Retention cage for the balls of rolling-contact bearings

Abstract: A retention cage for bearing balls is described, of the type consisting of a circular base ring (11) from which a crown of seats or cavities (13) for receiving the bearing balls (14) extends. The cavities (13) are defined by a crown of radial couplers (12) arranged to retain the balls (14) along a sheaf of lines of action (r) which pass through the centre of each ball and are slightly inclined to the plane (p) in which the balls roll.

Description: This invention relates to a retention cage for the balls contained in rolling-contact bearings. Various types of retention cage for ball bearings are known, in which the balls are separated from each other by radial walls carried by a base ring. GB-A-2 167 816 discloses a retention cage for bearing balls, consisting of: a circular base ring; and a crown of cavities extending from the base ring for receiving the bearing balls and being defined by a crown of radial couplers which have a substantially C-shaped cross section such that the cavities communicate with each other and which are arranged to retain the balls along a circumferential line passing through the centres of the balls. It is an object of the present invention to provide a retention cage which enables the space between two adjacent balls to be reduced to a minimum in order to be able to increase the number of balls or to use larger diameter balls for the same bearing, so increasing the loading capacity of the bearing and hence its life. A further object of the present invention is to provide a cage in which friction against the balls is reduced to a minimum. A further object of the present invention is to provide a cage which allows improved lubricant grease circulation within the bearing. These and further objects and advantages which will be more apparent from the ensuing description are attained according to the invention by a retention cage for bearing balls, of the type consisting of a circular base ring and a crown of cavities extending from the base ring for receiving the bearing balls and being defined by a crown of radial couplers which have a substantially C-shaped cross section such that the cavities communicate with each other and which are arranged to retain the balls along a circumferential line passing through the centres of the balls; characterized in that the cavities communicate with each other in the central region around the circumferential line going through the centres of the balls enabling the distance between two adjacent balls to be reduced to a minimum without them mutually interfering. The structural and functional characteristics of a preferred but not-limiting embodiment of the cage according to the invention are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cage according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section through the cage of Figure 1, to an enlarged scale; Figure 3 is a partial front view of the cage in the direction of arrow A of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a partial view of the cage from above in the direction of the arrow B of Figure 2. With reference initially to Figure 1, a cage according to the present invention is indicated overall by numeral 10. The cage 10 consists of a circular base ring 11, on one side of which there is formed in one piece therewith a crown of equally spaced radial couplers 12. As shown in Figure 2, the couplers 12 have a substantially C-shaped axial section and are shaped to define, within the spaces between two adjacent couplers, a plurality of spherical seats or cavities 13 arranged to receive corresponding rolling balls 14 (Figure 3) which are arranged as a ring between the bearing races (not shown for simplicity) and are maintained at a constant distance apart by the cage 10. Each spherical cavity 13 is substantially defined by three concave surfaces joined together, namely two surfaces 15 and 16 provided respectively on the opposing faces of two adjacent couplers 12 and a third concave surface 17 joining the first two together and provided on the base ring 11. The couplers 12 are composed of two curved portions projecting from the ring 11, namely a longer portion 19 and a shorter portion 20, both having diverging ends 19a and 20a and cooperating with the adjacent couplers 12 to retain the balls 14. As shown in Figure 2, to effectively retain the balls the portions 19 and 20 cover an arc extending through more than 180° in an axial plane. The configuration of the couplers 12 is such that the resultant of the actions and reactions transferred between each ball and the two adjacent couplers which retain it has a line of action r passing through the centre C of each ball, and substantially parallel or slightly inclined to the plane p in which the balls roll, this being perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the bearing. The seats or cavities defined in this manner all intercommunicate in a circumferential direction; this enables the distance d (Figure 3 ) between two adjacent balls to be reduced to a minimum without them mutually interfering. As will be apparent, compared with the known art the space teen up by the radial walls mentioned in the introduction to the present description is eliminated. Consequently, as the available space is greater, the number and/or diameter of the balls can be increased to give greater loading capacity to the bearing and hence a longer life. In addition, as the contact surfaces between the balls and the cage of the present invention are very small in area, the overall friction between the balls and cage is reduced. Moreover, as the ball seats communicate with each other in the central spherical region of the balls, there is a net improvement in the distribution of lubricant grease over all the balls contained in the bearing.

Claims: A retention cage (10) for bearing balls, of the type consisting of: a circular base ring (11); and a crown of cavities (13) extending from the base ring (11) for receiving the bearing balls (14) and being defined by a crown of radial couplers (12) which have a substantially C-shaped cross section such that the cavities (13) communicate with each other and which are arranged to retain the balls (14) along a circumferential line passing through the centres (c) of the balls; characterized in that the cavities (13) communicate with each other in the central region around the circumferential line going through the centres (c) of the balls (14) enabling the distance (d) between two adjacent balls to be reduced to a minimum without them mutually interfering. A cage as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the couplers (12) are composed of two curved portions (19, 20) projecting from the base ring (11), namely a longer portion (19) and a shorter portion (20), both having their respective ends (19a, 20a) diverging in a circumferential direction. A cage as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that each spherical cavity (13) is substantially defined by three concave surfaces (15, 16, 17) joined together, of which two surfaces (15, 16) are provided respectively on the opposing faces of two adjacent couplers (12), and the third surface (17) joining the first two together is provided on the base ring (11).

Inventors: VIDALE ONORIO, VIGNOTTO ANGELO, VIDALE, ONORIO, VIGNOTTO, ANGELO
Applicants: SKF IND SPA, SKF INDUSTRIE S.P.A.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: F16C33
IPC codes: F16C33, F16C19