Method for determining the contact angle (α) of a rolling element bearing (10) comprising an inner ring (12), an outer ring (14) and a plurality, P, of rolling elements (16) interposed between the inner ring (12) and the outer ring (14). The method comprises the step of determining the relative speed of P−1 or fewer of said plurality, P, of rolling elements (16) with respect to the inner ring (12) and/or the outer ring (14) and determining the contact angle (α) of said rolling element bearing (10) therefrom.

A cage (5) for separating rolling bodies (2) for a bearing (1), particularly for a timepiece bearing, the cage having first openings (50) for receiving rolling bodies and at least one first contact zone (56) intended to come into contact with a bearing ring and having at least one first hollow formation (52).

An ice maker includes a casing that defines a chamber. The casing extends between a top portion and a bottom portion. An extruder die is mounted to the casing at the top portion of the casing. An auger is disposed within the chamber of the casing. A radial sleeve bearing engages the auger at the bottom portion of the casing. A radial and thrust bearing engages the auger at the extruder die. A related refrigerator appliance is also provided.

A strain wave gearing unit has a unit housing, a strain wave gearing, and a bearing device. Balls of a bearing part of the bearing device are positioned on the diametrically outer side with respect to a cylindrical barrel part of an externally toothed gear. The diameter S of the balls is 0.05 to 0.15 times the pitch diameter D of the externally toothed gear. The centers of the balls are positioned between a point at a distance of 1.2 times the diameter S toward the cylindrical-barrel-part side from an inner-side end surface of a diaphragm along a center axis and a point at a distance of 1 times the diameter S toward a side opposite the cylindrical barrel part from the inner-side end surface. The bearing device can be configured to be used in common for strain wave gearing units having different axial lengths.

A slewing bearing for vertical structural support, including a first bearing ring, a second bearing ring and at least one row of rolling elements arranged between the first and second bearing rings. The first or second bearing ring is provided with a gear for receiving the drive of an input torque, and the gear is provided axially thereunder with a lubricant collecting member for keeping the lubricant. A rotary support device is provided for supporting in a vertical structure. The device provides a first member that supports substantially in a vertical direction, a second member that is substantially supported by the first member in the vertical direction, and the slewing bearing acting as a rotary support between the first and second members. The first member is fixedly connected to the first bearing ring and the second member is fixedly connected to the second bearing ring.

A roller guide wheel contains a single set of spherical bearings and is constructed with a precision outer race machined into the guide wheel interior and an inner race formed by the surfaces of two conically-tapered set screws that affix the roller guide wheel within a housing made part of a stage slider. The roller guide wheel, which contacts a rail on one side of the stage body and exhibits a non-nutating axis of rotation, serves as way for the translating slider. The way on the opposing side of the slider is a set of v-groove contacts that make sliding contact with a rail on the corresponding side of the stage body. A flexure is machined into the slider permitting preload of the slider contacts points with the rails. The stage geometry permits a large slider through-hole and the use of alternative way mechanisms with the roller guide wheel.

A module bearing and a power transmission device including the module bearing. A module bearing includes a module outer wheel supported by and in contact with a side wall of a gear to guide rotational or linear motion of the gear, a bearing rotor rotatably disposed radially inward of the module outer wheel, and a part-assembly type module inner wheel disposed radially inward of the module outer wheel with the bearing rotor interposed therebetween and connected to the bearing rotor, in which a plurality of separate parts are manufactured and assembled into the part-assembly type module inner wheel to apply a preload to the bearing rotor.

A load-variable rolling bearing includes: an outer ring having an outer ring raceway surface with spherical surface contact portions having concave arch sections and a variable contact portion having a shape of a cylinder in such a manner as to be adjacent to the spherical surface contact portions in an axial direction of the spherical surface contact portions; an inner ring having an inner ring raceway surface with spherical surface contact portions having concave arch sections and a variable contact portion having a shape of a cylinder in such a manner as to be adjacent to the spherical surface contact portions in an axial direction of the spherical surface contact portions; and a plurality of rolling elements each having a cylindrical variable contact portion and spherical surface portions formed with convex spherical surfaces on both sides of the variable contact portion.

A slew bearing that includes an inner ring. The slew bearing also includes a first outer ring positioned about a first portion of the inner ring. The slew bearing also includes a second outer ring operably engaged with the first outer ring, wherein the second outer ring is positioned about a second portion of the inner ring opposite to the first outer ring. The slew bearing also includes at least one set of ball operably engaged with the inner ring and one or both of the first outer ring and the second outer ring. The inner ring of the slew bearing is configured to rotate about the first outer ring and the second outer ring.

A steering system has a steering rod longitudinally displaceable in a housing and a steering motor acting on the steering rod via a ball screw drive. The steering rod has a recirculating ball thread interacting via spherical transmission elements with a transmission nut driven by the steering motor and that is rotatably mounted by a bearing arrangement with a pivot bearing having an inner ring to which a mechanism wheel is fixedly attached. The transmission nut is pivotably mounted on the mechanism wheel about a pivot axis oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the steering rod, and has a curved joint section which interacts with a curved joint section of the mechanism wheel to form a pivoting bearing. In order to realize low-friction movement capability of the pivoting bearing, at least one of the joint sections has a sliding coating, and/or a lubricant is arranged between the joint sections.