifriction Devices, Materials Therefor, Lubricant and Separant Compositions for Moving Solid Surfaces, and Miscellaneous Mineral Oil Compositions, for subject matter as explained in the class title.