Angular contact ball bearing

Abstract

Angular contact ball bearings are disclosed. In one example, the angular contact ball bearing may include an inner ring having an inner ring raceway and an outer ring having an outer ring raceway. A plurality of balls may roll on the inner and outer raceways. A cage may guide the plurality of balls in a plurality of closed pockets, wherein each ball is accommodated in one of the closed pockets. The bearing may include a plurality of projections, wherein each projection extends radially toward the raceway of the outer ring between every two adjacent, closed pockets. The cage may be guided on the outer ring raceway by the projections.

Claims

1. An angular contact ball bearing comprising: an inner ring having an inner ring raceway, an outer ring having an outer ring raceway, and a plurality of balls that roll on both raceways and are guided in a cage, wherein each ball is accommodated in a closed pocket of the cage; and a projection that projects radially toward the outer ring raceway between every two adjacent, closed pockets, wherein the cage is guided on the outer ring raceway by the projections.

2. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cage has an encircling web, situated radially on an outside, which is penetrated by the closed pockets, wherein the projections are formed by the web portions remaining between the closed pockets.

3. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the web has an external shape which arches radially outward in a region forming the projections.

4. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 3, wherein the web is provided on an axially extending outer ring portion, which is adjoined by a cage portion extending obliquely thereto, which cage portion is adjoined by an axially extending inner ring portion situated adjacent to the inner ring.

5. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 4, wherein the web is provided in a region of an inner end of an outer ring portion.

6. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein a maximum outside diameter of the cage in a region of the projections is less than an inside diameter of the outer ring raceway in a region opposite the projections.

7. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closed pockets are formed by holes extending obliquely or radially in a straight line.

8. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein it is a double-row ball bearing, wherein the inner ring and the outer ring, of which one is in two parts, each have two raceways, wherein the balls guided in the respective raceway pairs are each guided in a cage, which cages are of identical design and are arranged in a mirror-image fashion relative to one another.

9. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cage is composed of metal or plastic.

10. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closed pockets are embodied with rolling element holders.

11. An angular contact ball bearing comprising: an inner ring having an inner ring raceway; an outer ring having an outer ring raceway; a plurality of balls that roll on the inner and outer raceways a cage that guides the plurality of balls in a plurality of closed pockets, wherein each ball is accommodated in one of the closed pockets; and a plurality of projections, wherein each projection extends radially toward the raceway of the outer ring between every two adjacent, closed pockets; wherein the cage is guided on the outer ring raceway by the projections.

12. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cage has an encircling web, situated radially on an outside, which is penetrated by the closed pockets, wherein the projections are formed by web portions remaining between the closed pockets.

13. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 12, wherein the web has an external shape which arches radially outward in a region forming the projections.

14. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 13, wherein the web is provided on an axially extending outer ring portion, which is adjoined by a cage portion extending obliquely thereto, which cage portion is adjoined by an axially extending inner ring portion situated adjacent to the inner ring.

15. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 14, wherein the web is provided in a region of an inner end of an outer ring portion.

16. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 11, wherein a maximum outside diameter of the cage in a region of the projections is less than an inside diameter of the outer ring raceway in a region opposite the projections.

17. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 11, wherein the closed pockets are formed by holes extending obliquely or radially in a straight line.

18. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 11, wherein it is a double-row ball bearing, wherein the inner ring and the outer ring, of which one is in two parts, each have two raceways, wherein the balls guided in the respective raceway pairs are each guided in a cage, which cages are of identical design and are arranged in a mirror-image fashion relative to one another.

19. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cage is composed of metal or plastic.

20. The angular contact ball bearing as claimed in claim 11, wherein the closed pockets are embodied without rolling element holders.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Further advantages and details will become apparent from the illustrative embodiments described below and from the drawings, in which:

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a section through a double-row angular contact ball bearing according to an embodiment of the disclosure, wherein the section plane is in the region of the projections on the cage,

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a section through the double-row angular contact ball bearing from FIG. 1, wherein the section plane is in the region of the pockets in the cage,

[0024] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of one of the cages from FIG. 1,

[0025] FIG. 4 shows a partial view, in perspective, of the cage from FIG. 3,

[0026] FIG. 5 shows a lateral partial view of the two cages of the angular contact ball bearing from FIG. 1,

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a partial view, in perspective, of the angular contact ball bearing from FIG. 1, wherein only one cage is filled with balls,

[0028] FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation, in section, of part of a single-row angular contact ball bearing with a straight-bore pocket,

[0029] FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation, corresponding to FIG. 7, with an obliquely bored pocket, resulting in a space gain, e.g. for an additional sealing element,

[0030] FIG. 9 shows a diagrammatic representation of part of a single-row angular contact ball bearing with a straight-bore pocket, while the raceway groove is not fully recessed, and

[0031] FIG. 10 shows a diagrammatic representation corresponding to FIG. 9 with an obliquely bored pocket for a narrower construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a partial view of an angular contact ball bearing 1 according to the disclosure, which is here embodied as a double-row angular contact ball bearing. It comprises an outer ring 2 and an inner ring 3, which consists of two inner ring parts 3a, 3b. Two raceways are formed on the outer ring 2 and on the inner ring parts 3a, 3b, respectively, namely two outer ring raceways 4 and two inner ring raceways 5, on which corresponding balls 6 roll. The balls 6 themselves are each held in a cage 7, wherein the two cages, as FIG. 1 clearly shows, are of identical construction and are arranged in a mirror-image fashion relative to one another. For this purpose, the cage has a multiplicity of individual closed pockets 8, in each of which a ball 6 is accommodated and in which the ball 6 can move freely with slight play, with the result that the balls are not subject to any constraining forces due to cage guidance, which will be described below. Finally, two sealing elements 9 are provided on the outer ring 2, these being embodied by corresponding lamellar rings inserted into an encircling radial groove.

