A ball bearing cage includes a plurality of ball pockets, wherein each ball pocket serves for receiving a ball, wherein each ball pocket (12, 22) has a width (B) in axial direction of the ball bearing cage (10, 20) and a length in circumferential direction of the ball bearing cage (10, 20), with the width (B) being slightly greater than a diameter of the ball (30), wherein the length is greater than the width (B) of the ball pocket (12,22) at least at an outer circumference (U.sub.A) of the ball bearing cage (10), and the length (L.sub.A) of the ball pocket (12,22) at the outer circumference (U.sub.A) of the ball bearing cage (10) is greater than the length (L.sub.I) of the ball pocket (12,22) at the inner circumference (U.sub.I) of the ball bearing cage (10,20).

A thrust washer is provided. The thrust washer includes a wet friction material and a phenolic resin layer coating an outer surface of the wet friction material. A torque converter comprising the thrust washer is also provided. A method of forming a thrust washer is further provided. The method includes providing a layer of phenolic resin on an outer surface of a wet friction material.

A sliding member having more improved wear resistance is provided at a low cost. A sliding member is provided with: a substrate which is made of a nonwoven fabric; and a base resin which includes a phenol resin and which is impregnated into the substrate. The nonwoven fabric is preferably a bonded nonwoven fabric which is produced by a thermal bonding method, a binder method or the like and which has a strength that can tolerate the tension applied to the substrate in the step for producing the sliding member. It is preferable that the nonwoven fabric is made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber which exhibits a high affinity for the phenol resin. Further, it is preferable that the phenol resin contains a chelating agent which can increase sites of crosslink with hydroxyl groups of the phenol resin.

A ball bearing for the scroll of a scroll compressor, having an outer race, an inner race and a plurality of balls disposed therebetween, characterized in that the balls are held and guided in a ball bearing cage, wherein the ball bearing cage is formed as an externally guided plastic cage with a reinforcing structure made of metal as a hybrid cage.

A bearing unit includes a radially outer ring, a radially inner ring, and a retention cage configured to retain a plurality of rolling bodies between the radially outer ring and the radially inner ring. The retention cage includes a one-piece annular body having a plurality of radially extending pockets each configured to retain one of the plurality of rolling bodies, and each of the plurality of pockets is bounded by a pocket surface. The pocket surface includes a plurality of convex portions and a plurality of concave portions and is bounded by an inner imaginary cylinder and a concentric outer imaginary cylinder. The convex portions are tangent to or extend in part along the inner imaginary circle, and the concave portions are tangent to or extend in part along the outer imaginary circle.

A bearing unit has a central rotation axis and includes radially inner and outer rings and a one-piece retaining cage having pockets bounded by cage rings and separated by bridges. A plurality of radially outwardly extending protuberances are arranged in a first row and a second row axially spaced from and parallel to the first row on a radially outer surface of the first cage ring and in a third row and a fourth row axially spaced from and parallel to the third row on a radially outer surface of the second cage ring. The protuberances of each first row are circumferentially spaced. The protuberances of the first row are circumferentially offset from the protuberances of the second row, and the protuberances of the third row are circumferentially offset from the protuberances of the fourth row.

A bearing unit has a radially outer ring, a radially inner ring and a retaining cage configured to retain a plurality of rolling bodies between the inner ring and the outer ring. The retaining cage is centered on the radially outer ring and includes a one-piece annular body including a first ring connected to a second ring by a plurality of bridges. A plurality of pockets in the annular body are configured to house and retain one of the plurality of rolling bodies, and the pockets are framed by the first ring and the second ring and are located between adjacent pairs of the bridges. Each of the plurality of pockets has a side wall having a circumference, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced circumferentially extending recesses of substantially square section are located in the side wall of each of the recesses.

A bearing unit has a central rotation axis, a radially outer ring, a radially inner ring, and a retention cage configured to retain a row of rolling bodies between the inner ring and the outer ring. The retention cage is centered on the radially external ring and includes a one-piece annular body having a plurality of through pockets each configured to house and retain one of the rolling bodies. A first ring of material is located on a first axial side of the through pockets, a second ring of material is located on a second axial side of the through pockets, a bridge extends from the first ring of material to the second ring of material between each adjacent pair of the through pockets, and a lightening through opening is located at a first end of each bridge and at a second end of each bridge.

A resin composition for a sliding material that could provide a sliding member used in a submersible pump or the like, the sliding member having a favorable balance between sliding properties and the linear expansion coefficient, and the like, and a sliding member derived from such a resin composition for a sliding material, are provided.

Provided are the resin composition for a sliding material including the following blending components (a) to (c), and a sliding member derived from such a resin composition for a sliding material: (a) 100 parts by weight of a resin component; (b) 10 to 400 parts by weight of uncarbonized carbon fiber having a 5% weight loss temperature of 400 to 550 C.; and (c) 10 to 80 parts by weight of an inorganic material.