Patent ID: 8201334

Claim:
A method of assembling a roller bearing assembly, the assembly including an outer ring with an outer raceway, an inner ring with an inner raceway, and a plurality of rolling elements for rotatably coupling the outer ring to the inner ring, the method comprising the steps of: arranging the rolling elements within the outer raceway of the outer ring; heating the rolling elements and the outer ring so as to expand the outer raceway; assembling the inner ring concentrically within the outer ring such that the rolling elements are arranged at least partially within the inner and outer raceways, wherein the inner ring comprises snap shoulders, and wherein the assembling the inner ring step includes snapping the snap shoulders through the rolling elements; wherein the inner and outer rings are formed such that the inner raceway has a greater width than the outer raceway, and the inner raceway and the outer raceway are configured to receive a single row of elements.