Patent ID: 6132092
Filing Date: 2000-10-17
Classification: F16C

Abstract:
Ball bearing for permitting linear movement along a shaft, comprising:a one-piece cage adapted to be placed inside a bore of a housing, the cage having an inside surface for at least partially surrounding a shaft and a plurality of ball tracks, each ball track including an axial guide track, an axial return track and a pair of turn-around tracks connecting together ends of the guide track and the return track;a cover attached at each end of the cage, said pair of turn-around tracks for each ball track being provided in said covers;a plurality of balls guided inside said ball tracks, said balls having a diameter and an outer periphery;the guide track and the return track of each ball track having a radially inwardly opening slit extending along the guide track and the return track, the slit having a radially inner slit width less than the diameter of the balls, the guide track and the return track of each ball guide having lateral guide walls formed integrally with and as a part of said one-piece cage and extending partially around the balls, at least some of the lateral guide walls of both the guide tracks and the return tracks having an axially extending groove in a radially outer portion of each of the lateral guide walls, each of said grooves extending laterally outwardly in opposite directions beyond the outer periphery of the balls in the respective ball track.