US 12,227,271 B1
Deceleration of gyroscopic boat roll stabilizer
Grady F. Smith, Greenville, NC (US); and Jon Benavides, Sterling Heights, MI (US)
Assigned to WAVETAMER LLC, Greenville, NC (US)
Filed by WaveTamer LLC, Greenville, NC (US)
Filed on Feb. 14, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/441,737.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/537,647, filed on Sep. 11, 2023.
Int. Cl. B63B 39/04 (2006.01)
CPC B63B 39/04 (2013.01) [Y10T 74/12 (2015.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A gyroscopic roll stabilizer for a boat, the gyroscopic stabilizer comprising:
an enclosure mounted to a gimbal for rotation about a gimbal axis and configured to maintain a below-ambient pressure;
a flywheel assembly including a flywheel and flywheel shaft rotatably mounted in the enclosure;
at least one bearing supporting the flywheel assembly in the enclosure, the bearing including an inner race that rotates with the flywheel shaft and an outer race that is stationary relative to the enclosure;
a motor operative to rotate the flywheel assembly;
a brake configured to decelerate the flywheel assembly from a normal operating speed to a stop in 2.5 hours or less after power to the motor is turned off;
a bearing cooling system for dissipating heat from both the inner and outer races of the bearing while the flywheel assembly is decelerating, the bearing cooling system being configured to maintain a temperature differential between the inner and outer races below a threshold to prevent damage to the bearings.