ROLLER BEARING

Abstract

A roller bearing includes an inner ring and an outer ring and a cage between the inner ring and the outer ring in which a plurality of rollers are retained. The inner ring or the outer ring includes a guide flange for guiding the rollers, and a biasing member exerts a biasing force, directed toward the guide flange, on the rollers and/or on the cage.

Claims

1. A roller bearing comprising: an inner ring; an outer ring; a cage between the inner ring and the outer ring; and a plurality of rollers retained by the cage, wherein the inner ring or the outer ring includes a guide flange for guiding the rollers, and including biasing means for exerting a biasing force, directed toward the guide flange, on the rollers and/or on the cage.

2. The roller bearing according to claim 1, wherein the cage includes a first side ring and a second side ring and a plurality of bridges connecting the first side ring to the second side ring, the first and second side rings and bridges defining a plurality of pockets for receiving the rollers, and wherein the biasing means comprises at least one elastic spring element disposed on the first side ring and extending into one of the plurality of pockets.

3. The roller bearing according to claim 2, wherein the at least one elastic spring element comprises a flexible tongue formed integrally with the first ring and pressing against one an axial end surface of one of the rollers.

4. The roller bearing according to claim 2, wherein the at least one spring element comprises a plurality of spring elements distributed circumferentially around the bearing cage in a uniform manner

5. The roller bearing according to claim 2, wherein the at least one spring element comprises a plurality of spring elements, a respective spring element of the plurality of spring elements being located in each of the plurality of pockets.

6. The roller bearing according to claim 2, wherein the cage is manufactured from plastic, and wherein the at least one spring element is formed one-piece with the cage.

7. The roller bearing according to claim 1, wherein the biasing means is an intermediate ring attached to the inner ring or the outer ring.

8. The roller bearing according to claim 7, wherein the intermediate ring includes an axially extending section that abuts against the inner ring or the outer ring, and a radially extending section that abuts against the cage and/or the rollers.

9. The roller bearing according to claim 7, wherein the intermediate ring projects beyond the inner ring or the outer ring in the axial direction in a non-assembled state of the roller bearing.

10. The roller bearing according to claim 7, wherein the intermediate ring includes at least one elastic tongue that abuts against at least one of the rollers.

11. The roller bearing according to claim 10, wherein the at least one elastic tongue comprises a plurality of elastic tongues distributed circumferentially around the cage in a uniform manner.

12. The rolling bearing according to claim 2, wherein the roller bearing is a tapered roller bearing, and wherein the rollers are tapered rollers.

13. The roller bearing according to claim 7, wherein the roller bearing is a tapered roller bearing, and wherein the rollers are tapered rollers.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a sectional perspective view of an embodiment of a roller bearing including an intermediate ring and a spring element.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a roller bearing including a spring element according to the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cage of the roller bearing of FIG. 2.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a sectional perspective view of a further embodiment of a roller bearing including an intermediate ring according to the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a sectional perspective view of a further embodiment of a roller bearing including an intermediate ring according to the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a sectional perspective view of a further embodiment of a roller bearing including an intermediate ring according to the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 7 is a sectional perspective view of a further embodiment of a roller bearing including an intermediate ring according to the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 8 is a sectional perspective view of the roller bearing of FIG. 7 with the intermediate ring is located in a first position.

[0028] FIG. 9 is a sectional perspective view of the roller bearing of FIG. 7 with the intermediate ring is located in a second, final position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In the following, identical or functionally equivalent elements are designated by the same reference numbers.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a roller bearing 1. In all Figures the roller bearing 1 is depicted as a tapered roller bearing including tapered rollers 6. Other types of roller bearings 1 such as, for example, cylindrical roller bearings are also possible.

[0031] The roller bearing 1 includes an inner ring 2 and an outer ring 4 (only in FIG. 7), and rollers 6 disposed therebetween. The rollers 6 are held in their position by a cage 8, and the cage 8 is disposed between the inner ring 2 and the outer ring 4. As depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cage 8 includes axially extending bridges 16, and side rings 18 that are connected by the bridges 16. Pockets 20 for receiving the rollers 6 are formed between the side rings 18 and the bridges 16. The cage 8 can be, for example, a plastic cage. This has the advantage that such a cage 8 is light, robust, and easy to manufacture.

