Rolling element guide cage and method for producing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9429194-B2
Application number	US-201314390209-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2013
Priority date	Apr 19, 2012
Publication date	Aug 30, 2016
Grant date	Aug 30, 2016

Abstract

A rolling element guide cage having a ring element which is made from a sheet material and has an axial profiling produced using forming techniques and forms a plurality of successive rolling element guide structures in the circumferential direction. The ring element is composed of at least two flat material ring segments joined to one another successively in the circumferential direction, said segments being joined together in a manufacturing step which precedes the formation of the axial profiling.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rolling body guide cage comprising a ring element which is produced from a sheet metal material and has a formed axial profiling and several rolling body guide structures which are arranged in succession in a circumferential direction, wherein the ring element is comprised of at least two flat material ring segments which are joined to one another in succession in the circumferential direction by connections prior to formation of the axial profiling, and the flat material ring segments are connected to one another in a region of engagement zones across positively engaging joint contours.

2. The rolling body guide cage as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the flat material ring segments are welded to one another at weld points.

3. The rolling body guide cage as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the flat material ring segments placed in succession with one another in the circumferential direction are put together across an engagement zone and include welds along edge regions which face one other in the engagement zone.

4. The rolling body guide cage as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the flat material ring segments are cut out from the sheet metal material.

5. The rolling body guide cage as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the flat material ring segments are formed as 120° ring segments.

6. A rolling body guide cage comprising a ring element which is produced from a sheet metal material and has a formed axial profiling and several rolling body guide structures which are arranged in succession in a circumferential direction, wherein the ring element is comprised of at least two flat material ring segments which are joined to one another in succession in the circumferential direction by connections prior to formation of the axial profiling, wherein the rolling body guide cage is embodied as a radial bearing cage and is comprised of a first one of the ring elements and a structurally identical second one of the ring elements positioned in mirror-symmetry.

7. The rolling body guide cage as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the ring elements are put together with weld points formed between the ring segments of the ring elements that are offset with respect to one another in the circumferential direction.

8. A method for manufacturing a rolling body guide cage from a ring element which is produced from a sheet metal material, comprising forming an axial profiling in a forming step including several rolling body guide structures arranged in succession in a circumferential direction and in a method step which precedes the forming step, forming the ring element of at least two flat material ring segments by joining the flat material ring segments to one another in succession in the circumferential direction, with the flat material ring segments being connected to one another in a region of a joint formed by the flat material ring segments, and connecting the flat material ring segments to one another in a region of engagement zones across positively engaging joint contours.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the connection is formed by a weld point carried out by laser welding.

Assignees

• Schaeffler Technologies Gmbh & Co Kg
• Schaeffler Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Reimchen Alexander

Classifications

• F16C19/06

  with a single row or balls · CPC title

• F16C33/543

  from a single part · CPC title

• F16C2226/36

  by welding · CPC title

• F16C33/3881

  with more than three parts, e.g. two end rings connected by individual stays · CPC title

• F16C33/502

  formed of arcuate segments retaining one or more rollers or needles · CPC title