Bearing seal with integrated grounding brush

Abstract

A rolling bearing assembly with electrical discharge damage protection is provided. The assembly includes a seal extending radially between a radially outer bearing ring and a radially inner bearing ring. The seal includes a fixed seal end that is fixed to one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings and a flexible sealing lip that contacts the other one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings. At least one electrically conductive ring includes a first ring end that contacts one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings at the fixed seal end. The seal is integrally connected to the at least one electrically conductive ring. Electrically conductive brush filaments are fixed to the at least one electrically conductive ring, and the brush filaments contact the other one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings opposite from the fixed seal end.

Claims

1. A rolling bearing assembly with electrical discharge damage protection, comprising: radially inner and outer bearing rings, the radially inner bearing ring including a radially inner race and the radially outer bearing ring including a radially outer race; a plurality of rolling elements supported to roll on the radially inner race of the radially inner bearing ring and the radially outer race of the radially outer bearing ring; a seal extending radially between the radially outer bearing ring and the radially inner bearing ring, the seal including a fixed seal end that is fixed to one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings and a flexible sealing lip that contacts the other one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings; at least one electrically conductive ring including a first ring end that contacts the one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings at the fixed seal end, the seal is integrally connected to the at least one electrically conductive ring; and electrically conductive brush filaments fixed to the at least one electrically conductive ring, the brush filaments contact the other one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings opposite from the fixed seal end on an axial side of the seal opposite from the radially inner race or radially outer race.

2. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the seal is molded onto the at least one electrically conductive ring.

3. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the seal comprises a rubber or polymeric body that extends between the radially inner bearing ring and the radially outer bearing ring.

4. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrically conductive ring comprises a metallic material.

5. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the radially outer bearing ring or the radially inner bearing ring includes at least one groove.

6. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 5, wherein the fixed seal end engages the at least one groove of the radially outer bearing ring and the radially inner bearing ring.

7. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 6, wherein the brush filaments contact the radially inner bearing ring.

8. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 5, wherein the at least one groove comprises two grooves on the radially outer bearing ring, with one of the grooves being located on each axial side of the radially outer bearing ring, the at least one electrically conductive ring comprises two of the electrically conductive rings, and the seal includes two seals, each connected to respective ones of the electrically conductive rings, with the fixed seal end of each of the seals engaging respective ones of the grooves on the radially outer bearing ring, and respective ones of the electrically conductive brush filaments are connected to respective ones of the electrically conductive rings.

9. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 8, wherein one of the seals is provided on each axial side of the rolling bearing assembly.

10. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the rolling bearing assembly includes a cage for the plurality of rolling elements.

11. A rolling bearing assembly with electrical discharge damage protection, comprising: radially inner and outer bearing rings, the radially inner bearing ring including a radially inner race and the radially outer bearing ring including a radially outer race; a plurality of rolling elements supported to roll on the radially inner race of the radially inner bearing ring and the radially outer race of the radially outer bearing ring; a seal extending radially between the radially outer bearing ring and the radially inner bearing ring, the seal including a fixed seal end that is fixed to one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings and a flexible sealing lip that contacts the other one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings; at least one electrically conductive ring including a first ring end that contacts the one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings at the fixed seal end, the seal is integrally connected to the at least one electrically conductive ring; and electrically conductive brush filaments fixed to the at least one electrically conductive ring, the brush filaments contact the other one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings opposite from the fixed seal end, wherein the at least one electrically conductive ring comprises two electrically conductive rings, with one of the two electrically conductive rings being located on each axial side of the brush filaments.

12. The rolling bearing assembly of claim 11, wherein a first one of the two electrically conductive rings includes the first ring end, and the first ring end includes an extension that extends in an axial direction and contacts an axial end surface of a second one of the two electrically conductive rings facing away from the brush filaments.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing Summary as well as the following Detailed Description will be best understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a rolling bearing assembly.

(3) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a rolling bearing assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(4) Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words inner, outer, inwardly, and outwardly refer to directions towards and away from the parts referenced in the drawings. A reference to a list of items that are cited as at least one of a, b, or c (where a, b, and c represent the items being listed) means any single one of the items a, b, c or combinations thereof. The terminology includes the words specifically noted above, derivates thereof, and words of similar import.

(5) As shown in FIG. 1, a rolling bearing assembly 1 with electrical discharge damage protection is provided. The rolling bearing assembly 1 includes a radially inner bearing ring 2 and a radially outer bearing ring 4. The radially inner bearing ring 2 includes a radially inner race 6 and the radially outer bearing ring 4 includes a radially outer race 8. A plurality of rolling elements 10 are supported to roll on the radially outer race 8 of the radially outer bearing ring 4 and the radially inner race 6 of the radially inner bearing ring 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the roller assembly 1 preferably includes a cage 36 for the plurality of rolling elements 10.

