Arrangement for clamping inner bearing race to non-circular section shaft and for preventing axial load in the bearing, axial creep and rotational knock

Abstract

Each end of a roller is defined by a stub shaft that is non-circular in cross section and supported from a side wall for rotation by a ball bearing having an inner race containing a mounting hole that is shaped complementary to, and located on, the stub shaft. The inner race is clamped from moving axially or radially relative to the shaft, thereby preventing the bearing from knocking against the stub shaft during operation. According to one embodiment of the invention, the outer race of the bearing is mounted within a complementary shaped bore of a sleeve that has a cylindrical exterior surface and is, in turn, mounted for axial movement in a cylindrical bore of a bearing housing that is mounted to the side wall by the agency of a bearing support. According to a second embodiment of the invention, the outer race of the bearing in mounted within a complementary shaped bore of a bearing housing which is, in turn, mounted to the side wall by the agency of a bearing support that is designed to flex axially while maintaining radial strength. Both embodiments thus limit the axial load which is transmitted between the shaft and the side wall by means of the bearing.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.