[0032] The inner ring 2 includes a retaining flange 10 and a guide flange 12, wherein the rollers 6 are positioned between the two flanges 10, 12. With rotation of the roller bearing 1 the rollers 6 should run flat against the guide flange 12. In this way a misalignment of the rollers 6 and thus a partial sliding instead of pure rolling of the rollers 6 in the cage 8, and thus an overheating and damage to the bearing 1 resulting therefrom, can be avoided. However, due to manufacturing tolerances on the rollers 6, in operation they do not always reliably run against the guide flange 12 in the desired manner, since due to unloaded states of the rollers 6 they can move between the retaining flange 10 and the guide flange 12.

[0033] In order to now ensure that in particular also in operation the rollers 6 run essentially flat against the guide flange 12 and are guided by it, the roller bearing 1 includes a biasing element that exerts a biasing force directed toward the guide flange 12 on the cage 8 or the rollers 6. Due to this biasing force it can be ensured that the rollers 6 remain in contact with the guide flange 12 as an entire roller set and run with their end sides essentially flat against the guide flange 12.

[0034] A first embodiment of such a biasing element is depicted in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, wherein the biasing element includes one or more elastic spring elements 14. The elastic spring element 14 is provided on the side ring 18 of the cage 8, which side ring 18 opposes the guide flange 12, and extends into the pocket 20. The spring element 14 here abuts against the small end side of the roller 6 and presses it toward the large cage-pocket end. Simultaneously the rollers 6 are securely positioned on the guide flange 12 in the load zone of the tapered roller bearing 1. This in turn defines the position of the cage 8, which for its part also holds the rollers 6 against the guide flange 12 in the unloaded zone of the bearing 1 via the spring elements 14.

[0035] In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 the biasing element additionally includes an intermediate ring 22. The intermediate ring 22 includes an axially extending section 25 and a radially extending section 26. The axially extending section 25 abuts against the inner ring 2 and is pushed onto it and attached, for example, by press-fit. The radially extending section 26 abuts against the cage 8 and exerts an additional force on the cage 8, which force is directed toward the guide flange 12. An axial displacement of the cage 8 can thus be prevented on the one hand by the intermediate ring 22. On the other hand, due to the intermediate ring 22 the rollers 6 can be pressed toward the guide flange 12 via the cage 8, and a flat running of the rollers 6 against the guide flange 12 is ensured.

[0036] The intermediate ring 22 can be manufactured, for example, from plastic. In order to prevent the radial section 26 from bending due to force, the intermediate ring 22 can include stiffening ribs 24. Here the stiffening ribs 24 are disposed on the axially extending section 25 and extend toward the radially extending section 26 in order to support it.

[0037] As depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, the biasing element can also be realized only by the elastic spring elements 14. The elastic spring elements 14 can be manufactured one-piece with the cage 8, in the case of a plastic cage, for example, by an injection-molding method.

[0038] The cage 8 includes at least one spring element 14. In order to exert a uniform pressure onto the rollers 6, however, it is preferred that, as depicted, a spring element 14 is provided in each pocket 20. In this way each roller 6 can lie positioned oriented in its pocket 20 and be held against the guide flange 12. If fewer spring elements 14 are used they are preferably uniformly distributed circumferentially in order to make possible a uniform pressure distribution.

[0039] In a further embodiment the biasing element can also be formed only by the intermediate ring 22 as depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5. As is already explained in connection with FIG. 1, the intermediate ring 22 includes a radially extending section 26 that abuts against the cage 8. In this embodiment the positioning of the rollers 6 is ensured exclusively by the intermediate ring 22. This acts on the cage 8 and presses it toward the rollers 6 and the guide flange 12. Thus the rollers 6 are also pressed toward the guide flange 12 in order to run with their large end sides flatly against it. Due to the intermediate ring 22, or more specifically due to the radially extending section 26 of the intermediate ring 22, on the one hand the cage 8 is thus secured against an axial displacement, and on the other hand the smallest possible biasing force directed toward the guide flange 12 is exerted on the cage 8 and thus also on the rollers 6.

[0040] In a further embodiment that is depicted in FIG. 5, the radially extending section 26 is disposed such that it exerts a clearance reduction, toward the guide flange 12, optionally also a low biasing force directed toward the flange 12, directly on the rollers 6. Here the intermediate ring 22 or the radially extending section 26 is disposed radially between the inner ring 2 and the outer ring 4. Due to the design of the intermediate ring 22 including a radially extending section 26, the intermediate ring 22 is not in contact with the retaining flange 10, but rather the radially extending section 26 is bent past the retaining flange 10 and contacts the rollers 6 directly on their small end side.

