Roller Bearing Comprising a Multi-Component Plastics Bearing Ring

Abstract

A rolling bearing, in particular a ball bearing, is in the form of two bearing rings that are mounted so as to be rotatable relative to each other about an axis. The roller bearing includes an inner ring and an outer ring which each form a guide portion of a guide. The guide portion surrounds the axis with the portion formed by the inner ring is radially opposite the portion formed by the outer ring. In the guide, rolling bodies are distributed around the axis and rest on the two guide portions. When the bearing rings rotate, the rolling bodies roll on the two guide portions. At least one of the rings has a slide ring as the guide portion and a stabilising ring on the slide ring. The slide ring and the stabilising ring are produced from first and second plastics materials, respectively. The first plastics material is softer than the second plastics material.

Claims

1. A rolling bearing comprising an inner ring and an outer ring which each form a guide portion of a guide provided between the bearing rings, which guide portion surrounds the axis, wherein the inner ring and the outer ring are mounted so as to be rotatable relative to each other about an axis, wherein the guide portion formed by the inner ring is radially opposite the guide portion formed by the outer ring, and, in the guide, rolling bodies are distributed around the axis and rest on the two guide portions so that when the bearing rings rotate relative to each other about the axis, the rolling bodies roll on the two guide portions, wherein at least one of the inner and outer rings has a slide ring, which forms the guide portion, and a stabilising ring, which rests on the slide ring so as to surround the axis, wherein the slide ring is produced from a first plastics material and the stabilising ring is produced from a second plastics material, wherein the first plastics material is softer than the second plastics material, wherein in particular the rolling bodies are mounted in the guide without lubricant, and in that the stabilising ring and the slide ring each have projections distributed around the axis, wherein a recess is provided in each case between two adjacent projections, wherein one of the projections of the stabilising ring is arranged in respectively one of the recesses of the slide ring and one of the projections of the slide ring is arranged in respectively one of the recesses of the stabilising ring.

2. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein each of the inner and outer rings has a slide ring and a stabilising ring, wherein the slide ring of the inner ring surrounds the stabilising ring of the inner ring, and wherein the stabilising ring of the outer ring surrounds the slide ring of the outer ring.

3. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the rolling bodies contact the slide ring with a contact surface at least five times as large as that of the stabilising ring, wherein the stabilising ring is spaced apart from the rolling bodies.

4. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the first plastics material has a hardness with a Shore D value of less than 75, and wherein the second plastics material has a hardness with a Shore D value which is at least 5 greater than the Shore D value of the first plastics material.

5. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the first plastics material is a sliding material.

6. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein a coefficient of friction between the rolling bodies and the first plastics material is lower than a coefficient of friction between the rolling bodies and the second plastics material, and/or the first plastics material contains a higher proportion of lubricants than the second plastics material.

7. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the rolling bodies are rotatably mounted in a bearing cage surrounding the axis and are guided at a fixed angular distance from each other, wherein the bearing cage is arranged radially between the guide portions of the inner ring and the outer ring and is made of a sliding material, wherein the inner ring, the outer ring and the bearing cage are each produced from plastics material.

8. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the rolling bodies are produced from a material that has a greater hardness than the first plastics material, wherein the rolling bodies are produced from glass, metal, a plastics material or a ceramic.

9. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the slide ring and the stabilising ring rest on each other form-fittingly both in a direction along the axis and perpendicular to the axis.

10. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the projections of the slide ring extend over at least 30% of the axial length of extent of the slide ring and the projections of the stabilising ring extend over at least 30% of the axial length of extent of the stabilising ring.

11. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the projections of the stabilising ring and slide ring are configured as radial projections and some of the recesses are configured as radial recesses, wherein one of the radial projections of the stabilising ring is arranged in each of the radial recesses of the slide ring and one of the radial projections of the slide ring is arranged in each of the radial recesses of the stabilising ring, wherein the radial projections of the slide ring are wider than the radial projections of the stabilising ring.

12. The rolling bearing according to claim 11, wherein at least some of the radial projections each have a width that increases along their radial extent into the radial receptacle assigned to them to form an undercut.

13. The rolling bearing according to claim 10, wherein the stabilising ring and the slide ring each have a first group and a second group of projections, wherein the two groups of projections are provided at opposite axial ends of the stabilising ring or the slide ring and the rolling bodies are arranged axially between the two groups of projections and/or the projections of the first group are configured as axial projections and the projections of the second group are configured as radial projections, wherein in each case a projection of the first group is arranged within the same angular range about the axis as an associated projection of the second group.

14. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the slide ring has a greater length of extent in the radial direction averaged over a circumferential course around the axis than the stabilising ring.

15. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the guide portions each engage behind the rolling bodies on their two axial sides, wherein in particular the guide portions each have a circular portion-shaped cross-section with which they surround around the axis, wherein the bearing rings are fixed in their axial position relative to each other by the two guide portions engaging behind the rolling bodies on both axial sides.

16. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the guide portions adjoins an insertion portion with an insertion bevel at one of its axial ends, wherein the bearing ring having this guide portion has an outer diameter which increases along the axis over the course of the insertion portion or an inner diameter which decreases along the axis over the course of the insertion portion.

17. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the slide ring and the stabilising ring are arranged pressed together in a radial interference fit and/or are produced by injection moulding, wherein the slide ring and the stabilising ring are produced by multi-component injection moulding and/or one of the slide ring and the stabilising ring is moulded onto the other of the slide ring and the stabilising ring.

18. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the inner ring, has a flange which extends radially along the rolling bodies and which covers the rolling bodies on one of their axial sides, wherein the flange is formed by the stabilising ring and the flange rests on the slide ring of the outer bearing rings in sliding contact around the axis.

19. The rolling bearing according to claim 18, wherein recesses distributed around the axis are provided in the flange, wherein either the flange is formed by the stabilising ring and the slide ring extends with a portion into the recesses or the flange is formed by the slide ring and the stabilising ring extends into the recesses.

20. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the inner ring has a projecting projection on its radially inner side and/or the outer ring has a projecting projection on its radially outer side for rotationally fixed engagement in a first component, which is rotatably mounted relative to a second component by the rolling bearing.

21. The rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the inner ring has a receptacle on its radially inner side for receiving a shaft, wherein the receptacle has a diameter of at least 1 cm, wherein the outer ring has an outer diameter which is less than 4 cm greater than the diameter of the receptacle of the inner ring.

22. A device comprising an outer component, an inner component, and a rolling bearing according to claim 1, wherein the inner ring is connected to the inner component and the outer ring is connected to the outer component for conjoint rotation, and the components are rotatably connected to each other by the rolling bearing, wherein the device is a bicycle, the outer component is a bicycle frame or a gear part of a bicycle transmission of the bicycle, and the inner component is a wheel axle, a bottom bracket axle or a further gear part of the bicycle transmission.

Description

[0029] In the figures:

[0030] FIG. 1: shows various schematic basic representations of an embodiment of a rolling bearing according to the invention;

[0031] FIG. 2: shows various schematic basic representations of the outer ring of the rolling bearing according to FIG. 1;

[0032] FIG. 3: shows various schematic basic representations of the inner ring of the rolling bearing according to FIG. 1;

[0033] FIG. 4: shows various schematic basic representations of a further embodiment of the rolling bearing according to the invention;

[0034] FIG. 5: shows various schematic basic representations of the outer ring of the rolling bearing according to FIG. 4;

[0035] FIG. 6: shows various schematic basic representations of the inner ring of the rolling bearing according to FIG. 4;

[0036] FIG. 7: shows a schematic basic representation of a bearing cage of an embodiment of the rolling bearing according to the invention;

[0037] FIG. 8: shows various schematic basic representations of a further embodiment of a rolling bearing according to the invention.

[0038] In FIG. 1, comprising FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, an embodiment of a rolling bearing 1 according to the invention is shown schematically in various schematic representations. FIG. 1A shows a plan view of the rolling bearing 1 along the axial direction. FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view according to section A-A. FIG. 1C shows a perspective view. The rolling bearing 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has, as two bearing rings, an inner ring 3 and an outer ring 2. The inner ring 3 is arranged radially inside the outer ring 2. The two bearing rings each form a guide portion, wherein the guide portions together form a guide for rolling bodies 4, which are configured as balls in the present case. The guide portions of the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 2 face each other in a radial direction and are therefore opposite each other in a radial direction, as may be seen in particular in FIG. 1B. The rolling bodies 4 are held in contact with the guide portions between the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 2. Furthermore, the rolling bearing 1 has a bearing cage 5, which is arranged radially between the inner ring 3 and outer ring 2, enclosing the balls or rolling bodies 4 in portions, and ensures that the rolling bodies 4 or balls are positioned at a uniform angular distance from each other.