[0033] As FIG. 1 and, in particular, FIGS. 3 and 4 clearly show, the cage 7 has a plurality of projections 10, which project radially outward, i.e. project toward the outer ring raceway 4 and support the cage 7 on the outer ring raceway 4. Via these projections 10, which may also be referred to as contact bosses, the cage 7 is reliably guided in the region between the outer ring 2 and the inner ring 3. Since the balls 6 run on the outer ring and inner ring raceways 4, 5 and are centered thereby, the guidance of the cage 7 on the outer ring raceway 4 consequently also results in cage centering and the absence of an offset between the cage guidance and the raceway, leading to optimum running conditions and minimal friction. The cage diameter in the region of the projections 10 is slightly less than the diameter of the outer ring in the region of the outer ring raceway 8 or the region where the projections 10 engage thereon. This means that there is minimal play. Since the outer ring raceway is well lubricated, the cage guided thereon consequently participates in this lubrication, and therefore virtually frictionless cage guidance can be achieved.

[0034] As FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show, the projections 10 are each situated in the region of two adjacent pockets 8, i.e. they consequently do not obstruct either the pocket geometry or ball guidance in the pockets.

[0035] FIGS. 3 and 4 show a perspective view of the cage 7 shown on the right in FIG. 1, wherein the following statements apply equally to the left-hand cage 7, which is identical but arranged in a mirror-image fashion. The cage 7 is as it were perforated by the multiplicity of pockets 8, which are formed by simple holes, wherein a projection 10 is formed between every two pockets 8, see especially FIG. 4.

[0036] To form these projections, the cage 7 has an encircling web 11 situated radially on the outside, which is penetrated by the pockets (see especially FIG. 4). The introduction of these pocket holes necessarily leaves a web portion between the pockets 8 which forms the respective projection 10.

[0037] The cage itself has as it were a Z-shaped profile, wherein the web 11 is formed on an axially extending outer ring portion 12 (see also FIG. 1), which is adjoined by a cage portion 13 extending obliquely thereto, which cage portion is adjoined, in turn, by an axially extending inner ring portion 14 situated adjacent to the inner ring 3. There are therefore no complex geometries or undercuts provided, and this also simplifies the production of a cage of this kind. The Z-shaped profile furthermore allows cage structures which are of very narrow construction axially and, at the same time, stiff in terms of the shape thereof.

[0038] The geometry of the web 11 and hence of the projections 10 can be clearly seen from FIG. 5, where a partial view of the two cages 7 of the angular contact ball bearing from FIG. 1 is shown. As is apparent, the web 11 has an external shape which arches radially outward, with the result that the remaining projections are also slightly arched. Accordingly, the contour or geometry is matched to the geometry of the outer ring running surface, and therefore there is surface-type support, not point support.

[0039] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the angular contact ball bearing 1, wherein the outer ring is not shown here and also only one cage 7 is filled with balls 6. As can be seen, there is a web 11 between every two balls 6. Since the balls 6 run freely in the pockets 8, they are consequently not subject to any load or friction owing to the cage support provided by the projections 10, and they do not participate in cage guidance.

[0040] FIG. 7 shows a partial view of an angular contact ball bearing 1, having the outer ring 2 and the inner ring 3 for a single-row angular contact ball bearing. The balls 6 are, in turn, accommodated in a cage 7, which has corresponding projections 10. Here, the pockets 8 in the cage 7 are formed by a radially straight hole. The cage 7 is guided in the outer ring raceway 4 exclusively by the projections 10. No cage centering or cage contact diameter machining is required.

[0041] In contrast, FIG. 8 shows an example in which the pockets 8 of the cage 7 are formed by an oblique hole. This oblique hole is expedient particularly when there are restricted space conditions, i.e. when the width of the cage 7 cannot be correspondingly dimensioned. If a straight pocket hole were used here, the cage wall would be too thin in the pocket region. The narrow cage embodiment also allows the arrangement of sealing elements 9 in installation spaces which were previously too restricted.

[0042] While FIGS. 7 and 8 show embodiments of the angular contact ball bearing 1 with fully recessed raceway grooves having a reversal point at the base of the grooves, FIGS. 9 and 10 show embodiments in which the outer ring raceways 4 are not fully recessed, i.e. the respective outer ring raceway 4 merges into a step. As is apparent, a corresponding projection 10 can be formed on the respective cage 7 in this case too, the projection running on or being supported on the outer ring raceway 4, despite the fact that the latter is not fully recessed.

[0043] FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the pocket 8 is once again formed by a radially straight hole. In contrast, FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which the pocket 8 is once again formed by an oblique hole owing to restricted space conditions. As can be seen, a significantly narrower construction is obtained here, when viewed axially.

[0044] The respective cage 7 itself is preferably composed of metal, e.g. steel, brass or aluminum. By virtue of the simple, inherently stable geometry, there is no problem in producing it by machining. Production by machining from a hard material such as ceramic or the like is also conceivable. Moreover, the cage 7 can be manufactured from plastic, e.g. in a simple injection-molding method, thus allowing correspondingly high numbers to be manufactured economically.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0045] 1 angular contact ball bearing [0046] 2 outer ring [0047] 3 inner ring [0048] 3a inner ring part [0049] 3b inner ring part [0050] 4 outer ring raceway [0051] 5 inner ring raceway [0052] 6 ball [0053] 7 cage [0054] 8 pocket [0055] 9 sealing element [0056] 10 projection [0057] 11 web [0058] 12 ring portion [0059] 13 cage portion [0060] 14 ring portion