Flexible cage for rolling bearing
AssigneeAktiebolaget Skf
InventorMaurizio Bertola
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A flexible bearing cage includes a base ring comprising a plurality of mount sections arranged along a circular path and a plurality of compressible fold sections. One of the compressible fold sections is located between each adjacent pair of the mount sections, and a finger projects axially from each of the plurality of mount sections. Each of the fingers has a partially spherical concave surface configured such that the finger projecting from a first mount section on one side of a first one of the compressible fold sections and the finger projecting from a second mount section on a second side of the first one of the compressible fold sections define a partially spherical cavity configured to receive and retain a respective rolling body.
Claims17
A flexible bearing cage comprising:
- a base ring comprising a plurality of mount sections arranged along a circular path and a plurality of compressible fold sections, one of the compressible fold sections being located between each adjacent pair of the mount sections, and
- a finger projecting axially from each of the plurality of mount sections, the finger having a partially spherical concave surface configured such that the finger projecting from a first mount section on one side of a first one of the compressible fold sections and the finger projecting from a second mount section on a second side of the first one of the compressible fold sections together define a partially spherical cavity configured to receive and retain a respective rolling body.
A flexible bearing cage comprising:
- a base ring comprising a plurality of mount sections arranged along a circular path and a plurality of compressible fold sections, one of the compressible fold sections being located between each adjacent pair of the mount sections, and
- a finger projecting axially from each of the plurality of mount sections, the finger having a partially spherical concave surface configured such that each adjacent pair of fingers together define a partially spherical cavity configured to receive and retain a respective rolling body,
- wherein the bearing cage is configured to be shifted from a first configuration in which the base ring has a first diameter to a second configuration in which the base ring is compressed to have a second diameter less than the first diameter by applying a radially inward force against the ring, and
- wherein the bearing cage is configured such that shifting the bearing cage from the first configuration to the second configuration reduces a distance between each adjacent pair of fingers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.