Ribbon cage and roller assembly and method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10107334-B2
Application number	US-201615357104-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2016
Priority date	Nov 21, 2016
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

A roller bearing cage, including: an axis of rotation; a body including a plurality of bars, each bar having a length, in a first axial direction parallel to the axis of rotation, a height, in a radial direction orthogonal to the axis of rotation, less than the length and a width, in a circumferential direction, less than the height; and a plurality of spaces, each space circumferentially disposed between a respective pair of circumferentially adjacent bars and arranged to receive a respective roller.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A roller bearing cage, comprising:
an axis of rotation;
a body including a plurality of bars, each bar having:
a length, in a first axial direction parallel to the axis of rotation;
a height, in a radial direction orthogonal to the axis of rotation, less than the length; and,
a width, in a circumferential direction, less than the height; and,

a plurality of spaces, each space:
circumferentially disposed between a respective pair of circumferentially adjacent bars; and,
arranged to receive a respective roller, wherein the body includes a first axial end and a second axial end, the roller bearing cage further comprising:
a first end plate fixedly secured to the first axial end and including:
a ring-shaped body; and,
a plurality of retention tabs extending in the first axial direction from the ring-shaped body; and,

a second end plate fixedly secured to the second axial end and including:
a ring-shaped body; and,
a plurality of retention tabs extending in the second axial direction from the ring-shaped body of the second end plate.

2. The roller bearing cage of claim 1 , wherein the height is at least 1.5 times greater than the width.

3. The roller bearing cage of claim 1 , wherein:
said each bar includes a first axial end and a second opposite axial end;
the body includes a plurality of end panels, each end panel directly connected to:
the first axial ends for a respective pair of circumferentially adjacent bars; or,
the second axial ends for a respective pair of circumferentially adjacent bars;

said each end panel has the height in the radial direction and a dimension, in the first axial direction, equal to the width; and,
the first axial end of said each bar is directly connected to only one end panel.

4. The roller bearing cage of claim 1 , wherein:
a first bar has a first side and a second side facing in a first circumferential direction and in a second circumferential direction, respectively; and,
a line orthogonal to the axis of rotation passes through the first bar and is equidistant from the first side and the second side.

5. The roller bearing cage of claim 1 , wherein:
a line parallel to the axis of rotation passes through a retention tab for the first end plate and a retention tab for the second end plate; and,
the retention tab for the first end plate and the retention tab for the second end plate are separated by a distance in the first axial direction.

6. The roller bearing cage of claim 1 , wherein:
a first line orthogonal to the axis of rotation passes from the axis of rotation through a first bar to a retention tab for the first end plate;
a second line orthogonal to the axis of rotation passes from the axis of rotation through a second bar to a retention tab for the second end plate; and,
each retention tab for the first axial end plate or for the second axial end plate overlaps a respective bar in the circumferential direction.

7. The roller bearing cage of claim 1 , wherein circumferentially adjacent retention tabs for the first end plate are separated from each other, in the circumferential direction, by a space.

8. The roller bearing cage of claim 1 , wherein:
the first end plate is fixedly secured to a first axial end of the body and includes a plurality of pocket tabs;
the second end plate is fixedly secured to a second axial end of the body and includes a plurality of pocket tabs; and,
a pocket tab for the first end plate is in contact with:
first and second circumferentially adjacent bars; and,
an end panel connecting the first and second circumferentially adjacent bars.

9. The roller bearing cage of claim 8 , wherein a line, parallel to the axis of rotation, passes through a pocket tab for the first end plate without passing through a pocket tab for the second end plate.

10. A roller bearing assembly, comprising:
an axis of rotation;
a cage including:
a body including:
a plurality of bars; and,
a plurality of end panels, each end panel directly connected to a respective pair of bars adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction; and,

a plurality of rollers, each roller in the plurality of rollers:
including an axis of rotation; and,
disposed, in the circumferential direction, between a respective pair of bars,
wherein a line, co-linear with the axis of rotation of a roller included in the plurality of rollers, passes through only one single end panel; and
wherein:
the body includes a first axial end and a second axial end; and,
the cage includes:
 a first end plate fixedly secured to the first axial end and including a plurality of retention tabs overlapping the plurality of rollers in a radial direction orthogonal to the axis of rotation for the roller bearing assembly; and,
 a second end plate fixedly secured to the second axial end and including a plurality of retention tabs overlapping the plurality of rollers in the radial direction; or,

wherein a first roller is off-set, in an axial direction, parallel to the axis of rotation for the roller bearing assembly, from a second roller; or,
wherein:
the cage includes a first end plate with a first plurality of pocket tabs and a second end plate with a second plurality of pocket tabs;
each pocket tab in the first plurality of pocket tabs includes a first side and a second side in contact with a first bar and a second bar, respectively, the first bar and the second bar adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction;
each pocket tab in the second plurality of pocket tabs includes a first side and a second side in contact with a third bar and a fourth bar, respectively, adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction; and,
a line, co-linear with the axis of rotation for a roller, passes through a pocket tab for one of the first end plate or the second end plate without passing through a pocket tab for the other of the first end plate or the second end plate.

11. The roller bearing assembly of claim 10 , wherein each bar includes:
a length in an axial direction parallel to the axis of rotation for the roller bearing assembly;
a height, less than the length, in a radial direction orthogonal to the axis of rotation for the roller bearing assembly; and,
a width, in the circumferential direction, less than the height.

12. The roller bearing assembly of claim 10 , wherein the cage includes the first end plate and the second end plate, the roller bearing assembly further comprising:
a circumferential space between first and second circumferentially adjacent end panels, wherein:
the first end plate contacts the first and second circumferentially adjacent end panels and blocks the circumferential space in an axial direction parallel to the axis or rotation for the roller bearing assembly; and,
a roller is axially located between the first end plate and a third end panel.

13. A method of fabricating a roller bearing cage, comprising:
bending a strip of metal to form a plurality of bars and a plurality of end panels, the strip of metal having:
first and second oppositely facing sides, each of the first and second sides including a length in a first direction and a width, less than the length, in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; and,
a thickness, less than the width, in a third direction, orthogonal to the first and second directions, between the first and second oppositely facing sides;

forming the strip of metal about an axis of rotation;
forming a first end plate having a plurality of retention tabs and a plurality of pocket tabs;
forming a second end plate having a plurality of retention tabs and a plurali

Assignees

• Schaeffler Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Ince Marion Jack
• Zhong Guihui

Classifications

• F16C2361/61

  Toothed gear systems, e.g. support of pinion shafts · CPC title

• F16C33/49 Primary

  comb-shaped · CPC title

• F16C33/4682 Primary

  of the end walls, e.g. interaction with the end faces of the rollers · CPC title

• F16C19/26

  with a single row of rollers · CPC title

• F16C2220/42

  by working of thin-walled material such as sheet or tube · CPC title