[0039] In FIG. 2, comprising FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D, various views of the outer ring 2 or components of the outer ring 2 are shown schematically in various schematic representations. The outer ring 2 comprises a slide ring 22 and a stabilising ring 21. The slide ring 22 is produced from a sliding material, in this case a tribopolymer. The slide ring 22 preferably forms at least 50%, in particular at least 70%, in particular the predominant part, preferably the entire radial inner side of the outer ring 2, which is generally advantageous according to the invention. The slide ring 22 forms the guide portion 20 of the outer ring 2, wherein the guide portion engages behind the rolling bodies 4 on their two axial sides and has a circular portion-shaped cross-section. The cross-section is a cross-section perpendicular to its circumferential course around the axis. The guide portion 20 is also directly adjacent to an insertion portion 220. In this insertion portion, the slide ring 22 has an insertion bevel. Within this insertion bevel, the outer ring 2 has an inner diameter that decreases along the axis, starting from its axial end towards the guide portion 20. The guide portion 20 is suitable for reliably guiding the rolling bodies 4, which are configured as balls in the present case, whereas the insertion portion 220 is used for easy insertion of the balls into the guide portion 20 during assembly of the rolling bearing 1. The slide ring 22 and the stabilising ring 21 also have several projections 211, 212, 222, 223. One of the projections 211, 212 of the stabilising ring 21 is accommodated in each case in an associated recess in the slide ring 22, wherein the recess is formed between two adjacent projections 222, 223 of the slide ring 22. The term adjacent projections means in each case an adjacency along the circumferential course around the axis. In particular, it may be seen from the combined view of FIGS. 2A and 2C that the stabilising ring 21 and the slide ring 22 each have radial projections 212, 223, wherein the radial projections 223 of the slide ring 22 are wider than the radial projections 212 of the stabilising ring 21, and wherein the radial projections 212, 223 each have a width that increases along their radial extent into the radial receptacle assigned to them in each case, forming an undercut. These undercuts are clearly recognisable in FIG. 2A. It may be seen that, due to these undercuts, a radial relative movement of the slide ring 22 and the stabilising ring 21 is effectively prevented. In the exemplary embodiment described, the stabilising ring 21 and the slide ring 22 each have two groups of projections. A first group of projections 222, 211 is provided at a first axial end of the respective ring, a second group of projections 212, 223 is provided at a second axial end of the respective ring. The guide portion 20 and the rolling bodies extend with their axial extent substantially outside the axial extent of the projections. Due to the interaction of the projections 211, 212, 222, 223, the slide ring and the stabilising ring are connected to each other in a radially and axially form-fitting manner. Approximately 30% of the axial length of extent of the rings is formed by the projections 211, 212, 222, 223.

[0040] In FIG. 3, comprising FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D, the inner ring 3 or components of the inner ring 3 are shown in various views in schematic diagrams. The inner ring 3 has a stabilising ring 32 and a slide ring 31. The slide ring 31 surrounds the stabilising ring 32. The stabilising ring 32 forms a receptacle for receiving a shaft. Since the stabilising ring 32 is produced from a hard second plastics material, it is configured to fit onto a shaft with an interference fit. As explained for the outer ring 2 with reference to FIG. 2 above, the stabilising ring 32 and the slide ring 31 each have projections 313, 321, 322 which, as explained with reference to the outer ring 2 in FIG. 2, engage in each other, i.e., one of the projections engages in a recess that is formed between the projections of the other ring and that is assigned to it. The slide ring 31 preferably forms at least 50%, in particular at least 70%, in particular at least the predominant part, preferably the entire radial outer side of the inner ring 3, which is generally advantageous according to the invention. On this radial outer side, the slide ring 31 forms the guide portion 30 of the inner ring 3, which in the rolling bearing 1 lies radially opposite the guide portion 20 of the outer ring 2 and, analogously to the guide portion 20 of the outer ring 2, has a circular portion-shaped cross-section in which the rolling bodies 4, in this case balls, are held guided with an undercut acting in the axial direction. The slide ring 31 also forms an insertion portion 310 adjacent to the guide portion 30, in which the outer diameter of the inner ring 3 increases continuously from its axial end towards the guide portion 30, which is generally advantageous according to the invention. From the combined view of FIGS. 1-3 it may be seen that both the guide portions 20, 30 and the insertion portions 220, 310 are radially opposite each other, whereby both the assembly of the rolling bearing 1 and the guidance of the rolling bodies 4 in the assembled rolling bearing 1 are particularly favoured.

[0041] In FIG. 4, comprising FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C, a further embodiment of a rolling bearing 1 according to the invention is shown schematically in various schematic representations. FIG. 4A shows a plan view along the axial direction. FIG. 4B shows a cross-section along section A-A. FIG. 4C shows a plan view of the rolling bearing 1. The rolling bearing 1 has an inner ring 3 and an outer ring 2. Rolling bodies 4 in the form of balls are arranged radially between the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 2 and are held at a constant angular distance from each other in a bearing cage 5. With reference to comparable parts of the rolling bearing 1 according to FIG. 4, reference is made to the explanations of the rolling bearing 1 according to FIGS. 1-3. In the following, only the differences between the rolling bearing according to FIG. 4 and the aforementioned rolling bearing 1 are discussed. FIGS. 4-6 are summarised, each of which relates to the rolling bearing shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, comprising FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D, the outer ring 2 or components of the outer ring 2 are shown schematically in various views in schematic diagrams. In FIG. 6, comprising FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E and 6F, the inner ring 3 or components of the inner ring 3 are shown schematically in various views in schematic diagrams.

