Patent ID: 7220060

Claim:
A roller bearing assembly which comprises: an inner race having a raceway surface defined therein; a plurality of rollers; and a ring-shaped roller retainer having a plurality of pockets defined therein in a direction circumferentially thereof for accommodating therein the respective rollers in a circular row while allowing the rollers to be seated on the raceway surface of the inner race, the roller retainer also having pillars each defined between the neighboring pockets, the roller retainer being positioned on the inner race with each of the pillars thereof intervening between the neighboring rollers to thereby retain the rollers in position within the respective pockets from a direction radially outwardly of the row of the rollers, wherein a diameter of a circle depicted by and in touch with radially inward ends of the pillars is greater than a diameter of the pitch circle depicted in the circular row of the rollers, and wherein the roller retainer is provided with a plurality of axial slits cut to extend from one end thereof to a position adjacent the opposite end thereof.