[0041] If the intermediate ring 22 is attached to the outer ring 4 as shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6, the radially extending section 26 can be omitted. Since the outer ring 4 includes no retaining flange 10, the axially extending section 25 of the intermediate ring 22 can extend directly up to the rollers 6. In cases wherein the outer ring 4 includes the retaining flange 10, the intermediate ring 22 attached to the outer ring 4 can also have a radially extending section 26, while the intermediate ring 22 attached to the inner ring 2 includes no radially extending section 26.

[0042] In the embodiment depicted the intermediate ring 22 imparts, through the axially extending section 25, either an approximately clearance-free orientation on the rollers 6 or the smallest possible biasing force on the rollers 6 directed toward the guide flange 12. In this embodiment the intermediate ring 22 is furthermore disposed such that it is provided adjacent to the cage 8 and directly exerts a biasing force on the rollers 6 toward the guide flange 12.

[0043] In a further embodiment that is shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the intermediate ring 22 can be configured as a spring ring that includes elastic radially projecting tongues 28. In this embodiment the intermediate ring 22 can be manufactured in particular from steel, for example, spring steel, that offers a particularly good stability with simultaneous elasticity. In this embodiment the biasing force acting toward the guide flange 12 is exerted directly on the rollers 6 by the elastic tongues 28. As shown here, the elastic tongues 28 are uniformly distributed circumferentially. For example, the elastic tongues can be disposed such that an elastic tongue 28 always acts on a roller 6. Alternatively a tongue 28 can also act only on some of the rollers 6. Preferably, however, at least two opposing tongues 28 are provided in order to prevent an unequal pressure on the rollers 6 and thus on the cage 8. The advantageous flange system of the rollers 6 can thereby also be ensured in the non-assembled bearing 1.

[0044] With the installing of the intermediate ring 22 it can initially project beyond the inner ring 2 or the outer ring 4 in the axial direction, as depicted in FIG. 8. In this position the intermediate ring 22 initially exerts a certain biasing force on the rollers 6. When the roller bearing 1 subsequently fully installed, in particular in a wheel bearing unit that is comprised of two mutually abutting bearings 1, the intermediate ring 22 is displaced in the axial direction such that it terminates flatly with the inner ring 2 or the outer ring 4. This embodiment is suitable in particular for wheel bearing units wherein two roller bearings 1 are disposed adjacent to each other, whereby the respective intermediate rings 22 can be pushed into their final position by the positioning of the two bearings 1.

[0045] Due to the displacing of the intermediate ring 22 during the final assembly a biasing force on the rollers 6 is reduced or completely eliminated. Since the tongues 28 are lifted radially from the retaining flange 10 by the displacement 30 of the intermediate ring 22 they tilt away from the rollers as depicted in FIG. 9. It is thus ensured that the rollers 6 are relieved from the high shipping biasing force against the guide flange only in the absolute last assembly step of the bearing 1.

[0046] Due to the roller bearing disclosed here it is possible in a simple manner to exert a biasing force on the rollers in order to hold them in contact with the guide flange, in particular even in the loose delivery state of the roller bearing. For this purpose a biasing element can also be used that is formed either as part of the cage, or as a separate intermediate ring, or as a combination thereof. Due to the ensuring of the correct positioning of the rollers on the guide flange a misalignment of the rollers in operation and an escape of the rollers from the guide flange during delivery to the customer can be prevented, whereby damage to the bearing can be avoided.

[0047] Representative, non-limiting examples of the present invention were described above in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, each of the additional features and teachings disclosed above may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide improved roller bearings.

[0048] Moreover, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the above detailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples of the invention. Furthermore, various features of the above-described representative examples, as well as the various independent and dependent claims below, may be combined in ways that are not specifically and explicitly enumerated in order to provide additional useful embodiments of the present teachings.

[0049] All features disclosed in the description and/or the claims are intended to be disclosed separately and independently from each other for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter, independent of the compositions of the features in the embodiments and/or the claims. In addition, all value ranges or indications of groups of entities are intended to disclose every possible intermediate value or intermediate entity for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter.

REFERENCE NUMBER LIST

[0050] 1 Roller bearing [0051] 2 Inner ring [0052] 4 Outer ring [0053] 6 Rollers [0054] 8 Cage [0055] 10 Retaining flange [0056] 12 Guide flange [0057] 14 Elastic spring element [0058] 16 Bridge [0059] 18 Side ring [0060] 20 Pocket [0061] 22 Intermediate ring [0062] 24 Stiffening rib [0063] 25 Axially extending section [0064] 26 Radially extending section [0065] 28 Elastic tongue [0066] 30 Displacement