(6) A seal 12 extends radially between the radially outer bearing ring 4 and the radially inner bearing ring 2. The seal 12 includes a fixed seal end 14 that is fixed to one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings 2, 4 and a flexible sealing lip 16 that contacts the other one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings 2, 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the fixed seal end 14 is preferably fixed to the radially outer bearing ring 4 and the flexible sealing lip 16 contacts the radially inner bearing ring 2. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize from the present disclosure that the fixed seal end 14 could be fixed to the radially inner bearing ring 2, and the flexible sealing lip 16 could contact the radially outer bearing ring 4.

(7) At least one electrically conductive ring 18 includes a first ring end 20 that contacts one of the radially inner or outer bearing rings 2, 4 at the fixed seal end 14. The seal 12 is integrally connected to the at least one electrically conductive ring 18. Electrically conductive brush filaments 21 are fixed to the at least one electrically conductive ring 18, and the brush filaments 21 contact the other one of the radially inner bearing ring 2 or radially outer bearing ring 4 opposite from the fixed seal end 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the brush filaments 21 preferably contact the radially inner bearing ring 2. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize from the present disclosure that the brush filaments 21 could contact the radially outer bearing ring 4.

(8) The seal 12 is preferably molded onto the at least one electrically conductive ring 18. By molding the seal 12 with the at least one electrically conductive ring 18 to form one piece, the seal 12 is fully supported without extra reinforcements, and the overall axial profile of the rolling bearing assembly is decreased and its assembly is simplified. As shown in FIG. 1, the radially outer bearing ring 4 includes a groove 26. The fixed seal end 14 engages the groove 26 of the radially outer bearing ring 4. The seal 12 is preferably an elastomer comprised of a rubber or polymeric material. The at least one electrically conductive ring 18 is preferably comprised of a metallic material.

(9) Still with reference to FIG. 1, the at least one electrically conductive ring 18 preferably comprises two of the electrically conductive rings 18, 18, with one of the two electrically conductive rings 18, 18 being located on both axial sides 21, 21 of the brush filaments 21. A first one of the two electrically conductive rings 18 includes the first ring end 20, and the first ring end 20 preferably includes an extension 22 that extends in an axial direction and contacts an axial end surface 24 of a second one of the two electrically conductive rings 18 facing away from the brush filaments 21. In this embodiment, the extension 22 of the first electrically conductive ring 18 contacts the radially outer bearing ring 4. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize from the present disclosure that the configuration of the two electrically conductive rings 18, 18 could be varied depending on a particular application. As shown in FIG. 1, the brush filaments 21 are axially sandwiched between the two electrically conductive rings 18, 18 for approximately 80-90% of a radial extent of the brush filaments 21. An axial end of the brush filaments 21 contacting the radially inner bearing ring 2 is exposed, i.e. not sandwiched between the two electrically conductive rings 18, 18.

(10) A second embodiment of the rolling bearing assembly 1 is shown in FIG. 2. The rolling bearing assembly 1 includes a radially outer bearing ring 4 with two grooves 26a, 26b, with one of the grooves 26a, 26b being located on each axial side 30a, 30b of the radially outer bearing ring 4. In this embodiment, two of the seals 12a, 12b are provided, with the fixed seal ends 14a, 14b fixed to the radially outer bearing ring 4, and flexible sealing lips 16a, 16b contacting the radially inner bearing ring 2. As shown in FIG. 2, one of the seals 12a, 12b is provided on each axial side of the rolling elements 10. The rolling bearing assembly 1 includes two electrically conductive ring 18a, 18b with a first ring end 20a, 20b that contacts the radially outer bearing ring 4 at the fixed seal end 14a, 14b of the seals 12a, 12b, with one of the electrically conductive rings 18a, 18b located on each axial side. The seals 12a, 12b are each integrally connected to a respective one of the electrically conductive rings 18a, 18b. Brush filaments 21a, 21b are fixed to each of the electrically conductive rings 18a, 18b, and the brush filaments 21a, 21b contact the radially inner bearing ring 2 opposite from the fixed seal end 14a, 14b of the seals 12a, 12b. The seals 12a, 12b are preferably molded onto the electrically conductive rings 18a, 18b in the same manner as discussed above. Preferably, each of the electrically conductive rings 18a, 18b comprises two of the electrically conductive rings 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d, with one of the two electrically conductive rings 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d being located on both axial sides 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d of the brush filaments 21a, 21b. A first one of the two electrically conductive rings 32a, 32c includes the first ring end 20a, 20b, and the first ring end 20a, 20b includes an extension 22a, 22b that extends in an axial direction and contacts an axial end surface 24a, 24b of a second one of the two electrically conductive rings 32b, 32d facing away from the brush filaments 21a, 21b.

(11) Having thus described various embodiments of the present rolling bearing assembly in detail, it will be appreciated and apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes, only a few of which are exemplified in the detailed description above, could be made in the bearing assembly according to the invention without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore to be embraced therein.