US 12,753,830 B1Granted

Ball screw assembly having a deflector

AssigneeSchaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG

InventorRenato de Paula

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Abstract

A ball screw assembly includes a ball screw nut having an inner surface that defines a hollow, an outer surface opposite the inner surface, and a port that defines an opening that extends through the ball screw nut from the outer surface to the inner surface. A deflector includes a body that defines a recirculation passage. First and second resilient fingers are coupled to the body. The deflector is operable to move from an uninserted position, wherein the deflector is disposed outside of the opening, to an inserted position, wherein the deflector extends within the opening. With movement of the deflector from the uninserted position to the inserted position, the fingers are elastically deformed from at-rest conditions to compressed conditions due to contact between the fingers and the port, and, subsequently, the fingers rebound back toward the at-rest conditions within the hollow as the deflector enters the inserted position.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A ball screw assembly, comprising:

a ball screw nut having an inner surface that defines a hollow and includes a groove configured to define a raceway for a plurality of rollers and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, wherein the ball screw nut includes a port that defines an opening that extends through the ball screw nut from the outer surface of the ball screw nut to the inner surface;
a deflector that includes a body that defines a recirculation passage, a first resilient finger coupled to the body, and a second resilient finger coupled to the body, the deflector being operable to move from an uninserted position, wherein the deflector is disposed outside of the opening defined by the port of the ball screw nut, the first resilient finger is in an at-rest condition, and the second resilient finger is in an at-rest condition, to an inserted position, wherein the deflector extends within the opening defined by the port of the ball screw nut, the first resilient finger abuts a first portion of the groove of the inner surface of the ball screw nut, the second resilient finger abuts a second portion of the groove of the inner surface of the ball screw nut, and the deflector is positioned to recirculate the plurality of rollers, via the recirculation passage, along a portion of the groove disposed between the first and second portions of the groove, and wherein movement of the deflector from the uninserted position to the inserted position prompts elastic deformation of the first and second resilient fingers from the at-rest conditions to compressed conditions due to contact between the ball screw nut and the first and second resilient fingers, wherein, in the inserted position of the deflector, the body of the deflector extends axially beyond the first resilient finger in a first axial direction and a second axial direction opposite the first axial direction;
and
a ball screw spindle that extends within the hollow and includes a groove that cooperates with the groove of the inner surface of the ball screw nut to define the raceway, the ball screw spindle being operable to rotate about an axis, wherein rotation of the ball screw spindle about the axis drives circulation of the plurality of rollers along a roller path that includes the recirculation passage defined by the deflector and a portion of the raceway defined by the portion of the groove of the inner surface of the ball screw nut.

1 more element

A ball screw assembly, comprising:

a ball screw spindle operable to rotate about an axis and having a groove that extends along an outer surface of the ball screw spindle;
a ball screw nut disposed about the ball screw spindle and having an inner surface that defines a hollow and that includes a corresponding groove that cooperates with the groove of the ball screw spindle to define a raceway between the ball screw spindle and the ball screw nut, the ball screw nut having an outer surface opposite the inner surface, wherein the ball screw nut includes a port that defines an opening that extends through the ball screw nut from the outer surface of the ball screw nut to the inner surface;
a plurality of rollers;
and
a deflector that includes a body that defines a recirculation passage and includes a head, a first resilient finger coupled to the body, and a second resilient finger coupled to the body, the deflector being disposed in an inserted position, wherein the deflector extends within the opening defined by the port of the ball screw nut, the head of the body is operable to interfere with the ball screw nut to limit radially-inboard movement of the deflector, and the first and second resilient fingers are operable to interfere with the inner surface of the ball screw nut to limit radially-outboard movement of the deflector, and wherein rotation of the ball screw spindle about the axis drives circulation of the plurality of rollers along a roller path that includes the recirculation passage defined by the deflector and a portion of the raceway, and axial movement of the ball screw nut along the ball screw spindle, wherein, in the inserted position of the deflector, the body of the deflector extends axially beyond the first resilient finger in a first axial direction and a second axial direction opposite the first axial direction.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.