Patent ID: 7780357

Claim:
An antifriction bearing for accommodating rotation about an axis comprising: an inner race having a raceway presented away from the axis, an outer race having a raceway presented inwardly toward the axis and toward the raceway of the inner race, the outer race having a power transmitting coil and an antenna, rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer races and contacting the raceways of those races so that when relative rotation occurs between the races the rolling elements roll along the raceways, and a cage positioned between the inner and outer races and having pockets in which the rolling elements are received with the cage being rotatable between the races as the rolling elements roll along the raceways, a power receiving coil positioned relative to the power transmitting coil of the outer race for receiving power therefrom, a sensing unit for sensing a condition of the bearing, and a transmitter coupled to the sensing unit for receiving the sensed condition and having an antenna coupled to the transmitter for sending a signal indicative of the received sensed condition of the bearing to the antenna of the outer race, each of the sensing unit and the transmitter being coupled to the power receiving coil for receiving a portion of the received power.