Patent ID: 7331761

Claim:
In a wind electric turbine of the type having a rotor hub supporting at least one radially extending blade, and a pitch drive for axially pivoting said blade between different pitch angles, the improvement of a pitch bearing, comprising: an annularly-shaped outer bearing ring operably connected with one of said blade and said rotor hub and including a first raceway groove and a radially outwardly extending edge portion; an annularly-shaped inner bearing ring operably connected with the other of said blade and said rotor hub, configured for close mating reception within said outer bearing ring, and including a second raceway groove aligned with said first raceway groove in said outer bearing ring, and a radially inwardly extending edge portion; a plurality of rolling elements disposed in said first and second raceway grooves to rotatably interconnect said outer bearing ring and said inner bearing ring; and a gear segment integrally formed on one of said radially outwardly extending edge portion of said outer bearing ring and said radially inwardly extending edge portion of said inner bearing ring, and engaging said pitch drive to pivot said blade axially between the different pitch angles; said gear segment having an arcuate measure of less than 200 degrees to facilitate economical manufacture.