[0042] The outer ring 2 has a slide ring 22, which forms the guide portion 20 of the outer ring 2, and a stabilising ring 21, which completely surrounds the slide ring 22, which is generally advantageous according to the invention. The slide ring 22 forms the entire radially inner side of the outer ring 2, the stabilising ring 21 forms the entire radially outer side of the outer ring 2. The stabilising ring 21 forms a flange 215. This flange 215 is configured to project radially. This flange 215 is particularly advantageous as a stop when mounting the rolling bearing 1 with its outer ring 2 in an interference fit in an external component of a device. The inner ring 3 also has a stabilising ring 32 and a slide ring 31. The slide ring 31 completely surrounds the stabilising ring 32 and forms the majority of the radial outer side of the inner ring 3, which is generally advantageous according to the invention. Accordingly, it is generally advantageous according to the invention that the slide ring 22 of the outer ring 2 forms the predominant part of the radial inner side of the outer ring 2. The slide ring 31 of the inner ring 3 and the slide ring 22 of the outer ring 2 form the guide portion 30, 20 of the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 2 respectively, each of which adjoins an insertion portion 310, 220. The guide portions 20, 30 and insertion portions 220, 310 lie radially opposite each other. The stabilising ring 32 of the inner ring 3 forms a radially projecting flange 325. In particular, it may be seen from the combined view of FIGS. 4-6 that this flange 315 radially covers the rolling bodies 4 on one of their axial sides. The flange 325 rests on the slide ring 22 of the outer ring 2 in sliding contact, which ensures low friction on the one hand and reliable protection of the rolling bodies 4 on the other. Recesses 323 are provided in the flange 325, through which the slide ring 30 of the inner ring 3 extends. This ensures a particularly good form fit between the slide ring 31 and the stabilising ring 32 of the inner ring 3. In addition, the stabilising ring 32 has a group of projections at each of its two axial ends, wherein in each case two adjacent projections form a recess 321, 322 between them. A projection 311, 312 formed by the slide ring 31 is arranged in each of these recesses 321, 322. Accordingly, the slide ring 22 and the stabilising ring 21 of the outer ring have interlocking projections 2121, 2122, 2221.

[0043] FIG. 7 shows a bearing cage 5 of an embodiment of the rolling bearing 1 according to the invention in a schematic representation. The bearing cage 5 is configured, which is generally advantageous according to the invention, as a closed ring surrounding the axis, which has a plurality of rolling element receptacles 51, which are each spaced apart from each other at the same angular distance in relation to a rotation about the axis. These rolling element receptacles 51 are configured to accommodate rolling bodies 4 in the form of balls in such a way that they surround them over more than half of their circumference, which is generally advantageous according to the invention. This ensures particularly good fixing of the balls to each other by means of the bearing cage 5.

[0044] In FIG. 8, comprising FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D, a further embodiment of a rolling bearing according to the invention or of components of the rolling bearing according to the invention is shown schematically in various views in schematic diagrams. In the following, only the differences compared to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-6 will be discussed. The rolling bearing 1 according to FIG. 8 has an outer ring 2 and an inner ring 3, which are configured largely analogously to the outer ring 2 and inner ring 3 of the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 4-6. However, the stabilising ring 32 of the inner ring 3 has a radially projecting projection 320 on its radially inner side. This radially projecting projection 320 extends generally advantageously over at least 50% of the axial length of extent of the inner ring 3, in the present case over its entire axial length of extent. Since the projecting projection 320 is formed by the stabilising ring 32 and projects radially inwards from the inner side thereof, the projecting projection 320 may be particularly advantageously suitable for a rotationally fixed mounting of the inner ring 3 of the rolling bearing 1 on an inner component of a device which has a receptacle corresponding to the projecting projection 320.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0045] 1 rolling bearing [0046] 2 outer ring [0047] 3 inner ring [0048] 4 rolling body [0049] 5 bearing cage [0050] 20 guide portion [0051] 21 stabilising ring [0052] 22 slide ring [0053] 30 guide portion [0054] 31 slide ring [0055] 32 stabilising ring [0056] 220 insertion portion [0057] 211 projection [0058] 212 projection [0059] 215 flange [0060] 222 projection [0061] 223 projection [0062] 310 insertion portion [0063] 311 projection [0064] 312 projection [0065] 313 projection [0066] 321 projection [0067] 322 projection [0068] 323 projection [0069] 325 flange [0070] 2121 projection [0071] 2122 projection [0072] 2222 projection