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US 2003/0145673 A1Published application
Ball nut and screw assembly
AssigneeThomson Saginaw Ball Screw Company, Inc.
InventorDennis Frederick Walton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ballscrew and ball nut assembly with complimentary threads providing a ball raceway having a ball re-circulation path within the screwshaft of the ballscrew provided on the peripheral surface of a screwshaft insert and including end passages which communicate with the raceway and a non-helical mid-passage connecting said end passages.
Claims3
In a ball screw and nut assembly including a ball screw including a tubular portion having an exteriorly helically grooved surface between its opposite ends;
- a ball nut concentrically encircling said screw grooved surface and having a nut interiorly helically grooved surface forming a helical ball raceway with said ball screw grooved surface;
- and a train of balls within said raceway, the improvement comprising:
- a. said ball screw tubular portion having an interior surface radially inwardly of said exteriorly helically grooved screw surface and radially extending axially spaced ball transfer openings through said ball screw tubular portion;
- b. an axially extending cylindrical insert with axially spaced ends and an outer peripheral surface disposed concentrically within said screw tubular portion, said insert having a pair of end passages and a generally axially extending mid-passage connecting with said end passages formed non-helically in said peripheral surface of said insert to provide a ball recirculation pathway radially inward of said ball screw ball transfer openings;
- said end passages and said mid-passage being formed to retain said balls between said interior surface of said tubular portion and said insert.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.